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
0 comments:
Post a Comment