Yesterday was the day! It was a day that has been months in coming and was it ever fun! Thirty-three people showed up to help us load 27,000 pounds of books, clothing, garden equipment, toys and stuffed animals for the children at the Fiwagoh Mission Orphanage in Kenya. There were also enough sewing machines, fabric, buttons, and thread to start a whole sewing industry!The forty-foot container arrived early and one of our friends volunteered to supervise the packing. It turned out that he was
an amazing stacking/packing/cramming magician. I had been
worried that we had so much stuff that we would have to leave some of it. Not so! Indeed, between Pack-Man and the fact that the container sent was one foot taller than I'd been told, we had space left over. This made me really sad, becuase I felt that I hadn't maximixed the load! However, one of my friends, Ms. Resourceful, asked the truckers if they would stop by the Community Service in town. By this time, the truckers were swept into the spirit of the day and heartily agreed - adding that there would be no extra charge! There, we added masses of
bedding, caps, towelling and stuffed animals, bringing the load to nearly full!The above picture is of one of the new washing machines filled to the brim with shoes. We packed all kinds of nooks and crannies full of good things.
The last thing brought out was an Elmo doll. By this time, the crew was getting a little tired and giddy. Someone attatched him to the wooden crate at the back and we wrote, "Kenya or Bust" on it. We also wrote some other sweet messages to the children on it.
I must say I got a little choked up as the truck pulled away. It is the culmination of a dream and a huge project. I can't wait to get pictures from the other end! I know this will not be the end of my involvement with this mission. I have a passion for their agricultural development and plan to help get a shipment of heirloom seeds to them, as well as finding sponsors for their staff to attend a Kenyan agricultural school. I also hope to help find sponsors for the children. So far, only about 50% of them have sponsors.
But for today, I'm basking in the warmth of having this project done. I plan to relax a lot more and do more fun stuff with my kiddos and their Papa. - Nanette
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Christian greetings Nanette. I have recently returned to Australia after spending 4 weeks with Benson and family and what a blessed time it was. I had heard of sister Nanette whilst there and have just stumbled onto you. We had fundraise for a year to help render the orphanage and of course came home enthused to do so much more. I was happy to hear what you had packed into your container, as we had plans to send one too in the future with sewing machines etc, so it is good to not double up too much. What a massive job you did.At the moment a group of ladies at church meet every Sunday and sew baby bundles for the Nakuru hospital. We took some hundres of bubdles when we went in December and they consist of a homemade baby blanket,jumper and hat,nappy and pins and facewasher. This is an ongoing thing but I have so many things buzzing in my head that we will be busy for a long time.I would like to provide each child with a warm blanket and fleecy pajamas,but this is only a plan at the moment. Most important is food and sponsorship will help to fulfill. Gods blessings to you in your work.I would love to hear from you and any others that are interested in Fiwagoh Orphanage. I can be contacted at jeanettesmile@bigpond.com.
Christian regards, Jeanetteconne
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