It's Not a Bust, It's a Blessing

I'm not gonna lie, I was worried about this trip to Kenya.  I have been here 7 times, Harrison 5 times, and Hudson 4 times.  For some reason, when we got here this time things were NOT clicking for us...at all!  I told you of my frustrations on the first day we were here, the boys and I have been quite cross with each other, and we just weren't feeling effective at the Virginia Home.  Until today.

We had a GREAT day today!  We went to the Virginia Home and as usual, our Bible Study lesson wasn't working, the DIFFICULT DIFFICULT teacher there was....well, being difficult and we just weren't feeling a connection with the kids.  We spent the afternoon at the Remand Home and instantly bonded even more with those kids.  We played games, gave them a snack and Harrison gave them a small devotion/talk.  (here's where the "great part" comes in...) We arrived back at the house for our usual afternoon tea, and my family had the BEST conversation with our Kenyan staff member and driver about our focus for this trip.  The conversation continued between the boys and me after the other had left.

As I have mentioned, my son Harrison wants to work with the Glue Boys/Street Kids after college.  He really wanted to use this trip to get his feet wet, so to speak.  We are looking for ideas to make that happen for him.  Stumbling upon the Remand Home is one of the things that has come as a result of this.  Tomorrow we are going to a home strictly focused on Glue Boys.  Friday morning we are going to a girls' home for a brief time to offer them a word of encouragement.  But the GREAT part is that we are actually connecting with each other about how we should connect with and be effective for the people of Kenya.  

The boys were laughing about my Lifetime "girls' prison movie" analogy because they agreed: IT'S SO TRUE!  The characters played out just like you'd expect!  Visiting the Remand Home is definitely helping me to see things differently than I normally would.  I was telling my boys that I would normally think these are bad kids.  How can we hang out with them and be their friend?  We need to find some "good" kids to hang out with.  (Ok, that is a terrible attitude, and I'm ashamed to admit it, but it's true)  But, you know what?  These kids are children first and foremost.  Delightful children.  They are warm and friendly and they truly want someone to love them.  As Harrison reminded me: "Mom, we don't know all they have seen and experienced to cause them to do these things.  We are not in a position to pass judgment, and everyone can change once they've seen and experienced other, more positive, things."  Wow.  That was from my 18-yr old son.

The good news is that the Virginia Home has grown in numbers immensely.  The bad news is that the Virginia Home has grown in numbers immensely.  This means it takes more than 3 people to go in and have an effect on them the way we have in the past.  So, we sat down as a family and talked about what to do and how to change our focus.  We came up with some great ideas.  I feel much more encouraged about the trip now.  I feel like today is going to be the turning point for us and I'm very excited to see what that looks like.