#kurasini

Mange Kimambi interviews young Kurasini orphans – Part 1

Mange Kimambi interviews young Kurasini orphans – Part 1 Video Rating: 3 / 5

it's november already? the rains keep falling, and all the red dirt cools down for a moment, but only a moment, and then the humidity rises and the ants and mosquitoes invade our home and we know that soon enough the little fan in out bedroom will be a laughable attempt to keep us from sweating through our clothing.

but while the rain falls for five or ten minutes, i enjoy its tapping and coolness. i enjoy the breezes before and the brief cool that follows.

its the little things. here are loads of little things i'm loving lately... 

on being high maintenance ... i read this and was so relieved to read someone else saying what i feel so deeply so often.

keller blue's sketchbook ... i thoroughly enjoy her monday section on hellogiggles, and love her gem of a sketchbook. lovely through and through.

the five pound bag of pecans that we brought with us from america to make this...

 my first pecan pie (ever!). winston's favorite. a (healthy) recipe- it. was. delicious.

the harvest scarf by sabahar, sold by karama. gorgeous colors, amazingly soft ethiopian cotton and silk, providing women and men with fair paying jobs and the opportunity to save money, and sending african teenagers to YoungLife camp. (yes, i love this scarf, and i love my job!)  

every day with these kiddos is a day i love...

the fact that less than a year ago, this boy with a burned face and a scratched up body was throwing sand in the others' eyes and kicking and screaming. he spent the better part of his days pushing away any love or affection given him. and now he is welcoming others into the orphanage he calls home, and running into my arms with laughter.

 (i know, redemption is no small thing.)

marriage is not for me ... real. good. stuff.

the encouragement that comes when people give so i can travel and live here and do the work that i love...

{and now for little things i don't love...

 this little scorpion guy right here...}

currently loving: frozen yogurt-ish-ness in tz, parachute games with sala sala girls, my sweet grade four students (and their awesome assembly for the whole primary school!), pretending to be centipedes, hadija's smile on a saturday morning, tickling/squeezing hasani and mudi all sunday afternoon...

mmhmm.

currently praying: prayers of thanksgiving for my students!, that the sala sala girls would fall in love with the Lord and seek Him as they learn about prayer this term, for mamas and dads to show up for children like hasani and mudi at kurasini children's home, that i would be faithful/find provision in some decisions about my medical issues here in tz...for my friends at home who have committed this year to pray for me! you are an (invisible yet invaluable!) part of these photos...

we found ourselves on a not-so-packed dala, laughing big belly laughs and watching the konda dance with no inhibition as he yelled to people to get them on his bus. the ride to the orphanage is about one hour long, and by the time we get too far, the whole dala is packed (people are standing, or sitting on laps. packed.) . it stops at traffic lights, or perhaps to pick up more passengers, and we are bombarded by men on the streets selling drinks, cashews, peanuts, fried termites, random toys, cell phone accessories, etc. more people board. we are, no doubt, sweating, and the smell on the bus is not something i would bottle for memory's sake. but eventually we make it, pay our five hundred shillings (thirty cents usd), and walk down a winding road past factories, dukas, and small restaurants... this journey is more than worth it, because when we reach the gate, it is a sweet sort of homecoming. children appear out of nowhere and interrupt a church service that is taking place with their jubilant shouting voices.

kurasini children's home is the only government run orphanage in all of tanzania. it is home to over one hundred children, like my friend shakila, age fifteen, who is from arusha, a town about eight hours away. shakila lost her mom a few years ago, and because she had no family around, she ended up somehow at kurasini. other children were abandoned by parents, waiting for them to come back. from meeting and speaking with one of the prominent staff members at kurasini, i am struck with the impression that there is a strong desire provide the best for these children. however, due to extremely low government funding, the children eat a steady diet of ugali and beans, bathe in unsanitary conditions, and sleep more than one to a bed. many of the children have special needs that are unable to be met because there is no money for adequate supplies.

..and so children the wait. in the meantime, they live with it, but i cant help but hope that they are waiting for things to change. i cant help but hope they know that they are worth gold, even though they arent living like it now. i catch a glimmer of when the little ones outstretch their hands and whisper, "mama". its as if they know that there is a place where they belong, where they can be held and nourished. my heart aches with such writhing pain when i have to say goodbye to a sleeping child who, out of sheer exhaustion, has collapsed in my arms. but i have hope.

why?

because i know how my Father feels about orphans. it's clear in His word...

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—     this is God, whose dwelling is holy. 6 God places the lonely in families;     he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. (psalm 68.5-6)

this is the God who loves you and me.

so i'm praying the children of kurasini might know His joy. i'm praying that they may be able to use a toilet that isn't clogged, sleep in their own beds with sheets, know what carrots and bananas taste like, and go to schools that will educate them with excellence. i'm asking him to bring them mommies and daddies who will show them just how special they are. i'm begging our Lord to give these sweet babies things beyond their wildest imaginations, that the heartache might end. and i'm hoping with a wild hope that you and i might be part of His solution...