40 Hugs

On the plane, the 2nd flight, I was next to a young man from Kenya.  He was attending his first year at Stanford and returning home for the summer.  I asked him if he liked the United States.  He said he wouldn't complain, but that the culture was very different from his.  I asked him what he thought the strangest thing about American culture was.  He was reluctant to tell me, he was very polite and didn't want to offend but, he thought that Americans were very materialistic and individualistic.  That it was hard to rely on anyone because we were always looking out for ourselves.  Self-seeking I think he said.  And that he saw it even in children- that if a child wanted something their friend had, but their parents couldn't afford to get it for him, they saw it as their parents loving them less.  He saw that instead of looking for God's love to fullfill us, we find fullfillment in material things.  He said this after making sure I was a Christian first. 

I woke up this morning to about 40 hugs.  Each little girl greeted us.  I met Loche but apparently he is very shy.  He is 6 now and his favorite subject is English.  I tried to tell him he could practice English by talking to me but he wasn't having it!

This is Frida.  She was the first girl I met here.  She will turn 18 in July.  She was one of the first girls here at the home, it is her 8th year here.  She is in 11th grade.  She loves to sing.  Her favorite subject in school is Biology.  She loves adventure.  She is a fast runner but she doesn't train, she just runs in competitions.  She wants to be a lawyer to protect children's rights.  She says, "Always learn to love yourself before other people love you."

 

This is the dorm I'm staying in.  They're housing I think 38 girls and 25 boys now.