Asante

In Swahili the word “asante” (a – SAN- tay) means thank you. The name of the little boy pictured here is Asante.
Two years before Asante was born his parents prayed for another child. They were going to call the child Asante because they would be thankful for the child. It would be the last child in their family and the name was a unisex name which could be given to either a boy or a girl. Now these several years later, Asante (Thank You) is the name of the child for which the parents prayed. We are thankful for you Asante!

Like father, like son

I am also thankful for Asante, for to see a child of his age joining in the worship of the church is something for which we should be thankful.
When we first arrived at Tenwek, Asante was playing a toy telephone as if it were a guitar. It even had a strap like his father’s guitar. I was impressed with a young child who wanted to be part of the worship team along with his father. So as an encouragement to him, I made him this toy guitar out of scraps of plywood left over from another project. It is just a toy but definitely a step up from a telephone. In addition to having a guitar like his father (extreme left), Asante sways like his father, he taps his foot like his father, and this little fellow knows the words of the songs and hymns played and sung by the worship team. He is a remarkable child and his presence in the worship service gives us all something for which we can be thankful.

Asante joins the worship team

Asante’s parents are very involved in the local church. Geoffrey Musyoka, his father, is a lay leader in the church and works as a statistician in the hospital data and statistics department. His mom, Lydia, is a stay at home mom who rears three children and raises several chickens which are the source of her local egg business.
While the little boy’s name is Asante, I would say “asante” to the family for their involvement in the local church.