Dinner with the street boys

A few evenings ago as I was walking across our cul-de-sac, I found the 5 street boys sitting and talking in the dark.  I asked them what they were doing and they said, “sharing stories.”  Duncan immediately lit up and said, “Auntie Kayla, you must share with us a story!” The other 4 boys quickly agreed.  So I pulled up some ground and had a seat with them there.  I proceeded to tell my impromptu story about 5 young boys from Kibera as they listened intently.  When the story was over, they applauded as if it was some great story.  But I knew they were just being nice to this newcomer to the art of story telling.  Muli, one of the older boys, informed me that they would go “take food” now, as it was their dinner time.  Kevin spoke up and said, “Auntie Kayla, you must come take food with us in our home!”  I tried to explain to them that I’d already eaten dinner, as it was now approaching 9:30pm.  But it was to no avail as I saw how excited they were to have me over to dinner, who could possibly say no to that?!  Kevin grabbed me by the hand and led me into their home.  Inside the bare living room, I found a table surrounded by 1 chair and 5 stools.  They led me to my seat at the head of the table.  The power was out, so the house was lit by two small candles.  Their caretaker had not come home yet, but they had prepared a wonderful dinner all by themselves.  As I sat there, I could hear 5 little boys clanging around in the kitchen.  They worked frantically trying to make everything perfect for me.  You would have thought the president was over for dinner.  Finally they entered the room with beaming faces so excited to share this meal with a guest.  It was a very delicious meal of rice topped with a mixture of cooked cabbage, onions, and potatoes.  And for dessert we had slices of fresh avocado.  The boys prepared the whole meal on their own, even being as young as they are, ages 7, 9, 10, 10, and 11.  After dinner they told me about their day and inquired about mine.  Before I knew it, Duncan had found a story book in the house for me to read to them.  All 5 huddled around me and the small candle as we read the book 3 times before I had to say goodnight.  The whole evening just made my heart smile and I was reminded once again why Jesus loves children so much!  I went to sleep that night thanking God for crossing my path with these 5 young boys who have blessed me more than I could ever bless them!