Londiani and Cheyliot

We left the Sunshine Hotel yesterday morning headed for Londiani.  In the past, this drive was arduous, but the new road is almost complete so it’s an easy 1 hour 10 mins to get there.  We arrived before lunch, toured the place and saw what was new. 

The big news here is the new deep water well, though it is not on the site directly.  It is on a few acres about 600 meters away owned by David Koech, the Director here.  The well was drilled by Christian Relief Fund and funded by Healing Hands International, through funds donated by the Getty Street Church of Christ in Uvalde.  Water has always been an issue here due to the geology and the fact that the orphanage sits very near an underground crude oil pipeline.  We will be adding a storage tank and pipes to carry the water down the hill into the orphanage, which will give them a great supply of very clean water.

We spent a couple of hours in the afternoon going over the food situation here.  I am evaluating the food costs, and quantities on the menu at each location to lay the groundwork for a new menu that we hope will improve the nutrition of our orphans without breaking the bank.  I met with David and the lead widow in the kitchen and together we worked out what they are doing now.  When this trip is over, I will have compiled enough data to at least understand what we are feeding at each place, and what it costs.

With all of these things swimming in my head, later that night at the orphan’s devotional, I had a bit of a ‘moment.’  I was still thinking about how to raise the calorie count and increase the protein intake and vitamins and such, and four different orphan girls got up to exhort the others to remember to thank God for how far they have come.  One girl was saying, “There are so many outside who have no hope of even one meal, and yet God has blessed us with so much.”  I had to catch my breath.

Devotionals with the orphans, especially at night, are magical things for me.  They recharge my spiritual batteries in ways that worship events, retreats, and conferences at home never could.  In that moment, it was as if the Spirit was speaking to me, confirming again the path my life was on.  It was also a stark contrast to the perception I have of many Christians in the US.  We are constantly praying for God to bless our country, restore our families, and heal our sick.  This is all fine and good, but do we even understand how much he has blessed us already?  I will go home and worry about my own calorie intake, but focused on how reduce it, not raise it! 

No one who has not seen these orphans praising God for their blessings, while sleeping on a thin mattress in a dorm of 30 others with no parents, while eating corn mush and kale will ever truly understand how much they are blessed by God, I think.  I guess that really highlights what is so cool about this ministry; realizing how much God has blessed us by blessing others, and in turn, learning what real gratitude looks like.

After dinner, I took up Susie’s tradition of spending some time with the older kids, answering questions about America, life in general, and the big world outside Kenya.  It is so hard to describe how truly blessed we are to these kids without feeling a strong guilt at the accidents of birth that place each of us where we are.

This morning, we departed Londiani and visited Cheyliot Feeding Station on our way back to Kericho.  This was a fairly short visit; I planned it this way to have at least part of a day of rest in the middle of this three-week trip.  I timed it well I think, since both Stephen and Angton woke up with a cough and sniffles after the chill of the evening on the edge of the Great Rift Valley.  After lunch we drove back into Kericho, this time to the Tea Hotel.

I pray that as you read this, God reveals his generous nature to you and reminds you of how much he loves you.  I hope you can somehow understand it the way these kids in Kenya do, though for me it has taken a long time and is not yet complete.  “For man, these things are impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Be blessed.