Beautiful Smile!

While this young lady of 15 was not the quickest to smile as many of the children at Tumaini, she certainly had a beautiful smile.  The story is one that I will never forget.  One evening I was helping the students study for testing the next day, Ejidiah was sitting there with just a very solemn look – no smile.  Many of the students wanted their picture taken – and I insisted that they smile big – telling them how beautiful it was.  It was not that they needed to be told that, but I was watching the one person who was not smiling, looking for a way to break through to her.

Soon it was her turn and several photo’s were taken without a smile.  Finally there was one and soon she came to sit beside me for a very beautiful smile.  After that encounter Ejidiah was one of the students I was closest too. She would search me out with a wave of the hand and a smile.  I will always remember her soft spoken style and the breakthrough we had that evening.