Well, after writing about Ben's example of making friends, I went outside and noticed that there were no longer 2 boys playing football, but 12. Somehow, Ben and his soccerball attracted a bunch of other boys. Ben was standing in the middle of them, the only white boy in the mix. When he saw me, he waved me over. So I went.
Quickly teams were divided, and I found myself playing defense on one of the teams. Over the next 15 minutes, we attracted another 7 guys, mostly older. We now had a full blown football game on our hands in the open field across from our house. We played for over an hour until it was dark enough that only Ben and I were to be seen.
Not wanting to miss out on the action, Sarah, Sam, and Marti emerged from the house half way through our game. Sam, not realizing that he was the smallest player on the field, came running out, chasing the ball. I was pretty impressed with his zeal and persistence as he joined the mix of boys aged 7-35. Fortunately, the others recognized his small stature and gave him some room in which to kick the ball.
So, we are thankful to have engaged with the local neighborhood in a friendly game of football. I encouraged the boys to come to the field whenever they could after school or on weekends. We will be thankful for the opportunity to play, as well as learn some Swahili, and to make friends. Hopefully they will be as attracted to Christ in us as they are the football!
Yeah!!! We have been praying for friends!! It's amazing what a little white ball can do!
Posted by: The Keelers | October 18, 2004 at 09:37 PM
Go for it Ben! Just wondering though: the boys are aged 3-35, but how many were actually older than 15? My guess is not too many more than one.
Posted by: Alfred Gitu | October 18, 2004 at 09:43 PM