Kaleigh and I went to a presentation at SFSU. There was a panel of 4 people and they asked them their happiest moments.
One talked about how his neighbor's child's first word was his name.
Another talked about searching the Mongolian countryside for horses.
This man talked about taking kids out of their village for their first time ever and introducing them to the capital.
The first man also talked about when his soccer team he coached only lost by 3 to an adult team and was ecstatic.
And the list goes on of times they mentioned.
It got me to thinking. What is my happiest moment in life?
I know exactly when I was the happiest and this is all due to change as I get older.
It was my first year in Kenya. My roomie, Allynne, and I went to Nairobi for the first time ever for the weekend. We had fun hanging out with other volunteers but were excited to get back to Thika to see our boys. The taxi guy was on Kenyan time and picked us up late and then the traffic was really bad. We felt like there was no way we were going to make it to Thika before our boys went to bed.
We pulled into the compound way past the boy's bed time but too our heart's delight we saw that the boy's lights in the dorm were still on. Allynne and I dropped our stuff at our door and ran to the dorm. I didn't think this was possible but the boys seemed more excited to see us then we were to see them.
We only got around the corner before the screaming and excitement started.
"Mzungo! Mzungo! Mzungo!"
Allynne and I got to the dorms and opened the door. A flood of orphan boys jumped into my arms and hugged me from all sides. The ones who could speak a little English told us they thought we went back home and are so glad we are here to stay awhile.
Never in my life have I felt so much joy. I could have exploded, knowing that in my short 1 week stay in Kenya the boys had fallen in love with me as much as they had smitten me.
One talked about how his neighbor's child's first word was his name.
Another talked about searching the Mongolian countryside for horses.
This man talked about taking kids out of their village for their first time ever and introducing them to the capital.
The first man also talked about when his soccer team he coached only lost by 3 to an adult team and was ecstatic.
And the list goes on of times they mentioned.
It got me to thinking. What is my happiest moment in life?
I know exactly when I was the happiest and this is all due to change as I get older.
It was my first year in Kenya. My roomie, Allynne, and I went to Nairobi for the first time ever for the weekend. We had fun hanging out with other volunteers but were excited to get back to Thika to see our boys. The taxi guy was on Kenyan time and picked us up late and then the traffic was really bad. We felt like there was no way we were going to make it to Thika before our boys went to bed.
We pulled into the compound way past the boy's bed time but too our heart's delight we saw that the boy's lights in the dorm were still on. Allynne and I dropped our stuff at our door and ran to the dorm. I didn't think this was possible but the boys seemed more excited to see us then we were to see them.
We only got around the corner before the screaming and excitement started.
"Mzungo! Mzungo! Mzungo!"
Allynne and I got to the dorms and opened the door. A flood of orphan boys jumped into my arms and hugged me from all sides. The ones who could speak a little English told us they thought we went back home and are so glad we are here to stay awhile.
Never in my life have I felt so much joy. I could have exploded, knowing that in my short 1 week stay in Kenya the boys had fallen in love with me as much as they had smitten me.
