Wednesday - posted by Elise

There are many pleasant things about Nairobi. I am sitting on the pastor's porch as I write this. It is shaded and surrounded by lovely trees. We have drinks brought to us while we are working. I think all pastors should have a porch off their office. \

I want you to imagine being able to hand deliver your Christmas Box from Samaritans Purse to a child. That is what my meeting with Diana, the child I sponsor, was like yesterday. Diana is from a village 4-5 hours from here, but she traveled 12 hours by bus to be here. She was dressed up in one of her few dresses. She lives in a rural village with no running water or electricity. This was her first trip to Nairobi. She had never seen a white person before. She had not seen a giraffe before, so we took her to the Giraffe Center. She was VERY quiet and shy. She had her Compassion worker with her, and we brought our hosts child with her, so she could feel more comfortable. She was very scared to hand feed the giraffes like the rest of us were doing, but she did throw food too them. I let her pick out a gift from the shop and have a soda, which she enjoyed, but still no smiles or laughs. She was excited but also scared. The only time I could get her to laugh was when I blew my straw paper at someone else. She handed me more paper. Our visit was several hours, so Carolyn and I were able to get a lot of information about what Compassion does. They have 6800 children that need sponsors in Kenya and 6500 are sponsored. 49 children need sponsors in Diana's village. I encourage you to think and pray about sponsoring a child from Diana's village. There are many orphans there, because her area has been hit hard by AIDS. It was a really good visit. We spent a long time talking to Diana's Compassion worker about her dream of an orphanage. She just needs someone to help her build it.

On a lighter note, I did kiss a giraffe and we do have video.

I have mastered the bucket bath. I passed on my new wisdom to Regina and Carolyn. There will not be any videos of bucket baths.

These people amaze us every day as they deal with their challenges with grace and faith. Our students are learning a lot and we are having a great time. Wish you were here!