Day 18

This morning, which is your night...got it yet?....Jeff: "sleep well?"  Me: "well praise God, my malaria seems to have been miraculously healed now that I am out of Toyota".  "Want to go to town?" he asks.  Now I have come to sense when he is mocking me, so I subtly said "stick it in your ear".  By his reaction I knew that he had caught my drift....sometimes it takes alot with him.  After our morning bout, we chose to go our separate ways, both feeling that we had won that session.  Finishing a fine hearty breakfast of some unknown 'food' I went out to do battle with the tools that I had foolishly brought.  They have this "tablesaw" here that was designed by idiots.  I have taken to calling it Frankenstiens Monster, as it often has a life of its' own.  As I go about my day 'working' I am careful not to turn my back on it.  Now I know my saws, and that thing is no saw....I am contemplating a deliverance service for it.  So, today, being healed of malaria, I went about another tremendous spurt of creative energy.  That being depleted around 8:10 am, which is pm for you, I slogged it out for a few more hours and got 2 cabinets built for the school.  I don't know what they are going to put in them, as they have few books and little supplies.  Maybe Jeff can use them for vacation homes when he needs a break from the tool cabinet.  I have somehow acquired 2 shadows, which is hard when there is no sun....rained again....anyway they seem to be about 10 yrs old and are close to being surgically attached to me.....they are Bafo & Kelvin, and their stories follow:::

Hi all. I guess it is my turn to write on Terry’s blog. He thinks you may be tired of all his road stories, although they are all true, and may be ready for my perspective once again.
I am not sure what I expected when we had planned on coming to Kenya. Maybe a chubby grandma ready to give some loving to little ones. But as the time has gone by, I am finding myself being drawn to some of the older boys. Boys about my grandsons Daniel & Dakota‘s age. Daniel is 10 and Dakota is 8. They are both great boys and I love them dearly, but they are boys, smelly & dirty at times. These boys here are smelly and dirty as well, but there is something about them that draws me to them. Maybe it is their need for hugs. Dakota and Daniel will hug me, but it is not a primary need!!! Tonite as I was heading off to our room after “jammie time” they all came up to me for their nightly hugs. What a blessing it was for me. Hey didn’t I come to give them love? God has a way of doing the unexpected.
I think tonites story will be about a couple of these boys. Kelvin is 10 and seems to a happy go lucky kid.
Usually he has this look that you wonder might be trouble ( he is a great practical joker) but he is a hard worker and is really good with the littler ones. Kelvin was beat on a regular basis by a woman that was supposedly his aunt. She would hit him on his head with a hot poker, she broke his arm by hitting it with a metal rod. She would wrap his little penis with hot barbed wire and cut him on his legs. A neighbor finally reported her to the police and she was arrested and put in jail for a year. Kelvin was made a ward of the court and Jeff and Carla were contacted and they took him in. He has been with them about 3 yrs. When the time came to make it official the magistrate came out to the children’s home and wanted to speak to the children, most of them were very nervous, except for Kelvin, He marched in with a big grin on his face. When asked why he was so happy, Kelvin said “ Mama Carla said I could live here forever” The judge said” is that what you would like?” Kelvin said “Of course!” A home where he is loved and fed and clothed and given the opportunity to go to school. What could be better than that?
Bafo ( Brian) is another of these boys. He seems to have been mostly raised by his father. They lived in a very poor section of Kesogon. Bafo’s dad would leave in the morning about 7:00am and lock the door and Bafo had to stay outside all day until his dad would come home ( drunk) about 10:00 pm. Bafo was 4 yrs old at this time. My grandson Dane is 4yrs old. I cannot imagine doing this to any child! Somehow this little boy became a shadow to Jeff. Jeff would see him wandering the street where they lived and when he followed him home Carla would feed him. Some nights he spent the night with them because his dad would not come get him. After about a year the father finally gave permission for him to stay with Jeff and Carla. Bafo is a very smart boy. He wants to be a pilot someday. When he found out that Terry had his pilot’s license, it really cemented their relationship and. they have spent a lot of time together. He is a quick learner and is trying to learn to use all the tools Terry has brought over.
Where would these 2 boys be without this children’s home? In Kelvin’s case, probably be dead. In Bafo’s case, maybe a homeless street kid. Both saved because a couple who loved Jesus saw the need here in Kenya.
Back to me.........
So, I have to get out of this country....it's getting to me.  They caught me holding and feeding a baby tonite and you all know I don't do babies.