The Little Things from the Heart of Africa
In a whirlwind of exhilaration within the sunny heart of Africa, our last day of VBS is approaching fast; too fast almost! All we can think about is the little things that have touched our hearts! 💕
Yesterday, Emily and Emberlynn received the most precious notes that were handwritten by the sweetest girls. The notes were both written in Chichewa and the girls had drawn little hearts on the notes. While they were unable to read the notes themselves, Emily and Emberlynn tried translating the words and they read something along the lines of “remember me when you go back to North America, we love you!” These notes will be treasured forever.
Another touching moment happened earlier today when a boy brought his bike over to me and asked me to bike it. It seemed like such a simple thing, but this bike was clearly this boy’s most prized possession. I did take the bike for a ride, the brakes no longer were working and the seat was hanging on by its last threads, but it was the best bike ride I ever had. While I biked, the children ran all around and cheered me on, I think they had as much fun as I did! When I finished my bike ride, the boy who owned the bike wanted me to sit on the back of the bike and give me a bike ride (a bicycle built for two is very common in Malawi 😉) I wasn’t sure at first but I could not turn down this sweet gesture of the boy. I got on the back of the bike and we zipped through the whole Chigumukire Centre. Once again the children cheered and laughed. I think this bike episode is one of my highlights from this trip, mostly because of all the sweetness involved.
Everyday there is a multitude of new and exciting things happening; the little things. These are the things all us girls (and Sam) talk about on our drives to and from the centre, during dinner and anytime we are together. Sometimes these things make us laugh, such as an almost engagement due to a picture of one of the girls holding hands with a guy. Other times, the little things are knowing that we will get the best rice and chicken for dinner here at Kanzimbi. But most of all the little things involve the children, what they have said to us, them asking to hold our hands, them giving us the biggest smiles, them listening to our Bible stories with big eyes, all the while trying their utmost to learn everything we teach them. 🤍
Written by Heidi Scherpenzeel
