Children's Home Experience III

Looking Back…

I have been lost, recovering from my stint at the Children’s Home. I have also been trying to recover from the culture shock I found myself in about a week after I had moved out! Having the opportunity to actually live within the culture was an amazing experience that I do not regret, but the reality of what I learned about the culture also left me in a state of shock. I think I know now what the phrase “culture shock” actually means… but I want to focus on the fun, positive part of my stay there as well.

So, here’s a look back, with pictures of what happened while I was living at the Home.


First, we had a celebration for two of our boys who left the Home to move on to the next part of their lives. We had a big party, mostly planned by the kids, which involved singing, performing, advice giving, a blessing by the parents, and a message from Greg. Carrie baked a big batch of chocolate chip cookies, which the kids devoured, loving every moment! In this picture, the parents are blessing the boys by washing their feet. This is a traditional way for Kenyan parents to bless their children.


As you may know, we spent most of March remodeling the kitchen at the Home. I was there on the much anticipated evening of finally opening the kitchen. All of the children gathered in the new dining room, were served, prayed, and ate together. We even had an official ribbon cutting! The staff and children thoroughly enjoy their new cooking and dining area.


Easter at the Kenya Church of Christ Children’s Home had a whole new twist this year. Carrie & I decided to share a little of the American Easter spirit with the kids, so we bought a bunch of eggs, vinegar & food coloring and showed the kids how to color eggs. We weren’t sure what they would think of this crazy mzungus idea, but they caught on very soon and seemed to have a blast! They even figured out how to mix the colors to make different colors without any hints from us. After they went to church, we hid the eggs in a small parameter around the kitchen. When church finished, they all headed down to the kitchen to hunt for the eggs. We should have hid them better, because I think they were all found within 5 minutes!


One day, when I came back to the Home from being at our house, the truck was fairly muddy from driving on the dirt roads after the rain. They children LOVE to wash the truck, so they asked me to drive it over near a trough of water so they could clean it up. Almost all of the younger children (over 15 kids) grabbed soap, rags & buckets and went crazy, inside & outside. So I grabbed my camera and went crazy as well!


Until Next Time,
Alita