Kenya Adventure Continued...: What you do Makes a Difference

Today was one of the most rewarding days of my life. Our team, Skill in Action, returned to Gracious School to build twenty desks for the children. Now, I haven't held a hammer very much and when I have, I've missed the nail. My aim isn't that great. But now I feel like I know how to build a desk and so does the rest of the team. Two carpenters were there to oversee and help us. I appreciated the way that they taught me how to build the desk. They began with the smaller sections, piece by piece showing me how, then allowing me to build some of the desk and by the end, I was doing pretty well, building most of the desk and missing less nails with the hammer.

In the middle of building the desks, Teacher Happiness called me over, all of the children were around her and she presented me with a dozen roses. She thanked me for coming into the community and thanked our team. Each person on our team received a red rose as a show of appreciation. I know that it is important to the community to give us thanks but I feel like I am receiving much more than I am giving. After the rose ceremony, an amazing thing happened, Irene, a wonderful teacher with the Africa Yoga Project, instructed the children to say, "Skill in Action, Boom!" That's our team cheer. They did, and Jeff captured it on video. It warms up my heart makes me feel so much gratitude for this experience. I remember riding in the car two and a half years ago with Paige Elenson, the Director of the Africa Yoga Project, and talking about leading a yoga teacher training focused on justice and yoga and bringing a group of people with me to Kenya to volunteer with the project. I am grateful for the folks who traveled from NC, Canada, and Texas to be part of this adventure and for the community receiving us with open hearts.