Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Worth the Trip!

Well its been a while since I have posted and alot has happened. This past week (or weekend, Fri-Tues), we were with a team from Dallas at Brakenhurst. Brakenhurst is a retreat center where Buckner takes the kids for camp when a team comes. We were able to do VBS and a sports camp. I was so blessed by the team from Dallas. Although I must confess, after having the children to ourselves the last 3 weeks, it was hard to share them. We had such a great time with them and it was so nice to spend time with them outside of school. So often the my boys would come up to Tricia and me and tell us "we want to come to your house" They meant the cabin we were staying in. They loved coming to our rooms because they knew there was always candy in there!!
I think the best thing at Bakenhurst was Kevin. Kevin was at camp last year and was in my group. He was one of my favorites! He is 14 years old and is in foster care. He is sweet and super bright. I was told the foster kids would not be at camp because they would still be at school. I was really disappointed when I heard that because I was really looking forward to seeing him. Well it turns out only the kids in boarding school would not be there! When I got to Brakenhurst and saw him there I was so excited!! He looked at me and did a double take and of course I ran to him. It was a sweet reunion. Last year it took Kevin all week to warm up to me and then we had to leave. It was so neat this time because every morning when he would see me he came and gave me a hug. Hugs are not given much around here except when visitors come so the children don't always hug you back. They have learned now that when they see Tricia and me, they hug us! At the end of the camp I gave Kevin a card a special gift and I told him that I loved him. His lips began tremble as he told me he loved me too. This trip was worth just that. These kids don't say that very often and certainly not to many people, so when Tricia and I received our "I love yous" we were on cloud nine. At the end of camp we had to say goodbye to the foster kids. Today we say goodbye to the kids at BCC as we leave to Busia tomorrow. We have a party planned for them and I ordered a cake which will be a huge rare treat for them. We are not sure how we are going to say goodbye as these children have not only captured our hearts, but have become a part of our lives.
It has been such a great experience to have come back and see these kids. There were several other sweet, tender moments, and several other funny stories but it would take all day to write. Tomorrow we take off to Busia in western Kenya for 5 days, return, go on safari, and then head home a week from tomorrow. Although I would love to be with my family and friends, this place quickly became home for me in the short time I was here. Please continue praying for us as we go to meet a whole new set of children and as we travel. Love you all! God Bless!!!