We are going to the village where a friend of mine a bishop Ben has an orphanage. Parents of most of these kids died of AIDS. There is a Liberty School functioning at the orphanage and the kids from the nearest very poor settlement study here. They have a special celebration today – the day of opening of the well! They have been praying for it for so long and here is the sacred moment – the water is here! We sing and rejoice alongside with the kids. I couldn’t restrain myself and dove in this stream of “blessing” – this is how they call water and rain here.
In the orphanage all the kids sleep on the floor they have no beds whatsoever. So we started giving some sponsorship help. We ordered several 3-storey –beds (because of lack of space). We were promised to have them ready by the end of the week.
We are playing the game “ catch Muzungu ( the white one)”… meaning actually myself! No matter how I tried I had no chance to win. They caught me and brought me as though I was a lamb on a wheel!
In an hour we found ourselves in a poor settlement- Shimo where one missionary team from Ukraine has been working with the kids from the slums. The girls from Ternopyl have found here a school and a church. We are going to visit them tomorrow! The we visited one more school in this settlement founded by active local parents. They started teaching kids here somehow and giving them some food. We brought some gifts, and some sweets for the local kids.
After lunch I had such a long awaited moment I saw my so called adopted son Hilary. While my team was ministering in the hospital, I went to see him in the local Christian orphanage where we took him 3 years ago from streets and now he studies there. Such a joyful meeting.. I also talked to his teachers. They praised him and it is very pleased. I looked around getting some ideas how we can help this orphanage. So I took him and we went to have a special party to celebrate meeting with my African son. He had a wild appetite. And then we went to the local shop to update his clothes – underwear, boots, sweater and even a cap and glasses!))))
And before going to bed Hilary had to overcome his fear due to the fact of doing it for the first time – he jumped in the water in the swimming pool ( in the club where we had our dinner) and he swam 66 Ft!!! time to go to bed!… The day 2 it seems was very fruitful!
Pastor-pilgrim Gennadiy Mokhnenko