Moments of Joy

    I've been wanting to share my thoughts for some time, but things have gotten very busy here in Kenya. There are four of us student missionaries at Kendu Adventist Hospital now, and we have been involved in a variety of different projects and ministries. 

With Logan, Hannah and Dillon

    We have participated in many ministry opportunities. Each week we teach sabbath school to the elementary classes from the Adventist Elementary Boarding School. The kids love learning new Sabbath School songs and listening to Bible stories. I love teaching fifth grade, they are such a fun group of kids! We also teach PE to the 300+ elementary kids each day from 7 to 8 am. They love playing different sports and learning new and fun activities. It's an exciting part of our day! The school often asks us to speak at their Wednesday and Friday evening programs, where we give a twenty minute sermonette.

Posing with the 5th graders!

    Music has been an important part of my life here too. Dillon and I started a singing group with a couple of the nursing students here. We practice twice a week and have sang special music many times now. It was also fun to share our music with the patients in the ward the other day! One of my favorite projects that I started since I've been here has been children's choir. Since the elementary boarding school has hundreds of kids, I ran auditions for the kids who were interested in joining, and started a choir of about 50 kids. We practice every Sunday afternoon and are planning on performing in a couple of weeks!

Our singing group

    We've been able to be a part of so many different activities with the locals here, from going on multiple hikes, to being invited to a birthday party for our neighbor's kids, to going to a wedding for two of the elementary school teachers!

Sabbath hike

Birthday party fun

The wedding we were invited to

Some of our best friends here, Mary and Nicole

    But one of the most meaning experience has been helping out at a disabled school called Nyaburi which is near the hospital. The Nyaburi school has about 60 kids, all with different disabilities. Some kids have physical disabilities while others suffer from mental disabilities. One of the little girls, Ashley, has cerebral palsy and HIV. It's heartbreaking to see how the kids eat...some of them just lap up the food on the ground and others even use their feet.

    When I first visited the Nyaburi school, I was shocked to see the extreme and utter poverty that the children live in. The ceilings have holes, almost all the windows are broken, and most of the children have to crawl to the bathrooms. The place was also extremely dirty, since they are highly understaffed. The kids only have two housemothers helping them out during the week, and they barely have time to take care of the kids, much less clean out their dormitories. 

    Because the missionaries here have been able to recognize the severe need for extra help at Nyaburi, they have given us the responsibility of helping the children every afternoon. Every weekday, two of us student missionaries will walk over to Nyaburi and work. We’ve done all sorts of jobs, from helping sweep and mop all the dormitories to bathing children or cleaning up their poop when someone has an accident. Sometimes when we finish early, we just spend time with the children, talking to them and playing with them. One time all the girls decided to do Hannah and my hair in different styles! They had so much fun with it. They definitely love every minute that we can give them. 

    I think the most touching part of this school and the experience I've had there is the fact that these children are always so happy. Not only are they happy to see us, but they are so kind and sweet to each other, too. We’ll see kids helping other kids wash their clothes, or helping each other to shower. We’ll see kids wheeling other kids around on their wheelchairs, or helping them up onto their beds. It is truly such a blessing to be able to spend time with these kids every day. And even when times are hard, (like when we have to clean up a mess!), I think of how all that matters is the way we treat others, and how important it is to share some of God's light with those around us, to share moments of joy.

    We have actually started a project here to raise money for the children at Nyaburi. Logan, one of the other student missionaries, made a documentary video showing the kids and their lives. Click on the link here to watch: https://youtu.be/_Ca-Q6IU2Wc

"Truly I tell you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me."

Matthew 25:40