First, I would like to apologize for not getting these blog posts done while being in Kenya. The wifi there was not very good at all and I couldn't publish anything! Very sorry!
Day One: We woke up at the resort in Nairobi and ate breakfast. At 8 we got in the car to go to a market place to exchange american dollars for shillings and to get any last minute food items before we got to Naomi's Village. Within 2 minutes of driving we saw a huge slum. This was my first time to ever see something like this. I was in tears within seconds. Then we see little kids with no shoes and ripped clothes chasing each other laughing and having the best time. This was the first time I realized and picked up on the fact that these people really don't have anything at all, yet they are so joyful.
You would think that they have everything in the entire world.
After driving for an hour we arrive at this huge cliff. The elevation was so high that there were clouds right in front of us. So much that the driver had to slow down to be able to see the road. Before going to Kenya, I thought it was going to be a desert with red dirt everywhere and nothing around. Turns out, it is the complete opposite. There are beautiful green mountains and trees everywhere! It is so amazing!
After 2 hours of driving we arrived at NV. It is so pretty! We pulled up to the guest house, where we were all staying, and quickly got out to look around. The whole group went into the house to unpack and get everything settled. I look outside my window and see a swarm of kids running out to the soccer field with soccer balls. We found out that on Saturdays they host a soccer program that invites Naomi's Village kids and also kids all around the community to participate in soccer drills and 'matches' as the kids would call them.
Milana and I ran out to go meet some of the kids and try to play soccer with them. They were so good!! The first girl I met was named Essie. She is 11 and the first thing she asked me was if I knew how to sing. If you know me, you know that I love to sing! I told her that I loved to sing and her face lit up! Then she asked, "will you sing a song with me?" At that time I didn't know how much english she knew or what songs she knew in english. So I asked her, "what song do you want to sing?" All she did was lift up her hand and point out her pointer finger and started waving it around. She wanted to sing This Little Light of Mine but she didn't know what it was called. So we started singing and she was so happy! Throughout the whole trip she would come up to me and stick out her pointer finger and we would sing that sweet little song.
Then, my brother Mitchell, and I taught the kids how to throw the football. Within 10 minutes they were kicking it around. I'm not sure they liked using their hands. Then we all went in to eat lunch. At NV they have a playroom for the toddlers and a baby room for all of the babies. So right when I was done with lunch I went into the playroom to meet the toddlers and play with them. The toddlers are so different from the older kids. The older kids are very shy at first because they don't know you. The toddlers attack you right when you sit down. I sat down on the floor and immediately had 2 kids in my lap and 3 holding my left and and 1 holding my right hand. They were so precious. Everyone went up to eat dinner.
After dinner I went to the baby room. Oh my goodness, it is the happiest place on earth. They are so sweet and so well mannered. There are 6 babies in the baby room right now. Virginia is always laughing and giving kisses. I never saw her cry the whole time I was there. Julia is very sassy. If you don't give her what she wants she throws her head back, kicks her legs, and screams so loud. I don't think she liked me as much as some of the other kids. Haha. Hope, Baby Hope, she was so sweet. Hope was the size of the newest baby who was a little over 3 months old. She came to NV around Easter weekend. Hope is 13 pounds and 2 years old. She is so small because she was so malnourished as a baby. Since she has been at Naomi's Village she is much happier and healthier. Jake was my buddy. He was 22 months old and he was huge! My mom joked by saying he was Mitchell sized. Mitchell, my brother, is huge. Jake liked to play a game where i could sit on the ground and he would run to the other side of the room and sprint over to me and knock me over. We played that game everyday. Robbie is another baby boy. He loved being held. Every time I walked into the room he would put his arms up and say, "upa, upa auntie, upa!" He was telling me that he wanted up, up auntie, up. Then there was baby Franklin. He was the newest baby at NV. He was right over 3 months. He was so sweet. All of the babies were adorable.
After the baby room I went back to the house to get supplies for s'mores. They were having a big bonfire and we were making s'mores for them to have. For over 2 hours we sang praise songs around the fire. It was so amazing. My first day at Naomi's Village was one I will always remember. It is such a special place.
Set a fire down in my soul, that I can't contain, that I can't control. I want more of you God, I want more of you God // As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.
Psalm 42:1
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