Day 10: Head to Fiwagoh Orphanage & School!~

We are headed to Fiwagoh to go meet Pastor Benson, his wife and all of his 180+ kids that he has taken in as his own!  We are all sooo excited and can’t wait to go meet these kids.  So, we packed and loaded our entire luggage and we’re headed in the bus ready to go.  Since I’ve been in Africa I have seen so many new and great things as well as learning so much about this beautiful continent…One thing I found out very quickly is that “Africa Time” is very different than “American Time.”  In America, if we say we’ll be there at 5:30, for the most part we’ll be there at 5:30.  And if we’re running a little behind, it’s just by a few minutes—and it’s really not all that big of a deal.  Well, in Africa, one thing that we had to practice was our patience—which was another great part and experience of this trip!  First off, I may have already mentioned this in one of my first blogs—but the driving is CRAZY in Africa.  So many people…are going in SO many different directions…without any traffic signs and safety in mind.  Besides the traffic tending to be quite busy all of the time…we also learned that the places we were going to visit weren’t just 10-15 minutes from each other—there were always at least a few hours!  Although I would have rather loved to spend these hours on the bus with all of the children instead, it was a great time to soak everything in and to reflect on our trip so far.  So really, it wasn’t too bad—it was actually quite enjoyable and what I thought was so great about riding on the bus for such a long time is that I was able to see so much more of Africa.

Well, while we were on our bus ride to Fiwagoh, there were several times where a few of us would ask about animals or hoped that we could see some exciting animals—and ever since we got to Kenya, we had sort of been talking about this—just because, how COOL would that be?  Our bus driver in Kenya, Daniel, said that we would have a pretty good chance of seeing some animals—so we all crossed our fingers and hoped that we would.  So, here we are…driving along the middle of the open fields in Africa—not a whole lot to see besides wild life and random people here and there walking along the street.  …When all of a sudden, someone yield “Wait! Guys, LOOK!  A Giraffe!”  ….And theeeen, we ALL got excited!  Daniel immediately stopped the bus, turned around…and drove down into a little parking area—where we could all get off the bus to get a closer look at the animals.  MY OH MY—We all had a hay day!  Everyone was jumping off the bus with such excitement and joy! Running with their cameras to take pictures…GIRAFFES!!!  And trust me—they weren’t in the Zoo locked up with a fence surrounding them…they were WILD….RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!!  ….It was super exciting, but nonetheless, a little scary at the same time!:)  We seriously were SO close to them! It was such a thrilling experience!!  

After we calmed down we were back on the road and heading for Fiwagoh.  I wasn’t quite sure what happened, but somewhere along the way, we ended up getting lost and had to backtrack quite a ways.  Our bus driver, Daniel, had apparently heard the wrong information and was headed in the wrong direction.  Sooo, this bus ride ended up turning into a way longer ride than we first had expected.  But that’s ok…we saw giraffes and we were on our way to FIWAGOH!:)

We continued to drive and drive and drive…and we still weren’t there yet.  Pastor Benson and his children had been expecting us for such a long time, we all felt so bad we were late…but clearly we had no control over the situation.  It started getting darker and darker out…and so many of us wondered where in the world we were?  Just out in the middle of Kenya, Africa…late at night…while it got darker and darker by the minute.  Something else that is quite different in Africa compared to America is that they don’t really have any lights when it gets dark—and it seriously is a little scary.  It’ll be 6:30 and we’ll be finishing up with supper and by 7:15-7:30 all of a sudden it’s just pitch BLACK out.  …So crazy how dark it seemed to get so fast and how they didn’t have any light…no street lights…no front porch lights…nothing—just darkness.  So, as we were driving, we came up to a gas station and Daniel pulled over to get gas.  As we pulled up it was so easy to sense what the rest of the bus was feeling.  Outside the gas station were quite a few men—hanging out…not sure what they were all doing? …Trying to sell some items to make money I’m sure.  Our team leaders whispered back to keep our windows closed and to not make eye contact with any of them.  So, as we pulled in and came to a stop…Slowly…slowly…they started to surround us.  Coming up to our windows…knocking on them…trying to talk to use and get our attention…I have no idea what they were thinking—but I can about imagine when they saw a bus with 50 suitcases up on top…a bus that was full of 23 American Girls…they obviously knew we had money and valuable items.  It was a little frightening, one of our good friends actually started crying because she got scared...having them all come up and surrounding our bus…One guy even started to climb up the back ladder…heading towards our luggage on the top of the bus….But while this was all going on…I just sat there and really wasn’t one bit nervous or scared.  Yes, the situation could have gone very badly…since it was late at night and we were all women besides our bus driver…but I still felt a peace and strength settle inside me.  I knew God was protecting us…Keeping us safe...He had already planned all of this out for us…and He would continue to protect us—I was sure of it…So as I sat there leaning on Him…Suddenly the owner of the gas station came out and got all the guys to back away from our bus…So, just like that, we finished filling up our gas and we were headed for Fiwagoh…still headed for Fiwagoh.

As we continued, it started to rain…lightly at first, but then the rain seemed to get harder and harder.  The roads that we were traveling on weren’t very safe…at least I didn’t feel like they were…And what continued to spike-up my fear was that every few miles we seemed to drive…we came across car accidents….one at first…then another…and another.  I sat there looking out my window…praying for those in the accidents…hoping they were alright…and praying for their families. …The more accidents we ended up seeing, the more my fear would rise up…I sort of thought we were driving a little too fast on these curvy and narrow roads—especially when it was wet and slippery…and obviously other vehicles were having a hard time too since many of them got into accidents…We saw four different semi-trucks on the side of the road, flipped over onto their side…Goodness, this drive was taking far too long…and all I wanted was to be at Fiwagoh.  The bus was silent…everyone I’m sure feeling the same emotions I was…then our team leader said something about how she thought Daniel was driving a little too fast…I agreed and said I was getting a little nervous…then a few of the other girls said the same thing.  So with that…we decided to sing some songs, to get our minds off of the driving.  We had song sheets printed off that we passed out to everyone…and for the next hour or two…we sat on our bus…in darkness in the middle of Kenya…singing songs about Jesus…and praising our God. ….We sang songs by Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Kari Jobe, Michael W. Smith, and so many more—including some favorite bible camp songs…While we sang these songs, I prayed deeply that God’s name would be known in the country if Kenya….and that with this group of 23 women who have a passion for serving God, that we could help spread God’s truth to the many children and people we still had left to visit on this journey.  After singing these songs I was so excited to get there and to meet all of the precious 180 kids at Fiwagoh…Oh how I just wanted to LOVE them.

….Finally…we arrived to Fiwagoh…we were all tired and anxious to get off of the bus and to get into our beds (and to go to the bathroom!)….but as we drove up and our bus came to a stop…we heard the most beautiful sound ever…All 180 of these children…standing in the dark…singing in unison as they welcomed and thanked us for coming to visit them.  Our whole team stood up and looked out our windows…and as I stood there…I had tears stinging at my eyes….How precious was this??? ….Really? I mean, just to stop and think about it.  These kids had been waiting ALL day for us to come…they couldn’t wait!  What?—They were going to have VISITORS??? ….Why??? …To COME and PLAY and SING and SHARE with them!!  They couldn’t understand it or comprehend it I’m sure? …Why? Because they had been left alone SO many times before…they were left alone and abandoned on the streets…they were forgotten…they were left to starve…left to survive by themselves….BUT…because of God’s grace and His perfect plans…He had brought each and every one of those 180 children to come and live with Pastor Benson and his wife…God had a plan for each and every one of those children…and He had a plan for us to come and visit and bring them hope….And here I was…standing in awe of how precious and sweet these children were…They were SO SO SO GRATEFUL and with their welcome song I knew this place was going to touch me deeply to my core…And with that, I held back my tears…put a smile on my face…leaned on God’s strength again…and went to meet all of these children…I knew, God had great plans for us—That God had great plans for me…because I was living them…All my life I have yearned to come and to live out James 1:27 and to visit and love on these lonely and precious children in Africa…and here I was…Living out my heart’s desire…and how I was so thankful to have the children of Fiwagoh to be a part of this great and perfect plan…Thank You, God…For Your direction and Your perfect plans.