playing catch up

I need to catch up a bit so here goes:

Fiwagoh:
waking up to 210 sweet African kids praising Jesus by singing their hearts out is one of my favorite things. this is how I woke up almost every day. at fiwagoh, they have worship every morning and night. also, the seniors (oldest kids) preach. the main 3 are: Joshua, Nash, and Duncan "Senior". it's overwhelming to listen to them preach. I felt like I was listening to a 40 year old preacher with tons of experience, not a 18, 14, and 19 year old preach. the amount of scripture and spiritual maturity they have is just amazing. (I'll post pictures of all of them later) also at worship, the kids sing hymns. they know the whole hymn book by heart but listening to them just makes my heart happy.

letters. these kids LOVE to write letters. they are REALLY good writers too. by the end of the trip, I got a total of 72 letters. overwhelming. but each letter that they got in response (from anyone), they cherish forever. they cherish every little thing. a letter, a hug, an "I love you", and a hand to hold. they're funny kids too. one day, we decided to play "catch the American". one of us would run around the field and 100 Kenyan kids would chase him or her until they got tackled. the kids thought it was hilarious. they are living proof that great things can come from horrible circumstances.

Haven of Hope (Nelly's):
haven of hope is an orphanage we also worked at. Nelly's is a 6 bedroom house that holds 36 kids. we went there a few times. these kids are ages 4 days old to 11. those kids' smiles stole my heart. (I'll post pictures of them soon). Nelly's story is a true testament. she always had a heart for kids. at one point in her life, she was engaged but because he didn't want to help orphans or have kids, she ended the relationship. also, at one time, she took in 11 newborns. she hardly sleeps but loves these kids as her own.

Mama Sweetie's:
mama sweetie's was the last orphanage we went to. it's located in a village outside of Nakuru. after about 100 potholes, we made it to her house. she has 37 kids she's taken in as her own. her story is awesome, too. she lost her husband in the post-election. so she became a midwife and a spokesperson for HIV awareness. when the ladies she was midwifing for died, they left their children in the care of mama sweetie. while we were at Mama Sweetie's, the kids sang and danced for us. they sang 4 songs. in the last song, the kids started to pull our team members up to dance with them. I was picked 2nd and I just loved attempting to dance like an African.

when we went to Nelly's and Mama Sweetie's, I really saw what poverty was and how much I've been blessed living where I do. at mama sweeties, they don't have running water and sometimes they don't know where their next meal will come from. she said they live by faith knowing they will get food by the merciful, gracious God we serve. they have the faith I wish to have one day. FULL reliance on Him. no holding back.