But first, we had a special treat for ALL 60 Ndoto students: a trip to the movies! We rented out a movie theater in town for our own private showing of "A Small Act" - an incredibly moving documentary about a poor boy from Kenya who was sponsored by a woman in Sweden ... and how it forever changed his life. (We thought it might strike a chord in our kiddos!)
We had some delays - because transportation is always a bit iffy in Kenya. So transportation for 60 Kenyans and 10 mzungus made things even more complicated. And then there was a goat to transport ... which caused more than a few headaches. True story...but I'll get back to the goat later.
But finally, after more than an hour of Matatu drivers with attitudes and goat complications - we finally got everyone to the movie theater. And boy were they excited!!! Most of the younger ones had never been to the mall - much less to a movie. They were so excited about seeing something on the BIG TV.
(As a way to drum up excitement, Allison had taken 2-3 of the younger kids with her when she rented the theatre ... so they had been hyping up the place for a week!) Everyone was so excited!
But first, they had an Ndoto meeting. Allison had a short but strong talk with all of the kids about what it means to be sponsored - reminding them that it is a privilege that is not available to everyone and that they need to honor that privilege and work hard and be people of integrity. We also did some filming and had 9-10 of the kids stand up and say what they wanted to be when they grow up. If this is the future of Kenya ... WOW!!!
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Michael - about to graduate from Bible College as a Youth Pastor
Dennis - in college studying business administration
Nancy - Junior in high school who wants to be a child rights' lawyer
Grace - 8th grader who wants to be a teacher
Nickol - wants to be a teacher
Sandra - wants to be a lawyer
Domonic - wants to be a pilot
Nelly - wants to be a nurse
Rida - 1st grader who wants to be a pastor
Then, they were allowed to choose whatever seat they wanted as they watched the movie. I highly recommend it. It's a very touching movie about a boy who grew up in a poor village in Kenya ... and who came back to Kenya to help his country in the same ways he was helped as a child. But let me warn you - it is a tearjerker! I sat with Maureen, Rose, and Julian and Georgine. Precious time with precious girls!
At the end of the night, the little ones headed home to Obunga and the we transported the older kids (high school and college) to a Catholic Retreat Center outside of town run by Father George. And that's when the real fun began...
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