The First Miracle
When Christian Relief Fund drilled a new well in Barwessa Kaptorot, the people living there called it “the second miracle.” This area of Kenya is one of the most desperate in the world when it comes to the need for water. It hasn’t rained there in years. You can imagine how much the community rejoiced with this gift of clean water.
But obviously their response prompted the question from our drilling crew—“Then what’s the first miracle?” The townsfolk believed that they had witnessed two incredible events in the history of their village. The second was water. But the first involved a child named Vivian Jepkoech.
Because of the curiosity of our CRF director Francis Bii and our drilling crew, Vivian was presented before them as the “first miracle.” And thus came the unbelievable story. A primary school girl in their village had been abused by her teacher (not from CRF). And the little girl became pregnant. After the young student gave birth, the teacher was fearful of being charged with a crime and being arrested. As a result, he stole the baby from the young mother. He took the little child to the edge of a three-hundred-foot cliff. He placed the baby in such a way where she would fall off of the cliff. And she did.
But unbelievably—the little baby landed in a tree on the way down.
As people walked around the community on this day, people
kept hearing a noise. They said it sounded like a baby crying.
But no one could find a baby. Finally, someone perceived the sound was coming from the cliff. The elders of Barwessa Kaptorot tied a rope around a man and lowered him over the cliff. On the way down, he spotted a baby in a tree. He took the child to the hospital where she survived. An old grandmother decided to raise her since her mother had disappeared and her father had fled and was later arrested.
And now this baby had grown up to be a teenager and was standing in front of Francis and our crew. Yes, the first miracle was Vivian Jepkoech. She had been the baby in the tree. Vivian had done well in primary school and excelled on her exams. But because of her poverty, she didn’t have any hope to attend secondary school.
“Have you heard of Suzy Peacock High School?” Francis asked her. This is the exceptional high school of CRF in Eldoret. “You are going to be a student there!” And now she is.
Vivian was recently sponsored by a Christian Relief Fund donor. I got to see her at her new high school. It’s understandable why the people of her village call her “the first miracle.”
THE REST OF THE STORY — The people of Barwessa Kaptorot now have an annual celebration where the village and neighboring communities all assemble at the cliff where Vivian fell. They tell Vivian’s story and then Vivian makes an appearance. She is cheered and God is praised for the two miracles.
