From: Lorna Seadore - Kenya Team 7/16 10:00am

Today we headed into Nairobi to purchase crown molding and hinges for work on the dormitory at the orphanage. There is no such thing as Home Depot here! We went to a very poor area of the city. There are small shops in run down buildings and shacks. We were amazed at the amount of people on the streets. People carrying all kinds of loads on their heads. Trash littering the roadsides. First we went to a small shop for the hinges. Then went next door to the "lumber yard". Sawdust filled the air, as well as our throats. It was quite interesting to see all the laborers running lumber through the table saws. It appears that there are no safety measures necessary!

After leaving the city, Michelle (Johnson) and I were dropped off at Raila School while the guys went on to the orphanage to sand and stain roughly 1000 linear feet of crown molding in the new dormitory building. Michelle and I worked in the kitchen again today. We served porridge to some of the students and then quickly helped to wash all the cups so that we could be ready for serving lunch. We are in awe of how hard the kitchen ladies work! They cook, haul food and water, serve, clean, and begin the whole cycle again for each group coming in throughout the morning and afternoon. We served lunch to the smallest children at the school first. The youngest were only four years old! They are so tiny. I am already trying to figure out how I can bring some of them home with me. Many of the students bring plastic containers which we were able to fill with extra food that they can take home in order to have something for dinner. Many of them share this food with younger siblings who may not have had any food yet that day.

When you walk out into the dining hall after serving you are met with many shouts of "How are you?" For many of the young students, this is the only phrase they know in English. They know that it will get a response. They love to shake your hand or hang on your arm. They also share the biggest smiles I have ever seen. Although, there are some who have no smile to share. They wear the difficulty of their lives on their little faces.

We met two such children today. They were brothers. At four and seven, they have experienced more than many of us can imagine. Irene explained that they have been having a lot of difficulty in school as of late. They sit alone at recess. They take any opportunity to leave the busyness of the classroom. The four year old had come to the point that he would not speak. Their uniform shorts could barely stay on their small frames. Irene had asked the teachers to investigate where they were living and ask their mother to come into the school to speak with her. Today she did. Only, she is not their mother. Both their mother and father have died. Their 21 year old aunt is the sole gaurdian now. She began caring for them when the youngest was only 3 months old, at only 18. She has struggled every day to feed, clothe, and care for these two boys. She takes the boys to the school at 6:00 a.m. And then goes out to try to find some work in order to provide. She stays out until 7:00 - 8:00 in the evening trying to earn meager wages by doing laundry, or other chores. This means that the boys are left alone for long periods of time. The neighbors have been very cruel to the children and will chase them away if they try to come over. The aunt has told everyone that they are her own children. Now that Irene has found out that they are in fact orphans, First Love can begin to help the aunt with food and other items. Before she left the school, Irene gave her flour and other basic food staples. She began to cry when she saw them. And the little four year olds face broke into a smile. It is amazing what small kindnesses can do in the lives of these children.

This afternoon Irene brought the boys into the office to meet us. They very shyly shook our hands and whispered their names. The seven year old came to stand by me and held my hand for many minutes. His face was almost expressionless. He had so much sadness in his eyes.
My eyes welled up as I looked at them and realized that these children are the same ages as my girls. Jaida and Brooklin have never had to worry about if they will have food, or if they will be safe at night. They have never been left to fend for themselves for hours at a time.
Everything in my being wanted to wrap these little boys in my arms and take them home with me. And yet the slum of Kibera is filled with many thousands of children in the same situation. They have no voice. They have no security. They are just innocent children. It is overwhelming. My heart hardly knows what to do with all the emotions swirling around inside me.

As Americans we can so easily isolate ourselves from the reality of injustices such as these. We are safe in the cocoon of our perfectly ordered worlds. My prayer tonight is that we, as the Body of Christ, would take the time to evaluate how we can follow Jesus call to love the least of these around us. Wherever that may be.