Drawing strength from those who have so little
Director, Special Education
Derby Public Schools
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| Knapton |
When you don't have what you want, you have to want what you have (2009, Jody Picoult, Handle with Care).
After much deep reflection, I am ready to continue my work here in Missions of Hope.
Every now and then, it is important to take a step back, and assess how am I feeling. And it is also important to deal with those feelings..
I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, worn out, dismayed, helpless, and not sure of next steps.
Anyone would feel this way given what I see and experience on a daily basis.
But I was rejuvenated today, after visiting one of the most affluent hospitals in Kenya, Gertrude's Children's Hospital.
While talking to the occupational therapist, a vision flashed before my eyes. It was a picture of the MOHI Resource Room and how successful it will be in two years.
The OT said she wanted to come see the resource room when it gets up and running. What we are building does not exist anywhere in Kenya.
Kenyans will flock here for special education assessments and educational therapy. Colleges will want to send their students here for practicums. It is happening. This is HUGE.
And it is coming...Ephesians 3:20: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us."
It is crazy, this burst of confidence and strength I have gained. I changed my lenses, I filter the information differently now. It is OK to wonder and worry a little about these children and families, but it is not OK to think I can fix it all.
And I am growing so close to these people. One of them even said I look different now, not the same as when I started here...I look Kenyan...except I am still white..haha.
I am amazed, on a daily basis, when I see what one can do without. Above is a picture of the slums and a broken bridge. The village people were still using the bridge.
There are so many struggles here, but they persevere. There are no baby bottles here, disposable diapers are a luxury, foster care does not exist, corruption abounds, you may see a herd of cattle cross a three-lane highway, a monkey run behind the house, a lizard crawling on the wall of the bedroom eating mosquitoes, three people, including a woman who is dressed for church, riding on a motorbike or a regular bike for that matter, a donkey pulling a cart down the street.
I saw a tractor trailer, with a bulldozer on the back, and two men riding on the bed of the trailer on the tracks of the bulldozer, make a U-turn on the highway; a truck overflowing with furniture you are sure it is all going to tumble off at any second; a child delighting in pushing a cardboard box around the dirt street or playing in the sewer water; young homeless boys roaming the streets in clothes they have been wearing for months; glue sniffing children lying in piles of garbage; cats roaming around inside the restaurant where you are eating dinner; vendors selling food items covered with flies; men working in construction with shoes that are falling apart, hanging together by threads, with their toes sticking out, while they straighten nails and hand carry five-gallon buckets of sand and rocks to the site where they are hand-mixing cement and mortar, mothers balancing huge loads on their head and babies on their backs, tied on with shawls, people carrying 20-liter jugs tied on their back using a shawl wrapped around their forehead.
These sights are an everyday occurrence.
But their progress is amazing. The super highway is very busy. People do get out of the slums and live productive lives. Their determination is commendable. Their faith is extraordinary, and it is genuine. I can learn a lot from these people.
Thank you, Lord for blessing my life with this experience.
Editor's note: Knapton is on a three-month mission to Kenya. She is sharing her experiences here each week.
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