Part 6: Along with the early morning chorus of roosters and cows waking me were the calls of magpies, which sounded like the noises of the raptors in "Jurassic Park." It was unnerving, but I was beginning to get used to them. At night, an owl liked to hoot outside the second floor bathroom. Other than that, it was very quiet-- devoid of any traffic or even people noises. When I heard people speaking, it was pleasant and not loud, unlike other places I have visited.
This was Thursday, and a busy day for us. My husband Alan was speaking in chapel, and as far as we knew, this was to be the day the seminar participants were to show off their new skills. Sharon and I were also to bring a song. When we arrived and spoke to Robert, the chaplain, it soon became apparent that we had misunderstood our role. We found we were expected to plan the entire service, so we began to write down the components of the service and think of people to carry out the various jobs-- opening prayer, scripture reader, introduction of speaker, etc. We went into the chapel and asked the students for song suggestions-- we could see confusion in their eyes, as they too had expected us to "be in charge." After a bit of awkwardness, songs were decided and we began practicing.
Soon, people began to arrive for chapel. We quickly located several people who could take part in the service, then it was time to begin. Naturally, the students did a beautiful job of singing their songs. My husband spoke on the story of Gideon. Sharon and I sang our version of "Holy Holy Holy," teaching the congregation how to sing the chorus. We were exhausted, so after lunch we rested a bit before getting ready for the next event-- returning to Bunyore Girls School to "open" for Adrienne's address to the students.
As we arrived at the school, we noticed the girls hurriedly headed in the same direction. On our previous tour of the school, I hadn't noticed anything that looked like an auditorium, so I wondered where they were gathering. We were instructed to wait until the girls had settled themselves, and then were ushered into a large space that looked about the size of three or four classrooms. It was hard to believe that 1100 girls could fit into this space, but they did-- it was literally wall-to-wall beautiful girls in their royal blue uniforms. Soon, we were being introduced and sang "Around the World, Across the Street," after teaching the girls how to sing the chorus with us.
Next, Adrienne spoke. Once again, I was amazed at her poise. This time, she shared more of her own personal story, and encouraged the girls in their studies. The girls gave Adrienne their undivided attention-- not easy to do, with so many in the room and the temperature quite warm. I even saw them taking notes. At the end of her speech, the "head girl" or prefect got up, addressed the girls and gave a very good summary of the points they should take from the speech, as well as more encouragement to work hard and make the most of their education. We sang one more song before everyone was dismissed, "Amazin' Grace Blues," and I think it was the most fun we've had in a long time. The girls smiled, swayed and responded to the music. When the program was complete, we were taken to a sitting area where Adrienne took questions from about a dozen girls who were interested in studying law. Again, we were very impressed by the very good questions they asked. Afterwards, we went to the principal's office where we were served buttered bread sandwiches (Sharon's favorite!) and afternoon chai, sweetened tea and milk. This gave us a chance to visit with Rose, the principal, who impressed me as both very caring and competent. Bunyore Girls School has the reputation of one of the top-scoring secondary schools in Kenya, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the nation's future leaders were among its graduates. Next Post
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