A Wonderful Couple

A True Story
by
Copyright ©
Picture related to the title of the story
This is Mr. & Mrs. Moore.

Mr. & Mrs. Moore, who hail from the U.S. state of Indiana, are some of the most wonderful people I've ever met. They taught me when I was in junior high school at Starehe. Mr. Moore taught me history while Mrs. Moore taught me English.

They loved beginning their lessons with fun facts. Mrs. Moore had us know some famous personalities who were left-handed while Mr. Moore, if my memory serves me well, had us know that 50% of the world's wealth was in the United States.

During one lesson when I was in Form 2 in 2003, they invited Mr. Kennedy Hongo, a senior staff member of the school, to lecture us on HIV/AIDS. I enjoyed the lecture.

That time I was in Form 2, the Moores lent me newspapers that kept me abreast of what was happening in Iraq during Gulf War 2. And it was their son, Mr. Mark Moore, who sponsored my education at Starehe under the umbrella of the Moore Foundation.

The Moores liked taking us, the Moore Foundation fellows, to the school canteen and 5-star hotels where we feasted on sumptuous meals. They also took us to Nairobi National Museum.

I will never forget the Saturday afternoon we played bowling, a game I had never heard of before, when we went to an upscale shopping mall called Village Market. The game turned out to be somewhat interesting.

By taking us to such plush places, the Moores must have been trying to show us another side of life beyond what we were accustomed to. To think that the exposure didn't change me!

After leaving Starehe in April 2007, I kept in touch with the Moores via email. Once when I asked them if they could help me settle university fees, they turned me down. And I was sorry to hear from Mrs. Moore that Mr. Moore passed away in 2016.

The Moores were truly wonderful. And it was their generosity and dedication to teaching that make me think so. All I can now do for them in return for the good things they did for me is emulate their example. So help me God.

********************
RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed this story, you might also enjoy "Memories of Inspiring Teachers".
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Spread the Love

Facebook icon X icon LinkedIn icon

The Day I Visited My Mentors

A True Story
by Thuita J. Maina
on Sep 26, 2018
Copyright ©
Picture related to the title of the story
This is Fr. Peter Assenga.

One Sunday last year, I woke up effortlessly, eager to visit my music mentors: Fr. Peter Assenga who introduced me to the piano way back in 1997, and Prof. Charles Nyamiti who made me appreciate classical music.

I arrived at the seminary where they reside in a buoyant mood, only to be told Fr. Assenga was saying Mass and Prof. Nyamiti was resting. But I enjoyed waiting for them outside the seminary library.

When Fr. Assenga was through, I went to meet him. We greeted each other jovially before he asked me what I do for a living. Well, I can't remember what I said, but I wish I had told him I'm an upcoming blogger.

We kept talking as we ambled along a cloister to meet Prof. Nyamiti. As luck would have it, we met him heading to the mess for mid-morning tea. Then Fr. Assenga left the two of us together to attend to a pressing duty.

Because Prof. Nyamiti couldn't remember me, I had to refresh his memory by showing him a photo of us taken in 1999. He then disclosed to me the health problems he was facing, one of which was arthritis in his right knee.

When he told me he was 85, I remembered someone saying a man is supposed to live for 70 years and any additional years are a bonus from God. So I told Prof. Nyamiti that to make him feel blessed.

"Yes!" he agreed, "Even the Bible says that."

Wow! I didn't know that was in the Bible even though I have read the whole of it. And it actually says that in Psalm 90:10, but this way: "Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty." (NLT)

We kept talking as we had tea in the mess. He told me, among the things, that he heard Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, sing a Tanzanian folk song pathetically. A wonderful Sunday it was.

******************
RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed this story, you might also enjoy "An Instrument of Joy".
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Spread the Love

Facebook icon X icon LinkedIn icon
← Newer Stories  ||   Older Stories →

Connect With Me

Do you want to get regular updates of new stories and videos on this blog? Then connect with me on:
Facebook iconFacebook
X iconX
LinkedIn iconLinkedIn
Goodreads iconGoodreads
RSS Feed iconRSS Feed
WhatsApp iconWhatsApp


Latest Stories

Dream Come True
on December 24, 2025

Lessons From the White-Supporter Tree
on December 17, 2025

A Joke I Stopped Cracking
on December 11, 2025

Bible Quote

"Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do... Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand."

~Phillipians 4:4-7 (TLB)

About the Author

Name: Thuita J. Maina
Marital status: Single
Lives in: Kiserian, Rift Valley, Kenya
Mission: To inspire the world to godly living, one person at a time.

Just for Laughs

There was this drunkard called Azoge who loved drinking at Josiah's Bar. On being told a certain Hon. Nanga was flying to America to be conferred a law degree so that he could be admitted to the bar, Azoge replied, "Why fly all the way to America to be admitted to the bar while you can get into Josiah's Bar any time?"



The 7 Deadly Sins

  1. Pride
  2. Envy
  3. Gluttony
  4. Lust
  5. Anger
  6. Greed
  7. Sloth

Author's Note

I am learning to treat life as a journey, not a destination; I have therefore given up the things that weighed me down and I am now living my life to the fullest because the tomorrow I had always hoped to live my dreams may never be mine.

Fun Facts

  1. The fear of having no cell-phone service, running out of battery, or losing sight of your phone is called Nomophobia, reportedly affecting 66% of people.
  2. A single Google search needs more computing power than it took to send Apollo 11 to the moon. The Apollo computer was less equipped than a modern toaster.
  3. Besides being some of the biggest names in the tech industry, HP, Apple, Google and Microsoft share another commonality. They all started in garages.
~Extracted from Codingforums.com

Health Tips

"So many of us take for granted the wonderful construction of the human body and the workings of its various parts. Some of us even expect it to function efficiently with less than the minimum care and attention. Learn the much you can about your body and how the care of it can help give you that greatest blessing of all - good health."

~From Your Body (A Ladybird Book)

Wonders of the Modern World

  1. The Simplon Tunnel
  2. The Sky-scrapers of New York
  3. The Boulder Dam of Colorado
  4. The Panama Canal
  5. The Golden Gate Bridge
  6. The Taj Mahal at Agra in India
  7. The North Sea Oil Drilling Rigs

The Kind of Leaders We Need

"My life in politics was a joy. I loved campaigns and I loved governing. I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction, to give more people a chance to live their dreams, to lift people's spirits, and to bring them together. That's the way I kept score."

~Bill Clinton

Scientific Marvels

  1. Space travel
  2. Heart surgery
  3. Fibre-optics communication
  4. Concorde
  5. Radios
  6. Computers
  7. Anesthetics

My Supreme Desire

To borrow the words of Elbert Hubbard, my supreme desire is to radiate health, cheerfulness, calm courage and goodwill. I wish to live without fear, hate, guilt, worry and jealousy; to be honest, natural, confident, clean in mind and body - ready to say "I do not know" if it be so; to treat all men with kindness; and to meet any loss, failure, criticism and rejection unabashed and unafraid.



Greatest American Presidents

  1. Abraham Lincoln
  2. George Washington
  3. Thomas Jefferson
  4. Franklin Roosevelt
  5. Theodore Roosevelt
  6. Woodrow Wilson
  7. Andrew Jackson

Making Peace With the Past

"Dwell not on your past. Use it to illustrate a point, then leave it behind. Nothing really matters except what you do now in this instant of time. From this moment onwards you can be an entirely different person, filled with love and understanding, ready with an outstretched hand, uplifted and positive in every thought and deed."

~Eileen Caddy

Toughest Colleges to Get Into

  1. MIT
  2. Princeton
  3. Harvard
  4. Yale
  5. Stanford
  6. Brown
  7. Columbia

Why You Should Trust God

"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities and pour out peace."

~Ezra Taft Benson

The 7 Greatest Scientists

  1. Albert Einstein
  2. Isaac Newton
  3. Galileo Galilei
  4. Nikola Tesla
  5. Aristotle
  6. Archimedes
  7. Charles Darwin

You Matter

"Always be yourself. Never try to hide who you are. The only shame is to have shame. Always stand up for what you believe in. Always question what other people tell you. Never regret the past; it's a waste of time. There's a reason for everything. Every mistake, every moment of weakness, every terrible thing that has happened to you, grow from it. The only way you can ever get the respect of others is when you show them that you respect yourself and most importantly, do your thing and never apologize for being you."

~Unknown

The Most Industrialized Nations

  1. United States
  2. Japan
  3. Germany
  4. France
  5. United Kingdom
  6. Italy
  7. Canada

Keys to Success

"...in his effort to withstand temptation, to economize, to exercise thrift, to disregard the superficial for the real - the shadow for the substance; to be great yet small, in his effort to be patient in the laying of a firm foundation; to so grow in skill and knowledge that he shall place his services in demand by reason of his intrinsic and superior worth. This is the key that unlocks every door of opportunity, and all others fail."

~Booker T. Washington

The 7 Social Sins

  1. Politics without principle
  2. Wealth without work
  3. Pleasure without conscience
  4. Knowledge without character
  5. Commerce without morality
  6. Worship without sacrifice
  7. Science without humanity

Cherish What You Love

"Cherish your visions, cherish your ideals, cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts - for out of them will grow all heavenly environment, of these if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built."~James Allen

The World's Largest Cities

  1. London in England
  2. New York in the United States
  3. Tokyo in Japan
  4. Berlin in Germany
  5. Chicago in the United States
  6. Shanghai in China
  7. Paris in France

Benefits of Optimism

"In terms of success, optimistic people out perform their pessimistic colleagues. Research shows that they are consistently promoted higher and make more money while working fewer hours than those who think pessimistically. Optimists also contribute more significantly to social progress. It is the optimists who start and run successful companies, who win elections and carry out reforms, and who make breakthroughs in the realms of science and technology."

~Pepe Minambo

The World's Greatest Lakes

  1. Caspian Sea in the Commonwealth of Independent States, C.I.S. (formerly U.S.S.R)
  2. Lake Superior in North America
  3. Victoria Nyanza in Central Africa
  4. Aral Sea in C.I.S.
  5. Lake Huron in North America
  6. Lake Michigan in North America

Demonstrating His Love

"Take your communication for instance - the way you address others. It ought to be with loving, gracious and edifying words. Never talk people down. Never use words that hurt and demean people. Communicate excellently with others without destroying their self-image or making them feel sorry for themselves. Talk to people in a way that they never forget the excellence of your words, the love and grace of Christ that you communicated. It's how God wants us to love."

~Dr. Chris Oyakhilome

World's Longest Rivers

  1. Missouri-Mississipi (U.S.)
  2. Amazon (Brazil)
  3. Nile (Egypt)
  4. Yangtse (China)
  5. Lena (Russia)
  6. Zaire (Central Africa)
  7. Niger (West Africa)