Sweet Melody Ringing In My Ears

Yesterday morning the Leadership Summit Department held a one-day event promoting the students' participation in their school's Leadership Summit Program. It was a HUGE success! There were 500 students in attendance, all of whom showed great excitement and enthusisam to be at a 4 hour event that was crammed full with fun group activities, grade competitions, singing, praise and worship and even a time of teaching, which introduced them to the new curriculum that will be taught this term, "Living on Purpose". Before the event began, I was sitting in the bakkie, awaiting my instructions from the school officals as to where to se-up all of the sound equipment, when a young girl called me over. "Excuse me mama. Could I have a minute wiht you?" Not having anything better to do while at the same time wondering why this young girl wanted to tlak to me I agreed and walked over to where she was standing. She proceeded with, "What is this with you white peoples? You love black people now?" I qithout hesitation and very emphatically said, "Of course we do!" "No you don't. I don't believe you." I couldn't even believe my ears. How could this young girl talk to me, a "mama", like that. "Do you have friends that are black?" "Yes. I have many!" She continued to say, "you don't even know our language or like it." I quickly proved her wrong on that one by mustering the words for the longest accurate phrase for the moment that I could come up with, "ho bona ha la eka pula etlo na kajaeno [It looks like it is going to rain today]". (Which in fact proved to be a valid statement seeing that by the end of the event we were trapsing through an all out down pour). Nonetheless, that still wasns't good enough for her, and it certainly was nto acceptable in her mind that I would not go wiht her to her classroom right then on request...I simply couldn't...we needed to get set-up! She walked away. As she did, I couldn't even comprehend what all just took place. What did I do wrong? I tried to be as friendly and personable as I could? But that was not the last time I saw her. Just as I shut the back of the bakkie, after haiving loading up all of the equipment used during the event I heard someone screaming my name, who seemed to have an earnest desire to get my attention before I was no longer there. I turned around and the unforgettable girl, who I had previously talked to, approached me, bearing a smile stretched from ear to ear and a mouth full of words that she seemed to be struggling to hold onto until she was able to let them loose, with full assurance that I could hear them amongst the hundreds of rowdy students. And, quite contrary to what had previously been so fluently spilled from her mouth like oil, she said, "I believe you now! You do love and care about us! Thank you I had a great time!" Those words rang in my ear like a sweet melody!