It is 6:00am. I have awakened each morning while being here to the 100 orphans that live in the children’s home singing for morning devotions. Their voices are strong and harmonious. It is a beautiful sound and I can only imagine the joy the Lord feels as He hears these little ones sing to Him.
The children that come to live here are from situations that are hard to imagine. Some truly have no one who can or will care for them. It is the desire of TCOH to become their family. They provide a loving atmosphere by the adults that care for the children daily and love them with God’s love. I love one of the songs they often sing at church on Sunday. It says, “I have a Father that never, never fails me, Jesus is my Father that never, never fails me.” I can only begin to imagine how powerful and comforting those words are to them as they begin to understand that truth deep in their little hearts.
The children are encouraged to have dreams for their future. If they did not have TCOH teaching them that there is a different way to live than the despair of their parents, it would be another generation of the same hopelessness.
A few weeks ago we had a big celebration for the 5-year anniversary of TCOH. It is amazing to see how much God has done here in 5 short years. Yes, a lot of buildings have been built to house the children, a large school for the day students and boarders, a hospital that now has nurses and is seeing patients, but the most important work being done here is hard to measure. It is the hope given to these children that changes their lives forever. True lasting transformation of the heart that can only be accomplished by our supernatural God. With that hope in God they are taught and trained in different skills that give them the opportunity to be in their culture as a productive people and earn a living. Dr. Chacha knows each of these children’s stories and is very involved in helping the older ones get as much education as is fitting for their skills and desires. Many of the boys are trained in labor skills, and one of the girls is now in nursing school and very proud of what she has accomplished.
Yesterday evening I went to visit with the girls as they were finishing dinner, doing their laundry and having some free time. They are being taught English and the older ones can speak it pretty well but they are quite shy and it is hard to have a conversation. This is probably the most frustrating part of being here. I so often wish I knew what they were thinking.
But I had a rewarding experience last evening. I was with one of the older girls and she began pointing to parts of my body and speaking Kiswahili. I realized she was trying to teach me the names of different parts in her language. It was fun. We did this for a while. When it was time for me to go I looked at her and said, “You are a good teacher. You could be a teacher some day.” She gave me the biggest smile and looked so proud. Maybe my few little words will give her a brighter future and hope.
A few weeks ago we had a big celebration for the 5-year anniversary of TCOH. It is amazing to see how much God has done here in 5 short years. Yes, a lot of buildings have been built to house the children, a large school for the day students and boarders, a hospital that now has nurses and is seeing patients, but the most important work being done here is hard to measure. It is the hope given to these children that changes their lives forever. True lasting transformation of the heart that can only be accomplished by our supernatural God. With that hope in God they are taught and trained in different skills that give them the opportunity to be in their culture as a productive people and earn a living. Dr. Chacha knows each of these children’s stories and is very involved in helping the older ones get as much education as is fitting for their skills and desires. Many of the boys are trained in labor skills, and one of the girls is now in nursing school and very proud of what she has accomplished.
Yesterday evening I went to visit with the girls as they were finishing dinner, doing their laundry and having some free time. They are being taught English and the older ones can speak it pretty well but they are quite shy and it is hard to have a conversation. This is probably the most frustrating part of being here. I so often wish I knew what they were thinking.
But I had a rewarding experience last evening. I was with one of the older girls and she began pointing to parts of my body and speaking Kiswahili. I realized she was trying to teach me the names of different parts in her language. It was fun. We did this for a while. When it was time for me to go I looked at her and said, “You are a good teacher. You could be a teacher some day.” She gave me the biggest smile and looked so proud. Maybe my few little words will give her a brighter future and hope.
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