Sporty Boys

Since the marriage discussion in the 4th grade class at Oasis I've been developing some incredible friendships with all the boys in that class. Not only in the classroom, but on the playground as well. This week they've insisted that I play volleyball and soccer with them during recess. I love sports so of course I agreed to join in on the fun, but as most of you probably know, volleyball and soccer really aren't my strong points. Sure I played soccer once in 8th grade, but that was only because all my friends were on the team- I never was any good. And as for volleyball, I played my 7th grade year, but failed to make the team in 8th grade so you can see that my skills are very limited. 

Thankfully the boys don't seem to mind. In fact, Peter told me that I must be drinking the water here because I am a very powerful volleyball player. I informed him I was certainly NOT drinking the water since I was just in the hospital for typhoid- something I likely contracted from drinking the water. Needless to say, I was extremely flattered that a Kenyan was considering me a valuable team player. Unfortunately, the next day when we were playing soccer, Peter told me that I was very scared when playing football (which is what they call soccer here). But honestly, who wouldn't be scared when you're playing with overly aggressive 18 year old boys! Since then I've gotten more comfortable playing with the guys and Peter proudly told me that I wasn't scared anymore. This boy certainly knows how to flatter a white girl! 

I love hanging out with the older boys- they are just so much fun. I don't know why, but in my opinion boys are very easy to get along with. They love hanging out and being active- both things I really enjoy. Each has such an amazing story behind their beautiful smile and joking demeanor. Almost all of them are orphans. Some have lost their parents because of fighting, some because of AIDS or other illnesses. A few even have parents in prison and others have run away from home because they were being abused. These boys have been been robbed of a childhood. They've been left to fend for themselves with no parents to help them or to teach them how to be men. A majority of the boys live at Oasis because they have no other place to call home. I'm so thankful that Oasis is there to take them in, to provide a roof over their head, food for them to eat and a positive environment for them to grow up in. Without Oasis many of them would be living on the streets where they would be forced to steal in order to survive.  They'd be sniffing glue to drown out their pain and perhaps some would even be dead. Instead, they choose to spend each day at Oasis where they can work to transform their lives. God is doing great things in the lives of these boys through Oasis and I am so grateful that he allows me to play even the smallest role in his work here.