Who are these kids? Everybody in Nairobi thinks they know what street kids look like, and they believe the kids cannot change, but are menaces, thieves, liars, trouble...it is amazing how well they clean up. We spent the day today with a group who came off the streets, some as late as this year. We went to the movie at Village Market, an upscale shopping center near the American Embassy and the United Nations complex.
In the past few weeks, Darlene and Philip Kariuki have read the Chronicles of Narnia to all the kids, and some of our Team members have read them. We told them that everyone who read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian in the past two months would be treated to the movie. Seven of the Team members read them, and five went to the movie. Ben Mwami had to go and pick up 100 baby chicks today, so he couldn't go (we'll get him there later). And Joel will go next week with the moms and the Team members at Eastleigh. 52 of us went today.
The theater gives away a soda, a hot dog and popcorn on Mondays with regular admission price, and the kids loved that. Since Mercy doesn't eat oil, they gave her a Mars bar instead of a hot dog, and she gave her popcorn away. Darlene told Philip she thought he has been doing a great job as a teacher and leader, so she gave him all her food. I told Scholastica that I appreciate her diligence as a student and gave her my hot dog, then I gave Jackton my soda and congratulated him on good work in the sewing plant, and I gave my popcorn to Ken Wabungu, who has been a great young person at Kamulu.
And during the movie they were so quiet, truly enjoying "seeing" the book they have read. They laughed at Reepicheep, and they reacted to the first roar of Aslan. And their behavior was exemplary; they even carried their trash out of the theater to the bins outside. I can't believe how great it is to be out somewhere with a 45-member youth group like this!!! Absolutely amazing and marvelous! My heart's desire is to know these kids all their lives, just like I want to be in the granddaughter's lives for always.
Thanks, Jesus, for the kindness you show me.
1 comment:
i have come to love working with streets kids. though hard,these kids are really precious, and God wants us do do somethings towards this call. he has actually chosen us (those at MITS) to change these kids lives. we take great privilege in molding the lives of these young youths. at our normal homes we had good examples from our parents, we have taken or inherited some of their traits, for instance how to react when annoyed or offended. we at MITS try our best to pass this good traits that we ourselves have also inherited from our parents to these kids.
they have to learn that the ways of livelihood on the streets is not right but its principalities like hard work are good for life ahead of them.
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