Day 12: Pity for the "Self-sufficient"

Since we came somewhat unannounced, on day 12 the kids at Fiwagoh still had to go to school, but only until one o'clock. Although I was kind of sad that we weren't going to be able to interact with them as much, we got to serve the workers at Fiwagoh by helping them with their Sabbath preparations. Pastor Benson leads his family in honoring the Sabbath by doing NO work on Saturdays at all; therefore, the kids and workers do all the prep work for Saturdays on Friday. There were many, many things that needed to be done that day, so instead of just moping around because we couldn't spend time with the kids, we helped the workers prepare for Sabbath. I was able to help wash windows in the dining hall and the girls' dorm, as well as make the younger girls' beds.

After finishing those two projects, one of the workers asked me to help her shine the kids' shoes; all of the Kenyan dirt wears the shoes out faster, so they shine them once a day in order to make the shoes last longer.

The Shoe-shining Brigade

180 pairs of shoes...I'm changing my major to shoe-shining.

As we were shining shoes, I got to talking with a couple members of the staff. One woman was describing her dreams to come to America. She said, "Help me find an American man!" We chuckled. She continued to explain how she would work very hard if she had the opportunity to come to America. Everything she said about our country was full of admiration. Jenny thoughtfully mentioned that not everyone in America works hard, in fact, there are many lazy people in our country. Furthermore, people in America feel that they can be self-sufficient, with no need for the mighty hand of the Father. This women looked up at us and said in a firm voice, "Oh, well then I pity them."

Indeed, this pity is well-deserved; we so often say, "God, I got this. I don't need You. I have everything I need. Let me do it by myself." We so ignorantly ignore the God of the universe, thinking that our feeble human efforts are enough to fix our brokenness. We turn to everything else to fill the God-sized holes in our hearts saying things like, "Well, if I get in to that college, then I'll be happy. If I can marry that guy, I will surely feel valuable. If I make this much money, all my problems will go away. If I lose just a little more weight, then I'll feel better about myself." Take my own life as an example...we cannot fix ourselves. I have tried filling myself with the approval of others, with a relationship, and with my weight, none of it worked, not even a little bit. Instead, these things of the world left me more empty then I was to begin with. Slowly but surely, I'm beginning to agree with my Kenyan friend. I pity America, not in a self-righteous way, because I too have succumbed to its pressures and the message of self-sufficiency that it preaches. Since God has begun such a transforming work in my life, showing me that He is the only thing that can fill me up, I want to stand on a rooftop and tell the whole world about God's heart-filling Presence. I want everyone to find peace in God's all-sufficient grace, because it will always be enough.

I'm so thankful that God gave us the opportunity to help these ladies with their work; they were even able to get a half day off because of the amount of helping hands God gave them. Since the kids didn't have school in the afternoon, and since most of the chores were already done, we had time to do one more lesson with them. We broke into small groups and taught the story of Joseph, and yet another time God pushed me out of my comfort zone, because I ended up teaching the lesson! Generally, when I get up to speak in front of a group without having extensively prepared, my words get all jumbled up and things don't necessarily come out clearly. God totally equipped me to give the Joseph lesson, though! We even had a time when the kids shared parts of their testimonies with us.

After the lesson, we had worship, which was a tad different than it had been the other times. We had gotten so close to many of the kids, that it didn't really seem right to sit in our own little "section" of the dining hall, completely set apart from the kids, so we went and sat amongst them for the message. With little Mary (not the Mary who wants to be a nurse) on my lap and Lillian right by my side, holding my hand, I listened to a 14 yr. old preach the Word of God like a seasoned pastor. How could I not marvel at God's glory with two of His precious daughters in my lap and one of His sons preaching His Word so emphatically??

Day 11's goodnight to the kids was quite difficult, knowing that we had to say the "real" goodbye in the morning :( I could seriously just move back to Fiwagoh and live there forever!

As our departure quickly approached, the kids began writing and hand delivering little notes to us. They would secretly sneak up, place the note in your hand, and then quickly scurry off. Though reading each note left me a weeping mess, I'll cherish these little memories of my Fiwagoh loves.