Praying with Confidence - Day 5 of Africa Trip

June 8th we began by going with Br. Cleophus to the town of Simba, Kenya. We spent the morning visiting families whose children have attended the Children's Rosary. We shared lunch with one family(see photo below). 

In the afternoon, we visited Thithi school where a Children's Rosary has been meeting for three months. We had a wonderful welcome from the school. We gathered together for a Rosary led by members of the Children's Rosary. I was impressed with the power of their voices. They prayed with confidence and reverence. They surprised us by praying in English. Later I found out that they had only learned the prayers in English one week earlier. The members of the Children's Rosary in this school include both the Catholic, Protestant and Muslim students. It is a boarding school and each Saturday and Sunday the group meets to pray. No children are turned away who want to join.  

After we prayed the Rosary with the children, they prepared some entertainment of poems and songs. One child spoke very well about the values of previous generations. She spoke about the importance of modesty of dress and not using bad language. I was very impressed that the children had been reflecting in this way. When I asked the children if they knew how to pray the Rosary before joining the Children's  Rosary about 7 hands went up among the group. When I asked if any had prayed the Rosary in the preceding month before joining the Children's Rosary no hands went up. When I asked the children if any had prayed the Rosary in the prior year before joining the Children's Rosary no hands went up. This was a shock to me as the children prayed so well and with great confidence. It was amazing how quickly they had become a powerful prayer group and the prayers had started to shape how they were looking at the world.  This impression was repeated in other locations. We saw other schools as well where the teachers reported changes in the children after only holding weekly Children's Rosary meetings for 2 months.