For
it was by hope that we are saved; but if we see what we hope for,
then is it not really hope. For who hopes for something he sees? But
if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Romans
8: 24-25 Good News Bible
One person can make a
difference. I use this line often at work with my hospital
laboratory staff and almost daily to myself.
It took on greater and clearer
meaning, it was an "a-ha moment", when I was on the Kenya
mission trip in August. We met so many wonderful people during our
trip, but two brave women, Beatrice and Faith, changed my life. Their
stories and their lives brought me to tears. I want to have the
bravery they have.
Both of these women are
champions to the young Masai girls who are trying to escape from the
horrifying coming of age ritual of female genital mutilation that is
still practiced today by the native Masai. Many of these young
girls, some as young as age 7, run away from home rather than endure
the ritual. They often have no where to go. That is where
Beatrice comes in. She and her daughter live and run a girls home for
these girls . The home is in the middle of the vast empty Masai land,
with no running water or plumbing. The girls are taught they
are beautiful, smart, and loved by God. More importantly, they are
safe, they receive an education, and if it is safe to do so, will
maintain some contact with their families. To us, the spoiled
North Americans, the conditions the girls live in are awful,but the
girls are happy, full of joy and love, and eager to be successful
adults.
Faith counsels young
girls in schools and remote villages and teaches them about
female health, positive body images and encourages the girls to find
their own voice. Faith left her family to escape from the
ritual, and it has taken her many years to reconnect with her family.
With the support of FPC Birmingham, she is pursuing her degree
in Public Health and has big plans for continuing her mission to help
these girls.
Beatrice and Faith are
remarkable women and are making a difference every day to those
girls. I like to think that our team made a difference while in Kenya
by finishing a school and a church, but I know that for me the trip
was a trip of hope. A hope for the future of those girls and boys we
met, a hope for the growth of the church community at the dedicated
church we helped build, a hope for the country as a whole, and a hope
for the preservation of the Mara where the spectacular animals roam
free from poaching.
My eyes were opened to the
kindness of others, the faith that Beatrice and Faith have even when
it seems hopeless, and the hope they give those girls to have a
brighter future.
Hope is always a feeling I get
during Lent and this year I will be thankful for my new Kenyan
friends, and I will remember every day what the girls said to us: : "
God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.
Thanks be to God.
Dear
God, I thank you for my Kenyan friends and the memories created
with them. In this season of Lent, let us be hopeful for the
future and grateful for the blessings of today. Give us the
strength and patience to make a difference- one person at a time. In
your name we pray, Amen
Mary Aho
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