some random updates from the last while...

~the toddlers now know me by name: 'merica it is =) and after they get done being all excited, every time i come into their presence (its a great feeling) they start chanting 'bubble! bubble!' Since I'm addicted to chewing gum, i can almost always amuse them with bubbles until my tongue is so sore (or the gum so hard) that i HAVE to stop. It's a great way to keep them entertained though. I just tell them to 'kaa chini' (sit down) and they plop down and wait anxiously. Its great fun. I brought along some bubbles, but they werent very good (not producing lots of bubbles per blow) which resulted in my getting very lightheaded due to the altitude... so i added some dish soap, and that's a new fun activity as well. That one just makes them super hyper as they try to chase down the bubbles (and each other) and pop them. Right now there are 15 kids in the toddler room, ranging from about 20 months and up- never a dull moment there!

~i have not had the best of experiences with the nakuru street boys... my first day here has quite a story involving them, and then today colleen and I were in a pretty nice section of town, and tried to walk past a couple of the boys to get to a store. No such luck- they were asking for some shillings, or food, and we said 'no, sorry' and Colleen luckily had most of them in height, by a bit atleast. Me- nope. we were looking in the eye, and unfortunately it means that gaining respect from them is pretty much impossible.. they ended up on both sides of me, as i held on to my purse and kept walking, refusing them. All of a sudden i got a disturbing tush grab... stupidly i turned and reacted- cause i was shocked, and TICKED and said STOP! in a not so friendly voice.. to which they responded mocking me and gave me another little pat. It was sooo infuriating! The worst part is that they are soo high on glue, they dont even know what they are doing, or have any inhibitions... it was so sad. Luckily we were close to a coffee shop that we go to alot and the guard in front saw them harassing us and chased them off.. then our usual waiter, Dixon, came out of the shop and said that he saw what they were doing, and asked if we were ok. It felt really good to knw that there were people watching out for us. I never would've thought that i'd be comfortable walking alone through crowds of rushing kenyans, but i am... its not the adults that make me uneasy- its the poor street boys.

~its been nice living out at the baby center and being able to walk downstairs and see the kids whenever, and not make the crazy drive in from Nakuru.. when im just about to feel trapped, someone offers me a ride to town, or to the grocery store, or the Masaai Market, where colleen and i went today, and then i'm ok again. I'm still trying to figure out what my purpose is here exactly. A lot of volunteers that come have a profession that can be used- 'oh she's a nurse, we can use her here, or she's a social worker or a teacher"... my profession is not useful here, and so its taking a bit of exploration to find what I can best be used for. It makes me feel very blessed that I'm able to be here, experiencing so many amazing things. So far I'm doing a lot of odds and ends jobs, like painting and organizing clothing closets, and helping Colleen with assessing the babies development and working with them at getting up to par. I really enjoy working with the kids, and giving them special attention and doing new things with them- and maybe, just simply that, is why I'm here. For right now i'm just trusting that God brought me here for a reason, and He'll see to it that i fulfill my purpose here, even though im not here long. I'll just be open for anything and see where He leads.

maybe I'm here to make pipe cleaner glasses that make kids smile. alot. =)

~we've been reading through proverbs in the saturday bible study and last night i came on this verse, just when i needed to hear it. Its Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in a mans heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails"... I had/have all the ideas of how i was going to help and do and learn while i was here, and just when i was worrying that i wasnt accomplishing MY plans, I'm reminded that God's plans are what will ultimately prevail- I dont need to worry about "checking things off my to do list." someone told me when i left- "smile, GOD took you to africa!" and He has me here for His purpose, and He'll make sure it happens. Its kinda comforting. =)

~on to other important things. there is a cow. he's outside my window. and he's really annoying. in the morning. when im not in the most forgiving mood. i can handle the people, i actually like to listen to their talking, since i cant understand it its kinda lulling while i'm half asleep, and the rooster- he doesnt bother me, even when he crows every 78 seconds.. but this cow. its just this long, drawn out 'merrrrrrrrrrrrr' not moo. not normal cow. just annoying cow. =) maybe its God's way of telling me to get out of bed! im in africa! dont waste time sleeping! but that never crosses my mind at 530 in the morning when i hear the 'MERRR'.

~i'm getting to know the youth from the church better, and it's really fun to compare cultures, and accents and lots of things. We're planning a sleepover (very common in young adults here i guess) at Cason and Colleens house next week, so that should be really fun. I also got to experience sunday school at Ngata AGC this sunday. it was a combined (english/swahili) service, which tend to run a little longer, so i helped sit with/corral kids for sunday school. The baby center toddlers come over for it too, so i sat with a few of them. It was such a cool experience. They wanted me to stand up and tell them about myself.. who knows how many even knew English- or where Ohio was, but I gave them a little speech, and then watched as one teacher kept the attention of about 30 of 35 little kids. Their memory verse for the day was Psalm 119:11- "I have hidden your word in my heart, so that I might not sin against you." I was impressed at how many knew it by the end. They also sang fun sunday school songs too. Not entirely different from my class at home at OMC. The class I TEACH (preschool) not the young adult class =).

Thats about it for right now. I just want to thank everyone SO SO so much for following my adventure and my work and my photos and my erratic writings... the support i'm feeling so far away from home is phenomenal, and I'm being reminded of the incredible blessing of family and friends and a close knit church. If you'd like to know what to pray for specifically, please pray for all the kids at the Baby Center, that their future families would feel the call of adoption, and for their health and general well being. Pray that I am doing God's will here, and blessing the people that I'm with, and making the most of my last few weeks (already!)... And then also for one of the toddlers. His name is Mesh, and he has a loving, incredible couple that wants to adopt him. Unfortunately he has bad memories of an adoption awhile ago that didnt last and he is scared. His new parents are extremely understanding and have been trying really hard to earn his trust and coming to visit as often as possible. We're all just praying that Mesh has a change of heart, and that he'll be able to see that this is a GOOD thing and that his fears will be forgotten. Thank you for all your prayers and support- I hope that you are being blessed as well, through my stories and photos and that you feel like you are able to get to know the incredible kids here, through my experiences.

love,

~erika