And Then There Was 105...

Jeff got a call today that there was a two-month old baby that needed to be placed with In Step. So Carla and I got in the car and headed to town to pick up this sweet little baby.

We arrived at the courts and spoke with the magistrate regarding this little one’s story.

Heartbreaking.

The mother is 14 years old. Her step-father is the father to the child. The mother is believed to be mentally unstable.

Sickening. Saddening.

The step-father is now in prison and the mother to the baby has been in a safe place for the past few weeks.

When we met the mother, she eyed Carla and me up and down.  Not a single smile cracked from her lips.

The baby from what we could see was very malnourished and not taken care of very well. The young mother was barely producing enough milk to feed her child on a regular basis. I can only hope and think that the mother was doing the best she could with the resources she had.

When it was explained to her by the children’s officer that we would be taking the baby to the children’s home, she did not want to release her baby to us. She said she wanted to consult her mother first.  She didn’t want to make a decision until she had her mother with her. We understood.

So the children’s officer took the girl to her family’s home to retrieve her mother. When they returned, the mother to the girl (the grandmother to the baby), was explaining to her daughter that this was the best thing for her baby. This way, she could still go to school and then be able to provide for her child someday. We explained that she could be able to come and see her child at any time.

And then she handed her baby over.

I grabbed a hold of this little baby, eyes wide open, light as a feather and kissed the forehead. I looked up to the mother and gave her a nod.

And then Carla and I saw it. A smile broke across this 14-year olds face. A big smile. She began laughing and joking with her mother. It was like she was 14 again. And the weight of the world, and this baby, had been lifted off her shoulders.

Carla and I said our good-byes and headed to the car.  We knew the name of the baby was Willingtone but we didn’t know if the baby was a he or she. They kept calling the baby a ‘she’ but based on the last name, we thought the ‘she’ was really a ‘he’. We went to the backseat of the car so that Carla could put a new diaper on him/her.

When I handed the baby to Carla, I saw a greenish brown spot on my hand and wrist area.

“Umm, I think I have poop on my hand.” I say.  And then a not so brilliant move, I smell my hand. “Yep, I have poop on my hand.”

Just at that moment, Carla opens up the blanket the baby is wrapped in and there in the bum area of the pajamas is a big greenish brown spot. Carla confirms what I have already smelt on my hand.

This baby didn’t have a diaper on, nothing. The poop had run down the legs and into the footie of the pajamas.

Carla got the baby all cleaned up and a new little diaper put on, a blanket around him/her and we were good to go.

When we got home, all the kids were excited to meet their new little brother/sister.

So is Willingtone a boy or a girl? During the diaper change, it was confirmed that Willingtone is a boy!!!! 

Thank you Lord for Willy. Thank you for keeping him safe and for trusting him to In Step. We’ll all take good care of him. This is a place of love and acceptance and he’s already got it from us all: love and acceptance.

Much Love,
Meredith

Melissa Small

Last night, Sean and I spent the night out at In Step. It’s becoming a better routine for us now. When we arrive at the home, the children are usually outside at this point. When they see the vehicle turn into the driveway, they start to chant our names: “Mama Mary, Baba Sean!”  We LOVE it.

I want to write a bit about a girl named Melissa. She’s nicknamed Melissa Mdogo, which means small in Swahili. There is another Melissa at In Step and when this Melissa came, they decided to call her Melissa Mdogo because she was younger (and smaller) than the other one.

Anyway, Melissa and I actually have a history together. A history that started way before In Step and when she was very small.

Melissa’s mother used to be on the streets. She would be drunk and high as she carried Melissa on her back, going around trying to sell beads. She said they were for her daughter, but in reality it was for her addictions.

I would see Melissa and her mother almost every day on the street. Her mother had a raspy voice, with the drunken slur and I could hear her calling me from a block away, “Maaary, Maaary!”

Melissa’s hair, most of the time, would be the colour of copper, which usually signifies malnutrition. Her mother would always tell me that Melissa was hungry and needing food. On most occasions, I would run into the grocery store and buy a loaf of bread and a small carton of milk. I would sit on the steps of the grocery store with Melissa and her mother and watch Melissa scarf down the bread and milk.  I would hold this little girl (she was one when I first met her) and just love on her and pray over her. I would try to communicate with her mother, with my limited Swahili and her limited English, to help her get help. But she just didn’t.

I’m not going to lie; there were times where I would just hope that Melissa’s mother would just hand me Melissa and ask me to take care of her and raise her. I hated seeing this beautiful little girl going through such a rough life; I wanted her to have a better life than that on the street.

In early 2009, Melissa and her mother became seriously ill and ended up in the hospital. It was then that her mother realized that she had hit a rock bottom, thinking that she may die and knowing at this point in her life if she were to survive, she wouldn’t be able to take care of Melissa and her newborn son (whom no one really knew about at that time). She wanted to give them to a person/place that she knew would take care of them until she, herself, could get the help.

Our good friends at the Coffee Shop helped Melissa’s mom with the medical bills and assisted her in getting rehabilitation and helped her with a job.  It was in April of 2009 that Melissa’s mother, along with the Coffee Shop, asked In Step if they would take Melissa and Benson. And they did.

Shortly after arriving at In Step

The changes in Melissa these past two years has been incredible. She knows that she is safe and taken care of. She has a bed to sleep in and not a veranda at a shop or a hard, cold floor. She doesn’t have to wonder, at the age of one (and up) what she may or may not be eating today; she now has a full belly of food every day. She doesn’t have to worry about dying of malaria or typhoid or tuberculosis or pneumonia (due to cold weather conditions at night) because she knows that when she is sick, she will be taken to the doctors and given medicine to feel better. She doesn’t feel alone because she has 103 other children that she calls brothers and sisters.

Melissa has a relationship with her mother, who comes out every few weeks to visit her and Benson. Melissa enjoys spending that time with her mother as much as her mother enjoys seeing them. Every time we see her mother, she ALWAYS asks how her children are doing and asks us to greet them (a common comment here in Kenya) for her.

She loves her children and did what she thought was best for them.  I am so happy with her progress; she still has a way to go but she knows that she is making her life better for not only herself but for her children. That’s all that can be asked of her right now. She got a second chance at life.

And for Melissa; she too, got a second chance. God has BIG plans for this girl; He has always watched over her.  I’m so excited and thankful that we get to be a part of her story and her life, in a different way as in years ago.

Melissa today at In Step

Much Love,

Meredith

A Wonderful Destiny

Sean and I are at In Step right now. We have a sweet little four-month old in our room with us tonight. Yes, that would be the infamous Cindy (aka Cindy-Lou!).

Anyway, I want to share a story with you; a story about destiny.

She has the sweetest brown eyes I’ve ever seen and the eye lashes that a lot of women would pay money for.  She has one of the cutest smiles and when you make her funny smile face, she imitates it and we all laugh. It’s a smile where she closes her eyes really tight, scrunches her nose, and shows all of her teeth.

She didn’t always smile.

When she came to In Step on February 16, 2011, she was a broken 11-month old with the saddest eyes in the whole wide world. Her mother was mentally unstable and therefore unable to take care of her. Her father: he had broken her. He had just gone to prison for raping his daughter; this sweet little baby girl.

She didn’t know how to laugh. When her diaper was being changed, she would scream.  Perhaps in fear of what she thought was coming next, we don’t know. But she was a broken, sad little girl.

Fast forward to today.

Since being here at In Step, almost seven months now, she is one of the happiest little girls.  She LOVES to cuddle; she does not fear Sean or Jeff. She is always smiling.

When I sit down, this little girl comes over to me and wants to be held. I pick her up and she immediately buries her head into my neck, arms wrapped around me.  I get kisses on my cheek from her.  She loves to be loved.

A broken, sad baby girl is now a healing, happy little girl. She found a safe place with safe people who have so much love to give her.

So why the title “A Wonderful Destiny”? Well, her Swahili name in English means Destiny. She IS a wonderful Destiny and I pray and believe that she is destined for amazing things. She lights up a room and lights up my heart.

I adore this little girl. She is a true blessing to all who get to meet and love her.

Much Love,

Meredith 

Chaos + 104 = Love: Day 7

Jeff and Carla got back today. Sean, Cindy and I picked them up at the airport. They looked extremely refreshed and relaxed. We’re so glad that we were able to do this past week for them.

Sean and I are at our house tonight.  We said hi to some family on Skype, turn off our phones, close the dark curtains and catch up on some sleep.

There’s not really much to say for Day 7 because we were only there for a few hours before leaving. However, we had some sad children when they saw us packing up the car with some of our things. We promised to be back on Tuesday so that made it a happier “see you soon”.

So here are some of the children of In Step. Now, be careful. You may just fall in love with them like we have. J

Much Love,

Meredith

Blessing sleeping with a full belly

Abby playing with a shoe, stick and dried leaves

Churchill

Andrew

Blessing

Play time outside

Cleaning out the beans

The Infamous Cindy-Lou

Eliza

Evans

Finishing up lunch

Evelyne taking a siesta

George

Joel

Having a great time!

Mary making a mess

Luke

Mary playing a song

Naomi

Michelle

Pendo

Riziki

Rehema

Sean Normal

Sean Scary

Sammy

Sean Messy

High Chair Line

Fred

Having a serious conversation

James saying Hi!

James

Theresa

Wanjiku

Tracy

Chaos + 104 = Love: Day 6

Today was just one of those days. You know those days, where everything seems to happen and needs to be done at once?

Yes, that was today.

This week, Sean has been up at 5:15 every morning to prepare the diapers, formula, etc. for the morning aunties starting their shift. He gets the kitchen staff their things needed for the day of cooking: breakfast, lunch and dinner.  After he gets everything done, he comes back to the bedroom and crawls in to bed, hoping to get an extra 30-60 minutes of sleep before the next shift of employees report for work.

I’m usually still sleeping when he comes back in as I’m up till 10:30-11:00 with Cindy, giving her the last bottle for the night.

But this morning, Sean had barely put his head down for a few minutes when there was a hard knock at our door. Sean gets up and there is an auntie there with one of the boys; clearly he’s in trouble.  This particular boy has broken a window. He was being careless with the shoes; he was supposed to put them in the bin but instead of placing them in the bin, he was throwing them. And one hit the window.  

We had no power again this morning. It lasted for about 15 hours (all overnight) and then this morning, just when I want to take a shower, it goes out again. Haha! It was a cold shower for me again.

Sean then spent most of his morning going over some other issues of staff and the phone network not working. He spent a lot of time on the phone this morning sorting things out.

I drove to town (40+ minute drive) to pick up Melissa and Hoglah. Yay; Melissa was discharged today!!!  She’s doing great; she’s at home now. The first thing she wanted when she got home was a big plate of githeri that was served at lunch and that Sean made sure was saved and put aside for her.  Again, thank you everyone for your prayers.

Then....

A 1,500lbs package arrived at the compound.

Yes, Genny has arrived!!!

First off, when the BIG truck came onto the property and was driving to the place where Genny would now be residing, the children went CRAZY. They screamed and ran in the opposite direction; they were TERRIFIED of this big truck.  Then as the truck was leaving, after Genny was unloaded, the children screamed again, running for their lives from the truck. And the truck was NOWHERE near them.

Secondly, it was quite funny watching about 10 men trying to figure out how they were going to get this big parcel out of the truck and onto the cement pad built for Genny. Unfortunately the truck didn’t come with a ramp, which definitely would have made things easier.  They got planks of wood to use as a ramp and Sean told them that the wood wouldn’t hold; that once the weight of the generator was on the planks, they would snap in two.  And then Genny would drop to the ground. So they found metal pipes to use. It was quite comical to watch. 

I took a lot of pictures of the event (for In Step, the company that donated it and for our album). I’ll try to post them on Sunday or Monday when we have better internet service. 

Genny is now tucked away on her cement pad, awaiting Jeff and the electrician to come and hook her up. She will be a GREAT addition to the children’s home.

Today was also a day of the children wanting what they wanted when they wanted it. I had just got out of the car, coming back from the hospital, my arms full of stuff, including getting Melissa settled back, when two of the children coming running over, “Mama Mary, can I have a reading book? Mama Mary, can I have a colouring book?” I guess they didn’t see that I had my arms full. And when I told them to wait, I got the pouty look.  :-)

Sean was also in the midst of helping with the generator stuff when one of the children wanted a reading book. So Sean and I used these two times to teach the children a little bit about waiting/patience and boundaries.  

With 104 children and 36 staff here, there is always at least someone that needs something.

I am going to take a moment to brag about my husband. Sean is one heck of a man; let me tell you.  He has stepped up to the plate in so many ways.  He has done a great job this week.  I’ve loved being able to see his fatherly love for the children here; he’s a natural. The children just naturally gravitate to him; they feel loved by and safe with him. He knows how to have fun with them and yet, how to be firm and discipline them. Sean has found it, what makes him tick. He is definitely where God wants him to be.

So, thank you Sean, for your amazing love, not only to me but to the 104 children. Thank you for being an amazing role model and father to them this past week.  I am so incredibly proud of you and I am so incredibly thankful for you.  I love you so very very much.

Good night everyone.

Much Love,

Meredith

Chaos + 104 = Love: Day 5

First off, I forgot to tell you all what we had for dinner last night. It was rice and beans; one of my favourite meals.  And let me tell you, the bean song....it’s true....for people of all ages in all different countries. J

Secondly, Melissa had her eye surgery today. Finally. She’s in a bit of pain but is doing well. We hope that she’ll be home tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your continued prayers for Melissa; they are GREATLY appreciated.

Today was a busy day (then again, what day isn’t).  Sean was in town, checking in on Melissa and buying bread and other supplies for the home, for the next few days.

I was here with the keys for all the storage rooms and cabinets so I was a busy lady in getting things that people needed. Plus we had a special friend come over today for the children.

A dear friend of mine (and Carla’s), Julie Tate, comes to In Step twice a month. The first Friday of every month (when she’s not away on furlough), she comes and has story time with the children. The first group is ages 5-9ish and the second group is 10 and up.  On the third Saturday of the month, she comes and her children just play and hang out with the children here.

So today, Julie spent a few hours reading to the two age groups. The children love it. I was in the room as she read to the older children. She read Anne of Green Gables (a Canadian classic – and Julie’s American – how cool is that?) and the children LOVED it. Perhaps it was because Anne, in the story, was an orphan, just like many of the children listening to the story today. Or it could be Julie’s awesome, animated way of reading the story. J I’m glad that Julie does this; it’s great for the children.

This afternoon, I took two children to the clinic. The first one, Dorcas, was receiving her next injection for diaper rash. And oh my goodness, that little baby girl, did not even flinch as the doctor injected her with a needle. She’s one tough little thing.  The second one, Joshua, well, he wasn’t so tough. His crying got harder and harder the closer and closer we got to the clinic. He knew where we were going and he was afraid of getting an injection.

I had Joshua buckled in the backseat; he’s three and half years old and he kept saying, “No Mama Mary. No daktari. No Mama Mary.”  Then when we pulled into the clinic’s lot, he started to scream. I got him from the back seat and held him tight; he would NOT let go of me. He kept saying in Swahili, “Mama Mary. I want to go home. I don’t like the doctor. Please Mama Mary.”  I’d look at his face with these big drops of tears coming down and his lip quivering and he’s holding on to me for dear life. I kept telling him it was okay; I was here and I wasn’t going to let him go.

When we get into the Dr. Shadrack’s room, Joshua is not happy. He’s begging me to take him back to the car.  Dr. Shadrack reassures him that he will be okay and that I will be with him the whole time. And then....I have to take him to the lab room so that his finger can get pricked with a needle to get blood drawn.

Not fun.

Joshua begins screaming when he sees us going into the lab room. Clearly he’s been in there before and clearly he knows what is coming up. I carry him in there, kissing his forehead, saying it’s going to be okay and then the lab tech grabs his hand. He tries to pull his hand away, screaming in Swahili, “No Mama Mary. I want to go to the car. Please Mama Mary.” And before he knows it, his finger has been pricked and it’s over and done with.

But Joshua still cries.

So we go and sit down on the bench and wait for the test results. I have him cuddled on my knee, with my arms tightly around him, telling him that he did such a good job and I was so proud of him. He calmed down and did that little sound that children make when they’ve been screaming but they’re relaxing. I can’t describe it but it’s like a constant sigh/catching of breath.

We got the test results back; the poor guy had malaria. And the reason it was thought from one of the aunties that he had malaria was because he woke up in the middle of the night, screaming that he had snakes all over his body and in his bed. Apparently, hallucination is a sign of malaria.

So once we got Joshua all taken care of, I got him back into the car, as well as Dorcas and Bafo and Churchill who came for the ride to watch the two little ones.  As we were driving home, Joshua’s mood changes; he’s a bit more talkative and no more tears. I tell him in Swahili that we are going home now.

And then I hear the sweetest thing:

“Mama Mary ni mzuri sana. Mama Mary ni mzuri sana.”

Joshua is saying, “Mama Mary is very good. Mama Mary is very good.” I asked Bafo to confirm what Joshua was saying because I didn’t want to make it up in my head and pretend that I heard that. Bafo looks at me and he says, “Joshua is saying: Mama Mary is very good. That means you, Mama Mary.” 

Yes, my heart melted. Yes, I gave Joshua a great big hug and kiss when we got out of the car. Wouldn’t you?

We were without power for over 24 hours. Well, some places on the compound had power and other parts didn’t. There seemed to be a problem in the area with low voltage. It was getting a bit hectic as the kitchen staff and laundry staff had run out of water (yeah, those are two pretty important areas of work here). We were almost out of water in the building as we were unable to pump from the borehole into the tanks. After a few phone calls, including a higher up person, it was finally fixed.

So yes, I am in luxury right now. I have running water, flushable toilets, and electricity (unless this current rainfall is going to knock it out again).  Pretty sweet, eh?

For dinner tonight, we had ugali and sukuma wiki. We have it for lunch a few times a week but don’t you worry, we didn’t have it for lunch and dinner today. That would just be silly.

Tonight we ended the evening with a movie for the older children. We watched Tron: Legacy; the new Disney one. Sean and I both really like it and since the children LOVED their glow sticks, we thought since the movie looks like a bunch of glow sticks, they would like it. And they did.

Well, we’re going to retire for the evening. I have to feed Miss Cindy-Lou and put her to bed and then catch a few zzz’s for myself.

Good night everyone. Until tomorrow.

Much Love,

Meredith

Chaos + 104 = Love: Day 4

Today, I was away for a chunk of the day. Thursday’s are our Ladies’ Bible Study at Sean’s and my house. We’re doing a Beth Moore bible study titled Beloved Disciple. It’s based on John. It’s REALLY good.

Anyway, even though I was away for part of the day, I can still talk about what happened today.

Update on Melissa: Oh the joys of Kenyan hospitals, especially the public ones, and the doctors. Originally Melissa’s eye surgery was scheduled for Wednesday but then somewhere along the way, the doctor realized that it was a holiday (the end of Ramadan) and therefore wasn’t coming in. Thankfully we found that out before she went in and got admitted on the Tuesday. But the doctor told us to bring her on Wednesday, have her admitted, so that they could do the surgery first thing this morning (Thursday).  So this morning, we find out that the doctor, who told her to come and be admitted so he could do the surgery today, took off to Nairobi this morning. He didn’t bother to tell us. So another doctor said that he would be able to perform the surgery but then realized that the hospital didn’t have “sutures numbers eighty” so he couldn’t do the surgery. Eliud (a staff at In Step) went around town to see if he could find these “sutures number eighty” so that the doctor could perform his surgery. Unfortunately Eliud couldn’t find any and neither could the doctor.

Long story short.....Melissa is SUPPOSED to have her surgery tomorrow morning.

If it doesn’t happen, we will get her out of the hospital tomorrow and arrange for next week. They usually don’t do surgeries (unless emergency) during the weekends and Melissa and Hoglah will have already spent two nights in the hospital unnecessarily; they don’t need to be there all weekend either.

So please pray that the surgery does happen, sooner rather than later.

Yesterday, Sean found a rat in the storage area and he had mentioned to the older boys he had seen one. Well, this put the older boys in a rat hunting mood. This morning, the boys were knocking on our bedroom door, “Baba Sean, Baba Sean. Can we go and kill the rats now?” Sean had them wait until the cleaners had finished cleaning and the floors were dry. In between the first knock and the time Sean gave them the go-ahead, there were two more knocks on the door, “The cleaning ladies are almost done. Can we go kill them now?” or “The cleaning ladies are done. Can we go now?” and then the go-ahead, “The floor is dry. Can we go NOW?”

I must mention that one of the reasons the boys like killing rats is because for every rat they kill, they get ten shillings (about 11 cents). The other reason, I believe, is because boys are boys and there is the “warrior” in each of them.

So right away, Bafo found ten baby rats nuzzled in a medical bottle (like the ones used to collect urine). Gross; in a medical bin!  They found a big rat (probably the mom of the babies) but with all the stuff in the storage, it was able to sneak away. The boys are determined to get it though. Maybe tomorrow?? We’ll see how many knocks we have on our door tomorrow.

There were four children that went to the clinic today:  the first had a boil on his leg, the second one was getting her second injection for her diaper rash, the third and fourth were diagnosed with malaria.

It may seem like a lot of children going to the clinic but in the overall picture, there have been just a few in the past few days (not every day) and out of 104 children, it’s not that bad at all.

After the younger kids went to bed, Sean and I got together with the older children. Sean read them the first two chapters of Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew. They were very excited about it. We’re hoping that we’ll be able to do that with them a few nights a week. This will help us to build a relationship with them, where we can discuss things, whether it be personal or every day sort of stuff and to just spend time with them.

The power is not working right out here at this time (has been this way for about five hours); it didn’t rain so who knows why. And we can’t find out why because the phone network isn’t working for us to call them. The power seems to have low voltage in some areas. Only a few of our lights work in the house; for example, the hallway works and where the children are all sleeping; our bathroom light works but our bedroom light doesn’t. And no, it’s not that the bulb is out.  J And no, Genny hasn’t arrived yet. L

Well, it’s getting late. Miss Cindy Lou is curled up beside me on the bed, telling me that it is almost feeding time and then bed time. Actually Sean just sneezed; Cindy Lou jumped and now she’s crying.  Sean’s consoling her; he’s afraid she’ll be afraid of him now. I don’t think that’ll happen.  He’s such a gentle giant that people love him way too much. And now she’s talking his ear off; she’s forgiven him.

Sean’s happy.

And so am I.

Good night everyone.

Much love,

Meredith