AHHHH! More Kids!, Christmas, and a Farewell
In the first 18 days of December the House of Hope has taken in 19 new children! On the 18th alone 10 new children were brought home. Welcome Francis, Ndichu, Mondo, Regina, Joseph, Wanja, Nancy, Rosemary, Monica, Charo (yes, Charo), Ruguru, and Chege (pictured in order):
With the amount of new children I haven't been able to hear all of their stories and for that I apologize. All of the new children are acclimating with the other children well. They are great, great kids!
Christmas at the House of Hope
Below is an excerpt from our January Newsletter:
Have you ever prepared a Christmas morning for sixty-three children? It’s a daunting experience but completely worth it! The preparation began with preparing for each child a bag with his or her name on it. Of course we thought plain black magic marker on brown paper bag was too boring so we decided to add some flair by drawing full color pictures on bag with mulit-colored Sharpies (Thank you Krista Vossler!). Drawing sixty-three pictures takes longer than what you would think and we still had to stuff the things!
We proceeded to fill the bags with candy, chips, and fruit juices as well as items picked from the busy market, which Tammi loved! We purchased gifts from lists given to Margaret from the children. Most of the gifts were modest: sandals, shoulder shawls, purses, toy cars, and a Bible. Others were a bit more outlandish: a piano (they have a piano) and an “air piano” (we had no idea where to even begin!). But we were able to get the bags completed a full day before Christmas! Now came the task of sorting through all of the clothes lovingly donated to each child earlier in the year.
Margaret, as well as Tammi and I were amazed at the great amount of clothes donated. We had an amazingly easy time assigning outfits to each child and we even had enough to accomadate all nineteen of the new children. How amazing is that?! On Christmas morning we distributed to each child a new outfit, which they rushed to put on. They looked so handsome and beautiful, you could see them beaming with pride in their new clothes.
Next we handed out each child’s package. They were so excited that they almost couldn’t wait to tear into them. When each child had it’s package, well, I can’t even begin to tell you what happened next. I know there was a blur of motion, screaming, laughter, and then it was all over. The children had a great time and it appears that they got everything that they wanted (except that blasted air piano!).
While the children were opening their packages they gorged themselves on the candy and juice in their bags so by the time lunch was served the children began to crash. Luckily the rice, meat, and soda were enough to revive them for the church service that followed. During the service, Christopher, the plumber, rededicated his life to the Lord. Afterwards he told me “You know Michael, I thought being a Christian was enough, but it’s not”. That really meant a lot to me because sharing in this culture, especially between men, doesn’t happen to terribly much.
All in all, Christmas at the House of Hope was a great experience but not one I would want to do everyday. It was so tiring, but rewarding at the same time.
A Farewell:
Just after the New Year Tammi and I will be leaving the House of Hope to go volunteer in Mwanza for almost four months at the Montessori Training Center of Tanzania. We will be leaving with the blessings and encouragement of Margaret and the House of Hope Family. It will be so hard to leave all of the children, but we feel this is something that God wants us to do.
At the Training Center, we will be able to use the skills that we have both been blessed with to a greater extent.
Please keep us in your prayers as we make the move to Tanzania.
With the amount of new children I haven't been able to hear all of their stories and for that I apologize. All of the new children are acclimating with the other children well. They are great, great kids!
Christmas at the House of Hope
Below is an excerpt from our January Newsletter:
Have you ever prepared a Christmas morning for sixty-three children? It’s a daunting experience but completely worth it! The preparation began with preparing for each child a bag with his or her name on it. Of course we thought plain black magic marker on brown paper bag was too boring so we decided to add some flair by drawing full color pictures on bag with mulit-colored Sharpies (Thank you Krista Vossler!). Drawing sixty-three pictures takes longer than what you would think and we still had to stuff the things!
We proceeded to fill the bags with candy, chips, and fruit juices as well as items picked from the busy market, which Tammi loved! We purchased gifts from lists given to Margaret from the children. Most of the gifts were modest: sandals, shoulder shawls, purses, toy cars, and a Bible. Others were a bit more outlandish: a piano (they have a piano) and an “air piano” (we had no idea where to even begin!). But we were able to get the bags completed a full day before Christmas! Now came the task of sorting through all of the clothes lovingly donated to each child earlier in the year.
Margaret, as well as Tammi and I were amazed at the great amount of clothes donated. We had an amazingly easy time assigning outfits to each child and we even had enough to accomadate all nineteen of the new children. How amazing is that?! On Christmas morning we distributed to each child a new outfit, which they rushed to put on. They looked so handsome and beautiful, you could see them beaming with pride in their new clothes.
Next we handed out each child’s package. They were so excited that they almost couldn’t wait to tear into them. When each child had it’s package, well, I can’t even begin to tell you what happened next. I know there was a blur of motion, screaming, laughter, and then it was all over. The children had a great time and it appears that they got everything that they wanted (except that blasted air piano!).
While the children were opening their packages they gorged themselves on the candy and juice in their bags so by the time lunch was served the children began to crash. Luckily the rice, meat, and soda were enough to revive them for the church service that followed. During the service, Christopher, the plumber, rededicated his life to the Lord. Afterwards he told me “You know Michael, I thought being a Christian was enough, but it’s not”. That really meant a lot to me because sharing in this culture, especially between men, doesn’t happen to terribly much.
All in all, Christmas at the House of Hope was a great experience but not one I would want to do everyday. It was so tiring, but rewarding at the same time.
A Farewell:
Just after the New Year Tammi and I will be leaving the House of Hope to go volunteer in Mwanza for almost four months at the Montessori Training Center of Tanzania. We will be leaving with the blessings and encouragement of Margaret and the House of Hope Family. It will be so hard to leave all of the children, but we feel this is something that God wants us to do.
At the Training Center, we will be able to use the skills that we have both been blessed with to a greater extent.
Please keep us in your prayers as we make the move to Tanzania.
posted by Michael & Tammi at 3:37 AM
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