This story begins 2 years ago on our Buckner vision trip to Kenya when Naomi took a few small balls to give to the children we would see. They were the type that if you bounced them, they would bounce high. We're talking small balls, about 1 inch in diameter. But instead of bouncing them after we gave them to the children, they placed them on the ground and started kicking them like soccer balls (or football as they and the rest of the world calls it). Fast forward a few months. Todd Pridemore, Minister of Recreation and Outreach for Memorial Baptist Church, asked Naomi what they do as a mission project for the 2008 Upward Basketball program. Naomi, remembering what had happened with the small balls, suggested giving soccer balls. She was thinking a few balls, but by the end of the season every team had collected at least one ball and had the children sign them. In total, they collected 46 balls! Also, Christian Chapel Academy had donated about 50 small Upward Soccer balls. In order to transport that many to Kenya, they had to be deflated.
We took them to the Seed of Hope orphanage where Terry Dykes, one of our team members, used a few of them in recreational games during our VBS with the children. Phil Brinkmeyer, a Dallas Buckner employee, and Dickson Masindano, a Kenya Buckner employee, were leaving so that Dickson could show Phil around, this being Phil's first trip to Kenya. Since they were using Dickson's truck to get around, Naomi suggested to Phil that he take about half of the balls to give to other children. Phil thought this was a good idea and was more than happy to be able to distribute them to the various places they were going. Phil later joined us on our Masai Mara safari. Phil told the story about the balls and we were spellbound. Later, as we discussed the story, we said that we had to tell others. But if we told it, it would be second hand. Naomi suggested that we video Phil telling the story. We approached him and at first he wasn't sure. After much thought, he agree to be videoed. The following is his story.I videod Phil while at the lodge and Phil later provided the photos and the short embedded video clips. My son, Michael, a film editing major in college, put it all together.
