“There is a road from the eye to the heart that does not go through the intellect.”

~G. K. Chesterton

Fridays at FHS are always lots of fun. We have a morning assembly of praise, worship, and prayer, a time of Bible teaching, a recap of the week's lessons, and then an activity time with games of all kinds. Following the morning assembly this past Friday, my class grabbed their chairs and we headed outside for a time of Bible teaching. I had been fighting a cold for a few days (catching a bug is to be expected being surrounded by all those coughing and sneezing kiddos), but Friday my voice was nowhere to be found. The kids got a great kick out of it. "Teacher," one of them said, "you have a cat inside your throat." A little while later he was asking if he could have a drink of my water because he also wanted to get sick, "That is a cool voice teacher, it is nice". The things they say!

Later in the morning the kids became busy with all sorts of activities, soccer games, jumping ropes, playing cards, and a favorite for my students- building with Lego. I made my rounds, chatting with different students, breaking up fights, getting out balls for other students, and eventually made my way up to the area where some students from all the different classes were playing with Lego. As I stood and watched, I was greeted by Samuel's* beautiful smile. Samuel is a young boy in the enrichment program. He is brilliant, always smiling, always shining. But the smile he offered me Friday was short lived. I was taken back as I watched his face quickly fade into a worried and saddened expression. "Teacher, you are sick," he said, the concerned look still present on his face. I had not spoken to Samuel yet that day so I was surprised he knew I was not feeling 100%. "I can see it in your eyes Teacher, you are not feeling good".

This was another one of those moments where my heart did not know what to do. I was touched by the care, concern, and love shown by this student. But much more than this, I was struck by the irony of the moment. You see, Samuel is HIV +. He is infected with a sickness which will never go away. There is no cure. But as I looked into that precious boy's eyes, what emanated was not self-pity, hopelessness, or despair. Despite his condition, his eyes radiated joy.

Samuel knows the Lord Jesus. He knows the Bible inside out. He knows and experiences the joy that only Jesus Christ can bring. As it is written in Nehemiah 8:10 -  "The joy of the Lord is your strength." The Lord used this young boy to teach me a lesson in joy, in love, and in compassion.  A French philosopher, Henri Bergson once said "The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." Little by little the Lord has been opening my eyes, my thoughts, my heart, to the realities around me. I pray that He may do the same for you no matter what country you may find yourself.

With many thanks for reading,
~Heather 

*Name changed to protect the privacy of the student

Cultural Tidbits:
-Giraffes have blood pressure problems due to their tall necks. Their heart weight on average is 12 kilos! A big heart is needed to pump the blood that long distance.
-Springbok can "spring" 3 metres high and 6 metres long.
-Shurumbu = white person / keeper of time
-Madisa = how are you? (in Damara)
-Crocodile tastes kinda fishy.
-Crocodiles have no tongue and therefore no sense of taste. Hence why they eat anyone and anything.