Blessings!

It was a day of rest and a day of busyness all at once. We got to sleep in a little bit, then we went to church with the kids right here at InStep. After porridge was served to all 117 kids outside, the kids 3 years and up gathered in the end of the dining hall for the service. Worship time was wonderful with many songs, including Father Abraham. Singing, dancing clapping, we worshipped as fellow Christians without barriers of culture or language. Pastor then preached about honoring your mother and father and those who care for you, like Aunties and Uncles "and visitors" (who would that be, do you think?). The kids were very attentive for over an hour, before getting antsy...well, except for the young drummer sitting up front, who fell asleep after the first half hour ON HIS DRUM ;). We sat with the 7 & 8 year olds, who had their bibles and looked up scriptures as pastor cited them. It was a very nice service. 

After church, we packed up to ride in the Land Rover to visit two other orphanages. The bumpy (okay, VERY bumpy) ride took us first to Veronica House, a home for orphans that are HIV positive. There are only 12 kids, most of which are older, and they presented us with a sweet song and many hugs. We also took a tour of the buildings there.  Adam, Bill's nephew who has devoted his life to these ministries while living in Kenya, helped to build them. There is a vision here for both a sewing school and a beauty school for the women in the area. We were shown a pile of purses that were sewn using empty concrete sacks, like those at our work site. They were cool; if they'd have been for sale, we'd have bought them! :) Both the kids and and the adults had a strong, quiet spirit about them as we visited,  and a bit of me remained there, even as we pulled away. 

Our second visit was to Kids Kingdom, the orphanage built in 2010 by the Pollock family projects in Johabeto. There are about 40 children there, 4 years old and older. This ministry was vastly different from even the orphanage we are working on here, with Kids Kingdom having no electricity or clear water available. The light of Christ's love was also evident in the eyes of these children, and their parents Martin and Ruth.  Their hugs and smiles filled our camera lenses and our hearts.  Their expression of appreciation for our visit included joyful songs and greetings and sharing news of the children's successes. We hung out with everyone while a torrential rain storm played out, and I was blessed to meet and talk with a young man, Edwin, who was deaf, and we used American Sign Language. The conditions there reminded me of our mountain ministry in Mexico. Limited means,  but a vision for God's children to be cared for. They showed us their maize crop, as well as beans and millet. It was also a  happy reunion for the orphanage and Carolyn and Bill, Jeff, Zach and Adam, all of whom were on the team that built the place two years ago. it was an incredible visit. 

Now we are back at InStep, having had a quick dinner of banana stew over rice. We are watching the team play Hearts.  Bed soon, as the building continues tomorrow morning bright and early. It's been a wonderful day here. It's such a blessing to be a part of something that will continue long after we go home. God has been so good to us. We are all healthy and raring to go! Blessings to all of our favorite people at home! Keep those prayers coming! 

~Kim

PS if you haven't looked back, pics have been added to the previous posts. Check them out! :)