Idaho faith: Gratitude beyond comprehension means saying the most heartfelt ‘thank you’

The inadequacies of human language are exposed the moment one realizes he or she is unable to express his or her depth of appreciation by saying, “Thank you.”

David, in Psalm 103, attempts to express his gratitude for the benefits he had received from God. David invited his soul and everything within his whole being. Then he highlighted some of the benefits.

When my first book, “East African Folktales for All Ages,” was published in February 1996, I wanted the first copy to be for my mother. I wanted to sit down and write, “Thank you, Mama’ for what she had done for me. It would be, however, months before I could be emotionally stable enough to write her.

I am who I am largely because of my mother.

It is 11 years since I felt like saying “Thank you” to the people of the Treasure Valley and other areas. I have been unable to because I either become an emotional wreck or lack the appropriate words. But most times, I experience both.

In January 2010 I returned to Kangundo, Kenya, after an uninterrupted 24 years in the U.S. That journey exposed me to the interconnected devastating realities of AIDS/HIV, corruption and poverty. Poor orphans and children of poverty-stricken homes were unable to join high school.

A Kenyan newspaper had a story of a mother of six who committed suicide because she was unable to pay the high school annual tuition of $500 for her daughter. I met two 15-year-old girls who had passed the 8th grade exams twice and were getting ready to repeat again — with zero chance of ever joining school. Their only hope was to grow taller so they could be married off, sometimes to older men who can provide dowry goats and/or cows.

To say I was heartbroken is an understatement. In my youth, each girl and boy who passed 8th grade to join secondary school did so.

I brought my broken heart back to Idaho. That’s where the people I can’t thank enough come in. Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope (CHHH) was established to provide high school and college tuition for hopeless children in Kenya.

How does one say thanks to the woman who gave me her business card and said, “When you start helping those children, please contact me,” when I shared my experience with her on a flight to Boise from Los Angeles? Encouragement is the best gift one can give to a broken soul.

Six months later, two friends called me into their office and provided financial assistance for my personal needs so that I could concentrate on raising funds for these vulnerable children. Dave Evans Construction provided a free office space while others provided pro-bono legal expertise, accounting, bookkeeping, website development and maintenance, and mailing and editorial services.

Is “Thank you” even enough?

I had been aware, through involvement in the Women and Children’s Alliance, among other organizations, of the kindness and generosity of the people of Idaho. Their caring touches lives beyond the state’s borders. It’s not possible to describe the caring spirit of the people of Idaho in human language. Only eternity will reveal it.

In 11 short years, we have two high schools for boys and girls in Kenya who were destined to have miserable lives. Over the years, more than 1,000 destitute children have been sponsored. More than 50 people sleep on a human-friendly bed in a modern house. Thousands of schoolchildren have pencils, books, uniforms and shoes. Thousands of girls have not missed a single day of school because of a lack of personal hygiene supplies.

Since the English language doesn’t give me stronger words, please allow me just to say, “Thank you, and God bless you!”