You know what I am going to miss most when it is time for me to return to California? Beauty. The beauty that saturates the hearts of the people. The beauty that flows from their inner being into their eyes. In my time here, I have experienced seeing the people of Kenya with the eyes of God. They are so beautiful! I know their beauty and as I spend my hours with them, I know my beauty. We delight in each other...in the creative ways God made each of us unique. They are beautiful. I am beautiful.
I lack that at home. Some may even argue that I am surrounded by more beautiful people at home. Yet, I see no beauty. I know no beauty. I feel no beauty. But here....here in Kenya...I know beauty. It flows so naturally as the faces of the people here light up when you sing, when you teach, when you dance, when you take photos, when together you praise God.
I hope and pray I can take home this pair of eyes that God has given me. You see things in a whole new light, with a whole new persepctive, with a whole new set of eyes. You see the present...you live, you give, you love in the present...with an eternal perspective. I never want to let that go.
We educated about 25 girls on their monthly cycles, sex, abstinence, rape, relationships, STDs, pregnancy, goals/dreams, and HIV/AIDS. The girls were intelligent and very responsive to what they were being taught! It just....connected. Some of the expressions in the eyes of these girls were surreal. There was hope. There was grace. There was joy. There was beauty.
In addition to everything we talked about we emphasized that it's never too late to wait. We had the girls repeat the phrase: "It's never too late to wait." As we had the girls write down anonymous questions on scraps of paper, questions started to come in such as: What if I have already lost my virginity...can I ever be a virgin again if I choose to wait? Katie handed me the scrap of paper and encouraged me to tackle it. I went about explaining that although physically you may never be a virgin again, spiritually and emotionally you can become a virgin again. With God, there is always grace. Praise God, there is always grace. One of the girls started to clap. I was blown away! YES! CLAP! Now that is something worth clapping about! So together we clapped, praising God for His unending grace. Wow, I am trying to hold back tears as I write this. It was so beautiful. They get it. They get God's grace. Even at their young age. Even in their circumstances. All orphaned, living in this cement building, surrounded by dusty air and flies. There was beauty. There was grace.
By God's grace alone, it was another very successful day with the Freedom for Girls teaching. Even our new guests, Ken and Paula played irreplacable roles. (Keep in mind, they arrived at 1am last night.) Ken voluntarily stepped up to teach the boys, and Paula helped to encourage the girls. Margaret and Sophie played with the kids. It was a day hand-crafted by God, and it is yet another place I poured my heart into and hope to return again.
But for now, I am thrilled to know that 25+ more girls will have a year's supply of sanitary towels, 4 pairs of underwear, knowledge of their monthly cycles, and are excited to wait to have sex until they are married. And I am even more thrilled to know that these girls truly know the grace of God...and they are saturated in His beauty.
