Wheelchairs and Bathtubs

This year I wanted to give special attention to nurturing my children's world-view. While I wish we could travel to show them the rest of the world, I have to be content with what they can "see" from a distance. We tell them stories of our life overseas before they were born, but it is hard to imagine.

So this was one of the thoughts niggling in my mind when I took on the Kenyan Orphanage project. I wanted them to have a bigger picture of their world than just "twice times" and "Where in the world is?"

The delightful thing is their response to it. Children seem to have a natural heart for helping others. Their capacity to empathise with others seems to be boundless (unless, of course, the "other" is their sibling!)

One day a wheelchair was donated to us. It was in a condition that I really didn't want to send it in. It seriously needed a scrubbing. Since winter has come, the outdoor water pump was out. The only other option was the bathtub. So in it went. Mr. Blueberry Eyes took to the project with great enthusiasm. He donned his wet suit and plunged in with all the vigor his six-year-old heart could muster. He scrubbed and scrubbed until the dirty old thing fairly shown!

For my part, I'm imagining that there is a person in Kenya that will soon be moving around in a way that they haven't been able to, thanks to generous hearts and an enthusiastic spirit of a child.