Last Day at Marurui Primary School

            Today was our last day at Marurui Primary School.  It was so hard to say ‘good-bye’.  They have taught me so much more than they will ever realize.  

            The kids would run out and great us each morning, “Teacher Onnica” “Teacher Nakesha” in their cute little accents.  They would each need to give us a high five or hold our hands as we walked in.  They demonstrated obedience and respect for authority that is unheard of in the States.  They strived each day to please us and sought out our approval in their academic performance.  Please keep in mind that they live in one of the slums in Kenya, in fact, the school is located in the middle of the Marurui slums.  They have had very challenging lives with little resources, yet they do not make excuses and strive each day to achieve excellence.   They start school at age three, are required to pay school and uniform fees, the only text book is often the teacher copy and yet they are performing higher than most American students at the same age.  I can’t help but to question American values and how we are raising our children as it relates to education.  Just think how far our kids could go and what they could achieve if we raised them to value education as many of the children that I have met do. 

            The teachers also welcomed us and took us in as one of their own.  We shared tea together and fellowshipped during lunch each day.  They shared their lives with us and demonstrated that

Teachers at Marurui Primary School

hospitality is not limited by resources.  They did not interact with each other as simply colleagues; they truly cared about and for each other and they treated us the same way.  Today was no different.  They made sure they sent us off well.  They had special bread and butter sandwiches for us during tea, showered us with words of appreciation, and each gave us both a necklace to remember them.  After hugs and tears, they ALL walked us through the community and to our car asking us to come back. (Yes, leaving the students at the school and I can assure you none of them thought about misbehaving.)  They assured us that they would begin praying and fasting, asking God to provide for us to return.  Wow!!!!  What amazing people!! 

Although they asked us to share how they could improve, I assure you that they were the ones who showed us how we needed to improve.  God works in mysterious ways.  He will even take a person like me half-way across the world to show me that He is indeed very much at work in the lives of His people across the globe.  Please continue to pray for the teachers, students, and their families at Marurui.  They are an amazing group of people and I thank God for the opportunity to have spent the summer with them.