Uniforms and Shoes

Kendra writes about Friday, August 27 -

What a Mighty God We Serve! Greetings from Team Kenya 2010. We awoke this morning to a cold, wet winter morning here in Kikuyu, Kenya. This, however , did not deter us from the events of the day.

A child's shoes.

As we drove to the Kimuri school this morning to meet the children, we saw several of them walking to school in their brand new uniforms: The girls in brown sweaters and brown-and-white checkered dresses, and the boys in brown sweaters, checkered shirts, and brown shorts. However, their shoes were in stark contrast to their beautiful, new garments, with many of the children walking to school in the damp, cold weather, through the mud, in shoes with holes in them, open- backed Crocs, or ill-fitting shoes. The team had met on Thursday evening, after giving out the uniforms, and decided to purchase new shoes for the children.

Upon arriving at the school, the children were instructed by both the headmaster, Evanson, and a teacher, Ruth, to sit on the benches. We seated were in the front of the room, facing the children, as Grace, church secretary and all-around supporter of the school, spoke to them about how “smart” they looked in their new uniforms.

Ruth and Tina fitting new shoes.

Grace then proceeded to inform the group that there was one more surprise for the children: They would all be receiving a brand-new pair of shoes. At this, the children broke out into applause and cheering, followed by their singing the following:
What a mighty God we serve
What a mighty God we serve
Angels bow before thee
Heaven and Earth adore thee
What a mighty God we serve

Evanson then led the children in singing other songs and expressed tremendous gratitude for the new uniforms and the shoes for the children.
The team then presented Ruth and Evanson with new books, paper, crayons, and other much-needed school supplies. The “school supply” which appeared to be the most favorite, however, was as supply of soccer balls.

After the presentation, the children were divided into groups to play games, hear a story, or do a craft. Gretchen and Kathy used cutouts on a felt board to tell the story of Noah’s Ark, they then pulled out crayons, paper, and small animal stickers so that the children could draw. Once again, we were amazed to learn that many of the children had never seen or used crayons before, but the pictures they created were quite beautiful.

Frisbee and soccer were part of the afternoon activities.

Mary and Kendra (aka Coach Mary and Coach Kendra) took another group outside to engage in the World Cup of Relay Races. Each team fervently cheered on its teammates, sometimes calling to the other team “We’re #1! We’re #1! We’re #1!” Coach Mary and Coach Kendra’s teams were usurped by a third, late-arriving team, which took home the gold medal for the World Cup by winning the final relay that involved quickly passing a ball backwards overhead to another person until it reached the end of the line, when the last person to receive the ball would run down the field and back to begin again.

While the children played, Brad, Dick, and Chuck (who some of us affectionately refer to as “Charlie”) assessed the repairs that needed to be completed on some of the school buildings. Many windows were broken, and the cinder block rooms needed to be cleaned.

Early that afternoon, we took a break for lunch, and provided a small amount of money to provide tea and bread for the children. We felt this was necessary because many of the children were homeless and few had any type of mid-day meal. After lunch, some of us returned to the school, while Mary and the men went to the store to purchase supplies to repair the school windows. During the afternoon, some of the kids divided into groups and played soccer, with Kendra playing goalie for one team and Tina designated as “referee.” In the end, Kendra’s team won 2 to 1.

At the end of the day, Evanson again expressed his gratitude for our investment into the lives of the children over the last two days. He informed us that we were the only group who had ever come and actually spent time playing with the children and doing crafts. A bittersweet surprise was learning that the shoes that we purchased for the children may be the only new pair of shoes they will ever have. It is for this reason that we stand in agreement with the children and say: What A Mighty God We Serve.

See more pictures at Picasa