Day 5 School Visit

UNBELIEVABLE (to quote Anne).   Today felt like attending THE WILLOW CREEK LEADERSHIP SUMMIT….Listening to Bill Hybels, Andy Stanley, John Ortberg, and Craig Groeschel.  You come away and your brain is FULL…….it’s impossible to process everything and very difficult to describe to someone else.  Thank goodness for pictures….they will definitely give you a glimpse of our day.

Breakfast was wonderful!  Fried eggs, made in front of you, plenty of fruit, potatoes, and toast.  I have been staying away from the bacon and sausage….doesn’t quite taste right and I had some stomach issues our second day (I know, too much information).  The mornings are cool but not too cold.  Anne has been wearing a sweater, but today I didn’t.  William picked us up in the jeep and we were off to the school.

The school’s entrance was gated and when we entered noticed incredible beautiful grounds with green everywhere!  There had to be a hundred different plants, trees, a vegetable garden and handmade sprinklers running all over the place.  It was immaculate!  We were greeted by one of the teachers, George,  (English and CRE – Christian Religious Education).  He was very well educated and immediately connected with Mitch.  He gave us a tour of the school and had a passion for his work and the kids that was undeniable!  Yes, His Hands and Feet are alive and well in Africa! 

The children that attend this school are from the Maasai Tribe.  By receiving an education, they have the chance to have a better life and extend the blessing to their families.  We were able to visit each classroom.  There are 4 “levels,” 1 being the beginning students and 4 being the most advanced.  In each classroom the kids asked us questions and it was nice to interact with them a little!  We moved from the classrooms to the girl’s dorm which houses 60 girls.  The boys come in the morning and leave after school.  Some walk an hour both ways and when they get home, they have to do all of their chores (homework is not the priority).  In fact, George told us that the kids that come to school are the ones that are “hated” by their parents.  School is a punishment.  Isn’t that just like God to make something beautiful out something so ugly.  (Genesis 50:20 “What man intended for harm, God intended for good.”)  We met Christine and her two kids.  She is the “house mom” of all the girls and absolutely loves what she does!

From there we experienced “tea time” (God has such a sense of humor).  The tea was made in the kitchen and milk and sugar were added.  It kind of tasted like weak chocolate milk.  It was during “tea time” that George answered our 10,000 questions (ever so graciously and honestly).  Using a Clovis Unified word, George was a STELLAR employee.  WOW!  So full of life and love for his work, his people, and his LORD!  He lives on purples every day serving in his “sweet spot.” 


We then waited for the children (teenagers) to gather on the lawn area so we could give them the gift we brought.  All different colored rubber bracelets with “God” sayings were distributed to each child.  It was almost like a scrum….they all descended on Anne and Lee like vultures and our bags were emptied  Our next set of gifts were for the teachers……….tea bags from Compassion Tea and individual Starbucks coffees.  We also had a bookmark for each with Scripture on them.  They loved the gifts and that was fun to watch.

Surprisingly, in our honor, the staff had laid 4 trees out for us to plant!  This was very special.  We decided to name the walkway where our trees are, COMPASSION LANE.  Don’t you think that’s appropriate?

Our school day ended with a special visit from a former student named Benjamin.  Benjamin is like many of the students who finish their studies there.  He could not afford to attend the University after graduating so he went back to his village to assume his former role – care giver for all of his siblings.  George told us that every year 8 students qualify (out of the 120) to attend the University but only 3 or 4 actually attend.  University attendance is only possible through scholarships from Staff of Hope.  Just think of the possibilities God is showing us!!



Next Stop…….Local Maasai Church……..