chaos. commotion. craziness. That it was. Taking 32 shule kids of our first ever field trip!
The students of our
shule ya Imani here took their well earned field trip this Saturday to the local zoo here. They really did work hard learning their animals and had to pass a test (some after 3 or 4 tries) on the animal names in English and
Kiswahili. They were so excited there were kids outside my gate 2 hours before we were scheduled to leave (the ONLY day I might add that everyone was early and notta one was late). Everyone got an animal print bandanna and used fabric markers to decorate and write their names on them at my house before we got the call that the bus did in fact arrive. This renting a bus just for us was BIG people! The kids ran and claimed seats and just were smiling from ear to ear. I was so proud of my
wanafunzi (students) the whole day. They listened, were polite, had a blast, and helped each other. Seeing the animals was awesome but I think they had the most fun playing on the various trampolines, playground equipment, and slides (all in various states of disrepair but still). Because of the rain we were all covered in mud by the time we left and many fancy dresses were a little torn but I think everyone would say it was worth it. Even Miss Annikah who shed tears after slipping in the mud realized it was ok when her friends helped her clean up and convinced her it was ok to get dirty. God was so good to us that day; it was not that hot and even though it rained it was only long enough for us to enjoy our juice and cookies, the bus came on time (almost), all the kids showed up, other big groups came only as we were leaving so the kids had the playgrounds to themselves, and we did not lose anyone (this is big as anyone can attest who has traveled with more than 30 children anywhere:)
It occurred to me more than once that these kinds of days are the most special. A gift. When blessing others really is all blessing for you. I was as excited as the kids for them to see all the animals and have a special day just for them. We spent more on camel and horse rides than actual admission but all in all every penny (er...shilling) was worth it. Thank you to those of YOU who gave for this special occasion! Before we left and when we returned we prayed and thanked God that we got to enjoy such a special day together, that He provided the funds, and for those of you who graciously gave so we could go! To be sure it was zogo but more than anything it was blessing.
Here are some pics of our first (but the kids hope not last) big field trip................
we know how to pack a bus
those grins make everything worth it
waiting for the zoo keeper to show us the digs
and acting "cool"
a few younger siblings charmed their way into joining us
this monkey stole a few cookies out of the hands of unsuspecting
watoto
waiting out the rain and enjoying some treats
camel and horse rides were a huge hit!
Even the parents that came had to get in on it.
playground = utter chaos, enter at your own risk
just how many kids can fit on one slide?
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