Letters from the Kids!

Friday, July 17, 2015

Day 6

A lot happened today. It was the hardest one so far. But it was still good. So good. 

Three kids had to be taken to the hospital today and our med clinic was packed. I sat in on Alan's special education assessment and then went over to the clinic to help. We flushed out part of a pencil out of a kids ear. 

We did ringworm head treatments again. We gave out a hundred bandages. We loved on some kids.

Instead of going through every little detail of the day, I just want to share some cute words from the orphans. They LOVE writing and receiving letters so I always write back. Here are some excerpts from the letters I received today:

"I love you so much I can't explain how much I love you but God knows... Always remember you have a friend in Kenya called Louise. I will forever cherish you in my heart." - Louise

"When you go back home, greet for me Molly and your family members." - Sarah

"I thank you for the love that you gave to me through the time you came. I thank you for the smile that you give to me because no one could give me a smile. When I see you giving me a smile I smile back to you. So a smile it is so precious to us mostly me and you Shelby. and God." - Boniface 

"I love you to the moon and back. Jesus died on the cross because of our sins." -Christine

"I really pray to God that He may make me a carpenter and I may visit the states of America." - Emmanuel 

"I love you so much. thank you for the fun." - Miriam 

"I will never forget you in my life. I don't have much to tell you. God bless you." -Hannah

"Hellow? How are you? I hope that you are fine and okey Jesus love you?" -Diana (they don't quite understand the difference between exclamation points and question marks)

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Day 7

The orphanage is Seventh Day Adventist, so their sabbath is from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night. During that time we have a (very long) church service and we do not lift a finger. We are to truly rest and not do any work. 

All food is prepared beforehand and all cleaning is done right after sundown on Saturday. I sat next to Alan and some of the senior girls (aged from 17-24) and my dear friend, Nahashon, gave the message. 

During a time for testimonies, 5-year-old Grace went in front of 250+ people and said something along the lines of, "My mother killed my twin sister, but now my big sister and I get to live here. Praise God." 

I was already aware of this story and so many others, but my heart is just continually broken for these orphans. Unimaginable things have happened to them, yet they remain joyful still because they understand and have faith in what Jesus did for us and they place their hope in The Gospel.

We went on a short nature hike up and around a cliff and back to the orphanage. Kenyans are absolutely fearless and some of these kids would walk right on the edge of a 50 ft drop off while most of the the mzungus (white people) were standing as far from the edge as possible. No one got hurt (Praise The Lord!). 

Sweet little Kishanto, however, did have to go to the hospital because his fever of 104 degrees hadn't been going down. Pastor Benson and one of our nurses took him to get a shot and Kishanto will go back tomorrow if the fever rises again. 

So please join us in prayer that this is just a virus and nothing more serious. And pray that none of the other kids will get sick either. 

The kids share everything... Clothes, shoes, cups, beds, etc. So when one kids gets sick, many more follow. 

The kids got to watch not one, but TWO movies tonight! One was on Abraham and the other was on Esther. These were similar to "The Bible" series that came out a few years ago so it was very interesting to everyone. 

They set up a sheet in their dining hall and used a projector to play them. Alan fell asleep in my arms during the movie. Emmanuel went to take him to bed but a couple minutes later Alan was back in my arms fast asleep. 

I asked Emmanuel what happened and he said that when Alan realized I was no longer there, he jumped out of bed and ran back to see me. His twin brother, John, came up to us and fell asleep leaning against me. 

While I was working at Pine Cove the first half of the summer, our team secretary suggested that we all started voicing when we felt content or satisfied exactly where we are. This was one of those moments.

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." -John 4:18