I wish words could express how absolutely proud I was today of my children. Our church has hosted an interactive program this week called "Step into Africa". People from the whole city have had an opportunity to walk through a village set-up and learn about the life of a child in Matete Kenya, Africa, and their plight of living amidst HIV/AIDS. Many, many children in Matete lose their parents, siblings and grandparents to this horrific disease. A whole generation is at risk of being lost due to HIV and Aids.
So, with that said. Our children did not participate in the exhibit; however, I picked them up from Sunday school today and we went to the end of the program where there was a wall of kids needing sponsorship. Our Pastor had reminded us during service that God didn't ask us to solve all the problems of the world, but to be a seed and ~do something!~ 276 children had been sponsored as of yesterday.
And continuing... Peter was not with us this morning. He was working at the ACL Music Festival. Before we walked into the exhibit, I asked the kids if they would choose a boy or girl. Conleigh & Alex instantly said "boy!" So, a boy it was.
They looked at all the precious faces on these children. Alex went up to one photo and said, "he is so cute." Then I looked at him and said, "look at his name. His name is Peter." Well, that pretty much sealed the deal. Alex feels like he has gained a brother. I wish I could repeat or could have video taped him calling his grandparents to tell them about the new member of our family! He is just thrilled and would love to meet Peter one day. Conleigh is also happy but not as excited about going to Africa to meet him.
Peter is four years old. He lives with his grandmother and has no siblings. Peter's grandmothers struggles to meet the basic needs of this little boy. Please include Peter K. in your prayers. He is living in an environment that is wrought with HIV & AIDs.
Our family has committed to corresponding with this child of God and to helping him financially. Peter & I both hope to one day visit Matete. Our church has joined with WorldVision to help this community.
Truly, our kids feel like they've gained a brother. More than once today, they talked about Peter, wanted to know where his picture was, talked about how cute he was, wanted to tell their friends about him, wanted to know who was older Alex or Peter K. I am beyond thankful for the sweet spirit that my children have. Whew! Tears are flowing now.
The pictures throughout this post are from yesterday when our church had children's activities set up for the kids to learn what life is like in Africa. Campbell wore her African face paint until this evening at bathtime.
The kids learned how children have to carry water for miles. Conleigh participated in the walk around the church parking lot which is big. She did it one time, kids in Matete walk the equivalent of five times with three plus gallons of water. Conleigh carried close to two.
The kids mashed corn trying to turn it into meal to make meals. We got to taste beans and ugilie (?) and one other food item that are made over open fire. Surprisingly, the food was good. Other things they got to try were washing clothes, dancing and making a soccer ball (out of plastic bags).
It was an eye opener. I hope we can all remember how fortunate we are.
