Hi All! So sorry for the delay and for taking such a long time to post a new blog! My school work has seemed to consume my life the last few weeks! But I just wanted to say thanks for your patience and for still being interested in following my blog! …I appreciate it! And, because I have been there and experienced this on a firsthand basis I feel it is important to share my experience, so thanks again for wanting to hear and learn more about God’s precious children!:)
We arrived to KENYA! :) Yay! I was so happy and thankful we had a safe flight, but at the same time, we were all SO tired. I thought out of all of the days we had so far on our trip—today was one of our longest days and we were all very tired. However, although I was super tired—I was super HAPPY and EXCITED to be in Kenya!!! We arrived in Nairobi at 1:00 a.m. in the morning…and had to wait and gather all of our luggage… fill out new information since we were arriving to a new country…load our luggage onto a new bus…and head out for a 2-3 hour drive! Although I was tired and could hardly keep my eyes out, I wanted to stay away so I could soak in all that Kenya had to offer. It seemed quite different than Uganda—at least where we were. In Uganda we were in such a busy and almost clustered town—while in Kenya it seemed to have more order and it almost felt a little bit like we were back in the states. After a very long—and might I add a very BUMPY road—I mean seriously, SO bumpy! I can’t even explain how bumpy this ride was! …We arrived to our first location in Kenya, Hope Community Center, which is an orphanage and school. By the time we arrived it was about 5:30/6:00 in the morning. It was still dark out and I was just assuming that all of the children would still be sleeping—but to my surprise when we pulled up, we say bundles of children with their lights on, standing in the window—ready to greet us! Oh, it was a warm welcome and so very sweet of them! We could tell right then and there that they were so happy to have us! Here is a picture of the building/dorms we stayed in.
All of these children were just precious—so sweet and kind and loving and joyful! They actually seemed a little more quiet and timid maybe then the children in Uganda…But I believe this is mostly because this is the first time Visiting Orphans had ever taken a trip to Kenya before. We were the first team to go love on the orphans in Kenya! How cool is that?!:) Visiting Orphans sends teams out to Uganda every few months to go love and serve the children there, so the children are a little more used to it and have experienced it before. But the children in Kenya have never had a team from VO come there before—and besides us, it’s sad to say, but I really don’t know how often they get visitors? So, this could quite possibly mean that this was some of the first time many of them had ever been around Mzungos—Aka white people. Nevertheless, our time spent there was filled with singing songs, playing games, doing arts & crafts, and talking about Jesus with the children. We had a GREAT time!!! Below are some pictures of how our time was spent…
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. Matthew 25:35
Below, a pile of rocks our team bought for them to start their new project--to expand their nursery for the little ones!
Working on their GreenHouse!
At night and early in the morning it got SO cold—I mean you could see your breathe in the early morning. We weren’t expecting this at all!! So, we seriously had to snuggle to keep warm! At night I would wear my thick socks, leggings, sweatpants, a tank-top, t-shirt, sweatshirt and fleece and I was still cold! It was crazy—we weren’t expecting to have to put layers on in the middle of July!:)
Balloon Relays! They had SO much fun--there was a ton of LAUGHTER! :)
One thing that really amazed me while spending time here was how these children truly spent every single day WORSHIPPING and PRAISING! They would meet each and every day at 7:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and again at 7:00p.m. before they started getting ready for bed. During this time they would sing their hearts out to Jesus—and when I say sing, I really mean SING…with all that was in them. Oh, how I loved just being filled with their sweet voices…This is one of the things I miss most! …It truly was precious and very comforting to know that although these children may not physically have a lot…and although they have just enough food, water and medicine to get by… I’m not worried about what their lives will look like once they leave this earth…because I KNOW…I SAW…I FELT…how they worshipped and how they truly are IN LOVE with Jesus…and with that I am very grateful. And because of this personal relationship they have with Jesus and because they devote their time and energy to Him and only Him—He is faithful…He KEEPS His promises to them…And He continues to provide for them. Each and every day I was in Africa I somehow learned such a great and valuable lesson—and this was one of those days. God is in control of EVERYTHING—Every single thing…situation…small and big details…He has everything planned for HIS PURPOSE…and while visiting and loving on these children, they reminded me of that…they reminded me of what it is like to have faith like a child—and that with this faith, God will help, provide and move mountains. ♥
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