Giraffes and Basketball

Today was a different day. We have been working with the orphans in Ruiru for the past three days, and today we did a little different type of work. All the ladies of our group and Scott went to the Giraffe Center with the kids from FOCUS and all the guys except for Scott held a basketball tournament at Ruiru Bible Baptist Church where we will be attending church tomorrow. So, tonight, I am going to tell you about the basketball tournament and then Kassandra Botts is going to tell you about the Giraffe Center.

We got up this morning and started with the normal breakfast and devotion. After that, we loaded the bus and headed to FOCUS where we stayed about 5 minutes and then left to go to the church. Once we got to the church, the guys got off the bus and headed to the basketball court. Their court is outside and is smaller than we have in the states. We started to warm up and as we did, Kenyans just started slowly showing up. When everyone was there we had four teams that played and many more that just watched.

The guys began to talk with and meet all the Kenyan guys that were going to be playing on the opposing teams. Sylvester, Scott's friend who is a youth pastor here, played on our team as well. We began the tournament and we played in the first game against one of the church teams. Basketball here is based around the church. Churches will have leagues and teams, not the community or other organizations. So, if youth want to play, they play on a church team. We played one of the Ruiru Bible Baptist Church teams first and we got destroyed. I was hopeful to win the first game but we lost pretty bad! Within the first five minutes of play, I was winded. Nairobi is more than a mile from sea level so the air is very thin. Also, these guys play SO fast that it's ridiculous. We just couldn't keep up!

So we lost the first game and then they had two other teams play and then we played again. Sylvester recruited so Kenyans to play for us the second game and we did much better. We didn't win, but we did much better and even led at one point! After that game, there was one more and then we took a break so I could share the Gospel. We all sat on benches and then I presented the Gospel to them. We prayed the prayer but we didn't ask for a showing of hands of who prayed it because Sylvester said that's not how the react to the Message. But, he had about 5 or 6 of them come up to him after the meeting and ask about salvation! Praise God!!

After that, they had lunch and then we played our last game and, again, had a respectable showing. The FOCUS team then performed some of their dramas and then the championship game ensued. The two teams that played have a bitter rivalry. The team from RBBC played another church team from Komaro, which is another town outside of Nairobi. The team from Komaro took home the Graceland Cup and were very excited. After that, we loaded up and came back to Heart and enjoyed dinner and now we are going to bed! It was an awesome day and God really used us to be humble because I really wanted to win today and could have gotten frustrated. But God showed me that I need to be humble in all that I do and that speaks louder than anything I could ever say!

Now it's Kassandra's turn:

Hey guys!
As Jameson said, today the women and children (and Scott...he doesn't "do" basketball) took the kids on a trip which they will probably never experience again. Because many are very poor, it is hard for them to get out to the bigger cities. What they experienced today was literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them.
At FOCUS, 40+ children loaded onto a van, eagerly awaiting the long trip ahead of them. The Graceland team rode in a separate vehicle from the children (much to the dismay of Leah and Debbie), and the van full of children followed us out to Karen, where the Giraffe Center is located. When we arrived, the children were very excited and rushed out of the van to see a "twiga" (giraffe). As soon as they laid eyes on the giraffe, the biggest smiles you would ever see spread across their faces. Few (if any) had ever seen the animals we associate with Africa. They were given food to feed the giraffe with and didn't mind the rough, slimy tongues one bit. Supposedly the saliva is an antiseptic, so maybe that was a good thing!

It was amazing to see how happy they were to be there, and something that really touched me was how happy the women who work at FOCUS were to be there as well. Not many of them had ever been to the Center either, so their attitudes were pretty much just as those of the children.

They weren't discouraged throughout the entire trip despite having to watch a boring 2-hour-long black and white film about elephant poaching :)
These days it almost seems very cliche to mention how crazy it is that children in poverty appreciate anything sent their way, but it really is true. We were all complaining about the movie, wondering "Why on earth are they staying positive when they have to sit through this boring video?" However, the children were simply happy to be experiencing something so new and exciting.

Scott gave a devotion today that focused on being obedient without complaint. OUR negative attitudes can really bring down those with positive attitudes. A spirited woman who works at FOCUS told me that though she is usually outgoing, when someone who is "down" is with her she is brought down with them. It really is a terrible witness to be down in spirit and negative, especially when you are around people who aren't in a promising position in the first place.

It seems that not a lot went on at the Giraffe Center, but when we put it in perspective we see that to the children it was the world. We can all learn what it means to be appreciative by looking at these kids who have little but love the little that they receive. Today we may have ministered to the children, but they really ministered to us as well.

Thanks for reading!
-KBotts

Thanks for reading yet again! I do want you to know that tomorrow night we will post but that one will be the last one until Wednesday night. We will be on safari and won't have access to a computer. So you will have to wait until we get back to hear from me again. I know...you are sad! We love you and miss you!!

I love you family and Mallory!

- Jameson