After a day of safari and a welcome break from our constant schedule of trainings, Tuesday, September 30, 2014 was our last full day in Africa. We were excited to be with the children from Made In The Streets Ministry in Kamulu, Kenya. And, for all of us, there was a real belief that a special connection would be made during these final hours.
At 8 a.m. on school mornings, the children gather for chapel. Twenty minutes of energetic singing and our team was ready for the day. I was asked to speak to the group and I spent a few minutes sharing scripture from Romans 8 and detailing how, even in the most difficult of times, God stands with us. We felt a connection with these children.
[youtube url=”http://youtu.be/7SKUXYkfiTI”]
Video: Aaron Horn
The children were dismissed. The faculty and staff remained for a few announcements and prayer. Then we were off, splitting into three teaching teams to bring some basic conflict resolution concepts to these teens from the streets of Nairobi.
Betty and Aaron were dispatched to work with the oldest group — the ones spending their days at the Skills Center learning a trade. Allison and Robyn volunteered to take the youngest group while Dan and I worked with the “in-between” students. Even though Malcolm and Aaron had a wonderful experience with the group on Sunday, we were all a little anxious whether the lessons we had planned would connect — culturally and through an interpreter.
Thankfully, the connection was made! The human spirit naturally wants to find ways to bridge gaps and build relationships. And that is exactly what we experienced in these classrooms.
But we would see a connection in another way, not just once, but twice, that day.
In preparation for our trip and our time in Kenya, each team member had spent time researching our host organizations. Robyn excitedly told us months ago that she would be sponsoring a child at Made In The Streets — one of the tiny ones, a child of a child. And Malcolm, shortly before we left the United States, made final arrangements to sponsor one of the new boys, fresh off the streets of Nairobi.
I wish you could have been there when Malcolm met Samuel and Robyn met Dennis. Connection takes on all new meaning.
And connection is what this whole trip was about. Meeting new friends. Helping others find ways to connect and reconnect. Making reconciliation a center piece in our lives. We couldn’t have had a better day.
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