little blue shirt boy

on Sunday, I got to experience a real Maasai church service. beads, dancing, praising and everything in between. it was such a great day and probably one of my favorites so far. we left our guest house at 9 am Sunday morning and didn't arrive at the Maasai church until 11 am because it was way out in the bush and we got lost three times. once we made it, we sat down and the worshipping began. some ladies did their song and dance and then the kids did a little program. while I was sitting, a little boy in a blue shirt came up and stood right next to my chair. he started looking at my watch and playing with my arm hair (because Kenyans don't have arm hair so they find it fascinating). he was intrigued for quite a bit and then eventually sat in my lap. but, then we were called up to the front to introduce ourselves. when I got back to my chair, little blue shirt boy wasn't there anymore. I was a little bummed because he was the first child I got to spend substantial time with and I thought we would be the best of pals. but instead, he had found a new seat. by then, the service was getting to the group worship part. this is the part of the service where Swahili music is bumpin and you can get up and dance whenever you want. in the front of the church was a little mosh pit and so me and my team mates decided to join in on the action. when we got up to the front, the kids were showing us how to dance because us mzungus (white people) were not very skilled at that. that's when little blue shirt boy popped up out of nowhere. we started to dance by holding hands and he didn't let go for the rest of the dancing worship part. when we sat back down, he came with me and continued to be intrigued by my arms and watch. he called his friend over and during the entire service they were either pointing out my freckles or changing my watch settings. right in the middle of the service, he said in very broken English, "your name is?" and I told him my name and asked him and his friend's names and they said "Simon and Moses." after the service ended, we were able to walk the grounds of these Maasai people and Simon and Moses held my hands the entire way. wherever I went, they were attached to me and I loved every second of that. even when Moses had to go, Simon (little blue shirt boy) stayed with me. we ate at the pastor's house and while we were eating under the acacia tree, Simon was just watching me and waiting for me to come back and hold his hand. after lunch, I was able to spend a little more time with him. holding his hand made me feel like I had a purpose. I don't know how often he is showed love in that way and I don't know what his home situation is like. but what I do know is that by holding his hand, I was able to show him the love and Jesus and that is something that is priceless. on this portion of my trip especially, I have been constantly reminded that the only universal language is love. you don't have to even say a word to show it because love speaks for itself. when it came time to say goodbye, it was a little difficult. I don't know if he understood that I was leaving and probably not coming back, but little blue shirt boy made an imprint on my heart that will last forever.