We have officially been in Kenya for one week. Last Friday we were all saying our goodbyes to our friends and family, excited for the journey ahead. So much change and growth has happened in one week. Today was our last day teaching Vacation Bible School at the Pangani school in Mathare Valley, "The Mountain of God". These children aren't able to take vacations like Americans do. They barely have food, some don't have shoes, and sleep in a 10x10 shanty with 6 people. We wanted to give the children an experience to travel to other countries. Each child got a passport and traveled to 7 different classrooms. Each classroom was a different country including a "Bible room" ran by the members of the Kenya team, including our friends from the Familia de Fe church in Brazil. The countries they traveled to were: Brazil, India, the United States, China, England, and the Philippines. Many of us felt out of our comfort zone teaching the children, but as the week went on the teaching became easier. By the end of the week we all got through it and looking back we realized that "we weren't doing it for Jesus, but WITH Jesus". We taught close to 1,000 children that Jesus is the light of the world, focusing on John 8:12. As a team, every class was unified with the John 8:12 theme even though we were teaching about different countries.
These children have so much potential to do great things in their lives. In America when we see a picture of a child in Africa, or a commercial you immediately think, "poor thing, I feel so sorry for them.", but you don't really see the kind of person they are. The children at Pangani have so much joy and eagerness to learn. They are smart and capable of succeeding in both their education and lives. I have seen children this week that are stronger than some of the adults in the US. These kids are so bright, all they need is a little Hope.
As a final goodbye the children and teacher's of the Pangani school threw us a farewell celebration. The children blessed each and every one of us for teaching them this week. We received a gift and a piece of cake, which is only served on the rarest of occasions. The children danced and sang in front of us. At one point, the students recited in unison John 8:12. Each room focused on that Bible verse for the week and it was touching to hear the children come together and recite it. Our Kenya team was so proud of them. Just another moment we knew that God had worked in so many ways this week, that clearly wasn't us.
-- Sarah Britton for the Kenya team
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