PIZZA AND BOWLING WITH THE MIRACLE BABIES

It’s the last week and also the last day of the school holidays here in Kenya, and with September arriving in 2 days, I thought it would be good to squeeze in another outing for the MB while they were all together, as they don’t all go to the same school, 5 of the MB are borders and also with my departure next week I wanted to see them all again before I left.  This week seemed to flow a little better than our last trip and I think part of that was to do with not being so nervous as I was last week.  Meeting people for the first time, whether they be kids or adults, is always a little daunting and add that to the pressures of them liking you-well I just didn’t have to worry about that this week

I had a friend of mine, Jess, coming to help me today and also my angel, Sarah, who was going to meet us at Village Market.  Jess and I arrived at The Nest at 11am and the MB had also just arrived.  They come by matatu from Limuru, which gives them a chance to use public transport, as they don’t really get a chance to do so when they are at the orphanage.  Irene wanted me to take the kids without a Nest employee today, so that they could let their hair down and be kids without the worry, and for me it is also a vote of confidence that she trusts me enough to take them on my own (well with Jess and Sarah).  It fluffed up my feathers a little, which was a nice feeling.  I have had a lot of people comment on the good that I am doing with the kids, but any person who had the time on their hands like I do would do exactly the same thing as me, that I am sure of, BUT people don’t think of what it is also doing for me.  The MB have given me a purpose here in Nairobi now.  Something to look forward to, something to get me out of the house and what I have to give in terms of love and care they deserve and are happy to receive.  It is a win win for all of us and it really couldn’t be more of a perfect fit.  The kids seemed a little shy this morning and I am not sure if it was because of Jess but by the time we had left they had warmed up.  I had asked Miss S during the week to do up a thank-you sign for our sponsors of today’s event and today it was Matt and Kendal.  I want the kids to know where the money was coming from, who was thinking of them and generous enough to send them money which they are very grateful.

We were lucky that we had the use of The Nest van today, so we were able to get a lift down to Village Market and I think the kids were a little disappointed about not getting to walk again as they kept asking me how we were going to get there today.  Last trip we had walked, which was no big deal in regards to time as it is only a 20 minute walk.  But there is no sidewalk as such, just a small track that is pretty close to the road, and really not the safest place to be.  We were going to catch a matatu but they are all pretty full by the time they get to our point and we would all have to split up and it just wasn’t going to work.  But we didn’t have to worry about that today and at 12 noon we set off.  Just before we left, Moses (staff member from Limuru) came over and gave me a plastic bag to put all their jackets in should they decided to take them off, and not realizing what a great idea it was until later in the day and how just how handy that it would come.  I took the bag with a thanks and we were off.  It was nice that today Mstr J, the oldest of the kids, came with us and I just hope that the bowling was going to be cool enough for him-I guess when your 13, you don’t want to be doing daggy stuff with 10 of your younger siblings!

Sarah was waiting for us when we were dropped off and we made our way straight to the food court for lunch.  I had promised the guys pizza, so once we had settled them in at the table, Jess went to Nakumatt to buy the drinks (they are cheaper there), I went to order the pizza and Sarah stayed with the gang.  I also ordered 2 plates of chips to eat while we waited for the pizzas.  While we were waiting I also had 2 surprises for the kids.  During the week I had copies printed of the photos that I had taken of them last week-2 group shots and an individual one of them all each.  I popped them all into individual envelopes with their names and I had found some Australian stickers at home and popped one of them on each envelope.  It is just the small stuff that makes such an impact and they were a little awed by the gift and Mstr D asked if he was allowed to keep them and when I said yes, he checked that he could take them back to Limuru with him, to which I answered yes again.

After pizza, it was time to head to bowling, which is located next to the cinema at Village Market.  I had asked about the prices for bowling last week and it really is a cheap outing here in Nairobi.  It is 150KSH (1.90AUD) EACH and this INCLUDED the shoe hire cost.  CRAZY TOWN.  After we arrived Sarah mentioned that her boss owns the bowling alley and that he had sent an email that the MB could bowl for free!!!!!  This was very generous and great news as we would be saving over 1500KSH and Sarah and I decided that we would shout the kids’ ice-creams after bowling now that we had some extra cash up our sleeve.  So with that very thoughtful offer, we got the kids shoed up in those sexy bowling shoes they have and we were given 2 lanes.  I had given everyone’s name to the sales lady so that they she could add them to the scoreboards on the small TVs on the lanes.  After shedding their jackets, all 11 of them-we looked like a clothes shop (this is where the plastic bag came in handy) the next move was to show them exactly what they had to do as NONE of them had been bowling before, EVER.  So Sarah stepped up and showed them what they had to do and with the demonstration done, we looked to the screen to see who was next up and away we went.  We did have the lane bumpers on, so there was not going to be any gutter balls, which is a great idea for first timers and also for kids, but I have to say my bowling was a little shaky and I am glad that the bumpers were on!!  There was a beginner ramp that they could have used, but MY kids didn’t need it and I made a ball run to get the lighter balls for them to use.  I can safely say that I am not a ten pin bowler.  I came second last out of my team of 7, yes 5 other people who had not bowled before beat me, which their smiles told me how happy they were about that, and there were some very high scores on the 2^nd lane team, which again I think there was 5 people above me from their team if we were to merge the scores.  We had some pretty impressive scores with a lot of them over the 100, or very close to and the kids looked like they were having a great time.  I think 10 frames was enough (20 throws each) as they were looking a little tired when we finished.  We got our group photo taken with our thank-you signs on one of the lanes that had the ‘Superbowl’ picture in the background and with the handing in of our shoes it was time to head back to the food court for ICE-CREAM.

Again it was cheaper to get the ice-creams from Nakumatt, so with the kids seated with Sarah and Jess, I made my way back to the supermarket to buy 3 boxes of Drumsticks and head back for them to consume.  Their faces lit up when they saw which ones they were getting and it is quite ironic that the ice-creams each (even from the supermarket) cost the same that bowling 10 frames of balls did.  Some things in Nairobi are cheap and other things are expensive and this is a classic example.  While they were eating their ice-creams I made a tiny little speech to again thank Matt and Kendal, how well they all bowled and who the winner was, but because I thought they had all done a magnificent job I had a small gift for them all and gave them a happy sac (small foam ball) each.  There were a lot of thank-you’s flying around and looking into their happy faces I knew that we all had a great time and they were already talking about what the next outing will be.  It is a toss-up between the waterslides, which are also at Village Market or a game drive in the Nairobi National Park, which is the only national park in the world located so close to a capital city.         

So with a phone call back to The Nest for our collection we were back at 4pm, all in one piece and I left with 11 children and returned with 11 children so that HAS to be a successful day right!  I spent the next hour with the MB, some were on the swings, some helping with the smaller babies who were just starting to wake up and some on the bikes and scooters we have.  It was hard to tell them that I will now be gone for the next 10 weeks, as I want to prove to them that I am here to stay and I am going to be here for them, and I just feel bad that after 2 weeks, I pick up and leave for nearly 3 months!  Well only time will prove to them that I am not all talk, and just like the house mothers, slowly I will prove to them that I am a mzungu who is here and committed to stay, as after my 5 months at The Nest, you do see a lot of people coming and going and I can see where the silent attitude comes from, with all these fly by day visits and I am assuming it is a lot the same for the kids, especially those that are old enough to understand now.  But I told them that I would be thinking about them while I was away and that I would send 11 postcards while I was away, so that they all could keep one each and if they studied hard while I was away maybe I would bring them back a small gift.  It was sweet they said they wished me safe travels and that they would include me in their prayers while I was gone, and they all nodded and smiled in agreeance.  I feel I am getting a great connection with them all and I am getting to know their personalities and what great little people they are.  As I was leaving and giving them all their hugs, Mstr J said that I after I leave he thinks he will cry, and it was just so sweet and sad that I was now going for 10 weeks. 

So all I can say is THANK-YOU.  I don't know what else will sum it up. 

THANK-YOU to Matt and Kendal.

THANK-YOU to Jess and Sarah for all your help-I really am not sure how I would have gone had I been on my own.  I now have a new appreciation for people that have multiple kids as I was knackers, albeit I had 11 kids, but you are just on your toes the whole time when 8 of them are 10 or under.  All 12 of us are thankful from the core of our being. It may only be money to some-one, but what people are doing for us is worth 100 times the monetary value. Really.  The kids had a great time especially since none of them had been to bowling before let alone having the opportunity to have a go. It was awesome to see their smiles and to hear them laughing and having fun.  The kids were very thankful and asked me to send on their many thanks and I know that it was a day that they will long remember.