The Lessons We Learn

Patience is not my strength…as most people know. Last week, Holly and I took nineteen of the kids and four other adults to Nairobi for them to record a CD. The kids had an amazing experience. They tried new foods, saw new fashion, different structures, and had the fortunate (or unfortunate) experience of riding Nairobi public transportation. To brag a little bit, they all cleaned up after themselves. Our children received many compliments from the staff of the hostel because they cooked their own meals, washed their own dishes, did their own laundry, and did not leave the place looking like a pig sty. Where our children rose above the norm, the adults staying at the hostel did not. We became very annoyed by many things within the first 24 hours we were there and had to remind ourselves that we have amazing children that were enjoying themselves. The second night of our stay, 48 ministers (I am not going to disclose the denomination) arrived and we were quickly kicked out of our rooms. We slept slumber party style in the dining room, outside of the chapel, while the ministers had an all-night prayer service that ended only two hours before they arose to eat breakfast in the room we were sleeping in. They had hired cooks and when they were finished eating they would simply leave their dishes to be picked up by someone else. Little did they know, or maybe they did, that our children were waiting on those same dishes to eat their own food. Some nights it was 9 pm before they ate!


To say the least, this was a stretch of my patience. I was so angry because our children got the raw end of the deal. What I learned was that many of them did not care. They were just happy that they were experiencing something that most people will never get to experience. The children taught me that there is so much more to life than comfort and that we are extremely blessed to have these wonderful children in our care. Many missionaries go into the field with the expectation of making a difference in the lives of others. To much amazement, it is usually the exact opposite. It is them that make a difference in our lives.