Mary, photoed above with some students in Soweto, was a part of the 2009 expedition, and this is her personal experience:The trip was beyond description. I am still taking it all in. I read my journal yesterday and this morning. I don't want to let go of any of it. My journal for this expedition is now one of my most valued possessions.
A glass of water has a different meaning. I have never been so happy to do laundry. It didn't bother me that I had 1,762 emails to go through...I have electricity and a chair to sit on. I have a new attitude towards peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I will never take a hot shower and a soft towel for granted again. The slums in Soweto are horrific. It is like nothing I have ever seen or could imagine. The stench is overwhelming. You can't take a deep breath. You breathe through your mouth a lot of the time or you may vomit from the smell.
Yesterday I spent most of the day with my daughter, Jamie. She loaded my photos on her computer. We laughed, we cried, and I felt as if I were at the projects all over again and that Jamie was with me. Surely the little mementos I brought home won't have near the impact on the people who will receive them as they have had on me. I unwrapped each item carefully and smiled remembering where they came from and how I felt when I was making my choices for the people I love. They should not be classified as "souvenirs". Each item is a work of art from the Kenyan people who are proud of their skills and what they have to offer.
The children and all of the people in Kenya are embedded in my heart. I am pleased to be able to give information first-hand to all those who were interested or doubtful about supporting this worthy cause. I can confirm with certainty that the funds donated for the project were used for building supplies and materials and were so appreciated by the staff and children at the schools we worked at. The Kenyan people worked hard side-by-side with our team. Women with babies strapped to their backs were helping us haul stone, men struggling to move wheel barrels over boulders wearing flip flops or rags tied around their feet. To those of you who so unselfishly donated dollars and supplies, a thousand times "thank you".
Together our team brought 1/2 ton of supplies for the children at three different schools and an orphanage. The kids were jumping up and down and cheering because they each got a pad of paper and a pencil. The children have no toys. They play with sticks and old tires. They make their own soccer balls out of rags and twine. School children walk an hour to and from school each day, six days a week. They are happy little children filled with hope and promise and an eagerness to learn. I had the honor to teach three separate classes. Together we learned about being humble, being prayerful and being grateful. There were times when I could hardly speak because my emotions were so high I feared I would literally burst into tears. Standing in the front of the room, looking at those smiling little faces and tattered uniforms. Watching the older orphans caring for the younger ones. I was a mess...
We worked through five tons of ballast, eight tons of sand and six tons of stone to get classrooms plastered (no cement mixers, all mixed by hand on the dirt classroom floors) and a foundation poured for a second story classroom. We broke down a partial stone wall and extended it to build a library. The children now have steps to walk down from their classrooms instead of stumbling over boulders to get to ground level. We built shelves for a school library and organized all of the books you donated in alphabetical order. The wonderful part is that the Kenyan people will continue to build and add classrooms because they have the supplies to do so for the rest of the year. Their progress will be evaluated and will determine what they will receive next year.
The people of Kenya are warm, loving and happy. They live a simple life filled with music, prayer and grateful anticipation for whatever they receive. They are friendly and eager to hear about America. They love education and work under such adverse conditions that I don't even think it possible for one to imagine unless you have seen it for yourself.
I feel that perhaps the joke is on us. We in America have everything and yet we are not fulfilled. We are stressed, discontent and do not take advantage of the abundant opportunities that each and every one of us has available at our fingertips. The Kenyan people embrace a book, a pair of work gloves. A bottle of bubbles creates smiles on the children's faces like I have never seen. They thank our Heavenly Father for everything they have.
One of the team members, Ruth, gave a thought at one of our devotionals. She said that she had been to Kenya with World of Difference several times and had asked herself "Why me"? "Why am I so blessed?”... She said she has come to realize "Why NOT me? I am doing God's work and helping His people. I know that God is networking through me and I am truly blessed because the people of Kenya have given me much more than I could ever give them".
I am grateful for the opportunity I have had with World of Difference. Our team was awesome and I hope that one day we can all meet again as each and every one of them is now a part of my extended family.
It is crystal clear to me why a soldier would get off a plane in our homeland and kiss the pavement beneath him.
A glass of water has a different meaning. I have never been so happy to do laundry. It didn't bother me that I had 1,762 emails to go through...I have electricity and a chair to sit on. I have a new attitude towards peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I will never take a hot shower and a soft towel for granted again. The slums in Soweto are horrific. It is like nothing I have ever seen or could imagine. The stench is overwhelming. You can't take a deep breath. You breathe through your mouth a lot of the time or you may vomit from the smell.
Yesterday I spent most of the day with my daughter, Jamie. She loaded my photos on her computer. We laughed, we cried, and I felt as if I were at the projects all over again and that Jamie was with me. Surely the little mementos I brought home won't have near the impact on the people who will receive them as they have had on me. I unwrapped each item carefully and smiled remembering where they came from and how I felt when I was making my choices for the people I love. They should not be classified as "souvenirs". Each item is a work of art from the Kenyan people who are proud of their skills and what they have to offer.
The children and all of the people in Kenya are embedded in my heart. I am pleased to be able to give information first-hand to all those who were interested or doubtful about supporting this worthy cause. I can confirm with certainty that the funds donated for the project were used for building supplies and materials and were so appreciated by the staff and children at the schools we worked at. The Kenyan people worked hard side-by-side with our team. Women with babies strapped to their backs were helping us haul stone, men struggling to move wheel barrels over boulders wearing flip flops or rags tied around their feet. To those of you who so unselfishly donated dollars and supplies, a thousand times "thank you".
Together our team brought 1/2 ton of supplies for the children at three different schools and an orphanage. The kids were jumping up and down and cheering because they each got a pad of paper and a pencil. The children have no toys. They play with sticks and old tires. They make their own soccer balls out of rags and twine. School children walk an hour to and from school each day, six days a week. They are happy little children filled with hope and promise and an eagerness to learn. I had the honor to teach three separate classes. Together we learned about being humble, being prayerful and being grateful. There were times when I could hardly speak because my emotions were so high I feared I would literally burst into tears. Standing in the front of the room, looking at those smiling little faces and tattered uniforms. Watching the older orphans caring for the younger ones. I was a mess...
We worked through five tons of ballast, eight tons of sand and six tons of stone to get classrooms plastered (no cement mixers, all mixed by hand on the dirt classroom floors) and a foundation poured for a second story classroom. We broke down a partial stone wall and extended it to build a library. The children now have steps to walk down from their classrooms instead of stumbling over boulders to get to ground level. We built shelves for a school library and organized all of the books you donated in alphabetical order. The wonderful part is that the Kenyan people will continue to build and add classrooms because they have the supplies to do so for the rest of the year. Their progress will be evaluated and will determine what they will receive next year.
The people of Kenya are warm, loving and happy. They live a simple life filled with music, prayer and grateful anticipation for whatever they receive. They are friendly and eager to hear about America. They love education and work under such adverse conditions that I don't even think it possible for one to imagine unless you have seen it for yourself.
I feel that perhaps the joke is on us. We in America have everything and yet we are not fulfilled. We are stressed, discontent and do not take advantage of the abundant opportunities that each and every one of us has available at our fingertips. The Kenyan people embrace a book, a pair of work gloves. A bottle of bubbles creates smiles on the children's faces like I have never seen. They thank our Heavenly Father for everything they have.
One of the team members, Ruth, gave a thought at one of our devotionals. She said that she had been to Kenya with World of Difference several times and had asked herself "Why me"? "Why am I so blessed?”... She said she has come to realize "Why NOT me? I am doing God's work and helping His people. I know that God is networking through me and I am truly blessed because the people of Kenya have given me much more than I could ever give them".
I am grateful for the opportunity I have had with World of Difference. Our team was awesome and I hope that one day we can all meet again as each and every one of them is now a part of my extended family.
It is crystal clear to me why a soldier would get off a plane in our homeland and kiss the pavement beneath him.
4 comments:
Thank you so, so, so much for sharing this with us, Mary. It is so beautiful and really touches my heart!
Mary,
This is fantastic! So heartfelt and emotional. I love reading these personal experiences as it takes me right back there with you.
P.S. We might meet again next year! (fingers crossed)
I loved reading this heartfelt remembrance with tears in my eyes. Your writing is very sincere and beautiful. Thank you
What an incredible, life-changing experience it must have been. I want to go. I really, really want to go. Thank you for sharing your story. I wish more Americans could appreciate their lives the way you do! It ought to be mandatory for American children to spend a year doing service work in third-world countries, before they head to college. Might give all our kids some important perspective.
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