** Terenyi Kenya Missions Trip – Summer 2025 – Day 9 Report (Wednesday, 6/4) **
Today we were at the school for the entire day. It was very eventful!
To start, we arrived, and I (Tom) went into several different classrooms and either shadowed teachers, sat the back of the classroom simply observing – or in some classes, I got to actually participate – sometimes as a student, sometimes as a teacher. It was super insightful, and very fun. The students are very bright, attentive, and sweet. I got to sit in with the pre-K, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade and 6th grade. For pre-K, Teacher Earnest walked me through all of the types of learning and activities those littles ones do day to day. For 2nd grade, I mostly went in and observed and encouraged and smiled at the kiddos. For 3rd grade, Teacher Beatrice was in there and I didn’t want to interrupt the lesson, but she had me come in and she stepped out or a few – so I took the 20 minutes or so (Israel was in there helping me too) to do spontaneous substitute teaching. We went around the room on the charts as well as what was on the chalkboard and talked about the various topics. The kids recited Bible verses, months of the year, days of the week, numbers, books of the Bible, hygiene habits, and much more. So smart! (and kind of fun…brought back memories of teaching for that year back when I was 20) Then I went over to the 4th grade class and they went over several topics they are learning, and taught me some Swahili. Lastly I went over to the 6th grade room where they were learning looming/weaving and knitting or crocheting. (I even got to learn how to weave – the student I was watching taught me so well!)
All the while this is happening, Sarayah, Aidan and Rebecca were doing a mix of helping in the kitchen and serving the children food, shadowing in other classrooms, and/or fellowship with various kids, teachers or pastors. (and pastor’s wives)
Additionally while we are all busy and enjoying our time, there is the hum of cranes and motors from the well / bore hole company truck – they are there at the school today, finishing up the new pipe installation, electrical wires and breather holes. They are also putting in the new motor. It required a few adjustments with the depth of the pump, but late in the day, there was water! It was a little mirky at first, but then ran clean. This was and is a huge answer to prayer! We are in awe of God making this happen, through you all who gave to this project, since it ended up being a significant amount of our funds – and we are also in awe of the Lord allowing Rebecca and I to witness two key events in the well – the first time the hole was dug and water poured out, back in 2009 – and then again, during this restoration of the well water’s flow, here in 2025. We simply do not deserve this unique significance or opportunity – but we thank Him for it, and give God the glory. And we’ve received so much love and outpouring of thanks from people here on the ground to us, and frankly, it’s so heartwarming – but honestly after many times hearing it, it’s hard to bear sometimes (that probably seems weird, even prideful to say, I know) – but we just keep pointing people here in Kenya to the Lord, and our friends back home – who I know would likewise point the same Lord who provides – Jehovah Jireh.
There were lots of other sweet and touching stories, subplots, and other happenings today – of which I probably won’t cover in this particular post – but I hope to in the future, or hope to cover in a conversation with many of you in the weeks to come once we arrive back in the US.
-Baba Aidan (Tom)
