WOW!

 Below is Bishop Wright's For Faith message for June 13, 2013. "Wow" has been our word for Kenya, 2014.

 

"Wow" to the 7 little boys who have won our hearts this year and who are brave enough to leave their families for a better opportunity.

"Wow" to the wonderful support group in Kenya who have stepped up to make the Comet House for Boys happen and over the years have planted the seeds which have given fruit to plant another seed and so the cycle goes round one child at a time.

"Wow" to the beautiful people of Kenya and the Gituku family who work tirelessly and to their community who support them.

"Wow" to the beautiful Maasi Mara where we spent 3 days seeing God's Creation in its natural environment. What a sense of humor God has in creating such diverse creatures.

So thank you, Bishop Wright, for putting words to our "Wow" better than we are able. I am blessed to get to go to Kenya with my grandson, to paint a house there and find God there.

"WOW"

13 June 2014 Wow!   People say "wow" a lot in conversations today. Have you noticed that? Mostly it's an expression of polite interest. But wow is a spiritual state.Wow is the grandchild of awe and majesty. Wow is how we respond to beauty, immensity and complexity. Wow is a fast car to God. Wow is stars on a black night, lightning at sea, a hovering full moon. It's a tall pine tree waving, a sleeping child, a Maya Angelou sentence.   Wow offers us a chance at real humility. Wow is to stand before something superior in genius and feel an elegance we did not create, could not create. Wow orders the chin upward in praise. Or, downward in solidarity with the lowly. Wow softens the heart. Wow is considering the works of God's fingers, galaxies, quasars and quarks and knowing "the Lord is mindful of us and cares for us." Wow!                                                                     Psalm 8     We arrived back in Atlanta at 1 am this morning (Saturday), 33 hours after leaving Nairobi.  Our flights from Nairobi to Brussles and Brussels to Newark were unventful.  After clearing customs in Newark we found out our flight to Atlanta was cancelled so we were rebooked to Atlanta, via Houston!  Parker pointed out that it was Friday the 13th! Below are a few photos from our last day in Kenya: A visit to the Elephant Orphanage, where elephants orphaned due to ivory poaching are raised. It takes eight years before these babies can be re-introduced into the wild. Ethel, after purchasing a Kenyan purse at a Maasai Market for Katie. We made a final visit to Comet House.  Nancy and Parker hung curtains in the kitchen before the boys came home from school.  We picked the material out in Atlanta not knowing what color had been selected for the walls.  A local seamstress sewed the curtains in Kenya.  We were tickled by how well they went with the wall color. Fredrick's mom preparing dinner for the boys.  Seven little boys can eat a lot of cabbage!  Left overs are packed for the next day's school lunches.   Nancy and Wycliffe. Andrea went over Joseph's homework with him after school.

The boys worked to get the collars on their school uniforms clean.  They wash their uniforms and shoes every day after getting home from school at 4:30.  They then tackle homework with the assistance of Josephat, their tutor, before dinner and bed.

Josephat helping Morris with homework. Josephat was an orphan who grew up in the nearby Karai Children's home.  He is now in university and lives at Comet house, serving as tutor and night time  security guard.   We delivered food to Jane's family.  We first met Jane (on right in back row) when she was 7 years old at the Compass School in 2008.  She is now in the 7th grade and doing well in school.  She was just chosen for a leadership position in her Girl Scout troop.  She has become a beautiful young lady.

Three Days in the Mara

The word was WOW!

This was the fourth trip to the Fig Tree Camp in the Maasai Mara for Nancy and Ethel.  We were thrilled to see  our waiters Mustafa and Johnson from two years ag, who greeted us warmly, and asked about "the girls" (Hannah, Julia and Caroline) from our last trip.  The manager also remembered us and as a result we received some special surprises..  

Rather than go on three two hour drives on Tuesday, the manager suggested we take box lunches so we could stay out all day.   We spent ten hours out in the savannah that resulted in the best safari we've ever been on.  We saw four of the "Big Five", including lions, cape buffalo, elephants and the elusive leopard.  In addition, we saw cheetah, every type of antelope, wart hogs (nicknamed the Kenya Express by our guide because of the funny way they run), zebras, giraffes, hippos, baboons, vervet monkeys, genet cats, crocodiles and thousands of wildebeest who have made their way to Kenya as part of the Great Migration.  

We felt so lucky to spend almost thirty minutes watching a leopard drag his kill toward a tree where he hung it in the limbs to keep other animals from stealing it.  The migration is one of the last great migrations in the world and usually occurs in mid-July.  Because of lack of ran in Tanzania, the herds which number in the millions have moved to Kenya early this year.  The only big animal we missed was the rhino which is nearing extinction due to poaching.  Only 42 remain in the park.

Another special surprise happened this morning as we finishing up our morning game drive.  As we came around a corner we found Mustafa and a cook waiting for us with an elaborate bush breakfast.  It was a wonderful way to end our safari.

Below are a few photos of the safari.

Baboon mothers carry their babies on their backs.

Thousands of wildebeast dot the landscape as they migrated into Kenya.

A mother lion with her daughter and son resting up before they go out for an afternoon hunt.

This is actually a yawn - not a growl.

Leopard on the prowl.

Mama and Daddy ostrich out for a stroll.

Topi stand on termite hills in order to better spot predictors.

Zebra precede the wildebeast in the migration.

Giraffe.

Elephants.

Hippos.

Parker joining the Maasai in the "jumping dance" which is part of the courting ritual.  Maasai Men participate in contests to see how can jump the highest.  Young women then choose who the want to marry at these contests.  The higher one can jump the more attractive they are as a potential husband.

Our "Out of Africa" moment was a bush breakfast served by Mustafa.  

We arrived back in Karen this afternoon and went to the Nairobi National Museum which has a wonderful exhibit of skeletons that show the evolution of man (the oldest being over 17million years old) and a special exhibit of paintings by Joy Adamson (of Born Free fame).  Tomorrow is our last day.  We board our plane at 1125 pm to make the long journey home.  We leave part of our hearts in this special place, forever changed by its wonderful people, culture and nature.

Pentecost

Back home you are celebrating Pentecost with the coming of the Holy Spirit and colors of red, orange and yellow and beautiful hymns. Today we attended the English service at PCEA Musa Gitau Church and sang "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God All Mighty.....".  Our Pentecost was in Kikuyu and broken English. The Holy Spirit fills our new friends with hope for a bright future. During the service Fredrick's mom auctioned off homemade fermented porridge.   The members of our team had a bidding war going and took home 4 gallons for snacks for the boys.

Overnight we had rain which continued into the mid morning. It made the unpaved roads almost impassible - driving seemed like something you would see on a video game.

After a detour and then spinning out, our car became stuck in the mud a few hundred yards from the church.  We abandoned the car and walked the remainder of the way to church. The mud  was as slippery as ice.  We were all in hysterical laughter by the time we reached church covered in mud.

Note the time of the Teen Service.  Can you imagine teens in America getting up for church at 7am?

This is what our feet looked like after we were back to the car and cleaned off our shoes!  On the last three trips to Kenya we brought mud boots and never needed them.  So we left them home this time -  probably not a good decision.

Next stop after church was to pick up the boys.  The road to the house was impassable by car so they walked down to the end of the road where we picked them up.   By this time we were running too late to make the Elephant Center so we visited the Giraffe Center instead.  Most had never been there and we showed them how to kiss a giraffe. They giggled as the giraffes' long tongues took the food from their mouths. They were so adorable. 

When the sun came out this afternoon we scrubbed our red mud-caked shoes. The mud was almost like cement. We can see how it is used to plaster homes.

We part ways for a few days. Our team has worked hard to accomplish the dream of a home for boys. Jen returns to the states soon to a new job as youth director for a church in Greenville, SC. The rest of us go on safari and return for a day to see the boys and possibly do a few things at the Comet House before returning home.  We wish the boys could go on safari with us. These boys have touched our hearts.

 

Left to right: Peter, Wycliffe, Joseph, Edwin, Brian, Ian, Morris

Back row: Jen, Andrea, Ethel, Nancy, Parker (aka Kamau)

We will not post for a few days while we are at Maasi Mara. 

I Was Hungry and You Fed Me

Today was the dedication of the Comet House Children's Home. Visitors from the community, school and church came to bless the house and the boys.  It was quit a moving service as we were all reminded that it takes a village to raise a child.  Guests were served a meal that we can only relate to a Thanksgiving meal with fresh goat instead of turkey.  Parents and families came, sang and offered prayers of blessing for the home and the boys. The group toured the home and parents got to see where their boys will live and study.

Fredrick introducing the boys.

Parker Gibson and Pastor Gibson cutting the ribbon to officially open Comet House.

About an hour prior to the dedication, the boys were invited in for the big reveal.  While they have watched us paint all week we don't think they had any idea of what was happening inside today when we sent them outside to play this morning.   The looks on their faces made it all worthwhile when they came in to find their new book bags filled with school supplies, curtains hanging in their room, new sheets on their beds, and baskets with their names on them filled with clothes Parker brought from the US. 

 

Outside of the showers they found new towels and baskets filled with toothbrushes and toiletries.  

It was all a bit overwhelming for the boys and us as we watched their reactions.  Morris was most excited about the new pencils - most only have nubs of old pencils to use at school.  

Peter's eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw the Bible Story books they each got - most have never had a book of their own.  Parker had to show Edwin that he was supposed to sleep between the sheets - these boys were sleeping on mattresses under a blanket with no sheets.  

Wycliff couldn't believe how soft his new pillow was - none of them have ever had one.  He actually crashed during the dedication ceremony and we just tucked in and laid his head on his new pillow. He slept for three hours!  We finally had to wake him so he would sleep tonight.

Perhaps one of the most moving things to have happen today was to have Naftali and Koang come to the Open House.  Naftali was a teacher who used to teach at The Compass School and Maga-tuini School.  Mtoto Africa helped pay Naftali's tuition as he earned his BS in Special Education and then paid his salary at both schools.  When he was teaching at Compass School, he taught Koang, one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan" who made his way to Kenya.  Koang was 18 years old and wanted to continue his education that was suspended when he fled Sudan at age 12.  After finishing elementary school, Mtoto Africa paid Koang's high school tuition.  Koang graduated from high school last year and has now completed a computer course of study in technical school.

Koang, Naftali, Fredrick, Ethel and Parker.

Today we found Koang sitting on the edge of a bed helping teach Edwin how to read.  it seems we are coming full circle, seeing the folks helped by Mtoto Africa coming back to help a younger generation.

We closed the day with Jen introducing the boys to S'mores!  They loved them and must have had a least 10 each.  Needless to say, they were bouncing off the walls when we left for the evening. We commented that Jen should have been the one to spend the night at the house, rather than the poor housemother who worked all day in the kitchen.  We can only hope she was able to get them down to sleep after such a big day.

Tomorrow we are planning on going to the English Church service and then taking the boys to the Elephant Orphanage.  It should be another fun filled day!

The End is in Sight

We finished painting today.  The donkey cart arrived this afternoon with chairs and a tent for tomorrow's Open House.  In the morning we will "kick the boys out of the house" as we prepare for the big event.  The boys have seen us painting all week but really don't know how we are planning on transforming their dorm room tomorrow.   After they are out of the house we will move in to hang new drapes, make their beds with new sheets, fill crates with clothes, towels, wash cloths and toiletries for each and hang their new backpacks on the wall filled with school supplies for each of them.  We feel like this is Extreme Makeover - Kenya Edition.  Move that donkey cart!

Below are a few pictures from the day.

The kitchen at Comet House is modern with running water and electricty, but Sho-Sho still cooks 

in the traditional Kenyan way - over a charcoal stove, propane stove and outside over a fire. 

 The freezer  is filled with vegetables from the garden and fresh milk from Ann's cow. 

Milk is thawed for our morning chai, another Kenyan tradition we've come to love.

Parker got the chance to play a soccer game at the Maga-tuini School, where we built a library in 2011.  Parker was worried that he didn't have his cleats but, as you can notice, most of the boys played barefoot.

Nancy measured the boys when they got home from school so that we could sort through and pick out outfits for them from the clothes we brought for them from the US.

When the boys got home from school, Parker read Dr. Seuss to the boys.  From left to right: Wycliff, Morris, Brian, Parker, Ian, Edwin and Peter.  Joseph was not there as he was attending his grandfather's funeral.

  At the end of the day we visited George and his family.  George is a child we have worked with since he was four years old.  He is now twelve and doing well in school.  He lives with his grandmother, two brothers and three cousins.

We also heard from Koang tonight.  Koang is one of the lost boys of Sudan with whom we have worked since 2008.  He has now graduated from high school and is enrolled in a computer course.  We hope to get to see him this weekend.