Back at Fiwagoh! I LOVE this place!

I left Houston on Tuesday afternoon the 11th after working 12 hours.  I was already tired and had a LONG journey ahead.  I was excited.

Thursday morning we arrived in Nairobi and Daniel picked us up at the airport.  He was our Kenya driver on my last trip, and I just love him.

Daniel is really a wonderful part of our team.

Driving to Fiwagoh we saw these camels just walking along  :-)

Daniel took us straight to Fiwagoh in Nakuru, Kenya.  We drove through the gate and the children were screaming and running along beside the van just as they did when I was there before.  The windows were open, and they were grabbing our hands.

Then they realized they saw two familiar faces.  Oh. My. Goodness.  Diana and I had come back.  Their excitement and the hugs I got when I got off that van... priceless.  All 180 of those children have a story.  Most of them include abuse and abandonment.  I didn't go back to the United States and forget about them.  I won't abandon them.  They kinda liked that.  I LOVED being back there.

We had a great time with the kids.  They don't have pillows to sleep on, so we talked about Daniel and the lion's den and made Lion Pillows with them.  HUGE hit!

We spent lots of time playing outside.

They were all lined up to play 'What time is it Mr. Fox?"

We didn't even know what this game was, but the girls had a BLAST.

Reading a Bible story book.

I had gathered a little cash to take with me so that we could go to the market and buy food for these kids.  Their biggest struggle right now is that food prices have quite literally skyrocketed because of the drought.  The thought of these little ones not having food to eat just makes me feel sick.  

We shopped.

It was awesome.

We bought lots of rice and lots of beans.  We also bought some things like cleaning supplies, salt, cooking oil - things that they need.

When we got back, the kids all gathered around the truck.  They were so excited.  They hadn't had rice in awhile we heard.  I actually saw some tears.  Tears of excitement because we brought rice.  Rice.  Wow.  I just love those kids.

Looking for some strong muscles to help with the heavy bags of beans and rice.

Posing for pictures like it was Christmas morning.  

This is Pastor Benson.  He was like a kid in a candy store.  

This was an amazing opportunity to bless this family of 180 children and their parents, Pastor Benson and his wife Florence.  Thank you to all of you that help make this happen.

I've got to mention this last thing to you guys.  Maybe someone will decide they can help.  

In July when I was at Fiwagoh, there were two or three children there that had some pretty bad sores mostly on their heads.  We had some neosporin and left them with some of that to try to keep them from becoming infected.  When Diana and I got off the van this time, we weren't there 2 minutes before we realized these 'sores' had spread like wildfire.  MANY of the littles were covered in it.  Their heads and hands, some of them were bloody.

After we got settled in and talked to Benson about it, we learned he had taken 5 of the children the week before to the hospital and learned that it is a fungus.  They were prescribed some anti-fungal cream, but they don't have much.  They're treating it the best they can.  

One night we had all of the kids that had these sores to come to the front of the room and we spent some time praying over them.  I know God will heal these babies.

There are 2 VO teams going back to Fiwagoh in Dec/Jan.  I need anti-fungal cream to send with them.  Just regular over-the-counter AF cream - you know like athlete's foot medicine.  If you think about it next time you're at the store, maybe you could pick some up for these precious little ones.  

This is little Jonathan.  Poor baby.  It looked so painful.

Some of their little fingers looked a lot like Jonathan's ear.

If you're still with me, thanks for taking the time to see my pictures.  I just LOVE this place.  These kids LOVE Jesus.  They are SO dependent on Him.  I want to be like them.

 

This Isn't Easy

I thought coming home and getting back into life would be easier this time.  It's not.  I thought, since I had done this before, that I would come home and be able to get back in to the swing of things more easily than I did last time.  I was wrong.  This is anything but easy.

Last week I held a little one in my arms that would turn two years old soon that weighs just 8 pounds.  Too tiny babies moaning (because crying takes energy they don't have) because malnutrition hurts.  They didn't smile.  The pained looks on their faces, I'll not soon forget.

My heart is broken.

The week before that, I fed 6 ounces of cows milk to an HIV+ 3-month-old darling girl while her tummy made all kinds of grumbling noises because Mama Nelly (who cares for 30 children in her home) can't afford formula.

I didn't think my heart could break any further.

When I saw two police officers drop off a little one of about 4 at a government facility we were visiting knowing what was in store for this tiny guy, I didn't think I could take much more.

I tell people these stories and they ask "Why does God allow this to happen?  Why does He let these people live like this and starve to death?"  I used to wonder the same thing.  I don't anymore.

He doesn't let them starve and not have access to clean water and live on the streets without parents.

We do.

That's right.  We are the ones that let this happen.  God has entrusted us with MUCH to take care of His children, and we are not doing it.  He has blessed us, and we keep it for ourselves.  His heart is broken, and we think we need another (or a bigger) house.  We think we need.

I was not born in this country to educated parents because I am any more special to our Father than the ones I visited in Africa.  I have not been blessed with an awesome job that allows me to take care of my little family and travel around the world because God loves me more.  God expects me to do great things with what He has blessed me with.

I will not let Him down.

If you think that you cannot help because you can't go someplace far away or you can't write a $100 check and send it, you are wrong.  I can't wait to tell you what I did with the money you guys sent me with.  Little sacrifices that you made went a long way and blessed a bunch of lives.  There are so many ways to bless His people.  It's time for us all to step up and do it.  We MUST take what He has given to us, and use it to take care of His children.

I think that's about all I have in me for now.

Would you pray that I will be able to work through all that I've seen and felt and touched and loved so that I can relay the stories that need to be told?  This isn't easy.

Thank you!

I'm Still Here

I'm still alive!  This has been an amazing trip.  Again, I don't have the words.  I have done no better writing my thoughts this trip than the last.  I'll just have to work through it and write about it as I can.

Our time in Kenya was just wonderful.  We spent LOTS of time with our kids at Fiwagoh, and we were also able to go in to Nakuru and visit two different homes that Visiting Orphans had not been in yet.  Two places with very little (if any) support.

The first of the two was the home of Mama Sweetie.  She has almost 30 children that she cares for in her home.  They have come to her over the last couple of years as their parents (mostly friends of hers) have died of AIDS.  All 30 of them sleep in 8 beds with no mattresses (just the wooden slats.)  She's doing the best she can with what she has.  She has very little.  Future VO teams will hopefully be able to help her.

*pictures are not uploading*  :-(

The second place was Mama Nelly's home.  She has a nice facility that she rents to house her 29 children.  She desperately needs to begin a sponsorship program to help care for her kids.  We've been thinking of ways to help her do that.

Of course we had a WONDERFUL time with our kiddos at Fiwagoh.  The craft that we did this time was to make a pillow.  It was made of fleece and shaped like a lion's head and they glued lion face pieces on them.  They didn't have pillows, so they LOVED making one of their own to sleep on.  I can't wait to show you all of their pictures.  Especially my team from this summer.

I wish I had video of us driving in to the compound.  The recognition on their faces when they saw that it was me was priceless.  For me to come back AGAIN was unbelievable to them.  They thought that was the best thing ever!  I did too!  I just love those kids.  I miss them already.

I was especially close to a little one named Emily this time.  Poor baby just cried and cried when we left.  I may have been a little upset too.  She's 8 years old just like my Brenna (but Emily is so tiny.)  They will have to write some letters to each other.  I had printed a bunch of pictures of me and Brenna and gave them to the kids.  Many of them wrote letters to Brenna for me to take home.  She will love that.

I am missing Brenna.  I called her yesterday before she went to school, and she cried.  Poor kid.  I won't be taking any trips like this again in the near future.  She made me promise before I left.  So I will be done for awhile.  When she gets a little older, I will be able to bring her with me.  But for now, this is hard.

God has shown up in some big ways since I have been here.  He is here.  I will have to write the stories later.  We ran into Linny from A Place Called Simplicity at the Namirembe in Kampala.  I have followed her blog for so long.  It was amazing talking to her.  I got to meet her newest little one.  I can't share much, but would you pray for her?  That family needs us to pray.  God knows what they need.

I'm at an Internet cafe in Jinja right now.  The WiFi was up when I started and has been down for awhile now.  I am hoping they get it back up so that I can post this before we have to leave.

Thank you for praying while I've been here.  Keep praying.  Several of the little one's at Canaan Children's Home where we are staying now (in Jinja) have malaria.  It's not fun.  Poor kids.  They are burning up with fever.  The clinic is full.  We have prayed over many children.  Pray for them.

The Internet just came back up!!  I'd better hit 'publish' before it goes back down.  This is Africa!  I do love it here.

Love you all!

It's Time

It's here.  I'm leaving this evening to go spend the night in Washington D.C. before flying out in the morning to Addis and then to Nairobi.  I don't expect to have any Internet access while in Kenya.  On the 17th we will travel to Uganda, and there I may be able to get a signal every now and then. 

I plan to write while I'm traveling this time.  I was not able to do that last time.  I was completely exhausted in every sense of the word.  I wasn't expecting to be quite so shocked and emotionally drained the entire trip.  This time, knowing what to expect, I'm going to try to journal as I go instead of waiting until I get back.  It may not happen this way, but after the 17th check back because I may just have some things to tell you.  :-)

I cannot wait to get on that airplane and sleep.  I've been getting up at 2:30 AM, working 12 hours, and then trying to get packed and prepared for  the last several days.  Last night I went to bed at midnight and then was up at 2:30 and at work by 3:45.  I'm tired.  I need sleep.  I have 2 and a half hours left to work and then I'll leave for the airport. 

Since I'm leaving the country, my daughter has an infected wound on her arm.  Isn't that the way it goes?  Apparently she somehow got a splinter (Mom thought it was out but it wasn't) and now it's infected.  The school nurse got the rest of it out today and says that antibiotic ointment should heal it all up, but if it doesn't she'll have to see a doctor to get oral antibiotics.  Please pray that it heals nicely and there is no need to do the whole doctor thing.  My poor mom.  I don't know what I would do without her and David.  I need these next two weeks to go as smoothly as possible. 

Last night when I picked Brenna up from dance, she was so sad about me leaving.  She shed a few tears.  She's trying to be big about it all.  Poor kid.  I'm feeling REALLY guilty right about now.  She's so sweet.  She made I don't even know how many cards for me to give to the kids I will see.  She made them all bookmarks that say "Jesus Loves You and So Do I!"  Sweet girl.  She wrote in all of them that she prays for them every night, and that she does.  It's a different kind of life we are living right now.  I hope I'm doing  the right thing.  Sometimes I wonder.

She should have fun opening the gifts I have wrapped up for her for while I'm gone.  :-)

I should get back to work now.  I need to go for a walk or something.  :-)  I'm having a terrible time staying awake!

Please pray for protection and peace. 

Thank you so much!

Getting Excited!

There is so much to do and so little time.  In just 5 days, I will board a plane to start my journey.  FIVE days!  Unbelievable that it is already here.

I'm having to be at work a whole lot right now to make up for some of the time I will be gone.  Work is really getting in the way of the things I need to get done.  :-)  I have to get a hair cut in the morning, so I only get to sleep a couple of hours after working all night tonight.  That should be interesting.  I have to see a chiropractor before I can spend all that time on airplanes.  They were able to fit me in Monday after work.  Monday after work I also somehow have to get my dogs to the kennel before they close.  I wish there were two of me right now!  The dogs need a vaccine too, I was told by the good folks at the Barkington Inn.  They will have to get it there, as there is no time to get them to the vet before I leave.  Oh well!

I'm getting nervous about how I will miss Brenna while I'm gone.  I HATE that part.  I'm working on some little surprise gifts that I will leave for her to open throughout the time I'm gone.  If you see her while I'm gone, will you give her a hug for me?  One day she will make this trip with me, but for now she must stay here.  Thank goodness for awesome grandparents.

It has just been amazing the way that God has brought people together to gather donations for me to take with me on this trip.  One friend that I hadn't had any contact with since high school sent countless emails and posted on Facebook for help for me.  She collected LOTS of awesome stuff including a 30 pound bag of children's vitamins for me to take.  The nutrition that these children lack is sad.  These vitamins will help!!

The blessings have poured in.  Now I'm trying to scrape together $250 to take an extra bag.  I just have to get all of this stuff there.  Airlines charge an arm and a leg for extra baggage.  If you'd like to help with that, you can send (any amount will help) to my paypal account.  You don't have to have a paypal account.  You can just use a debit/credit card.  Send to:  allie1111@me.com  Thank you!!

Please pray that God will prepare the hearts of all of us on this team.  This is a hard trip.  I need to be able to focus on being what these kids and their care-givers need me to be.  We will visit places in Kenya that Visiting Orphans hasn't been before.  Pray that we can show Jesus to these little ones and that relationships may begin to form.

Thank you for all of your help!  God is working.

oh and...  I now have a Princess Tiana baby doll and Princess Tiana dress-up dress for this beautiful and perfect Ugandan princess...

I'm Going Back!

On the 12th of next month, just 35 days away, I will leave to return to E. Africa.  I'm very excited to go.  Now that I know what to expect, I think I'm more nervous than before.  It's a difficult trip.  Amazing and incredible.  I. Can't. Wait.

On my last team there were 22 of us.  This time there are only 8.  That means there will be FAR fewer pieces of luggage carrying donations this time.  That makes me kind of sad.  A really great part of my last trip was the way we were able to bless SO many with literally over 1000 pounds of really awesome stuff to help meet some of their physical needs. 

This time, just like the last, I myself will be packing nearly (if not more) 75 pounds of donations.  I need your help BADLY to get those together.  I have a list of specific things that I will post below of things I'd really like to take.  If you would like to help, I would greatly appreciate it.  So will the children.

Most of these things can be picked up at the dollar store or at Walmart for just a few dollars.  Your 'just a few dollars' can REALLY make a difference.  Seriously.

Things I need to take:

• Pencils, Pencil Sharpeners, Pens, Markers  (I already have spiral notebooks, glue and crayons)
• Children's Pain Reliever (chewable and liquid), Triple Antibiotic Ointment (simple and saves lives), Hydro cortisone Cream, Toothpaste
• Flip-flops (all sizes)
• Deflated Soccer and Kickballs, Ball Pump/Needle, BALLOONS!, Jump Ropes, Sidewalk Chalk, Bubbles

If you are able to pick up any of these items, let me know!  I'll come get them from you.  Get your children/grandchildren involved.  Show them pictures of these children that they are helping.  It's an important lesson to learn!

Thank you so much for your help!!

Love you all,
Allison

Sometimes when God wants people on the ground in E. Africa loving on His children, He has a BOGO sale.

I don't know how to write the story God gave me today (I guess I should say yesterday as it is well past midnight.)  I know that is a crazy title to this post, but God actually did that today.

This morning I opened an email from the executive director of Visiting Orphans that said there were only 4 members on our October Uganda/Kenya team and they just can't send less than 8.  Actually, she said they don't normally send less than 8 but if 6 had signed up she would send us.  It wasn't looking like that was going to happen, so the trip had to be cancelled and maybe moved to November to see if more people might sign up for that trip.

I had been afraid this might happen since finding out a couple of weeks ago that there were so few of us signed up for this trip.  I wasn't shocked.  I knew that God wasn't shocked either, and so I was fine with the decision.  I know that God has ALL of this.  His plans are ALWAYS better than mine, and I will go back to Uganda and Kenya when He wants me to.  But... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the teensiest bit disappointed.

The thing is, these October dates are just perfect for my work schedule.  Literally shifted one day either way, and I wouldn't have been able to work it out to go.  I didn't think that there would be any dates in November that would work out quite like these October dates did.  I was resigned to either go in December/January (which I  cannot imagine that's a good idea because I just thought it was hot in July there and that was winter) or wait until June 2012 (and I can't imagine that waiting that long is a good idea!)

This evening Doneva and I (well mostly Doneva) did a little presentation at the church where she works for a little group about our trip.  It was wonderful!  It's getting a little easier to share the stories.  Doneva told the group that I was returning in October.  I hadn't mentioned the email to her yet.  When anyone asked me about going back in October, I said "I hope to!" every time.  :-)  I wasn't being untruthful (for any of you reading here that were there.)  :-)  I was still hoping even though I knew it wouldn't be October... most likely.

When I got home tonight, I opened my computer to find another email from the executive director of Visiting Orphans.  This second email said that she had just received a call from their travel agent and that Ethiopian Airlines was having a buy-one-get-one-free sale for the dates of our trip.  The cost of my October trip just went down $1000.  Today.  The same day it was cancelled because the cost of sending just a few was too high.  This new lower price will likely allow for some others to join us on this trip, but either way Visiting Orphans can afford to send us because of this BOGO sale.

A BOGO sale that God undeniably put into place so that I may go love on His children.  In October.  I don't know why I'm surprised.  I totally expected God to arrange it all so that He may be glorified.  I totally expected Him to send me to Uganda and Kenya in His time instead of my own.

What I did NOT expect..... was a BOGO sale to make it happen.

I LOVE how our God works.  Don't you?

Would YOU like to take a trip with me?  I know that a $2500 trip is easier to make happen than a $3700 trip.  Take advantage of this and come with me!!  Go to www.visitingorphans.org and sign up for the October 12-24, 2011 Uganda/Kenya trip!

I cannot wait to get back to these kids!