Saying Goodbye to St. Edwin's Orphanage

The purpose of Saturday's visit

to St. Edwin's orphanage was

two-fold. Of course I needed

to tell them good-bye but I

also wanted to play some

games with the children.

The first part of the visit

was spent with Edwin and

Ruth eating and drinking

Chai. This kind of

hospitality is normal in

African homes.

Then I was able to introduce Match Game and Uno to the children.

What fun! Vivian, a beautiful sixth grader whom you see below

was our interpreter. Her English is amazing and she did a great job

explaining the rules of the games.

You can tell by the look

on her face that she took

her responsibility very

seriously.

I like to think that

the sad expressions

on these faces were

because I was leaving.

Little do they know

how much of my

heart I left there with

them.

No departure is

complete without

a song from the

children.

After that I asked

them to sit on the

grass with me for

a picture. I'm in

the middle back

and Edwin is

behind me.

You will remember the post about the tank that my son's church was able to buy for the orphanage. Unfortunately, when the landlord saw the tank, he increased the rent. Thus, there is a need to purchase land and get away from the monthly rent. Hopefully that will become a reality in the future. You may also remember that several friends in the states gave money for them to buy a cow. Hopefully, that will be possible in the next few weeks. Edwin has to talk with the landlord and they may have to "house" the cow some place else.

There are many many orphanages in Kenya. St. Edwin's and the 28 children there have captured my heart and attention. Saying good-bye was not nearly as easy or as much fun as playing the games. I know that others here at RVA will continue the frequent visits to this warm loving orphanage.