Monday, December 12, 2011

Living Out the Hope That We Have

I was challenged this past week to take a look at hope and how the hope that I have affects how I live my daily life. We discussed hope at the home group that I attend on Wednesdays and it was a really good discussion. We talked about what exactly hope is and what it means for each of us and how it does/should affect how we live. Those of us who are followers of Christ have the hope of salvation and an eternity spent with Jesus in heaven. There is certainly nothing better than having that hope in our lives. Does that hope change how I live my life on a daily basis? Sadly, I'll admit that it doesn't as much as it should. I want that hope to permeate every every aspect of my life, from how I interact with the students I teach, the basketball players that I coach, my friends here and at home, to the random people I meet on the streets or on matatus.

Happy Jamhuri Day to everyone! Jamhuri Day is one of the most important holidays celebrated here in Kenya. It marks the date of Kenya's establishment as a republic on December 12, 1964. Jamhuri, in Swahili, means "republic". So I'm at home today "celebrating", actually I can't say that I'm doing anything special to celebrate besides playing ultimate frisbee later on this afternoon.

On Saturday, our season ending softball tournament was held and I am proud to report that my team, the X-pats, took home the championship in dominating fashion. This was the first time in nine years that the X-pats took home the crown. We garnered the number one seed for the tournament and took out the fourth seeded Rosslyn Academy team by a final score of 18-3 in the semi-finals. We advanced to the championship game against the American team and sparked by an eighteen run third inning, rolled to a 30-12 win. I even had two homeruns in that game, mind you they were of the inside-the-park variety, but when there is no fence that is the only way to get them. Which is nice because I can't hit the ball over any fence anyway. The spring season will kick off in late January or early February and we'll be primed to repeat.

Random thoughts for the week:
- The rainy season seems to have finally ended. It has been a week since we last had rain and the weather has turned absolutely beautiful, with daytime highs in the mid to upper 70s with plenty of sunshine and a nice breeze.
- This is the last week for intramurals at Rosslyn. Wednesday we'll have the championship game and then take a break for the holidays and return to action in January. We had to make final decisions on who to put on the two teams for next season, which was harder than I thought it would be. We had to cut about twelve players, most of whom I had become fond of and would have liked to keep around.
- Stella is still running good and there are no accidents to report yet, let's hope it stays that way.
- I'll admit that right now I'm listening to the John Tesh Radio Show on 100.9 The Valley. I'm not really listening for his "intelligence for your life", but more for the Christmas music. I have yet to hear a radio station that plays Christmas music here, which is completely different than back home. There you can't get away from it, here you have to look hard to find anything that reminds you that Christmas is only thirteen days away.
- Huge win by my Giants last night against the Cowboys. I'm liking there chances to ride this big win all the way to the the NFC East title.
- I'm really, really hoping that J-Rol resigns with the Phils. I can't imagine him playing in any other uniform. He needs to retire in those red pinstripes.
- Friday was UW's annual "Pride on Nine" day. This is the day in which all current and past Udub'ers are to wear their UW gear and show their pride. I didn't really have much gear to wear, but I did get a couple of pictures taken in Eastleigh, which I've posted below along with a couple of other random pictures.

I hope everyone has a blessed week and let's all live out the hope that we have in Christ.

With one of my students and friends, Yahyah.

Another student and friend, Fieyssa.

UW pride in Eastleigh.


I was trying to get them to put up a "UW" with their fingers.

Locking down third base, gold glove style.

That's me down at first base, coaching away.

More coaching, helping out the elder statesman on our team, Peter.

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