Conversations with Barnabas: Meet Mery

Before I get started, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who wished me well after last week's blog.  My fever finally broke for good that Monday night.  I have been coughing it all up out of the deep recess of my lungs this week.  My throat is still very raw feeling and I am tired, but was able to help all week fill in for the teacher that was sick and proctored tests all day.  Due to the sluggish mental attitude, I am behind on my creative aspects of my job.  So I will go back to an old standby and introduce one of our student's via the Conversations with Barnabas program.

This week I meet Mery's dad when he stopped by the school to meet with our Head Teacher (principal). He works at the sugar plantation that I ride through to get to our school each week after my day in town.  This means Mery and her family are not the traditional Maasai that surround our school.  

Mery is one of those kids that would be any teacher's bright spot.  She is quick to smile.  Even more so since she lost her two front teeth last year.  I find her regularly with a frisbee in her hands using it as a steering wheel pretending to drive a car all over out sidewalks.  She was the first to pick up on my pretending to be traffic police and holding my hand up to stop her and the fellow "drivers" on the sidewalk.  I first did this when the young child belong to one of our teacher's was sprawled out over end of the sidewalk.  I had them stop until he got up and then let them resume their course.  Since that day any time I step near the line of drivers, she perks up and tries to figure out if she can get around me before I hold up the stop signal.

Mery is also a good student, having made the top three of her class last year.  She was the last Pre-Unity student in our spelling competition and hung in with the three girls from Standard I until the last word.

This year Mery is in Standard I and has already asked when the spelling competition will be.  I look forward to splitting up the grades in this year's spelling competition to see if she can win her class level.

Mery is never called out for being "dirty" (they inspect socks, fingernails and hair every day at the school) with her crisp dress, big smile and never enough hair to trap any dust.

I used her picture at Christmas time as a meme for the school and B2BU Ministries, Inc. with her praying during religion class on Friday afternoon.

One more particular thing of interest concerning Mery's time here at school, she was the first student to get the hang of throwing one of the crochet frisbees.