Karibu Sana!- welcome

I got to the airport (IAH) with my mom, met up with Jenny and Garrett.  Jenny and I said our goodbyes to mom and Garrett.  We were both a little sad, and scared - not knowing what to expect, but also really excited.

Got our tickets, I had to pay extra because my suitcase was heavy; a little different then last year people were putting stuff in my suitcase because theirs' was to heavy. I was really thankful that I didn't have to carry them any more, 2 suitcases is extremely hard to maneuver!  We willingly handed them off to KLM (our airline), praying that they made it.  On to our next adventure....Security.

The line was really long and we were starting to get nervous, that we would not make it to our gate.  We got in line at 2:00 and got through it at 3:00, made it to our gate right as they were starting to board, Talk about the Lord being on our side!  We decided to use the restroom, our last time for a while to use an American toilet.

Our flights were both good, we landed in Nairobi on Monday evening, despite some slight swerving as we touched down on the runway.

It took us about an hour to get our visas. Got our luggage, all 4 bags made it, WOOHOO!! Met our driver, Harry, who took us to our hotel, Grace Guest House (reminded Jenny of the place she stayed last year in Nakuru).

Got ready for bed, during this process the power went out (very typical for Kenya).  We closed our Mosquito net curtains that surrounded our beds, I promptly went to sleep, while Jenny stayed up for the next 8 hours. Needless to say she was not bright eyed and bushy tailed the next morning...(her words not mine). 

1st full day in Kenya:

The day started off with a nice cold shower and GREAT Kenyan coffee!

Our driver, Elias, picked us up and we started our journey to Heshima, Special Needs School. On our way we saw a baboon cross the street, needless to say we got a little excited about the baboon that Elias pointed out every animal after that...such as: Chickens, dogs, and goats...as if we had never seen any of these before.

Heshima (Special Needs School):

We got there right as their day was starting; we joined in their morning circle.  They sang praise and worship songs, a little different then home but a welcomed change.  We spent the day playing with students, doing painting, feeding, play doh, and other activities.  This was their first week in their new facility, which is bigger and nicer than their past place.  They are not finished with the new place, right now they are using the medical building for all 4 groups (large instruction area, Dignity Designs, Classroom, and Physical Therapy); they will be adding several other buildings.

There is a little girl, AGI, she has Cerebral Palsy, and can't walk or talk; she understands everything you say.  She reminded me of one of my students.  She wanted to be close to you and have all your attention. She was trying to turn on a pillow that vibrates, but was having a little difficulty; by the look on her face she was bound and determined to do this.  She looked up at me, her way of asking me for help, I showed her how to do it... I held up one finger and asked her to do the same, it took her a little while but she got her finger up, then I showed her how to use her finger to turn on and off the pillow...by the end of the day she was doing it by herself.   It was great to see her determination paid off; she was smiling from ear to ear.

Another student who stood out was a boy named Johnny; he is blind and answers yes or no questions. The director of the facility, come up and asked me if I could walk about with Johnny to be his eyes, to help introduce him to his new school. We started at the door and walked outside, I had him touch the door and feel his way around telling him what he was touching.  We felt our way around posts, shoe racks, to the railing that led to the end of the side walk, at this point I told him he needed to turn around and go back up the side walk to the door.  We then went inside, showed him where the table was and restroom and the carpeted area where they do group activities.  We repeated this several times.  I was completely amazed how he was open to the change.

Quick side note....While we were eating lunch, I went and got our food out of our bags and realized when I was getting Jenny's food that she still had the key to the hotel in her purse...needless to say we aren't going back there, so we have a key to add to our adventure.

The end of the day Elias picked us up and drove us out to EDEN! We arrived safely and with all the kids waiting for us at the gate, it was a great sign to see!

Blessings,

Julie

Stay tuned our adventure is just getting started...:)