Question.....Answer....

Happy Eid everybody! So, today is Eid, which is the Islamic holiday that celebrates the sacrifice of Abraham's son (Ismail in this case). I am so thankful for some time off! We went to the beach on Friday- even though we had to swim in clothes- we got to play volleyball in the water. It almost felt completely normal. We also had a "bar-b-que" today. We grilled some goat steaks and everyone cooked something. It was like Thanksgiving! (too bad James and I were the only ones that know what that feeling is like). I truly feel like Eid was a "God wink" to me to help me make it a few more weeks!! Love those moments. Oh, plus, I got a camel sculpture for Eid. It was so sweet, because in one of our villages, they claim that my camel is still waiting for me there. Although I'm not fully sure as to the stipulations of me getting that camel.....you always have to watch out for things like that. Instead of my real camel, I got a sculpture camel. It really made my day.

To make a point quickly, because I honestly don't know how much longer I can truly focus, I had an eye opening conversation with one of our national staff last week. It turns out that he is Somali-Kenyan. Who would have thought? I didn't even know until he came up to our Kenyan staff talking in Swahili. I just stared at him, saying, "What? Since when do you speak Swahili?" and he said, "well, I am Somali-Kenyan". And I said, "what other secrets are you keeping that i don't know?" And he said something really simple, and yet something that I hope I will remember forever....he just said, "you didn't ask".

I must admit, I've used that line a lot before. I mean, I'm not one for full self-disclosure, but for some reason, that simple sentence sent my mind reeling. All I could think of, was, how many people's lives and stories have I missed out on because I just didn't ask? How many people have I passed by, that just want me to ask? And when I looked at him after he said that, I felt terrible. Here is someone that I see every day, and in that moment, he possibly saw it as me not caring enough to ask.

It's these moments where I kind of have a swift kick in the pants. That relief and development are about PEOPLE and not projects. Projects are indeed a way to improve people's lives, but it was that moment as a reminder to not lose sight of the fact that it's about people.

It was a good reminder that I will never hear too many stories, talk to too many people, or even ask too many questions.

Why is it always the simple things that I need to be reminded of constantly? I guess it's the journey of learning to have grace with others....and ourselves.

Learning along the way,

Patty