Bridge from Kenya
When a bunch of kids from Kenya dance and sing "Nina Raha," you can't help but feel the spirit.
The words mean "I have joy" in Swahili. The kids are the Daraja Children's Choir of Africa. They performed at Rich Fork Baptist Church in Thomasville last night.
Well, it was more than a performance. Spawned by the 410 Bridge organization ("daraja" means bridge), the choir is evangelical Christian. The music is Christian-themed, and the kids offer personal testimony.
But there's more going on than that. The objective is to create mission partnerships to help address the seemingly endless physical and educational needs in Kenya. The kids in the choir are bridge-builders. They come into your church to sing, and to tell their stories. Your church is inspired to get involved in mission.
For the kids, many of whom are AIDS orphans, the opportunity to participate might be life-altering. They go to school (not a given for children of middle-school age in Africa), they have a purpose, they travel to America, their world of possibilities expands far beyond anything they otherwise could imagine.
These kids looked bright, happy and healthy. They seem to speak English pretty well. Maybe they're coached in their testimony, but there's no faking their enthusiasm ... and joy.
The number 410, by the way, refers to a lovely New Testament passage, 1 Peter 4:10 --
"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."
The kids from Kenya are using their gifts. They've crossed the bridge. They're inviting Americans to cross back with gifts of their own if the spirit moves them.
It sounds like a fair exchange.
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