Update 5

Hello Friends!
      I apologize that it has been so long since we have updated you all. Our internet has been limited even more than usual and our lives have continued to stay busy! It is one week until we return home to the States, and both Leah and I have mixed feelings. To say that I am not excited to come home would be a lie, but the thought of leaving the girls here without knowing when or if I will return makes my heart just as uneasy.
     This past week Leah and I were able to travel and visit Word of Life Camp Nairobi. We stayed with David Obunde and his wife Elisabet and three children. It was so refreshing to serve alongside David. During the two days we were there we visited three schools and did Bible Clubs in each of them. The children were SO excited to see David and the Mzungus (a polite way of saying white people) he brought along! Leah and I led songs (and I found myself thanking God for a mother who filled my childhood with children's music galore). For those of you who don't know, Word of Life is a camp that my family has attended in New York every year for 30 years. The camp here in Nairobi does a camp during the months where children are out of school and then does about 12 bible clubs a week in local schools. It is one of the most solid ministries I have ever been a part of. Their clear respect for the Word of God and love for Christ is clear in every single employee and the love they show for their community. It was a blessing and an honor to get to serve along side them. Leah and I were both challenged in our own walk after only spending 30 hours with David and his wife. They seek God so clearly each day. To add to the excitement, Elisabet is Argentinian. So, as we sat in Kenya, we were in their home speaking spanish and eating some delicious Argentinian food! They truly made us feel at home.
     After we left Word of Life we met up with Robyn Moore (a family friend that we met in Tenwek 10 years ago) at a Rugby game. Unfortunately we were walking in right as the game ended. We stayed with Robyn for one night and she brought us to Heshima School the next day. "Heshima" means 'Dignity'. This is a school for disabled children in a town outside of Nairobi. Disabled children here are almost always hidden from society. In order to go to school you have to be able to pay, and most people are unable to pay for a child who "can't learn". There is also simply a lack of knowledge of how to help children with special needs. If a couple has a special needs child, they may hide the child completely from society because of shame. Fathers often leave women who bear them a child with a disability, and many women, in an attempt to provide for the child, lock the child in the house all day while they go to work. Many of these children are simply abandoned. Heshima school is a place that attempts to address some of these issues. They have approximately 16 children (almost all of whom have cerebal palsy) and they work with them on motor skills and development. They help keep them clean and fed, and as they get older they teach them life skills such as yard work so that they can get a job in society. My favorite part goes beyond just helping the children though. The school is also the location for "Dignity Designs". Dignity Designs is a jewelry company that employs the mother of every child in the school. The mothers come to work a few days a week and hand make jewelry with beads that come only from Africa. They are paid a salary and their children's school fees are completely covered. It truly is remarkable. The way God is working in this school by showing love to the "least of these" is exactly what God calls us to do.
     We are back at Hekima for the last week of our stay. We were welcomed back warmly by all the girls and staff. Not only have we felt closer to the girls each day, but the men and women who work here as well. We definitely feel like part of the Hekima Family! Leah and I are both overly sore from our hours spent in the shamba(garden) 'slashing' and pulling weeds. It never ceases to amaze me how hard working almost every Kenyan we have met is. They do everything by their own sweat and hard work. It is actually quite inspiring and a little ashamed of all those times I complained about weeding the garden at home (sorry about that mom!). Leah is truly inspiring for me as well! Today she asked me if I wanted to wash my clothes by hand and my first response was "ummmm.. not really"! I am normally excited about things like that, but in the moment the laziness got the better half of me. She took her clothes and buckets and went outside anyway and inspired me to be the un-lazy person I know exists somewhere inside of me! The girls thought it was great that we were doing our laundry by hand like them and all surrounded us to help soap, scrub, rinse, and hang. It was actually quite fun and gave us one more taste of true African culture. Leah and I have found over and over again that God has provided one of us with the motivation we need when the other is tired and worn out. I can't imagine being here without her.
      Let me assure you all again that your prayers are felt here each and every day. There are days when we are tired, or missing home, or even feeling a little under the weather, where we feel a strength that is not our own come alongside us and lift us up to do something. We only have 8 days left and we want to use each and every moment for the Lord. So much can happen in 8 days, and we pray that God will use us in whatever way he sees fit.
     Since we have been in Kenya there have been some nation-wide tragedies such as a bombing in Nairobi and a helecopter crash that killed their Security Minister. Hekima Place is located an hour from the city along the N'gong Hills and the Rift Valley so we have not been near any of the political threats, but we watch as those around us speak so poorly of their own country and feel their own well beaing threatened. Almost every Kenyan we meet talks about how corrupt their country is. It is an interesting combination of extreme pride in their tribal roots and wanting to separate themselves from their national leadership.
     If we are not able to update before we leave please keep us in your prayers next Monday and Tuesday (July 2nd and 3rd) as we travel home. Please pray for energy and motivation as we hope to make each day count before we come home. A wise man (I like to call him Dad) once told me that the biggest lie that Satan feeds us is that there is no power in the Word of God. Please pray that we won't believe that lie and that we will continue to share God's Word in a Powerful way. Sometimes it takes a deliberate effort to not rely on our own strength. The girls may not remember every day we spent with them, the games we play, the songs we sing, or the snacks we give. However, They will remember feelings. They will remember the love and truth of Christ and his Word. Please join us in fervent prayer that we will continue to hold on to that Truth even as our minds and hearts yearn to be home.Thank you all! This trip would not be what it is without all the prayer and support that is surrounding us.
God Bless,
Lizzy (and Leah)