Thursday June 21

Thursday we were finally going to Imani Children's Home. The lady who started the home, Mama Faith, was in Europe so we did not get to meet her. When she was 12 years old she saw a prostitute who was pregnant walking the streets everyday. Mama Faith knew that the prostitute would abandon the baby when she gave birth, so she convinced the lady to give her her baby when it was born! She hid the baby with her maid for the first few months until she finally told her own mom! Now she runs an orphanage with over 400 kids! While it is technically an orphanage, the kids always call it a children's home. They all have a Heavenly Father and consider Mama Faith their Mom. Thus they are not orphans. The kids also do not feel sorry for themselves. Imani is the best place that any of these kids could be.

The first day I was fortunate enough to be able to work at Imani A which is the infant house. Imani A is home to 40 infants. The ladies who take care of them are saints!! All 40 infants were lying on little beds outside under a shade tent. When it is warm enough all of the babies get to lay in the sun for a period of time and then nap in the shade. The "Aunties" lotion and massage them several times a day. I was assigned to the five youngest babies all just a few weeks old (they are not completely sure how old some of them are). I WAS IN HEAVEN!! My five were named Yosef, Rose, Esther, Abell, and Effron. Abell had been brought to the orphanage the week before by the police after someone found him somewhere. Esther is without a doubt the most beautiful baby I have ever seen and has the biggest smile and cutest dimples! Effron was the biggest and by that I mean probably 6 or 7 pounds. Rose and Yosef were about 4 pounds. From the moment I saw Yosef I wanted to adopt him! Granted, I wanted to take all 40 of the babies and all 400 kids home, but for some reason I had a special bond with little Yosef. I have never in my entire life felt such a deep love for any child just by looking at them. Don't get me wrong, I was in love with all of the babies there so I am not really sure how to explain it.

I spent the whole morning holding and cooing to the babies : ) and rocking them to sleep. Seeing that they are so tiny I could easily hold two at the same time. Then I fed them with another Auntie from the Philippines named Ann who is staying at Imani A for a year. We were outside with all of the infants so all 40 babies were being fed. It was crazy. After they ate the older infants had their diapers taken off (their diapers are big towels tied around them) and they all fell asleep. It was sad because all of the infants have really swollen stomachs and tiny arms and legs. Most of the babies had diarrhea constantly so when their diapers are off the Aunties are constantly changing the blankets underneath them. Several of the babies were very sick with AIDS (this is why I was not allowed to change diapers). A few were so sick and frail that the skin on their legs and bottom was wrinkled and hanging. They were the definition of 'skin and bones'. It was devastating to watch the babies nap and think about the reasons why they were in the orphanage. My five decided that they weren't going to nap and they just wanted to be held. I didn't mind : )

A few hours later some of the Aunties made us food and Chai and I was forced to leave the babies. I was so bummed, but I ended up having an amazing talk with our interpreter, Sammy, over lunch and tea. Sammy is a student at the Bible college in Nairobi and is one of the most interesting people I have met. We talked about the differences between America and Kenya and about Kenyan politics. Then we discussed abortion (one of my passions) and the lack of sanctity for human life in America. It was very interesting to hear his opinions and I will probably post later about some of the amazing conversations we had throughout the trip.

After we finished eating we met up with the rest of our team over at Imani B. Once the babies can walk and talk they stay at Imani B. We spent the rest of the day playing with the kids at Imani. The young ones were really tired so we all had sleeping preschoolers in our arms. We met some amazing children including Castro,who came to Imani with a broken spine and is now walking with a cane,and Emma, a joyful little preschooler living with AIDS. I adore the kids at Imani and can't wait to see them again!!

The pictures above were taken at Imani A by another person who went the last few years. They did not let me take pictures with the babies this year (so no pictures of my precious Yosef) but we were able to take pictures at Imani B the last day we were there. I will post those soon. The picture of the baby Gracie above will give you an idea of how little my five were.