09/20 - Call me McBarfy

Barfy McHurl is my name and upchucking is my game. The sick babies at the orphanage passed along their illness and it hit me full force today. I knew it was only a matter of time and so I will take my turn and suck it up. As much as I would have loved to stay in bed all day long I had to get up and tend the little ones. Where is my husband to baby me? Boo hoo. The toilet is my new best friend; I hope it writes me when I leave.

It was still a little rainy this morning when I got there so Tara and I brought coloring books and crayons. You would have thought we took them to Disney World they loved it so much. Of course the administrator and the teacher had to approve everything that we brought and so we spent a while explaining what was doing to happen. They can make the easiest process rocket science. It almost isn’t worth bringing things for the kids if you have to spend an hour fighting to let them use it.

People here love to be in pictures. On the way home we had to take random photos of people so they could see themselves in the digital screen. Glass is really expensive here and most people don’t have mirrors in their home so they really have no idea exactly what they look like. It is really fun to see them recognize their friends in shots and try to figure out how they got inside the camera. Ah, the wonders of technology.

Today we got a new roommate. Her name is Dawn and she is from Ireland. I think she is a few years older than me, and is a PR rep for a pharmaceutical company. I can’t wait to grill her brain on all the fun that is to be found in Nairobi.

Mystery meat surprise is a nightly game where we try to guess what we are eating. Lucy told us it was cow but all we see around here is goat so I am sure she is trying to trick us. Either way it is disgusting! I have a system down where I scoop all the vegetables around the meat and then take two little pieces of mystery meat. I eat my meal and then leave the two pieces on the plate, as if to say I ate it all but just can’t get those two yummy little pieces down.

Tonight I did my wash my hand in a bucket. It is a lot harder than it looks so my arms gave out quite quickly. Lucy was standing over us making fun and telling us that we can’t do it right, which made me extremely frustrated. I can definitely say I gave it my best effort; however, we are planning on bribing Phoebe tomorrow to help us out now that she is better.

Right before bed we spent some time with the children. This was bitter sweet because some of them were to be adopted that night and so it was goodbye for now. All the families coming to get them were wealthy Kenyans. Four babies went in total. This included Christine, a baby I just adore.

It is very difficult for a foreigner to adopt in Kenya. You have to live in country fostering the child for three months and then be in country while the paperwork process for another three months. Six months away from home in total. There have only been three children go stateside and another one go to Germany. There is one child in the middle of the process now that will be going to California. Apparently, one family came here and fostered a child, Steve, for three months, F\filled out the paperwork and waited another three months. At that time they were denied and left without their son. I couldn’t even imagine. There is also age, religion and country qualifications that are quite detailed and rigorous.

I won’t lie and say that I don’t think about it every day, but it totally is a decision that would be quite difficult to make and would require intense fasting and prayer. The children most in need of homes – and Kenyans won’t adopt – are those with physical disabilities and other medical conditions. Like I said, there are three children that break my heart every day as I leave at the end of the night. I have a feeling they will haunt me every quiet minute I have when I get home.
All the best to you and yours….