Happy Birthday Wambui

Many of you are probably wondering who Wambui is. Well, in the Kikuyu alphabet, there is no "L" and the "R" is pronounced differently than ours, which makes Lauren one of the hardest names imagineable. Therefore, after about two weeks of butchering my name in every conceivable manner, my colleagues christened me Wambui, a simple, easy to pronounce Kikuyu name. I now answer to either.
I woke up on the morning of October 29 at about 6:30 am to the sun shining through my mosquito net and the sound of African drums marching across the field as our girls prepared for Sunday worship. It was a beautiful day, and as I made my way out of bed and into the kitchen, I realized that my wonderful roommate had decorated our entire home with streamers, blown up latex gloves, and newspaper letters with a special birthday message. It was incredible!
After our breakfast of tea and mandazi, we made our way to the student worship service where we sang and danced and laughed much like we do every Sunday. We also stuck around for the Kikuyu service that the older members of the village attend, and we both ended up with children on our laps playing a "moja... mbili... tatu" version of pattycake that Kari invented last week. Naomi is a little girl of about 3 years who absolutely brightens my day with her smile every single time I see her, so it was a beautiful blessing to sit with her through the service that I cannot understand. It was such a joy to spend so much of my birthday praising the Lord who created me and who loves me more than any other.
After worship we returned home, I got to open some presents, we fixed lunch, and spent much of the afternoon doing laundry and getting dancing lessons from some of our students. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate the life God has given me than by spending it with those He has called me to serve.
Thanks to all of you who also made my birthday special with your cards, letters, and e-mails, I am continually humbled by the love and support I feel from all of you. God bless.