Settling in/El Shaddai Orphanage

Jambo! The money’s exchanged; the Kenya trip first-timers have been indoctrinated into the world of Stoneys, Krests (both ginger ale-type drinks), and pineapple Fantas; and we’ve all taken in the sounds, sights, and smells of urban Africa. Today marked our first day—an easy one—of activities. We headed with Silas and Rahab to visit friends at the El Shaddai orphanage, near Limuru.

Along the road we saw several coffee plantations. It was downright overwhelming to think how many of these plants and people it takes to produce that shiny bag of beans we see on a shelf at the store. We took apart a few Arabica coffee fruits and marveled at how much these do not smell like coffee. J We also stopped briefly to check out the plants on a tea plantation. While we were stopped, a large group of children came up over the hill on their way home from school. Fist bumps, “howahyous” all around. They were super cute. Only the first of the Kenyan children that we’ll be blessed to spend time with this week and next.

We headed on to El Shaddai, which was just past Limuru. We met the founder, Lydia, and she gave us a history of this home for 30 boys who formerly lived on the streets. Julie later explained that we get caught up in semantics sometimes in the U.S.—“orphan” in this case generally means “unwanted.” These kids might be single or double orphans (having lost one or both of their parents), but they might also simply be shrugged off by their parents and left to fend for themselves, or running wild because of dysfunctional family units who don’t stress the importance of school or responsibility. Lydia told stories of several boys at the home who have gone from displaying destructive habits to performing well in school and changing dramatically in their behavior, but she stressed the road to rehabilitation is far from easy or short.

The boys began trickling home from school as we toured the home. They immediately set to work washing their school uniforms, feeding the rabbits, etc. Then we had a chance to play with them in the courtyard. Tennis balls, bubbles, and the soccer ball we brought them were all put to good use. Hannah, Jill, Christina, and Zadie had the tennis ball games going. Charlotte was barefoot, playing soccer. Christy, Ellen, Julie, and I floated from activity to activity. Personally, I enjoyed the bubbles.

We had a time of presentation—the boys sang, danced, and performed skits. Each told his life verse and what he hopes to be when he grows up. Future engineers, an astronaut, a handful of pilots, and at least one president sat among this lively—and wicked smart—group of boys. We each spoke to the group, sharing the same information about ourselves and some words of encouragement.

After several blessings—at least one sung (Julie was requested to sing!)--and a quick song distraction :-), we settled in for a meal with our new friends before some more playtime in the courtyard and heading back to Nairobi. Navigating a traffic jam and a torrential downpour were among our evening activities, but we’re all safe and settled in this evening.