Natalie.......and Paul!!

She told me her name is Natalie. 
"But I'm not Natalie today.I am mum," she continued.
 I smile.

"Jeff lala hapa toto!" she tells little man. He obliges and lalas hapo.He even covers himself with the duvet.

I met Natalie last weekend.Natalie is a little past three years old. She had come with her grandmother to visit Jeff's paternal grandmother.We had also gone visiting and the two (Jeff and Natalie) had come storming into the room where I was taking a nap.
They continue chuckling as they play mum and son.I am utterly displaced.Quite literally because I had to sit up and make space for the lala session and also because I'd just been stripped of my 'mum' title. I wonder whether she secretly wanted to adopt Jeff,you know, make him her own and whatnot.She would make a great mum.
Her grandmother calls out to her.It's time to go home.
"Unaitwa nani?" Jeff asks her quickly.He seems heartbroken that she has to leave
Really younging?You didn't know the girl's name the whole time?
Kids!

At this point I would like to divert abit from Jeff's world.
I'd like to share a great story
It is found in 2 Corinthians 11:23-30 (NIV)  (if you click that link it will take you straight there and you can get an idea of what I'm talking (writing?) about.)
It is a great story about a great man.His name was Paul aka Saul aka Ule mbaya. The guy who underwent an Extreme Makeover.Transformation.From a persecutor of Christians to one who was persecuted for the sake of Christ.
In this passage he gives us a glimpse of the hardships he endured.He breaks it down for us ooh-so clearly.
For example, Paul was stoned.Imagine being stoned.Stone after stone came racing at him,mercilessly,from a merciless people.Continuous magnified pain as each rock made contact with his body.Bruising him,leaving him with scars that he would live to see prolly all his  life and remember the pain.
The man was imprisoned.There is a prison next to my work place and sometimes I see the prisoners being transported in the prison bus.I always wonder whether they are new convicts going in or just being transferred from another prison. Some usually look pissed off,at the world and everything around them.Others afford a smile,maybe those are the ones that are happy to be seeing the outside world after a long while.Prison.A place where you are surrounded by four walls,metallic doors.A place where only your thoughts speak to you,unless you have a cell mate.
Ship wrecks.Ever been on a ship? Ever experienced a ship wreck? No?Thought so. Think the sinking Titanic.Of course the ships back in the day were not as advanced.More so why a ship wreck would totally mean great disaster;no life saver boats and things like those.An exposure to death.He says he experienced this..three times! And was out on the open sea for a day and a night on a different occasion.
Paul was whipped,flogged,beaten with rods.His flesh  torn apart.The Jewish whip was made of three straps of leather from three different species and 13 blows were landed to deliver a total of 39 stripes.He went through that a good 5 times. One,two,three,four,five!

Paul was in danger of  being attacked by bandits as he travelled.Sometimes we take for granted  our security and safety.We here about killings in Mandera and Garissa and the intensity of this never sinks in.We remain unscathed.
As Paul says that he went cold and naked,the weather of late brings home the reality of this.
The hunger and thirst he suffered were not the tummy rumblings you experience a few minutes before lunch.It must have been severe lack of food and water.Involuntarily!
And above all Paul was concerned over the well being of the churches.He bore that burden and kept  following up with the churches.Constantly checking on them.
Coming to the present day,I don't think you may ever have to go
through hardships as extreme as Paul's;you may never have to be
whipped or be at open sea for a day and night, but there are those
situations that may leave you wounded,broken,deeply tried and
tested all in the name of Christ.Sacrifices you have to make just to
hold on to your salvation.Having to let go and let God shape your
character,prune you,mould you and make you to be who He wants
you to be.
The best bit about all this is that it is actually worth it!His character was greatly developed.Look at the seeds he planted.He started the early churches and now the gospel continues to be passed from generation to generation.Lives are being saved.We even have the Bible which was partly written by Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.This Bible which is a source of life to those that read and follow what it says.
It was not for nothing that the man went through so much hardship.
I see immense loyalty in  this man.Loyalty and love for Jesus. Great perseverance;that when he stated that suffering produces perseverance [Romans 5:3(NIV)], the man actually knew what he was talking about.For him to have undergone suffering after suffering, it meant he would build perseverance to face the next suffering and the next.
He goes on to ask in finality,"Who is weak and I do not feel weak.Who is led into sin and I do not inwardly burn?"
I see a man whose body was broken,thoroughly so,but his spirit...his spirit was never broken!