Chaos + 104 = Love: Day 3

This morning, Sean and I wanted the older children to gather around Melissa and pray for her. And so we got them all together, put Melissa in the middle and we all laid hands on her and prayed.  Then Sean drove her and Hoglah (our social worker) to the hospital where she was admitted and tomorrow morning the surgery will take place. So please continue to pray for her surgery tomorrow.

We also did an afternoon clinic run for four children: the first was diagnosed with malaria, the second has a stomach bug, the third has diaper rash and the fourth has a blocked ear. All of them are on antibiotics now and should be doing better in a day or two.

On Wednesdays, it’s the bread and tomato purchase so while Sean was taking Hoglah and Melissa to the hospital, he bought them. He bought 24 loaves of bread which only last two days here (bread is bought three times a week) and 20kgs of tomatoes. This too will last only a few days. Tomatoes are a big cooking ingredient here. Thankfully, with the greenhouses donated to In Step, we’re starting to grow our own tomatoes.

There is a little boy (about a year and a half old) here named Sean. Yes, he is named after Sean Stewart but take it from me; they don’t really look that much alike. J Anyway, Little Sean fell and hurt himself today. He scraped up his leg pretty good and there was some blood dripping from it so all the little children were calling for me, “Mama Mary, Mama Mary.” They brought Sean over to me so that I could see his boo-boo. I took him inside the house and cleaned up his leg and then put a band-aid on it. He stared at it and then at me, probably thinking, “What the heck is this that you just put on my leg?”

I took him back outside and all the children gathered around him, pointing and touching the band-aid. They asked me in Swahili what it was; I told them it was a band-aid. At one point, Little Sean had to seek refuge behind me because all the children were pointing and touching his leg. Some of the older ones knew what it was and were informing me that Little Sean had a band-aid on his leg. Just in case I wasn’t aware.

Now that the band-aid was the talk of the town, children of all ages, were coming up to me with their boo-boos, even ones that had healed over and were weeks or even months old, saying they needed a band-aid. Yeah, I was born in the morning, but not this morning. I wasn’t going to let their cute chubby faces and pouty lips get away with that one. J

This afternoon, I was in the veranda with the babies and aunties when Sean walked in. Samuel (he’s a pastor here that comes with his wife on Wednesdays to be with the children; his wife does the girl’s hair and on Sundays to teach the children) walked over to Sean and told him that some of the aunties needed Sean.  In a joking manner, I said, “He’s mine!” Everyone BURSTED out laughing. The aunties were embarrassed and laughed the hardest and my husband turned three shades of red.  Thankfully, he thought it was a good one.

Tonight’s dinner was AWESOME. We had sausages and deep-fried/breaded potatoes. The potatoes are the best part...probably because they are breaded AND deep-fried. Who doesn’t like deep-fried food?

After the younger children went to bed, Sean and I brought out glow sticks for the 12 older children. We turned out the lights on the veranda, got the glow sticks glowing and had fun. Who knew glow sticks could be so entertaining? J

Well, I think it’s time to sign off. Cindy’s belly is full and she is nuzzled in bed. Sean’s eyes are heavy and he’s nuzzled in bed. So I should follow suit and nuzzle into bed too.

Good night everyone.

Much Love,

Meredith

Chaos + 104 = Love: Day 2

Funny how things work here in Kenya, especially when it comes to the Kenya Power & Lighting (but mostly Darkness) Company. We had torrential downpour on Sunday night into Monday morning. The power didn’t flicker, not even once. We don’t even have a drop of rain last night and this morning and what happens? The power is out all night and into this morning and throughout the rest of the day today. Go figure.

And a cold shower I took this morning. Brrrrr!!!!

We had two different groups of people come out to In Step today. The first group was with our friends Louie & Rita Self. They had brought with them five women who just wanted to come and love on the children for a few hours. And that they did.

The children immediately grabbed a hold of the visitors’ legs and it was hook, line and sinker from there on in. The children had ten extra arms to be wrapped up in. They LOVED it.

The second group to come out were our friends, Betsy, Aly, Georgina, Andrew and Jonathan.  They are usually regulars here. Andrew and Jonathan are heading back to the States next week; Georgina is going back to Nairobi to finish up her last semester of university but Betsy and Aly will still be coming by.

It’s always great having visitors here. With 104 children, it’s obvious that they can’t all be hugged or given attention to all at the same time.  It’s definitely a gift when teams/visitors come out and love on the children for a day. So people from around the world, if you feel like huggin’ on and lovin’ on some sweet African children, come on over. We got lots for you to love. J

Before dinner, the children went outside to swing on the swings and play around the yard. I went outside with them and the kids asked me to do my dance, which consists of me putting my hands up in the air and turning around in a circle. The children then followed and we had a big dance party.  

Sean’s been keeping pretty busy today. He had to run into town to get some paperwork done for the generator (aka Genny!) that is coming out THIS WEEK to In Step. It was donated from somewhere in the US and shipped on a container here. It’s been a long time wanted and needed out here so everyone is pretty excited about its arrival. Genny is going to be loved here.

Sean also did a clinic run today with one of our boys, Dennis. He woke up this morning with a headache. He was given medicine but the headache persisted and he got a bit of a fever.  So we thought it might be malaria. It’s better to be safe than sorry. And we were correct; the poor little guy tested positive for malaria. He’s on medication now for it.

Every afternoon around three o’clock, we go around and ask the Aunties if any of the children need to go to the clinic. If so, we pile those that are sick, up in one of the vehicles and drive to the nearby clinic. In Step has a wonderful relationship with a doctor there, named Shadrack, who loves the children and takes excellent care of them. He’s definitely a treasure to In Step.

Also, one of our girls, Melissa, is having eye surgery on Thursday, early in the morning here. She will be admitted into the hospital tomorrow afternoon (our social worker is with her); the surgery will only take an hour or so and then she will hopefully be released on Friday to come home. So if everyone could pray for her over the next few days that would be greatly appreciated.

I also thought it would be cool to share what our dinners consist of everyday, since it’s the one that changes every day. Breakfast is chai (tea) and bread; lunch is either ugali (a corn flour and water like mixture, pronounced oo-gal-ee) and sukuma wiki (similar to kale back in North America, pronounced sue-kuu-ma wee-key) or githeri (a maize kernel and bean mixture, pronounced gee-there-ee).

A little fun Kenyan fact for you all:

Last night for dinner, we had tacos. They had meat, mashed avocadoes, tomatoes and onions all wrapped up in a chapati (similar to our tortillas back home but a bit more greasy).  So yummy!  The fun part of this story is that “taco” in Swahili is spelt “tako” and it actually it means “bum/butt”.  So you can imagine a Kenyan’s surprise (and probable disgust) when you tell them that you’re favourite food back in North America are tacos.  

Tonight’s dinner we had rice and green grams (similar to peas) and for dessert was a half an orange. A yummy meal, I must say.

After dinner, the children are all cleaned up and then it’s a chaotic moment (well more like twenty-thirty chaotic minute moments) of getting all the children into pajamas.  The younger ones and babies go to bed pretty much right after that and the older ones clean the dining area and put the clothes away of the younger children.  

It’s chaotic but an organized chaotic.

Sean and I (oh yes, and Cindy-Lou) are getting settled in our room for our night. Little Miss Princess demands attention and when I turn my head from her to type, she squeaks at me. So I better do as she says and give her all of my attention. J

Good night everyone. Until tomorrow.

Much Love,

Meredith

Chaos + 104 = Love: Day 1

Chaos? Really?

There are one hundred and four children. Yes, you read correctly: 104 children. The majority of them are under the age of five.

So is there chaos? Yes. A bad chaos? No.

Last night it rained; no, it was more like a torrential downpour. For hours it rained, even well into the morning.

And where there is rain here, there is mud. Lots and lots of mud (so glad Sean and I bought rain boots while in Canada) plus lots and lots of children equals: not a good combo.

This morning Sean took Jeff, Carla and their adult children to the airport for their one-week safari. I stayed back to keep an eye on things and to pray that the rain would stop. J

I wanted the rain to stop so that the children could go out and play. Thankfully the older children had chores to do but 80+ little ones were held indoors until the rain stopped.  After a little while, the children get bored of sitting inside; they need to be outside to run and play, to expel all that energy.

Lord, PLEASE stop the rain, even for a few hours.  And He did. Thank you.

The children busted through the doors to the great outside with extreme excitement. I think we were all excited: the aunties, the social worker, the children and me.

Children are not really meant to be indoors all the time. Seriously. Go out and play; soak up the sun, play in the mud, swing on a swing, throw a ball around. Being inside all the time is way overrated.

Anyway…

The children are starting to call Sean, Baba Sean (Baba is Dad/Father in Swahili) and me, Mama Mary.

We walk onto the veranda in the morning (it’s this long room lined with high chairs for the babies, tables and chairs for the bigger children and a section with a TV and DVD player where The Wiggles, Barney and Sesame Street are played from time to time for the children) to greet the children. “Baba Sean, Mama Mary!” is screamed throughout the veranda. I think we’re still a novelty here. I’m sure that will quickly wear off.

My day today was filled with holding babies who needed to be held, toddlers who needed some affection and children who needed attention after hurting themselves. I’ve got today’s breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner imbedded in my shirt and skirt. Yes, this is life. A good one.

This evening we spent some time with the twelve older children (7-17) as we all ate mangos (thank you Sarah, Thomas and Matt for those) and quoted The Lion King movie. Hakuna matata!!!!

So now, Sean and I go to our bedroom and call it a night. Oh yes, and we can’t forget Miss Cindy-Lou who will be staying in our room with us while we’re here. She’s a four-month old gorgeous little girl who has a bit of a trachea problem and its better that she is fed, burped and monitored closely. So we have a nice little basket with a mosquito net all set up in our room for her. Yes, she is a princess.

Off to bed we go. Good night everyone.

Much love,
Meredith (& Sean)

Lunch Out With The Neema Girls

On Wednesday, Sean and I took the Neema girls (Metrine, Lilian, Olivia and Elizabeth) and Janet (the house mom) out for lunch. Since the girls have graduated from the program and with us starting our next chapter with In Step, we wanted to have some time with them.

So here are some pictures of our afternoon (Oh and three of the girls tried ice cream for the FIRST time).  Enjoy!

Lilian eating ice cream for the first time. 

Must. Breathe. Warm. Air. In.

I LOOOOVE these girls!

Auntie Mary, I GOT this ice cream thing. - Elizabeth

OH COOOOLD!!! Okay, maybe not. - Elizabeth

Olivia trying ice cream for the first time

Trying to cover her mouth to warm it up!!!

Metrine has eaten ice cream before.

She barely even flinches at the cold.

Janet...THE Mum....what a lady! <3

What a GREAT day!!!