Postings from Diane Clements - Director of Grace Children's Home
“It is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes!” – Psalm 118:23
Azure blue skies dotted with great puffs of white hovering over a red dirt road with deep ruts snaking before us - in sharp contrast to the green vegetation that crowded our periphery.... this was the breathtaking scene in front of us nearly every day this past week as we traversed through the hills and over the back roads of the Kangundo area, visiting children and learning their stories firsthand. The 12 local United African Evangelical Ministries (UAEM) churches have been a funnel of dozens of applications of children – every one of them orphaned of both parents – yet so many more than we can possibly take right now. Their situations are all so sad and the process of prioritizing and choosing is exceedingly difficult, but God has clearly led us every step of the way – I think He delights to make His will clear to those who will wholeheartedly follow it.
Yesterday I had the most awesome day – the 3 dads and I took the first 4 children the Lord has given to us to the hospital for their check-ups. First up was the HIV testing – since we will not be equipped (for now at least) to take kids who are positive. When I went in for the result, I saw that one of the test kits had been set aside – and my heart sank to my feet. As I fought back tears, I wondered which child it was..... I was already so sure in my heart that they were all ours....
The nurse took a deep breath and said “congratulations – they are all negative!” huh? I wanted to kiss her! Probably would have been ok – you kiss everyone you meet here anyway....
And so began a complete day of lab, x-rays, and examinations. We thank God that in appreciation for the work we are beginning, the local hospital did it all free of charge. Praise God! We had a variety of infections – pneumonia, bladder, bronchial, as well as ringworm, parasites, amoebas and worms of every sort. All treatable and we have a huge pile of prescriptions to prove it!
And, what a good day with the dads – getting to know them in this setting – watching them interact with the children. This time together made me even more deeply grateful for the parents that God has given. They are amazing – full of God’s love and wisdom, and lots of fun too!
It was difficult to send the children back to their village homes for a few days (none of them wanted to go) until they finally come home - Monday, June 15 - which will be our birthday! That will be the official start of grace children’s homes Kenya! Can you believe it??? I hardly can – it seems unreal.
We hope to have the second batch of 5 in for their checkups next Tuesday – we are just praying that they are all negative too so we can bring all of them home on Wednesday. They also have health issues – one is quite serious.
And now for the best part - meet our first 4 children:
Diana (8) is an aids orphan living with a mentally unstable grandmother (she just spent 3 days in jail for beating Diana’s brother) Diana loved the fact that we share the same name and she kind of glued herself to my side most of the day. by the way they have decided that I will be called “mama Diana” and Lois will be “Susu” (grandma).
Victor’s (7) mother died of a stroke while getting off a bus. Soon after, his grandmother died too which left him with an alcoholic grandfather who would beat him and not buy him food. Victor was in serious need of medical attention and has some hearing loss which we will investigate with an ENT doctor.
Musembi (10) and Musyoka (7) are brothers whose story is hard to believe. Their mother died a few years ago – their father was alcoholic and used to come home drunk. He would beat them and they would have to hide in the jungle overnight for their safety. Last April their father died too and since that time they have been living alone with their 15 year old brother. Both have lung infections and every kind of parasite that you can imagine. Musembi is such a sweet boy – very intelligent – he is obviously a good student. You have to watch Musyoka closely – otherwise he just wanders off. It is clear that he is not used to any sort of adult supervision.
Each one is soooo precious – i can hardly wait to know them better....
So – please praise the Lord with us as we rejoice in what it has pleased Him to do. Pray for the parents – especially the wives – as they adjust to having all these new children at once. Also, continue to pray for this next week – we have sooo much to do before I leave next Sunday. Our goal is to have our entire family at home and settled by Thursday, and then we will have a grace home dedication with pastors and church leaders on Friday afternoon. This week will go fast, I am sure – and then I will be saying goodbye to my newest family, and i know that is going to be so hard.....
But I am refusing to think about that now – too much to do before then! I wish each of you could be here to see the fruit of your prayers firsthand – what a joy it is! There are 9 little lives that will be totally transformed – physically, emotionally and spiritually – forever. How could you ever put a value on that?? And we are sure this is just the beginning!!
Bubbling over with joy,
Diane
“It is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes!” – Psalm 118:23
Azure blue skies dotted with great puffs of white hovering over a red dirt road with deep ruts snaking before us - in sharp contrast to the green vegetation that crowded our periphery.... this was the breathtaking scene in front of us nearly every day this past week as we traversed through the hills and over the back roads of the Kangundo area, visiting children and learning their stories firsthand. The 12 local United African Evangelical Ministries (UAEM) churches have been a funnel of dozens of applications of children – every one of them orphaned of both parents – yet so many more than we can possibly take right now. Their situations are all so sad and the process of prioritizing and choosing is exceedingly difficult, but God has clearly led us every step of the way – I think He delights to make His will clear to those who will wholeheartedly follow it.
Yesterday I had the most awesome day – the 3 dads and I took the first 4 children the Lord has given to us to the hospital for their check-ups. First up was the HIV testing – since we will not be equipped (for now at least) to take kids who are positive. When I went in for the result, I saw that one of the test kits had been set aside – and my heart sank to my feet. As I fought back tears, I wondered which child it was..... I was already so sure in my heart that they were all ours....
The nurse took a deep breath and said “congratulations – they are all negative!” huh? I wanted to kiss her! Probably would have been ok – you kiss everyone you meet here anyway....
And so began a complete day of lab, x-rays, and examinations. We thank God that in appreciation for the work we are beginning, the local hospital did it all free of charge. Praise God! We had a variety of infections – pneumonia, bladder, bronchial, as well as ringworm, parasites, amoebas and worms of every sort. All treatable and we have a huge pile of prescriptions to prove it!
And, what a good day with the dads – getting to know them in this setting – watching them interact with the children. This time together made me even more deeply grateful for the parents that God has given. They are amazing – full of God’s love and wisdom, and lots of fun too!
It was difficult to send the children back to their village homes for a few days (none of them wanted to go) until they finally come home - Monday, June 15 - which will be our birthday! That will be the official start of grace children’s homes Kenya! Can you believe it??? I hardly can – it seems unreal.
We hope to have the second batch of 5 in for their checkups next Tuesday – we are just praying that they are all negative too so we can bring all of them home on Wednesday. They also have health issues – one is quite serious.
And now for the best part - meet our first 4 children:
Diana (8) is an aids orphan living with a mentally unstable grandmother (she just spent 3 days in jail for beating Diana’s brother) Diana loved the fact that we share the same name and she kind of glued herself to my side most of the day. by the way they have decided that I will be called “mama Diana” and Lois will be “Susu” (grandma).
Victor’s (7) mother died of a stroke while getting off a bus. Soon after, his grandmother died too which left him with an alcoholic grandfather who would beat him and not buy him food. Victor was in serious need of medical attention and has some hearing loss which we will investigate with an ENT doctor.
Musembi (10) and Musyoka (7) are brothers whose story is hard to believe. Their mother died a few years ago – their father was alcoholic and used to come home drunk. He would beat them and they would have to hide in the jungle overnight for their safety. Last April their father died too and since that time they have been living alone with their 15 year old brother. Both have lung infections and every kind of parasite that you can imagine. Musembi is such a sweet boy – very intelligent – he is obviously a good student. You have to watch Musyoka closely – otherwise he just wanders off. It is clear that he is not used to any sort of adult supervision.
Each one is soooo precious – i can hardly wait to know them better....
So – please praise the Lord with us as we rejoice in what it has pleased Him to do. Pray for the parents – especially the wives – as they adjust to having all these new children at once. Also, continue to pray for this next week – we have sooo much to do before I leave next Sunday. Our goal is to have our entire family at home and settled by Thursday, and then we will have a grace home dedication with pastors and church leaders on Friday afternoon. This week will go fast, I am sure – and then I will be saying goodbye to my newest family, and i know that is going to be so hard.....
But I am refusing to think about that now – too much to do before then! I wish each of you could be here to see the fruit of your prayers firsthand – what a joy it is! There are 9 little lives that will be totally transformed – physically, emotionally and spiritually – forever. How could you ever put a value on that?? And we are sure this is just the beginning!!
Bubbling over with joy,
Diane
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