One week later

We’ve made it one full week and all 33 new kids are still here! A bit of fighting amongst the new kids has started but nothing unforeseen by the staff. Today we began taking the kids to a classroom and teaching them letters. I have never taught a grade young enough to get the opportunity to teach letters and handwriting. It has been an enjoyable change. The quietness in the classroom amazed me. I took these pictures as proof. They looked like angels!

In their free time, they really love to play cards. I can’t quite pick up the game they play but I enjoy watching them. I can tell that this is what they did most of the day when they weren’t begging for food on the street. It brings me such happiness to be teaching these kids I used to walk with on the street as they begged me for money or food. God is really blessing me with the opportunity to see them change here at Challenge Farm.

Day two of new kids

The night went well and they seem somewhat settled. The assistant director bought sugar cane for each new child. Apparently it helps replace some of the glue cravings they may be having.

At the end of the day we had four more girls show up from a rescue center down the road. They all seem very happy to be here.

I observed that many of our young kids who haven’t been here long give the new kids quite a hard time, picking on them or poking them with sticks. Don’t they remember how it was when they first came? I know I will need an extra dose of patience and understanding during this time. Please keep these kids in your prayers that they would settle in to the new environment and rules.

New Kids!

8:30 – I arrived to find 18 street boys lined up outside Challenge Farm gates. Last week our social workers went to the street and told the kids that if they wanted to come to school, they could show up on Tuesday. To get here they would have to walk over 6 miles or beg for money to ride public transportation. This would show the kids who really wanted to commit.

10:00 – Now we have about 28 boys outside the gates. The cut off age is 13 so any boys over 13 will not be taken. We are hoping to take 10 new girls but none have showed up.

10:30 – We brought all the kids in to sit down in chairs. Each child was invited to a desk where he gave his name to the social worker. A teacher then checked everyone for glue, finding only one bottle. Two of our kitchen staff passed out cups of chai tea. Before they were allowed to go play, they were asked to turn in any money they had. Kids are not allowed money because that would enable them to buy glue.

11:00 Samuel, who is 16 years old, has come over from Eldoret where he’s been attending school for three years. Run by a German volunteer, it was burned during the December election crises. Samuel came back to Kitale because his father lives here in the slum; Samuel goes to the streets during the day to beg for food. He was about to enter class 7 at the start of this school year and he seems brighter than some of our class 7 students. I’ve just spent 30 minutes talking to him and he understood me really well.

Nelson: If you read my 3 month update letter about Nelson, he did not arrive with these kids today. I have been told that another childrens’ home in the area took him off the street one week ago. I am happy that he is off the street and attending school, but I’m also sad that he won’t be joining us at Challenge Farm.

12:00 – After playing in the field, the kids were given some soap and opportunity to take a shower.

12:40 – All the new kids ate lunch and played afterward.

Final estimated total of kids who showed up wanting a place to stay came
close to 70. We took 24 boys and 1 girl.

Can you guess which one is Sammy?

Sammy is the boy to the right wearing the navy sweater.

Mt. Mtelo

This is no famous mountain to most but it is the Holy Mountain to the Pokot tribe in Kenya. Over the weekend I went with two Germans on a small trip to camp and climb this mountain. I had been wanting to climb a mountain for my birthday, so I was delighted to be invited. The mountain is 10,910 feet high and I climbed about the last 5,000 feet to the top. The experience was perfect as the hike had ever changing scenery. Our guide, Hilary, alerted us to the next part of the climb with some sort of title. One of my favorite parts was the bamboo forest. It was like a scene from Robin Hood or some magical movie. There was another part of the journey where I could have sworn I was transported to West Texas where weeds and wildflowers as tall as we are blocked our path constantly and caused us to return with some scrapes on our arms. The climb up took 5 hours and 45 minutes with occasional stops; the journey down took five hours. Once arriving at the top, we were surprised to find at least 30 Kenyans and one woman from North Carolina. They were on a Lent Pilgrimage. At the campsite, we each had our own mud bonda. It consisted of two beds, two side tables, and a lantern. The shower and African style toilet was a short distance away. The shower had only sides and no ceiling, which made for a beautiful view of the stars as I showered at night.

Need for sports equipment and art supplies

I have discovered that the art supplies and sports equipment available in stores here pale in comparison to our USA products. Anyone who can donate new or old supplies would be greatly appreciated. I am traveling home at the end of March with two empty bags looking for goodies to bring back to the farm at the end of April. Even if you only have used soccer balls or watercolors that you don’t use, I assure you they are much better than what can be found here. The stores only carry plastic soccer balls; therefore the kids actually go through one in a day.

New Attraction

I have been working off and on over the last few months making a poster to hang in the main room. It has a picture of each student attending the Light and Power school. Purple is a school color that we’ve implemented as it symbolizes royalty. So I requested that my mother bring me some purple border to help enhance the poster. I finally bought some plastic last week so that I could cover and hang the final product. After hanging the poster, I sat back and observed for a little while. The kids who were coming upstairs stopped and had a ball just looking at their picture and their peers' pictures. It didn’t take long before the word was out that the pictures were hung so more and more kids come up to see the new attraction. It was the highlight of my week seeing their happy faces and hearing their giggling voices as they stood as long as they could in front of the pictures.

Sammy and an exciting upcoming event

I wish this boy could know and understand just how many people are praying for him. You have all been so encouraging to me with emails and blog comments of how much you are thinking and praying for Sammy. He is doing well but remains to be a tough 16-year-old boy. The week following his return was difficult because he was battling the difficult task of coming down off glue addiction. I found out that he had run away the day after Christmas and then did not return until Saturday, January 26th making that one month he was on the street and sniffing glue. As I have mentioned before, the glue the kids sniff is very potent and addictive. Please continue to pray that God will reveal to him just how special he is.

Within the next two weeks, the Light and Power School will be inviting 30 new boys off the street to live at Challenge Farm. I briefly spoke about this in my three-month update as an upcoming prayer request. The time is here and we will be in much need of prayer. I have been told that this is a crazy transition. For the first month, the boys will be adjusting to their new surroundings and working through possible drug withdrawals. They will not be attending school during this time.

a few pictures from my safari