Meeting Brenda & playing football (soccer) with the kids.

I decided to sponsor a girl after I went to Kenya the first time.  Older kids are harder to get sponsored so I wanted an older girl.  Brenda will be 14 in July.  I had so idea @ the time but Brenda has hearing loss.  The 1st letter I received said because of WV Sponsorship, we was able to go to a school for the deaf.  I was thrilled!

So meeting Brenda for the 1st time I saw she wore a hearing aid.  She can read lips & obviously has some hearing.  She was very shy & only spoke a little.  She is adorable & I feel in love right away. The translators helped us communicate a little more.  We took soccer balls to the kids & they loved playing.  You see a frisbee in Brenda's hand above.  She didn't know what to do with that but Tracy Thurmond (our World Vision Chaperone) showed her how to play.  Even the Mom's got in on the play. 


The Big Game started with Kids vs. Adults.  We knew we were going down! These kids loved to see us old folks trying to play.  I haven't laughed that hard in ages.  Scott Lessard had a good header that then landed him on the ground.  I guess I laughed too hard cause then a ball hit the mudhole & I had a very muddy leg & skirt.  But it was great fun.  The picture below is me going against my sponsor child Tom.  Tom takes his football very serious!!  It rained a little while we were there but we played on!

When we were leaving someone asked if the kids wanted to say anything.  The 1st hand up was Brenda.  She spoke very good English (her shyness was gone) and actually said that today she had met her 2nd Mother.  Oh boy, how awesome was that for me to hear!!

At the end of Day 2 in Kenya, Josh had a devotion for us using Letcio Divina.  We read John 17:13-19.We medicated on this.  I believe God is telling me to Go out & reach those who are not of His world by sharing joy.: 

John 17:13-17¹³ “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by^[a] the truth; your word is truth.