Although one of my favorite parts was teaching women, one of
my most favorite was my time with the kids of the orphanage. Last year we
didn’t get the opportunity to meet the kids as the legal process of getting the
home ready took longer than expected, so my heart was filled with excitement
the morning after we arrived in Meru. We got to sleep in the boys room, so
early that morning all I could hear was their sweet little voices speaking in
Swahili and all I could do was smile and get ready quickly to go see them.
Seeing their little faces for the first time just melted my heart and we had an immediate connection
(surprise, surprise) as I began to play with them, but one of the ones that
caught me the most was Kanana and I want to take a moment to share her story
(although all of these kids have a story as well). Kanana was born four years
ago to a young mother of twenty two years old. Her mother followed the same
pattern of alcoholism of her parents, so Kanana was born in an
already unstable home environment. According to the story of her mother, Kanana
was left alone in her crib one day while her mother went out to get some things
at the store, not realizing she left her with a lit candle that fell and burned
her crib and the left side of her little face. When she found Kanana burnt, she
decided she didn’t want her anymore so she left her with her grandparents who
weren’t capable of caring for her either. One day Kanana was found abandoned,
malnourished and very sick by the assistant chief of the village (see picture of the chief below with Kanana). She was immediately taken to
the hospital for a month while she healed from the wounds on her face and her
left hand, and was also put on a nutrition plan. However once this month was
over, Kanana would have no home, but by God’s grace, of our Cloverleaf team
members connected with the assistant chief during one of our crusades last year
and Kanana was placed in CLHOM (the orphanage sponsored by Cloverleaf
Ministries). Since her placement in the home, Kanana’s health has improved, she
loves to eat, and is now walking!! Papa has big plans for her life, and I look
forward to being a part of this beautiful journey with her. Kanana and I had an
immediate connection when we first met! When I saw her she wanted to be held by
me and we developed a beautiful friendshipJ.
Every morning I looked forward to hearing her little squeaks, see her smile,
and embrace her just like Father has embraced me. (To see a video of Kanana’s
story click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2pNfUnPTr0
I loved spending time with the kids of the orphanage and the
kids from the village! Every afternoon after coming from our crusades and
meetings the kids from the village would wait for me to come play. But one of
the things that really impacted me the most was their giving hearts and the
fact they remembered me. One of the girls called me by my name and told me how
excited she was to see me again- I was her rafiki (friend in Swahili) and that
she always remembered me. She then asked me what kind of fruits I wanted
because she wanted to give me a present, but I knew the conditions she lived in
and told her that I didn’t need a present. Yvonne kept insisting, so I told her
I loved passion fruit. The next day for our community day kids from all over
the village came to play with us including Yvonne. She called me aside and gave
me a big bag of passion fruit so I blessed her and hugged her and the smile on
her face was bigger than the first time. The giving hearts of these kids just
continue to amaze me, and one of the things God has taught me through this is
that by me receiving from them, I was also allowing Him to bless these kids.
Some of the other girls took off their jewelry and gave them to me- we created
a beautiful connection. Looking back at these moments, all the kids were
looking for was for quality time- for someone who would listen to them and play
with them. God loves in so many ways and I felt His pure love through these
kids! Each and every one of them will have a special place in my heart!
As part of my last section of this blog, I want to give a
report on Carol- she is the girl I met last year who was living in bad
conditions. Thanks to Dickson, I was able to go visit Carol one of my free
afternoons as I wanted to see how she was doing. When we arrived to her place,
we come to find out she wasn’t there and that she had escaped her house. My
heart sank after hearing this, but her mother a few minutes later told us that
Carol crawled all the way to the store that was two miles from her home. When we
found her, we found her in pretty bad conditions. She was shaken and had a bad
stomachache, but as soon as we made eye contact her face lit up! She said in
Swahili that she would never forget my generosity and that I was her friend.
After buying her some food, Dickson (who was the previous Rotary Club president
of Meru) took me to the club to get her some crutches. He explained to me that
Carol was offered a prosthetic leg but she refused to go through that process,
and that her reaction to that was due to the lack of medicines she needed to
take to keep her mental health stable. After we got back, we picked up Carol
and taught her how to use her crutches. I also asked her to promise me that she
would allow the Rotary Club to give her the prosthetic leg she needed to move
forward with her life, and with a big smile on her face she accepted. After our
conversation I asked if could pray for her, but I felt lead to ask the kids
around her village to pray for her healing. Unfortunately they were too shy to
do so, so I asked them if they would be in agreement with me that Carol would
be healed mentally and physically so they all agreed and I proceeded to pray
for her. I believe God is going to do a miracle in her life and continue His
plan for her. Carol has a beautiful heart to teach and sing and I know this
will happen with God’s help. We are looking for people to sponsor her monthly,
so if you feel lead to do this, please contact me directly. She needs $50/month
for medications and doctor’s visits.
God is doing great things in the town of Meru, and I want to
personally thank my parents, my grandpa, Iglesia Avivamiento, the Ayala family,
the Darer family, the Carranza family, Dennis, Olga Satyrova, Carlos Junco,
Jerrye Ralston, Winnie, the Dyre family, my sister Elizabeth, Raquel,
Sebastian, the Kallenders, Brianna Roe, Morgan Roth, Cloverleaf Ministries, Pastor Joshua and team and everyone
else who supported my trip and this beautiful journey. I will be forever
thankful for your generosity and for believing in me. This is just the
beginning.
