deborah.

I want to introduce you to Teule Kenya's newest child, Deborah. She is about 11 months old. I use the word "about" since we are unsure how old she really is. She was abandoned at small store in a nearby town. She was left there for days until a good Samaritan picked her up and took her to the local hospital. She appeared to have never been washed since there was dirt caked onto her skin. This is the first time I have met her, up until now I have seen pictures but she is always so serious looking. She is never smiling, so I was curious to meet this baby. The more time I have spent with her I can see she has experienced abuse. She is fearful of almost everything, even when the children are playing rough she will scream and try to get away. This child is 11 months, not even a year old, yet the abuse she has experienced has left a visible impact on her. She is re-learning how to be loved in a way that a child deserves. She is laughing, smiling, and even starting to make sounds. Deborah is lucky and I pray that at Teule she can have a chance to be a child. She will no longer see any abuse or experience hurt.

Back!

I cannot believe I am back in Kenya. Landing in Nairobi last night was such an amazing feeling. I was so excited to be off the plane but also be back in the place that I love. Today was spent shopping and getting things ready for LTK. I leave tomorrow morning for Teule and I am so excited to see everyone. The kids do not know I will be arriving tomorrow! So much is happening with Teule right now and I am amazed at God's continued blessings over this organization. Jon Juu (founder of Teule) is in LTK right now looking over the greenhouses which will supply the children with vegetables and fruit! A donor from the USA gave money to buy another cow for Teule!! I am so excited about this opportunity for Teule and I feel blessed to be a part of it. I will update this blog for the next three weeks that I am in Kenya. As always, feel free to email me or comment below with questions about Teule! Thank you all, for continued love and support for Teule.

change.

This is my last blog post from Kenya, it is bittersweet. Today was my last full day at Teule and I cannot believe still how fast time has gone here. We took the kids to Amboseli National Park today and saw so many animals, it was so fun to be with the kids and hear how excited they were! We spent the whole day driving around seeing elephants, hippos, monkeys, hyenas, water buffalo, gazelles, and zebras. It was a good way to say goodbye to Kenya. Tonight as we finished with devotions, some of the kids sang me a song and then came up and said thank you and how much they loved me. I felt so incredibly blessed to be a part of this whole thing. I feel like I say that in ever post, and that is what I told my kids tonight. That I know they think that I have blessed them by being here, but truly it is them who have blessed me. Every day with them has been a blessing and I have felt so happy since the moment I was back in Kenya. Leaving tomorrow will be so hard, I am not sure when it will sink in that I won't be waking up to Bobby outside my window calling my name, or hearing Risper talk, or my baby David smiling. I told them that even though I am thousands of miles away, I am never that far. I will be always praying for them and I will be back soon. That is not an empty promise either. I am going home early to be with my family, my wonderful grandfather died last Thursday from what felt like a short battle with renal cancer. He is home now though, and he was my biggest supporter of me being here. He even got to skype with some of my kids a month ago and I am so thankful he got to see them. As I leave the blogging world, I am so thankful for all the support, prayers, and love everyone has given the past 4months! Thank you for supporting me and allowing me to be here.

somedays.

The one of the cutest sounds in the world is listening to a child sound out a word. They really concentrate on those letters and try to make out the word! Tonight I went to the boys dorm for preps (homework time) and I worked with Peter Kasyoki. I don't know how else to describe Peter other than sweet. He is so close to my heart and I really love working with him on homework. He is in class one and is ranked number one in class...he is always clean, always has his books and pens lined up in his desk, his bed is always made...I think he is close to my heart because we are both weird about our stuff being straight and organized. Since he did not have homework tonight, I gave him some and I got to listen to him sound out words as he read the instructions. Ahhh it was so cute, I loved it. He is so excited about learning and school, I cannot wait to see him grow up!
His older brother Isaac Matiba is also one of the nicest boys around the compound, he always makes me laugh too. Both of them are so wonderful and I enjoy every moment with them. When Isaac and Peter's parents died, it was Isaac that took care of Peter and search for help from neighbors to support their needs. When they were unable to go to school, Isaac sought help from the police which lead them to Teule. I guess this story brings me back to the quote I wrote in another entry about feeling like our work is a drop in the ocean. But without that drop...where would Peter be? Or Matiba? Or the rest of the 200+ kids that have been impacted in some way through Teule? I want to share with you what I have learned...that the next time you feel like "is it really worth it?" or "will it even matter?" when it comes to helping, the answer is yes, it will always be worth it, even when it feels like a drop in the ocean. But without that one drop who knows how many lives would not be changed.

place in this world.

My mom left on Monday and though I was sad to see her leave, I was happy to share Teule with her. It was such a blessing that she was able to come here and see everything that I have fallen in love with. She even decided to sponsor one of the kids...so I have a new sister! Her name is Jane Kasyoka and she is in class 8, she is also ranked number one in her class! I was so excited that my parents decided to sponsor a child and that my mom even got to tell Jane! Jane does not have parents, and I am happy to share mine.
I cannot believe that I have just 6 weeks left...time travels fast in Kenya. Going home brings bittersweet feelings - I got into Occupational Therapy grad school, which is amazing and I am so excited to move to Nashville but on the other hand I feel like I will be leaving a second home and unsure when I will return. I know I won't wait too long...I don't think I would be able too.
It is hard to describe how comfortable it is here for me, I feel like I finally found my place in this world. I feel like I have searched and searched...in people, places, things, relationships, etc. I never thought I would find it here but I know leaving Teule in six weeks will be harder than I expected. I wish I could video tape my entire life here...so when I was sad I could rewatch and hear Rispah laugh, or see Daudi smile, or joke around with Rodgers or Matiba.
At the end of the day, I find comfort that God would not just bring me here and never let me return. I find comfort that God is ultimately in control and that His love for Teule will always outweigh mine. I find comfort that God has let Teule imprint itself on my soul. That I will forever be changed, my focus and energy will have a purpose. That prayers, work, and actions for God's kingdom will never be in vain. I found rest for my soul, in Loitoktok, Kenya with the children of Teule.

day go by.

My mom finally made it to Kenya! Something she thought she would never do...but here she is! I think she is enjoying it here, maybe a little bit of culture shock! haha but overall she loves Teule and the kids! It is nice to have her here and show her what I have been doing that past few months.
When we arrived at Teule on Saturday we had to start preparing for Easter the next day! We planned a huge dinner for them which included their favorite thing to eat...a goat!! The kids get so excited when there is a goat to eat, hence the pictures taken with the goat pre-slaughter. And yes, we (not me...other people) slaughter the goat on the compound then cut it up to prepare for dinner. Its quite the event from beginning to end!
Earlier that day we had a mini easter egg hunt...it was more like individual bags filled with candy, stickers, and little gifts from Nairobi I had bought for them. My mom, Maggie (a Teule volunteer), and I went around the compound hiding the gifts while Jon (the director) stayed to entertain them. After the gift bags were hidden they were released to find their bag! The little kids went running and screaming, some even got the wrong bag just out of pure excitement! It was a lot of fun and probably one of my favorite Easter sundays.
After dinner all the big kids came back to the guest house to watch a movie since they did not have school on Monday. One of the kids picked Star Wars (my favorite movies!!) and so we watched that! We made popcorn, stayed up late, and watched a lot of movies...it is fun to spend time with the older girls and boys. They are all great kids!
Today I am back to work, I have a lot of things to catch up on since I have been gone and then the holiday weekend. We have a 4 new kids living here, 3 are siblings from the area that were abandoned and another is a girl that was rescued from an early marriage. There is a lot of follow up with them and their stories. We also have medical check-ups for all the kids coming up this week or the following. Then of course...working on and trying to finish the sponsorship documents for people! Again....if you ever want more information please email me :)
Its a privilege to be here and be a part of God's work here at Teule. I do not see it as my right, but a true blessing.

oceans.

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." -Mother Theresa

Yesterday we had a HUGE fundraiser that the staff of Teule has been planning for months! The kids ran a 15km relay to raise money for Teule and their education. I was the first aid person so I got to just ride in a car until the last 1 km, I ran with all the little kids! It was a good and long day, full of music, dancing, and of course food! During part of the ceremony, some of the past Teule kids came up and told how their lives had been changed because of this organization. They attended primary and secondary, and are now looking forward to college. It was a very cool and aspiring moment for myself and I think for the kids here at Teule now.
It is easy to look at this world and just be discouraged; pain, suffering, poverty, disease, hunger, abandonment, etc. It can feel as if what you are doing is just a drop in a vast ocean. I see Jon (the director), along with so many past and present staff members and volunteers of Teule and see they have made an impact in so many children in Kenya. Children that might have been left in the streets, been hungry, subjected to violence, or even worse an early death. These children not only have an education and a home, but they also know the love of Jesus through devotions and the staff that love them unconditionally. I look at Jon and see someone who has dedicated his life to a mission that seems impossible, but his faith and love for God and his children has made it possible. These kids are proud to be Teule kids, and I am proud to know them and be a part of this.