The other day, I took my 8th grade girls’ Covenant Group (Bible study) on a fun Labor Day adventure…Ice-skating!
Yes, it’s true. There’s ice-skating in Kenya! (We’ve yet to find a roller skating rink…but an ice rink… an ice rink we have.)
It was a blast. We started the day together at a local café for brunch, because we’re fancy like that. (Not really…we just wanted to avoid traffic, so brunch it was!) We packed 11 girls and 3 leaders in a school bus and headed across Nairobi to channel our inner Tara Lipinskis and test our triple axel skills. Watch out, Olympics 2022!
We shivered in the beginning and ended up sweating. We dodged fallen children, wobbly-kneed novices and speed demons. We pushed each other on these little plastic seats shaped like seals. We shaved ice up from the rink to create “snow” balls and targeted each other. We attempted backwards skating and little 360 twirls. We finished our skate time with…of all things…cotton candy. All in all, it was a marvelous day together.
Here are some moments from our trip.
Ice-skating in Nairobi was a great adventure! It is funny though, that such a thing exists here. Kenya and ice-skating…it feels like an oxymoron.
The other day at church, the speaker preached about how the Christian life is full of oxymorons.
Dead in our sins. Alive in Christ.
The already. The not yet.
Slaves to Christ. Freedom in Christ.
Mourning our brokenness. Celebrating our forgiveness.
A sinful human with desires of the flesh. Holy and blameless.
Ice-skating reminded me of this sermon…how we are called, as believers, to live out an “oxymoronic” life. To balance the ideas that we are both sinners in need of forgiveness and sons and daughters of God. We are called to love graciously, yet to stand firm in Truth.
Jesus was the ultimate oxymoron. Born in a barn, yet King of Kings. Son of man, yet son of God. Hung out with the “least of these” and misfits, yet reigns on High. He humbly taught, yet passionately corrected. Wore a crown, yet it was made of thorns. Lived a perfect life, yet carried all our sins.
From now on, whenever I go ice-skating on the equator, I hope I am reminded of both the “oxymoronic” life Christ lived on earth, as well as the strangely balanced God-centered life he has called me to.
All the Way to Africa 
Beautifully stated Shanna!!!
This blessed my heart…thank you for sharing🤗
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Thanks so much for the pictures. It looked like you were all having lots of fun! What an experience to go ice skating in Nairobi. It reminds me of the fun I used to have with my junior high girls ss class. That’s how Grampa Reid and I met. Ruth was one of the girls in my class, and unbeknowns to me she would go home and tell her dad about the fun she had with Mrs. Enright. I often took them home on Sunday afternoons after church.
Thanks for the reminders concerning our oxymoronic lives, and how they can be balanced because of what Christ has done for us, and His power that is dwelling within us.
It was so good to get your Email. I pray for you all. Send us some pictures of Levi. I am sure he has grown so much since you were home.
I will be leaving for Michigan on Thursday. One of my friends broke her hip this winter, so I am going home with her to help with the driving. It may take longer than usual if she has to make frequent stops. The winter has really been holding on there, and it has been such a good winter here in Florida.We have not wanted to leave until the weather in Michigan warmed up a bit.
I will close for now but give our love to Nathan and a big hug for Levi. Lots of love and prayers, Grama Reid
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