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.

Update on Kipkaren Children's Home

This week, our directors met with the District Children's Officer and she gave ELI approval to accept the first 14 children. We are hoping to receive them next weekend. Before we accept them we still have some things to finish up. The bedding and mattresses for the children's huts should be delivered the beginning of next week. We are having the kitchen equipment installed next week as well. The sidewalks are being finished and we are wrapping up a temporary source of water or the toilets while we dig the borehole and water tower.

Please continue to pray for us during these extremely busy days in Kipkaren, especially as the team prepares for the arrival of the children.

Boys' Talk - by Jared Kreutzer, Intern

This past week was hunting week on the west wing. The boys over there, since they do not have many normal toys, make their own out of whatever they find lying around. Well, they started making bows and arrows, so we spent a day making bows for all the boys. They were climbing in trees and tearing out branches, I guess I should have told them first to not do that. By the end of the day, every boy had his own bow. Even the smaller ones, they had little twigs with string, a miniature bow.

I could tell quickly that I would need to teach them some safety rules, for they were finding nails and making sharp arrows and just walking around shooting them straight up in the sky. So we had a hunters' safety session, which concluded with target practice on a Spiderman doll. The next few days were spent hunting rats around the kitchen. Whenever the boys would see a rat, they would all get so excited and take their bows and sticks and rocks and whatever they could find to throw at them. It was so funny the fist time they killed a mouse, they had it trapped in a bucket and brought it out to the field. They all stood around it, tall like warriors, ready to kill their prey. However, when they let the mouse out to kill it, the warriors turned frantic and they all ran away and were screaming. The mouse in the meantime was running through all of their legs as they tried to step on it. It was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while. I was on the ground laughing the whole time.

Also, big news around the west side. Nelson and Dorcas had their baby on June 20, at 3:05 am. He is Victor Kiprop Rotich, named Victor to signify the victory which we have in Christ, and Kiprop, which means “it rained” to signify that it was raining when Victor was born. The girls had been praying for a girl, and even thanking God that it would be a girl, but all the kids were excited to have a new baby brother. Later that evening, I let the Rotich kids call Nelson and Dorcas on my cell phone and all the kids got to talk to their parents, who have been away for 3 weeks. Each child, after talking to their parents, would run around the room so excited, jumping around. It was precious.

Happy Birthday
The same day Victor was born, it was also Margaret Asinyen’s birthday. So I bought a watermelon and we had a birthday party. Many of the children forget when their birthday is here, so a lot of them will come up to their parents and ask, “When is my happy birthday?” So we celebrated all the “happy birthdays” in June. The children were so excited about the watermelon. The kept running around saying, “so sweet, it’s so sweet.” All the boys saved the seeds after they were finished. I think they are planning on trying to grow their own watermelon patch.

Let's Play Ball!
There is a big construction project underway at the children’s home. It is a basketball court, The last week was spent digging an area 20 X 12 meters to allow a marum (clay) basketball court to be built. The children have been so excited and many of the boys have been helping everyday with the digging. All that is left now is to spread and compact the clay for the court and then get the goals up. I’m sure that by this time next year, we’ll have NBA scouts coming to check out our players!

Announcing the birth of Victor Kiprop

This morning at 3am, Dorcas Rotich, one of the orphanage mothers, gave birth to a beautiful, healthy young boy: Victor Kiprop. Kiprop is his Kalinjin name, and it means that he was born while it was raining.

Victor weighs 4.1kg (I believe that's 9lbs 7oz). Both he and Dorcas are doing well, and the dad (Nelson) and older brother (Levi) are beaming with pride! So are all the other children at the children's home.

Unedited note from one of the kids

Today, I was given this note by one of the girls. A friend of mine had sent her a jacket, and this is the thank-you note she wrote:

Thank you for give me jacket.
I am so happy because you give me.
I love Jesus so much.
And I love you so much.
I love my parents
and my teachers all of them.
My school is called Samro.
Jesus love very much.
I love you
and Jesus love you.



Store of Moses

Moses and the ten commandments to see who is watching baby Moses.
The Egyiptian princess diceded to keep the baby for herself. She called him Moses.
Moses brought up like an Egyptians prince.
Finally Pharaoh said the Isrealites cold leaves his land.
The israelites headed for their promised land. The israelites baby be were to be killed.
The cruel Egyptian hand made laves. (slaves? ed.)
The Israelites had live in Egypt.

My name is Winsam Jeptoo


Memory verse

Ephesians 5:26
Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Little Intercessors

Tonight, as I went over to read to some of the kids, I discovered that everyone from the West Wing was in the gazebo. This is unusual, since it was 8:30, and at that time, everyone's usually in their rooms, getting ready for bed.

When I opened the door to the gazebo, all the kids were on the floor, kneeling and praying for Mama Joshua who is in the hospital. I just stood there and soaked in the moment. What a beautiful sight!

When they were through praying, they were excited to see me there and wanted me to read to all of them, which made my job way easier! Usually, I read to one room at a time, so I got 4 rooms in one! Oh yeah! After reading, we talked about the story (The Rainbow Fish) and how they, too, could give away their beauty to others. They started mentioning how they could bless others by sharing the fruit of the Spirit, the Gospel, by helping others, and if one mentioned they could do so by loving others, at least 10 echoed that same thought. And they also mentioned they can bless others by praying for them, like they were doing...

It's times like these that I wish you could be right here to appreciate the moment!

Adele

Kipkaren Children’s Home

This month, the second children’s home is opening at ELI’s Kipkaren Training Center, about 90 minutes’ drive from the Ilula Children’s Home. Please pray for the staff as they prepare for the arrival of their children. Pray especially also for the children. The adjustment to life in the home can be traumatic.

Having Fun on Independence Day

We had been told that Thursday (June 1) was a national holiday, but I had little idea of what to expect of Kenyan Independence Day. It didn't seem like there were typical celebrations planned, either. Perhaps there were big celebrations in Nairobi, but in our village, the biggest excitement seemed to be that the children would have no school, and that the visiting team from California would get to play games with them.

The children’s home directors had asked the visitors to plan something fun in the afternoon, and since the team had discovered some mitts while helping us sort through other supplies, baseball was the plan. The Kenyans had never played baseball before but boy were they quick learners! The children played first with some adults intermingled on each team. After about an hour or so the adults decided it was time to play their own game. Can I just say I have never enjoyed watching baseball as much as I did that day! The “sidelines” of the playing area were loaded with children, mothers and the few Americans, like myself, who simply wanted to watch.

The Kenyan men were all smiles as they set out to conquer this new game, and laughter would erupt as they swung at the ball and raced from base to base. I think it was the happiest I’ve seen the parents thus far - sweet joy. Everyone near that field was blessed, infected by a joyful spirit, the kind you find at some summer picnics, neighborhood parties, or even our own Independence Day celebrations.

It was a wonderful afternoon to top off the week of goodness the American Team provided. Some of the highlights of their visits were when they led morning devotions at school. The story of Noah and Moses would never be the same! While the kids were at school, the team worked on other projects around the compound.

Four o’clock would roll around and sure enough, 30 minutes of exciting, encouraging, tutoring would ensue. (One of the team members is an occupational therapist and was able to work with specific children with learning disabilities.) At 4:30 a sport or craft would follow, depending on the day. It is quite a challenge to do a craft with 50 children that don’t understand American English all that well, but this team succeeded! The children were left calling, “See me!” to show off their precious crafts of which they were so proud.

All in all, I’d say it was a packed week of fun thanks to the patience, generosity and commitment of the American Team.

From Kenya,
Christy Thomas
Intern

Hand Wash Only . . . No More!

Doing laundry might be one of the least liked chores—especially in a culture where it's done by hand. Just imagine the task it is to then do laundry for 24 children!

"It would take me from 8am to 5pm every day to stand and do laundry," explains Paris, assistant parent to the Rutto family. "After doing that for more than a year, my hands really ached. They even started to be white!"

But late last year, the children’s home was blessed with an industrial-size washing machine, thanks to Christian Assembly in California. "We really thank God for the machine," Paris says. "May God bless the people who donated it!"

Left: Assistant parents Sally and Sarah, doing laundry by hand.

Below: The ladies love the fact that a machine is now lessening their burden. Not only do their hands feel the difference, but their backs are no longer feeling the strain of washing 24 children's laundry all day, every day.

Update on New Children's Home

Kipkaren home
Originally uploaded by Boyznberry.

Later this year, our second children's home will be officially opened.

The rooms are bigger than the rooms at our first home. Families will not share a gazebo/dining room, but each family unit will have their own gazebo.

As soon as the children's home is complete, we're starting construction of our own elementary school adjacent to the home.

Please pray for us as we're hiring new staff: dorm parents, teachers, cooks, grounds staff. The directors have already been hired as have some of the parents. In fact, the directors have been in Uganda for training for the past few months.

Click on the photo to see more pictures of the progress on the home.

Easter Break

Rogers
Originally uploaded by Boyznberry.

It's Easter break and the kids have been keeping themselves busy with all kinds of activities, including gardening.

Here, Rogers is looking at Vincent who's decided to split across the double-dug bed. Click on Rogers' photo for more of the Rotich kids' gardening fun.

Empowering Lives Children's Home Ilula seeks to provide emotional healing, spiritual nurture, education, and basic needs to orphaned children in a family setting using Christian principles of honesty, integrity, and respect for man and God, and to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to be God-fearing, successful, and responsible people of Kenya, East Africa, and the world.