All you need is Love

This day has been chocked full of heart-bursting activities. I am overwhelmed by the resilience of the people here. I am having trouble putting what I am feeling into words so I will simply tell you what we did and let the pictures speak for themselves.

This morning, I awoke to the sound of roosters crowing and I watched a sunrise that may just be one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. It was majestic and a perfect way to start my day.

After breakfast, we attended a Catholic church service. The congregation here welcomed us with open arms. There is such a sense of community among these people. The women help each other with their children, the older children look after the little ones. They are all family. Even though there is much need, they still rejoice. They have such faith. It is inspiring.

After church, we visited the community hospital. If you have ever been to the zoo, you know exactly what it smells like in the hospital wards. The majority of inpatients are terminally ill with AIDS, or close to death from malaria or TB. The men's ward was particularly jut-wrenching as there were a couple young men who were taking their last breaths while we were there. As you can see, these wards are over crowded, many patients are two to a bed. It is an infection control nightmare!

Steve likes to take every team to one of the homes of the orphans and share their story. We had the privilege of visiting Willie's home where she, her siblings and grandparents used to live. The trek to their home was an adventure to say the least. We took a long drive down a rough dirt road filled with holes and boulders. Eventually, the road became a small foot path and we had to walk the rest of the way. The homes and families we saw along the way were humbling. More on that later.

Willie's story, like so many of the orphans, is heartbreaking. She approached Steve at the clinic a couple of months ago and asked if she and her siblings could come live in the orphanage. Her grandparents were caring for them but couldn't support them financially. It turns out that sweet Willie and her baby brother had watched their father kill their mother. For anyone to have to witness such an act is unthinkable, let alone these precious children. Because of Steve and Kenya Relief, these children are now in a loving home with many brothers and sisters. They have a warm, clean bed to sleep in, a washroom to bathe in, are fed physically and spiritually daily, and receive counseling and tutoring from their dorm parents. I am so thankful that Steve had the vision he had and that Kenya Relief has become what it is today. I can't help think of the children that are still out there in similar or worse conditions. A child could be down that dirt path now, all alone, starving and thirsting to death and no one would ever know. That breaks my heart.

I don't want to leave on such a sad not but my heart is heavy with the need of the people here. I think about how much we Americans take for granted, how spoiled we are. There are so many in this world that have nothing. I live a blessed life and I am thankful for the reminder I have received today.