Well, it's 1:30am on Saturday morning. I've been home for about 7 hours or so. I went to bed around 8pm because it's been an exhausting 2 weeks, and I didn't think my body could go any longer. I figured going to bed early and getting a good night's sleep would get my body back on Arizona time in a flash. Then I woke up at 1am and here I am. I don't think sleep is coming anytime soon, so I figured I might as well begin the long journey of blogging our trip.
We arrived in Nairobi on Wednesday, October 29th at approx. 9pm. The airport was packed and we were so glad that we were with a group who'd been there before, because we would have been lost in no time. Getting our visa and going through customs was a fairly painless process that took about 1 1/2 hours. When we were cleared to retrieve our luggage, the gentlemen who'd been cleared before us had already grabbed some of our luggage off the conveyor belt. Since we had a total of 12 bags (including carry-ons), it truly looked ridiculous and we couldn't help but tell the guys that we weren't sure if we had the right shoes for each outfit (they actually weren't too amused, believe it or not). In reality, we each only brought one suitcase and one carry-on as personal baggage, the rest held the gifts we were able to bring to the orphanage. One of the guys traveling with us, Nick, had his luggage lost. The airport said they'd probably have it for him to pick up the next day, however it actually never showed up in Nairobi. I think he actually handled it very well considering he was at the mercy of the other guys to lend him clothes the entire trip. I'm not sure I'd have done so well.
Our entry into Kibera Kids Center was late at night and we really weren't able to get a good look. We had a brief meeting in what we called the "command center" which was a communal family room of sorts and then we were off to bed.
After a couple hours of sleep, we got our first glimpse of the orphanage and the slums right behind it. This was the view from our room (note the slums in the background).
The sight is so strange from every direction. The orphanage is absolutely beautiful with all sorts of flowers and trees and grass. But just beyond the orphanage wall is such squalor. The contrast is so sharp. The people in the slums call the orphanage the "Garden of Eden". And the name fits. It truly is a remarkable place of beauty and hope in the midst of such desolation and filth.
On our first day, we had the wonderful privilege of spending time with the children in Standard One. Standard One was the classroom that held the pre-school, kindergarten and 1st grade classes. They don't have enough teachers to allow each grade their own class or teacher, so they combine them. Amie, Brea and I spent time with the pre-schoolers while the teacher, Florence, gave her lesson to the other children. There were 3 pre-schoolers so we each got one-on-one time with a child. I got to spend time with Amos. A precious 4 year old little boy who was so shy at first. I kept talking with him and he'd just look at me with his big brown eyes and keep coloring. We worked on his numbers and his letters in his journal, but it took a long while before he actually spoke to me. And his first words were asking to see my camera. The children were simply fascinated with the digital cameras. They knew what they were and had seen them before, but they LOVED to have their pictures taken. So I let Amos look at the camera and he took a couple of pictures and then we passed it around to Amie and Brea's kids as well. In the meantime, Amos took my hand and traced it in his notebook. I loved the fact that he felt that comfortable with me in such a short time. I took a picture of it and I think it is one of my favorite photos of the whole trip. The contrast of our skin is so beautiful.
And here is my Amos.
Isn't he adorable??
After a little while of playing with our pre-schoolers, Florence mentioned that the other kids in the class had chosen to use their field/play time to spend time in the classroom with the visitors (us). We were amazed and completely humbled that they'd choose us over playing outside. We read books to them, took pictures of them and let them take pictures of us. One of the young girls, Yvonne, started playing patty cake with one of their jingles. She tried to teach me, but I'm a slow learner. That eventually led into the entire class singing songs with Yvonne leading us in worship. I was amazed at the number of worships songs they sang that we already knew. And how precious that it was a first grader leading us. ABSOLUTELY BLEW MY MIND.
Here is a group photo we took with the timer (the kids really thought that was cool). Yvonne is the one in front holding her face in her hands.
That was such a great way to start our time at the orphanage and I still mark that as a highlight of the trip. My heart already misses them terribly. Somehow these children had a way of working themselves into the fabric of my heart and I feel terribly incomplete without them. I am just praying that I will get to see them again some day on this side of heaven.
I'm still emotionally working through everything and feel very disconnected with the world around me right now. I had actually felt so at home there, so completely full. I'm trying to process the fact that I have to go back to normal life and I'm trying not to be resentful about that.
My body is here. My heart is there. Somehow I'll have to learn to live with that division, because I always want my heart to remain there. I'm just hoping that my body will get to join it there again someday.
