Feel the Love

So the internet has been down for a few days, I'm trying to catch up!  Also, it's kind of hard to find time because if we're inside working on the internet we aren't outside playing with the kids. 

Since 2004 they think they've served at least 4 million meals in the feeding center at Raila.  The kids get porridge in the morning and then a lunch (today it was a chewy corn substance, I tried a little).  Some bring tuberwares to take leftovers home to their families. 

In 2006 the home was started.  They have an office building now that was actually the first home for the first few girls, whose number grew and grew.  Now it has offices, a meeting room and a medical clinic area. 

They have two large dorms that house 63 of the children.  Three stories each.  Three children are away at boarding school.  First Love actually becomes the guardian of these children, so if they go away to school they're still First Love kids.  As you get older if your grades are good and test scores high, then you go away to boarding school.  If not, you go to the local secondary school. 

The kids come from all over the country. Loche (my boy) came from the Turkana, which are a nomadic people from the Northwest of the country. There are 42 different tribes within Kenya and they each have their own language- that's their mother tongue.  Within those languages there are even different dialects.  At the home kids have to speak Kswahili or English so they are unified. 

I explained to one girl last night as I was helping her with her English homework that they are actually smarter than us because they know 2 or 3 languages!  Although unfortunately most forget their mother tongue since it is not used here. 

They have a workshop for making furniture which at some point they hope to hire teachers for and have it become a trade school. They have a sewing center which is one of my favorite things here.  These women walk 45 minutes to get here 3-5 times a week to sew these beautiful bags and quilts.  Maybe it's because I've been trying to sew a quilt for the past. . . 7 months with little success, I really admire these quilts. I bought a couple of bags- it all goes to support their ministry.  If you'd be interested in having me bring back one for you, just let me know. 

They're only $10.  The women are just so happy, their smiles are filled with joy.  They live in Kibera.
They also have 2 greenhouses which are so cool.  They've just started them, with tomatoes growing and producing in abundance, they aren't quite ripe yet.  They also grow some greens and spinach, onions, sweet potatoes.  They have two cows for
milking, bunnies, and goats. 

There's also a dining hall where they eat.  Each night before they have dinner, they have a worship and devotion time.  It's amazing to hear all their little voices singing and they dance around.  There's even a drum, and some of the boys make noises that go with the music. Then the kids lead in prayer and read scripture.  I'm going to try to post a video here of it, but I'm not sure if it works

The kids are so loving to us.  And they need a lot of loving back.  This picture is Felicta.  One minute she really likes you and the next she doesn't want you to touch her! 

They leave every morning early, maybe around 6:30 a.m. for school and we aren't up yet, and then they don't come home until around 5:00 p.m.  So we greet them with hugs and hopefully we can remember a few of their names. Last night I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and they were already outside huddled under towels drawing water. By the way, so far, this is not your stereotypical Africa.  I have not seen the sun in 3 days.  It's overcast and freezing.  I wore three shirts today with a fleece being one of them.  The little kids at the school are bundled in little sock hats.

The kids have chores everyday that they do- wash their clothes and polish their shoes.

Also, another ministry they have, is that because they have a well they can give out free water to the neighbors.  So people come and fill these huge containers and haul them home.