These days we had the graduation of the young children of our primary school. A glorious ceremony with holy water for the graduating children. Present were the children’s “parents” or friends to celebrate this pleasant and unique event for their age. Joys and songs, speeches and poems. They thanked me for the fact that the Orthodox Church embraces them and offers them everything for free. I thanked the parents and thanked them by telling them that they are the reason that the Church comes to fill a gap in their lives. Without projection, silently offering everything to give opportunities to these little children who under any other circumstances or conditions could not be educated, have a school uniform and a plate of food a day. This, after all, is the mission of the Church with the bishop first stating that this love and support comes from God himself who is the father of all people.
The children in their official uniforms arrived at our great church of Agia Sophia. I didn’t know if there were any parents of any real significance. Usually a woman accompanied each child. And that shows there was no father! All of them went in and got the blessing from the bishop. Suddenly a boy arrives alone. He had neither parents nor brothers and sisters. The Bishop embraced him and he fell into his arms, unwittingly letting tears flow from his eyes. Who knows how much he was hurt inside, since he had no one of his own to support him.
But from that moment he understood that he was not alone: he had with him God himself, who embraced him, kissed him and promised him that he would accompany him throughout the course of his later life…
We have such incidents every day. Today the principal informed me that a young student was suddenly paralyzed and cannot walk. In order to come to school, his father carries him on his back! I then went out into the yard to see it with my own eyes. So I found the little boy on the bed. Next to him was his father and our headmaster. I greeted them all and asked what happened. I prayed for the little boy. Even though he can’t walk or talk, he can hear and understand everything. He can study to such an extent that the principal assured me that he excels in all his subjects. In the evening at 9 o’clock Kenyan television showed the event highlighting that the Orthodox Church is present in the problems of the people. The boy’s father thanked me, put him on his back and they left.
†Nairobi Makarios
