FoxAfricanSafari: It's about the Children

This week we were on the road twice, visiting members and non members alike; for me, the children took center stage. Here are some of those experiences we want to share.

Today we traveled 60 km to visit a member of the church, who due to lack of transportation, does not get to church very often. He has been inviting his friends to hear the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ at his home and many of them are eager to learn more. While we are able to visit them, it is not possible for them to be baptized into the church unless they can come to Kisumu and attend meetings on a regular basis. We arrived at M's house shortly after 10 am; M was not there as he is now employed, but 10 adults and about 12 children slowly wandered in and we were able to teach them a lesson and answer questions. They were attentive and the children respectful and quiet (okay, so we put two of them to sleep!).

Here is the daughter of one of the couples that came.

The children sat on the ground for the 80 minutes that we were teaching. (Okay, the lesson was about 45 minutes, and the questions and answers took up the rest of the time.) Here they are after the lesson.
As we then walked the 1/2 mile back to the truck on the footpath, we were followed by some of the children on their way home. We regularly see older siblings carrying their younger brothers or sisters in this fashion; they don't need a sling!
Wednesday we drove about 15 km to visit two sisters that joined the church last summer. While we thought we were going to visit them, they really wanted us to see their school and other projects. Below are about 25 of the approximately 40 orphans that attend the school with their teachers. They were eagerly awaiting our arrival so they could show us some of the rhymes and songs they had been practicing. The video at the end is of one of those songs. They all meet in a small stick/mud building in three small rooms. People here are very mindful of family responsibilities; when one or both parents pass away, other family members, or even community members, will take the children in and help raise them. There is a great need for schools for these children; because of their situation, they are unable to afford the normal school fees, which often prevents them from receiving an education. What we have often seen is that the women in the community will join together, pool resources, and provide schooling for the younger children. In this community, about 15 women formed an organization; each has some type of business and is able to contribute a small amount each month to maintain the school. The older sister we went to visit provided the land and building. Her sister makes school uniforms; they are provided free of charge for the orphans.