Nakupenda

Language is such an interesting thing. There are some Kiswahili words that I just can’t get. Take for example the word for “cow.” It’s “ng’ombe”. I can’t say that for the life of me. Also, there are certain words that Kenyans really have a hard time saying… and names- like mine. Kirsten seems to be a nearly impossible name to pronounce so we switched to “Kiki” which seems to roll off the tongue a little easier. The kids are so cute, always yelling, “Tena (“again”), Auntie Kiki!” or “Kuja (“come”), Auntie Kiki!” They’ve taught me a quite a bit of Kiswahili… I’ve learned to say, “don’t eat that, don’t climb, sit down, come back, give that to me”, and other commands that attempt to keep them from eating rocks and pushing each other over. I feel like I say these things too often. These aren’t words that I especially enjoying saying, but they are necessary to know and use for a safe environment. Another phrase I’ve learned is, “Nakupenda.” These words are ones that the kids have taught me most about. “Nakupenda” means, “I love you.” Their expressions of love have made a profound impact on me and have truly touched my heart. Moments that bring me the most joy are when they rest their head against me. Whether it’s Rebecca walking over to where I am sitting and laying her head on my arm or Joshua wrapping his tiny arms around my head and squeezing his cheek against mine or Faith sucking on her two fingers and leaning back against me while sitting on my lap or Manu running up to where I’m standing and grabbing my leg and leaning his head against it… I just love it. To me, there are few greater demonstrations of trust. They love and trust like I only hope to do. I feel like I have seen and felt just a small piece of what God must feel when I come to Him and fully trust and rest in His arms.