Vipingo - Thursday

Thursday we spent the day in Vipingo. We were once again welcomed by the sights of smiling faces and the sounds of singing children. Once the greetings were over we all proceeded to the flag raising ceremony and then on to the church for a presentation from the children. It was their chapel so they sang worship songs as a group and then recited scripture, poems and sang by grade level. There are 3 levels of kindergarten classes plus grade 1 and grade 2.

I have been unsuccessful at posting video because of the poor internet connection, but it is a beautiful thing to hear these little voices praise God through songs we know and some we do not! Guy had the opportunity to share the account in scripture where the children came to Jesus and were refused by the disciples. He reminded the children about how important and loved they are by God and he reminded us as adults how important child like faith is!

After a photo of our team with the Vipingo team and the children we headed into the classes to begin our day with the children. Each year we take a foam visor for each child. We put their names on them and have the children decorate them. It's so fun to know their names for the rest of the day. Our names are personal and when someone uses our name it honors us. The Bible says that God knows our name. He is a personal God. It is such a joy to be able to call these children by name. They are not just 170 children we support in Vipingo. They are Eunice, Tabitha, Sarah.....and we love them all!

Donna had the opportunity to remind the children that they are each very special to God. We brought supplies to encourage the children to be creative by using markers, colored pencils and water colors. The older children decorated cross book marks.

It rained off and on during the morning so the outside activity was held in the church building. We stacked the benches and spread out the parachute. After some introductory practice with how to use it (thank you Donna for teaching us how to do that and thank you Paul for figuring out how to get 34 excited little children to listen to you long enough to follow directions!) the children played some of the games Carmen taught us the night before. I cannot tell you how much fun it was for them. The children were filled with delight!

We had the opportunity to serve lunch to the children. It is a joy to be your hands and feet as we have the opportunity to serve the food you have generously provided for them! To represent you in this place is an incredible experience!

After lunch we presented the team t-shirts to the Kenya team. Both teams will wear them so we represent one big team on Saturday at the community outreach. Donna met with the teachers during recess time. She always brings many supplies to bless them and enhance their teaching. They had a wonderful time brainstorming ideas for the problem areas they share in common even in such different cultures!

The rain finally let up so we were able to bring out some fun outside activities to play with the children during recess: jump rope, soccer, hacky sacks, bubbles - big ones!, and the big balloons that are always such a hit. Many just sitting or walk with the children and spend time with them. What fun!

When the teachers were done with their session they took us into the 3 communities to pass out flyers to invite people to the outreach/fun day on Saturday. We partner with the staff at Vipingo to put on quite a party for the surrounding areas and more than 2 thousand are expected to attend.

Going into the villages gives us another look into the stark contrast of how these children live. Life is hard and without opportunities to be healthy and educated there is little hope for escaping the cycle of poverty. Crossroads Church in Vipingo has certainly become a voice of hope in this community!

We returned to Voyager late in the afternoon tired and grateful for the ability to shower and eat a good meal. Although we had enjoyed the rice and beans served for lunch at the center we also enjoyed the food provided at Voyager. In conversation after dinner we were reminded that the children we left behind in Vipingo were unable to shower and what they ate with us at lunch was their only meal of the day. It increases our gratitude for all that we have and our determination to reach out in the name of Jesus to help those who do not even having enough on which to survive!

Tomorrow we head to Bomani to bless and encourage those in the New Life Center. Thank you for praying for health, strength and good weather!

Denise