enyefuraha

So enyefuraha means "joyful" in swahili! It seemed perfect as the title for this post because yesterday and today was nothing but so so joyful! Here are the many things that were so wonderful and SO enyefuraha these past couple days! My sweet sewing friend, Zipi, brought me an english to swahili dictionary today so I'm trying to put it to good use by learning some new words (get ready, there are lots in this post)!!!

1. We got to play with some "mtoto" elephants yesterday! Mtoto means baby, and as you can see these are the most precious baby elephants ever!!! They drink out of big baby bottles and their little wrinkles are the cutest!

All of these babies are orphaned due to their moms being killed by poachers or being deserted or being attacked by other animals in the national park. The people who live near the park call this elephant orphanage and the workers send an airplane out to wherever the elephants are to bring them back. The orphanage raises the little mtoto's until they are about two years old and able to fend for themselves in the wild and lets them go back! It is so cool!

LOOK AT THOSE PRECIOUS MTOTO EYELASHES!!!!!

Liz and I were so thrilled to get to spend time with these preshie mtoto's for a little while. 

AND THEN WE SAW A RHINO!!!! It was an all around legit day. 

2. "Kutia moyo" means encouragement. Today I was able to watch the sewing girls do their thing, measuring out and sewing construction paper. They practice on this before they make their projects with clothing. The time and skill it takes for these girls to make the uniforms for the school and other clothes to sell on the market, working so diligently with a smile across their face, is an encouragement to me. These girls work so hard in everything that they do and they constantly encourage me to push myself harder and do all that I can! They are such a great source of "kutia moyo"!

3. "Dansi" means dance. And we did lots of that today. The traditional dance in Kenya is done by putting your hands on your waist then moving side to side. It's SO PRECIOUS seeing the babies do this! Literally, so cute. When the babies do something exciting in class, Mrs Janet calls them up in front and the babies sing a congratulations song, and they do THE dance. I mean, it is really precious. So we did lots of "dansi" today, and I loved it. 

So much dansi-ing. If you know me, you know that 1-I have no rhythm so this was funny and 2-I love some random dance sesh's. All day everyday. 

4. "Enye Hisani" means gracious. Everytime we do a craft in the babies class, their eyes light up and they smile so big. They wait patiently until it is their turn to do the craft and they are so thankful and excited the whole time. I've continued to be blown away with these three year olds. They are so so gracious! I'm learning so much from them!!

We did a glittery craft today. We talked about how God is our Shepherd (John 10) and how we are His sheep! He takes care of us just as a shepherd takes care of his flock. We added glitter just for fun, and the babies kept saying "WOW!!!!" it was the most precious thing ever. Precious babies.

5. "Tendaji" means energetic. The babies never lack on joy or energy. They challenge me to keep up and because of that I am able to dance with them, laugh with them, run around with them, all through the strength of the Lord. He provides them so much "tendaji" and so much love, which brings happiness to everyone around them!

6. "Uaminifu" means faithfulness. Great is the faithfulness of our God and the work that He calls us to.  I have seen Him work here in so many ways that it gives me goose bumps and brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it!! I'm reminded of how faithful God has been to me by sending me to serve here and the confidence I find in that through a reading in my quiet time: "He has done it all, must do it all, and will do it all. Our confidence must not be in what we have done, nor in what we have resolved to do, but entirely in what the Lord will do." He is so faithful and I'm so thankful to be able to trust completely in Him. He is going to be faithful in my time here and in these babies lives.

7. "Huruma" means compassion. My sweet teacher I work with, Mrs Janet, has so much compassion in her heart and it is so evident in the way she lives her life. She serves the Lord with everything she does and loves the babies in her class so well. Gosh I am so thankful I get to look up to her these next few weeks. She has so much "huruma" in her spirit and I pray I have this same type of compassion for others as well. She is such a sweet servant of the Lord, I am so encouraged by her. Here is our sweet class, even though a few of the kiddos were running around when this picture was taken! 

"Kuvumbua" means explore in swahili. Something I can't wait to do more of in Nairobi. I've seen God so much these past two weeks in the hearts here in Kenya. "Kutukuza" means glorify, I pray I am able to continue to bring God glory through my service here. If you would like to support my journey here in Kenya, please click the "Donate" button on the right side of the page. Love and miss everyone lots!

Okay, last word for the day! "Lala Salama" means goodnight! Which is so weird since I'm going to sleep the same time all of you back home are waking up! Peace and blessings!