Eunice-she loves long hugs. her precious face lit up every time we made eye contact. shes 12 but just like all the other kids at fiwagoh, has maturity beyond her age. she's pretty shy but finds love by just a physical touch and an "I love you" or "nakupenda" (I love you in Swahili)
Sylvia-she's the first child who caught my hand. she doesn't talk much but she enjoys just sitting and having someone beside her.
Sarah-she is the shyest 5 year old I've ever met. but that's what makes her precious. she loves holding my hand and twisting my fingers. she just wants physical love by just having a hand to hold. when she sat in my lap at sabbath, she fell asleep and melted my heart. she has to warm up to you, but once she does, she will always be by your side.
Dennis-this precious boy stole my heart. he loves to look at me and when we make eye contact he runs away. he's always upbeat and has energy to do whatever. he's Eunice's brother, too. when he wore his toboggan, his little ears would stick out and his hat would poof up at the top. SO cute.
Danson- this little boy was definitely a favorite. he's only been at fiwagoh for 3 months. when I first met him, I could never get his name right. but as we got closer, it was impossible to forget that loving spirit. he taught me lots of Swahili. he loves hugs and holding my hand.
Eliud- this little boy was crazy. when I got his first letter, he stole my heart. he can write really well. he didn't really like to give hugs but towards the end, he knew he had to. he loved to scare me with these huge African beetles. but all in all, he was very wise for being a 13 year old boy.
Emma Jane- she was the cook for us. shes 18 and her mom works at the school. she gave me a tour of the fiwagoh campus and she has a real honest personality.
big Joseph- there are 12 josephs at fiwagoh and he is the oldest one. he is 17. I didn't meet him until the 2nd week, but I'm glad that I did. he was the king of tetherball and we played a lot. he became one of my best friends there. he shared his testimony with me. and he comforted me when I was having a hard time about leaving. he became a part of my family. all 210 of them did.
Duncan "Senior"- there are 3 duncans at fiwagoh and he is the oldest. he's 19 and I found out he and joseph are brothers. Duncan senior never got my name right but that's ok. he is just a big softy who loves to play around. he can work hard but can also joke around and be happy.
Nash- now he is amazing. first, his work ethic is so good. he was in charge of all the senior boys that worked on the playground. he was always working and never stopped to enjoy what he was doing. he found joy when everyone started playing and loving what he did. second, he's only 14. when I first heard him speak I thought he was at least 18. his spiritual maturity level is way higher than his age. he became a brother to me. he taught me lots of Swahili and loved to laugh when I said the words wrong (which happened often).
big John- big John. what can I say. he was the sweetest. I didn't know him for very long, but when I did, he was precious. he's 18 I think. he loved to garden and was just a big sweetheart. I'm glad I got to meet him because he is just awesome.
there's a ton more that stole my heart. all 210 of them did. when we did the hug line the last day, I felt like every child I hugged took a piece of my heart. that was one of the hardest things I've had to do. saying goodbye to all of these kids was just hard. how can you say goodbye to these people who had your heart after the first time you met them? only with the strength from our loving God was I able to say goodbye to them.
I KNOW they have made an imprint on me and I hope that I have made an imprint on them.
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