1st stop--- Kihara

We arrive in Nairobi at 10:30 pm, our hosts pick us up at the airport and we take the 40 minute drive to Gathiga to the house we are staying at. It is dark so it's hard to get a good look at anything. I can only tell that the roads are dirt and extremely bumpy due to the fact that I am bouncing so high at some points that I have to be careful that my head won't hit the ceiling of the van! :)

The next morning we awake to the sounds of dogs barking, babies crying in the distance, workers conversing in Swahili, the bustle of the people we are staying with and breakfast being made. We learn that we are quite lucky because the house is scheduled to get running water! So on day 2 we are able to shower and flush the toilet normally. This is quite the luxury in Kenya!

The first thing I notice outside is the red dirt roads that lead everywhere in Kenya. We see huge clouds of red dust kicked up from passing vehicles. The dust covers everything, including us.

Our 1st full day in Kenya, we head to Kihara, the smaller of the 2 orphanages with 49 children all affected (meaning not all of them have the disease, but may have a sibling or parent with) by HIV. When our van pulled in, we were greeted by a crowd a children yelling, "Mzungu!" Which, affectionately means "white person!" Once we were out of the van, I was amazed at how outgoing and how hungry for attention all of the children are. They all wanted to touch our arms, hands, hair, and face. They would fight over who got to hold our hands. When they saw how tall Nick was, their jaws dropped and I could see that to them he was a human jungle gym. They would line up and 2 would latch on to his arms and giggle as he lifted them up. It was a precious sight to see. Needless to say, Nick's arms were very sore by the end of the day.

I was shocked at the great need that the orphanage has. No running water, no toilet (simply a hole in the ground), no electricity, no stove (cooking for 50 people over an open fire twice a day is a full-time job)... I saw a couple of children with their foot in a plastic bag because they had cut it on something and were bleeding but there were no bandaids or gauze of any kind.

Judging by the attitude of the children you would never guess the extremely difficult situation that they live in. They are all beautifully joyous. They love to play and give hugs and just be kids.

This is Kezia

 This is Jane, I love her smile. :)

Twins!

Many more stories to come!