Fiwagoh!!! =)

Day 11

We are at FIWAGOH!!:)  This place just has something special about it.  I could feel it as soon as we arrived and all of the 180+ children were singing their hearts out to us…and I felt it as I woke up this morning.  It’s so crazy to think of the many children…and the many places we have been since arriving in Africa. But since arriving I sort of feel this peace and this “at home” feeling.  Something about Fiwagoh seems perfect and I woke up this morning with excitement of getting to know these precious children even more.  Below shows a picture of the Fiwagoh Home & Orphanage.  This is the view of the home when arriving through their gates.  They have so much open land and the background is absolutely beautiful.  I tried taking pictures but they really don’t do it justice…When I woke up this morning and looked out the window as I brushed my teeth using my bottle of water…I had this overwhelming feeling of JOY in my heart…as I looked at at God’s creation and the beautiful mountains…and as I listened to the sweet giggles coming from the girl’s rooms…This was such a wonderful moment where I had to just stop and thank God again for bringing me here…Who would have thought?? All I ever wanted to do was to go to Africa—And NOW I’m here! I’m experiencing it and I’m LOVING it all…and more importantly, I’m falling IN LOVE with all of these precious children.

Below are pictures that are seen from my window as well.  The men working are SO talented and are such hard workers.  I kept looking down at them and thinking how long the process of building and doing construction must take here…I thought of my dad…and how much he could help them!  …I always brag about my dad and how he can do and fix ANYTHING…and as I looked down as these men working so precisely…I just thought of how much my dad and other men here in America could help these guys…and help so many villages in Africa.  This men don’t have nice equipment and tools…they seriously do it all by hand!

We spent the day worshipping together with all of these children and oh my, let me tell you, their voices are BEAUITFUL!  So beautiful!  They sing with their whole heart—holding nothing back!  It’s captivating and so inspiring. After this we went to their BIG backyard. We had different stations set up where the kids played soccer, kick ball, did relays and played other fun games.  The game I was in charge of is called “What Time is it Mr. Fox?”  I played this game with my preschoolers in Mankato all of the time…and I thought of how the children here in Africa were and I just knew they’d love this game…Yes, they are much older then 4 & 5 year olds…but they appreciate SO much and their smiles explained just how grateful they were for having us there and for spending some time with them. Here’s how the game goes: Caitlin and I stood at the front with our backs toward the kids. The kids would yell, “What time is it Mr. Fox?!” We would then yell out a time, such as 5 o’clock!! …The kids would then take 5 steps toward us and would stop and then ask us again, “What time is it Mr. Fox?” We continued to call out times until the children were right next to us and were as close as we could get them.  Then when they asked us what time it was, we would yell LUNCH TIME! …And we’d turn around and try to tag them.  Whoever we tagged would come back with us and would help us tag the rest of the children. OH MY GOODNESS---PURE JOY!!! They LOVED this…We were ALL SMILES…Our team leader even had to come over and tell me and Caitlin to try and keep it down because we were distracting the rest of the kids in the other groups…they were all looking over at us and were watching and wondering what we were doing…then our team leader smiled and said, that’s ok—they’re having so much fun and they deserve it. So we smiled & continued to play!:) We also were just sweating…we had been standing outside under the warm sun and had been running and chasing these kids for like 2 hours and Caitlin and I would just look at each other…wipe our sweat off our faces and call out another time!  Yes, we were tired from traveling the day before and from getting to bed late and from waking up early and from running around in the warm sun…BUT, we also knew that these kids DESERVED it and that we could catch up on sleep when we got back to America…So we kept smiling and calling out times!:)  …But while I was playing this game I kept thinking to myself, oh my goodness, I’m so thirsty—water would feel SO good…Our team leader went to town to buy more bottle of water since our whole team was out…so we didn’t have any…and that was fine…because just about as soon as the thought, “Oh, I’m so thirty” came into my mind—I shot it right back out…Because these children go through this EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! …They are CONSTANTLY THIRSTY AND HUNGRY…and never mind clean, pure, healthy water.  They have to drink what they have…and never mind having a variety of food…they get the SAME thing…DAY…After day…after day…Beans and rice…beans and rice…BEANS AND RICE.  Let’s just say I no longer felt thirsty…but rather my heart broke for all of these precious children that I was falling in love with…that I was getting to know…that I was becoming friends with…we were becoming a family.

My time at Fiwagoh was absolutely WONDERFUL…And going back to when my mouth was dry and I could have used some water. After leaving there I received many letters (I plan on sharing some of them with you in the future!)  Here is one letter I received from a sweet little boy named Alvin. (Remember their English isn’t the best, put for all that they’ve been through and for the education they have receive, they do a GREAT job!)

To Dear Shanna,

How are you? I hope that you are fine. I want to thank you for coming here in this mission and being my friend. These is one thing that I have learned about you and that is kindness. Thanks very much for the games that you taught us. They were interesting and made me to forget that I was hungry and thirsty. Your influence really impressed my heart. I mostly enjoyed one game and that is soccer ball. Even the scripture songs that you taught me and my fellow students. God sent his son to save the world and teach how to keep the Sabbath Day holy. And God inspires even children to do his good work. And I wanted to tell you also that Jesus denied himself to relieve those who suffered to be needy than he.   

From Your Friend,

            Alvin

…Welcome Again…

 Ouch…my heart continues to hurt…It continues to want to MAKE A DIFFERENCE…. It continues to think and pray for those children…Don’t believe you can change the world and make a difference?  Think again!  …Going to Africa and spending time with all of those kids was HUGE for me…I’m a difference person because of it…But so are they…and this is the most important part.  Coming to Fiwagoh, we brought them JOY…LOVE…and HOPE! And we DID make a difference…and I pray that God continues to use me to make a difference for all of the precious and lonely children all over the world…That truly need SO much…But who want one simple thing: Love.  

Does your heart hurt? …Mine sure does…But I keep finding my hope and rest in the Lord, knowing that HE DOES have a GREAT PLAN for these children…and I truly do believe that with my whole heart…and I’m so thankful that these kids are Fiwagoh know their Heavenly Father…Because I do know that no matter what happens here on this earth…I know that here…now…It’s all just temporary. We won’t live forever…some time we’ll leave this place…and when we do…I’m more than certain that I’ll be in Heaven with Jesus…and with all of these precious children that I met…singing and worshiping our God just like we did in their concrete kitchen in Kenya.

 

 Below is a picture of Duncan! :) Aka, our brother in Africa!



After our afternoon of fun and games, the kids wanted to take a little walk. We thought oh FUN! A nature walk with all of the 180 kiddos—Perfect! And it was just that…PERFECT!:)  But I must say, a little walk to them turned into like a 6 mile hike! J This was also one of my most favorite times of the whole trip…Walking hand in hand with all of these children…and getting to know them each a little bit more. Oh, and might I add we saw Flamingos & Monkeys! …Then after going on this hike and having such a wonderful time…we went back and ALL of our hearts were SO heavy…we were in our rooms…and so many of us just starting breaking down…These CHILDREN…these PRECIOUS…and GORGEOUS…and LOVING…and BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN. They all had been through SO much…and we were all falling in love with them and NOT wanting to say good bye in the morning…After having a “moment” in our room..I headed back down stairs, and my eyes were puffy…and my heart was heavy…and I just wanted to lay in bed and cry out to God to help them…and to be with them…and to ask WHY? I don’t get it…these children are all so perfect and wonderful…Why do they have to live like this? And why were they betrayed by their loved ones? ….And why and why and WHY? …But, I knew I needed to spend more time with them—even though it was so hard for me to fight back the tears and to put a smile on my face…But I knew I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible, for morning would come way too soon…and before we knew it…we would have to do what we all dreaded…

…Saying Good-Bye.