The power of motherly love

I just returned from one of my last lunches with the children.

What sweet hearts these children have.

I am encouraged that these children that were once forgotten, abandoned and mistreated have been showered with love from their supporters, the staff here in Ilula, the visiting teams and interns, and even their brothers and sisters. Even more amazing to me is the selfless love that these parents daily heap on these children.

I think of one mother in particular who adopted an older boy who was extremely rough. Life had dealt him a sequence of circumstances that some adults couldn’t even fathom, and for him it was all before he reached the age of 9. To name a bit of his story, he was orphaned, adopted and immediately abandoned, adopted again, mistreated and left to fend for himself on the streets. I’m told that when he first arrived here he was a tough kid and more often than not was just plain mean. I guess it only makes sense that he had built such a hard exterior in an effort to protect himself. He was causing some trouble and resisting anyone’s attempt to break the walls he had built, but one mother with hope in her heart and a plan of unconditional love decided she was willing to take him on.

Tears come to my eyes now as I reflect on this. As I am not yet a parent, I can only imagine the unconditional love required of a parent when a child is in a pit and seems utterly unlovable. The wisdom they have to know those are the moments when the child is most in need of the very thing he is pushing away takes my breath away. Of course, this is but a trace of what God has modeled for us – finding us again and again in the moments when we are furthest from Him and most unworthy of His care. And in spite of that reality and the evidence that testifies against us, he scoops us up and welcomes us back to himself, with celebration and rejoicing.

I have lived here for two months now and am amazed at how this young boy has softened even in that short amount of time.

Oh, the testimony of powerful and relentless love.

Oh, the courage of this mother, and all the other mothers that this testimony.

Oh, the joy, the hope, and the love found in a simple unashamed smile shared between a mother and her adopted son who may still be rough on the edges but is unquestionably becoming a new boy with the capacity to love and be loved.

Oh the pride of this mother in a boy that many have cast aside but whom she decided to treasure, cherish and believe in.

If only you could hear her constant praise and declaration of her love for him.

“And he that sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:5

~ Christy Thomas, Intern

Christmas art

ELI is undertaking an addition to the paper project with Heavenly Treasures to make Christmas Cards to sell in the states. About a week ago all the children were asked to draw Christmas pictures. ELI staff then selected 16 of the older children who had drawn particularly well to draw some more pictures: this time with a little more direction. Their pictures of angels, nativity scenes and Christmas trees are precious and I know these 16 children felt especially honored the day they were given new crayons, pencils and beautiful clean white paper.

We have some fine ten- and eleven-year-old artists here in Ilula, so be on the lookout for their world class work coming soon!

~ Christy Thomas, Intern

On basketball and going-away parties

John Rono and some of the boys, working on building
the new basketball court

The Whalen team, Jared, Adele, and I drove up at 3:30 on the dot – exactly the time the festivities were to begin. We weren’t worried about being late because, after all, its Kenya time! We carried the six watermelons Jared had generously purchased into the kitchen to cut. The two men that were working at that moment had never cut a watermelon before so we quickly discussed a size that would feed over a hundred mouths and then got to work. With only two knives I had one of them make the initial cut into quarters and then finished the slicing. My mother, who loves watermelon, would have been tickled to see the size of the bowl we filled with watermelon slices. It looked like a regular American summer function!

Just as a team member and I carried out the watermelon, the kids were returning from school. They were decked out in their school PE uniforms and appeared ready to play (though I’m not sure they knew exactly what they were going to play).

The father of a visiting Whalen Family team began warming up the children. Imagine 90 children doing arm circles, push ups, jumping jacks etc in front of this basketball court with a pink ribbon tied from goal to goal. It was quite a sight. Once they were warm they sat down and awaited the opening of this new basketball court – a project of Jared Kreutzer (a summer intern).

Samuel Teimuge, the director of the Training Center, ran the ceremony alongside of Jared. They began with the story of the making of the court. Much had gone into the whole thing and it took quite a lot of persistence from Jared and other Kenyan staff here in Ilula. Next, one of the training center staff named Josiah did some karate. I’m not sure the kids have ever seen anything like that – there was all kinds of oohing and aahhing. And. if you watched the sidelines for the remainder of the afternoon you could see the kids imitating the moves he had performed.

The ribbon was cut, the rules explained and the first team selected. One backboard is the Kenyan flag and the other the American flag – it seems that it will forever be Kenya vs. America. :) Understandably, the Americans (though out of shape and struggling because of the high altitude here) “killed” the Kenyan team. But I am happy to report that each day after school there are two teams, America and Kenya, playing each other and learning day by day how to perfect their dribbles, passes and shots. They should be more than ready by the next team’s visit.

Besides the addition of basketball into these children’s days they also spent many hours last week perfecting their football (soccer) skills with the visiting team the Whalen Family. Things were a little confusing as they adapted to new and stricter rules, but by the end of the week I’d say we had our own Ilula World Cup :)

You can imagine with all this physical activity that these children would be eating a lot! And how thankful they are for the treats they get when interns, like Jared, Rachel and myself, leave. As a special evening they make a special meal including soda and chapati (a Kenyan staple similar to tortillas) for the children. These kids know its coming and its a welcome break from the routine meals they have day after day, week after week. They even keep track of how many good-bye services the west and east sides have had respectively. I think currently the east side is winning :)

~ Christy Thomas, Intern

On sewing, ballet moves, and a soulpatch

Last night I offered to help one of the mothers sew (embroid) names on the inside of uniforms. I decided I’d take it in with the girls to enjoy their company while sewing. Now, I went through Home Economics and used to make my own sewing projects growing up but I’ve NEVER claimed to be all that good!

The first name I sewed was a bit crooked and couldn’t compare to the ones I’d seen so I asked one of the older girls to show me how they do it. She began this fancy stitch and it looked great. “Ok, I thought, I can do what she just did.” Now keep in mind that while I’m trying to perfect this new stitch I have 2 girls climbing on me, playing with my hair and arms, and pulling the sweater to the angle where they can best see. (Because, of course, the observer has priority over the actual sewer!)

The night continued with me attempting to improve amidst children getting out homework and bombarding me with questions. And all the while I’m thinking I’m so thankful for the playful spirit and laughter in this particular girl’s hut; it’s a hut of sincere joy that infects me whenever I spend time there.

A little while later Jared, another intern, entered to say hello. The girls don’t see too much of him and they immediately were overflowing with questions. Picture a 22-year-old guy trying to explain a “soulpatch” (patch of hair below your lip) to 12 girls under the age of 11 that don’t speak English all that well. I couldn’t help but laugh!

The night ended with me girding up my skirt to show them some ballet steps. I forget how completely foreign it is for them to imagine much less see dance. For us, little girls have images in their heads from when they’re very small, but for these girls, dance equals the motions you do while singing worship songs.

How odd to think that the place I call home (New York City) and the art form I pour most of my time into is a reality that these Kenyans cannot begin to fathom.

I wonder what the world holds that I cannot begin to imagine . . .

~Christy Thomas, Intern

It's 9pm, and the kids are sleeping in their new homes for the first time...

We picked up 14 children today and relocated them to their new home: Kipkaren. Right now, the kids are in their new beds with new linens, new siblings, new parents... For most of them, tonight will be the first time in their lives that they've slept in a bed. Amazingly, these kids were incredibly excited when we picked them up today. They've been prepared well for the day.

After lunch and a tour of their new home, the children played soccer with a visiting team from Nuevo, California. Tonight, they had devotions, dinner (a second full meal in one day? another new thing to many of them!) and visits with their new families.

For more information on the events of today, read Adele's blog.

Final Countdown

Tomorrow, I'll have the honor of picking up eight children and bringing them to their new home. It can be a very hard day for those children (plus 10 more who are brought by other staff members).

Will you please pray for these precious kids, to be able to understand that their guardians aren't rejecting them, but doing what is best for them? Please also pray for the new parents as well as all of the children's home staff to be sensitive to God's leading in helping each of these precious ones adjust?

We covet your prayers.