Welcome baby Rose!

Mesh has a family!

Thanks to all the prayers going up for the little dude, Mesh went home with his new parents today. He was pretty afraid at first, but they took him for a little visit to the castle up the road and he came back in much better spirits. Unfortunately i laid down on my bed at my lunch break and fell asleep for about 30 mins and everyone thought i had left with colleen, so i missed his goodbye! They said he did relatively well, just a little weepy saying goodbye. Just pray that his adjustment is smooth and quick, and that we can go and visit after a week or so and see how he's doing. Now its pouring down rain (its 315 in the afternoon) and the toddlers are all sleeping and theres a meeting in the nursery so i cant even go play with babies for a bit...  i guess i'm going HAVE to sit and read a book!

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

Welcome Michael and Cliff!

Michael and Cliff came yesterday evening from Nairobi. I met them last night as the rest of the toddlers sang "welcome welcome to our brothers, happy to see you, happy to know you, welcome, welcome to our brothas" =) it was too cute. This morning I helped our nurse, Joyce with their checkups (well i say "helped" loosely.. i was basically used as a distraction and to contain them while she drew blood (are you proud mom???). Michael seems to have adjusted incredibly fast, and was full of smiles, but Cliff is definitely a little more reserved for right now. I picked him up and he just laid his head on my shoulder- most definitely a bit overwhelmed! Just please pray for them both as they continue to transition and get healthy and for the families that will someday come for them!
This is Michael

 

and this is Cliff

Momo's new family!

 So many prayers have gone out for Momo, especially in the last few weeks and its amazing to see the results! It sometimes takes the children a bit to bond with their new mom and dad but Momo was ready to leave after only one day, and so excited to have HIS mommy and daddy. He's been at the Baby Centre for the majority of his life, so many of the staff were close to him. I've only been here barely 3 weeks and it was emotional to see him go, but it's also so exciting to know that he has a wonderful mom and dad. Its really incredible to be even just a small part of such an important time in these kids lives. Please continue to pray for Momo's friends, as they are very much aware of whats going on, and wondering when it is their turn. The Baby Centre is so good at finding families for all of the children, which is what they are here for- not to raise a child to an adult and send them off, but to do everything possible to find a good match with a family, and give them the childhood they deserve.

Pictures from the last couple days...

Click here

New Babies!

I had the privelage of riding to Nairobi this morning with Colleen and Staci to pick up 4 new babies for the Baby Center. Here they are! From the left its Rebecca, Angela, John and Nicholas- a mostly happy (and super cute) bunch =)

5 little monkeys swinging in a tree

Photos of our genious set up...

A lot of the babies that we have have spent a lot time laying in hospitals prior to coming to the Baby Center and either sit or lay down a lot. The caregivers do a great job, but with atleast 20 babies they have to first focus on their basic needs and in the process some of the kids dont catch to where they should be on walking/leg strengthening. Part of what I've been helping Colleen with, as I've said, is working individually with each child on specific developmental needs atleast 2 times a week... and today we figured this whole set up out which is great and the kids and caregivers loved it!

 

we found all these johnny jump ups and pieced them back together and then hung them under the roof/shade area where the babies sit and play outside during the day.

 

Theresia LOVED the seat. Shes one of the babies that should be starting to crawl.. and possibly burn off a couple kilos =) and she didnt stop bouncing! She even fell asleep, and a caregiver said her name and she popped her head up and instantly started jumping again. It will be fun to see the other kids catch on to the jumping, and starting to gain more strength in their little legs.

vaccinations...

Today I helped with immunizations for some of the babies... =( those who know me well know that I dont like shots... and that the 4 I received to come to Kenya had me seeing black spots. But today I can proudly say that I stepped up to the plate and held the babies while they got their shots, and they put me to shame! One little cry and a little comforting and they were ok! I'd like to think it's because i was such a good comforter, but honestly- these kids are tough! Colleen and I also worked on piecing together bouncy seats and a walker.. most were thought to be broken, but we switched around covers and seats and now have a walker and a floor mat with bars to hang toys (to occupy atleast 4 kids at a time) and then about 4-5 seats to put them in, so they are atleast sitting up a little bit. Cason also put together about 6 johnny jump ups, also all different pieces and the kids love them! Our plan is to hang them outside under the canopy the kids always lay under... there's about 7 of them, so it will definitely make for a fun picture! Went this evening to the Vanderhoofs (regional directors) right down the road for supper with a couple youth group friends (Rael and Matthew) who are staying the night, and met a doctor from Tenwek hospital, about 4 hours away. Had a great american meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, foccacia bread, sweet potatoes, peas and carrots, orange jello salad, and an amazing chocolate bundt cake. I havent felt sick the whole time I've been here, but oddly enough it was after eating AMERICAN food that i felt not so hot! I think I might've just eating too much though... and I feel fine now. Tomorrow's friday already. Time is going so fast. I think sometime this weekend or early next week I'm going to be moving out to the baby center. I'll be staying in the guest house there, which is very nice... I'll have a nice big room to myself and we just found out tonight that i can get unlimited internet there for about 1000 shillings a week (abour 13$) which means i can keep uploading photos and such. We'll see if I decide that i need it. Either way, Im looking forward to the move- possibly a little anxious about the newness again, but I think it'll be really nice to be closer to the kids and in a safe little town. A lot of the youth that I'm getting to know from the church are around Ngata a lot, so they can show me around. Thats all for today.. time to fall asleep to the Nakuru dog choir! goodnight!

Welcome Brandon & baby Hope!

We have some new additions at the Baby Center! Yesterday Brandon was picked up and joined the toddler class. Today I spent some time playing with them, since it was raining outside and they needed some entertainment and he seemed to be very happy. Unfortunately I failed to get a picture of him smiling, but I'll put the one I did get, below. Baby Hope came to us this afternoon from an orphanage in Nairobi and on Monday Colleen and I, along with Staci, the Baby Center director and possibly a couple others are going to go pick up 5 more from the same place! I'm very excited to bring them to such a great place. This will have the center pretty much full for now, which is awesome. Here is a few pictures after Hope's checkup and bath.
We got a little smile from her, but overall she was very overstimulated and just plain exhausted poor thing. It will be fun to see her personality come out in the next few days.

 

Hope and Joyce, one of the caregivers

 

Brandon

 

Theres no possible way to sit on the floor, or even squat without kids all over you.. its pretty fun but also nice that I'm still taller than they are and can stand up and escape the madness =)

 

See ya later!  this is Brandon, Mesh and Paul

A couple updates...

With the recent adoptions of 3 of the Baby Center children, there are 6 open slots for new kids, and many children to fill them. Please pray for God's direction as the staff at the baby center make decisions involving these children, and travel to pick them up in the near future. Also especially keep in your prayers Momo, Michael and Paul. Momo is the oldest child at the baby center and is very aware of his friends leaving with new families. He's been a little down lately, and rightly so, so staffers have been giving extra special attention when its possible, but the poor guy still needs all the prayer he can get, for him to be able to adjust and even more so that God will provide him a loving and nurturing family. Michael and Paul are 2 of the older babies, and were recently moved to the toddler area and are just having trouble adjusting to the different pace in the toddler room. Thank you so much for your prayers for these kids. Hopefully my pictures can help you feel as close to them as I feel in just one week.

This is Momo

And here's Paul (sry, i forgot to wipe his nose, he was just in such a good mood!)

and then Michael- he waves to EVERYONE, it's adorable!

Today I:

~worked at the Baby Center  till mid afternoon and then
~went grocery shopping for my first time in Kenya.. with Colleen. I'm definitely not used to having to stop at one place for the fresh mango and passionfruit juice, another for the mangoes and bananas, another for the bread and (funny tasting) milk, and then stop here for sugarcane (first time eating that!) and then of course the butchery. its the kind of shop that could very well make me want to be a vegetarian, if i didnt love steak so much... i have never ever ever smelled anything quite like it.. and the chunk of meat on the bottom of my shoe definitely helped the situation. Luckily we had to wait a bit, so by the time we left I was used to the smell! =) it was real gross.
~I'm learning to like tea. it's had quite often here, and i dont want to offend by refusing.. so i'm learning to like it. Or atleast I'm telling myself that I am going to =) It really has a good flavor. very milky, kinda like chai.. but its soo hot! The last thing i want to drink on a hot day is a hot liquid.. but I'll get used to it for sure. They take mandazi with their tea though.. now those i can get used to! (basically fried dough.. very healthy)
~ when a street boy (who didnt seem to be hooked on the glue yet- pretty cute little guy)  asked me for some money i got up the guts to use some of my very limited swahili and told him "thank you" instead of "sorry"! he hopefully just passed me off as one of those crazy mzungus =) we ended up giving him a couple mangoes then anyways.
~walking around here makes our feet very very black. dirty and black and dry and gross.. so for our mental sanity =) kinda... we went and got pedicures and manicures and neck massages at the nicest salon in Nakuru. Paid about 12$ for the 2 hours of pampering... it was vey nice!
~tried out the ethiopian restaurant here... who lost power as soon as we had our drinks ordered, and served an amazing meal by candlelight... theres something very freeing about eating with your fingers and it being ok!
~now its time for bed, tomorrow we plan to go into the Baby center a little later, and stay into the evening, so a little sleeping in will feel awesome!

New pictures!

Winnie

 

Mark

 

James

Faith

Joshua

 

 Big Benja

 

Momo singing the itsy bitsy spider with Colleen

 

 Sarah

  

 Little girl at the soccer game

  

 Soccer Practice

  

  

 A home in Ngata