Jambo, Joy, and Jesus!

Day 3
(Day One of VBS WOW)

As the children in Bondeni say when prompted by their teacher – “1 2 3 WOW!!!”  Today was a WOW day, as we did our first day of VBS.  When we arrived on the bus, the children were lined up to sing to us a traditional Kenyan welcome song – “Jambo, Jambo Sana!”  (This means you are welcome very much!)  The song was complete with a drummer and 2 lines of students for us to walk through!  WOW!

We continue to practice flexibility, as we adjust to schedule changes, and class size changes!  The 4 classes we had this morning averaged about 36 students in Grades 3 and 4.  WOW!  That’s a lot of excitement to try and contain!  We had our ‘tea break’ at noon, and then started our afternoon sessions.  The average size of these groups was 16 – MUCH more manageable!  Following a delicious Kenyan lunch, those of us on the trip who have sponsored children got to meet and spend a little time with our sponsored children!  Agnes is the little girl I sponsor in Bondeni, and she came over from the new secondary school in Bondeni.  She is a lovely 7th grade young lady now, and mathematics is her favorite subject!  She especially likes square roots and putting fractions in ascending and descending order.  Joy is the 6-year old that my Sunday School class sponsors.  She is very shy and quiet, but will answer questions as briefly as she can!

We then split up into 4 groups to do home visits.  What a treat that was!  I went with Sue Byrd and her grandson, Braxton, to visit the home of her little girl, Ruth.  We were welcomed with open arms, and we met Ruth’s mother, sister and 1-month old nephew, Aidan.  It was a sweet time together, and I enjoyed this opportunity.  We visited the next-door neighbor as well, and we thought we were just meeting this lady.  We learned today that you really need to sit down when you visit someone so that you ‘leave a blessing.’  If you just stop by and don’t sit, that is not really acceptable in Kenyan culture.  WOW – who knew!

We got to Grace House about 5, and were greeted with more singing by the staff of Grace House!  They had moved all of our luggage into our rooms and were so welcoming and helpful to us.  What a trip this has been and what a trip it will continue to be!  We are learning lots each day, and we love the ‘God moments’ we experience so often!  We are grateful for your prayers and look forward to sharing more each day and even more when we return!

By: Lisa Orr