Mzungu! Mzungu!

It is incredible how different life is here. There is so much poverty. Little kids will come up to your car windows with one hand out and the other pointing to their stomach, or they will ask for water if they see it in your car. It is the most heart-wrenching circumstance when you have to say no to giving them money or see how thankful they are for just a small glass of clean fresh water to drink. It makes you realize just how much you have taken for granted and how little you have truly been thankful for. For me, it is a sobering reminder to be thankful for even the smallest provisions that the Lord has given me. He has given me so much and yet I thank Him for so little. May my heart be moved to thankfulness more often!

On our way back to the village we made several stops. We stopped at this one woman's house to pick up goods she had handmade by order of Rafiki. Rafiki has a widows' program where they teach widows certain craft skills and then commission the making of those crafts and market them in the United States. It was really neat to witness first hand God's provision for this widow and her family. Her son, Charles, was such a gentleman too! He brought out our shoes to us as we were preparing to leave. What a sweetheart! 

Another stop we made was at a local church. The church was down the street from a market area and surrounded by open land and huts. Many children roamed the around the area near to the church and when they saw us approaching in the car they would yell 'mzungu, mzungu!' which means, 'white.' We got out of the car to make a delivery to someone at the church and as we got out a few of the children approached us. I greeted them and they were very polite in return. As we were walking toward the church, one child reached his hand in mine and held it until we reached our destination. My heart melted! 

Never in my life have I been confronted with such severe circumstances and yet everyone you meet is simply overflowing with joy. The child holding my hand on the way to church, the children residents at the Rafiki village. Each one of them, despite the disparity of their circumstances, have this incredible joy shining on their faces, a joy that cannot be heard through speech but must be seen with the eyes. Their joy is so great that it overflows onto those around them. 

The joy that comes from these young ones is infectious. I cannot help but be joyful in their presence and moved to thankfulness and peace of mind and heart when they are near. I am looking forward to the two weeks or so I have remaining to spend with them. 

Blessed are those whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs. 

Psalm 84:5-6a