Naomi's Village and Cornerstone Prepatory

Naomi's Village is an orphanage in Naivasha, Kenya. It was started by the Mendonsa Family from Dallas. You can read more about their story and heart for orphans here. 

These kids are supported by people all over the world, and if you sponsor a baby, child or teenager, you can take a trip to visit them and spend time getting to know them as well as Skype with them.

Naomi's Village is one big family!! The bigs look after the littles and they look after the babies! These children are precious!!

You can read about some of the kids on the NV blog. These kids have come through so much and they have the best smiles and so much joy thanks to Naomi's Village.

"No, I will not abandon you as orphans-I will come to you."  John 14:18 NLT

One of the babies is named David. David has the most amazing story. You can read the full story of this BELOVED baby on their blog. The basics of his story is this. Davids mom wrapped him in a plastic bag and dropped him in a toilet with tin walls (a hole in the ground full of sewage/out house but worse), but instead of the bag suffocating him and making him drown, it helped him float and saved his precious life. Someone who went in to use the bathroom heard him crying and grabbed someone to help rescue him. Great story cut short, NV heard about his story and went to the hospital to get him! After a couple weeks I believe they were able to finish paper work and bring him home to NV!!!! 

DAVID IS THRIVING AND SO LOVED!! 

There are other sweet babies here too! 

Sammy 

Sweet Baby Grace. The newest baby at NV is 4months old

Emily wanted to take baby Grace home

Cornerstone Prepatory Academy is the community school started by NV. The poorest of the poor attend this school and everyone is or will be sponsored by people around the world! 

This is a third grade class room. 

 They also try to employ parents of the kids who attend. This school is all about giving back to the community and helping them thrive!

This is currently the chapel. BUT hopefully it will soon become their library. I was standing in the back corner. It's a pretty big room.

If you are interested in sponsoring a child through Naomi's Village or a child that goes to Cornerstone click HERE. There are different amounts you can pay per month. Cornerstone is $33-$99 per month and Naomi's Village is $33-$132 per month. If you choose a child from Naomi's Village, they will be at CPA as well if they are school age. 

You can also get a team together and go spend a week at NV! It is amazing!!!

Kijabe

I just got back from Kenya. There is a lot to process and a lot of things that I will never be able to un see. Some of these memories I wish I could forget, and others I never want to forget. The purpose of the trip was to encourage missionaries working with SIM in Kenya and Tanzania during their annual Spiritual Life Conference. We came a few days early and worked along side two of the missionaries from TVC and experience their day to day life and the ministries they are involved in. Prison Ministry, Hospital Ministry and an Orphanage are just 3 of the ministries we got to see during our time in Kijabe, Kenya.

The good are memories with people and missionaries that I will never be able to forget. Like running around an orphanage called Naomi's Village, loving on the unloved, holding babies that mothers didn't want or couldn't take care of, and talking with teenagers about their hopes and dreams. 

Staying up late talking with my room mates and praying with them about some of the stresses and anxiety we have in life and on the trip. I had the privilage of sitting down for dinner with seasoned missionaries and hearing their stories of life on the mission field in Africa. We also visited the mens prison! There are 4 inmates who make up the church leadership in this prison. The gospel is being heard here on a daily basis. My favorites were celebrating the birthdays of two team mates and making new friends! 

The hard things are even harder to write about as I revisit these memories. 

 Babies with hydrocephalus. Desperate moms. Special Needs children being labeled as a curse to their families. Families living in refugee camps to escape danger, but still being in danger. 

Two of the ladies that we visited who work at the hospital in Kijabe. One is a nurse in labour and delivery ward and the other is an audiologist in the ENT office. One of our last days in Kijabe, we got to shadow them or some of their colleagues in different departments. The team shadowed in the NICU, Phisio(PT), Chaplain (children and adults) and Labour and Delivery departments. I got to shadow in the Childrens Physical Therapy department, which I thought would be easier than the adults, but I was wrong. 

We saw about 5 patients in about an hour and half. There was a 5 week old baby girl with clubbed feet, a 12 year old with 4 degree burns over 85% of his body, and a 14 year old girl with gun shot wounds to both thighs. I will never be able to erase their screams from my mind and unsee the sadness in their parents eyes. 

The 12 yr old boy, named Boniface, accidentally spilled cellophane on his body and caught on fire. His face and neck, left arm and upper left side of his chest are unharmed. We went in to stretch his arms, legs and help him start sitting up again, so that he wouldn't lose the movement as he healed. I had to sit down before I fainted from the sound his painful screaming. He wasn't able to take any pain meds because he was going to the OR later to get his dressings changed. The screams will always come to mind when someone asks me how my trip to Kenya went. 

The 14 year old girl, named Naomi, was shot in each thigh while living in a refugee camp in Northern Kenya. We went in to help to help her gain back the use of her legs, work the muscles that had been damaged from the gun shots and teach her how to transfer herself to a wheel chair. I will never forget her looking in my eyes as she screamed in Swahili for us to have mercy on her. 

One of my team mates was working along side the pediatric chaplain and going from room to room praying with the families. While she was in praying with the mother of a 5 day old baby, the alarms on the machines started going off letting them know the baby had stopped breathing. We later found out that they weren't able to save the baby. Please pray for my friend who is still processing and struggling with this and the mom of this baby. 

Where is the hope in all this? The AIC (African Inland Christian) Hospital in Kijabe is one of the best hospitals in Kenya. People come from all over Kenya, southern Sudan and Somalia to be treated here. The gospel is being shared on a daily basis in the hospital, it is one of the best hospitals for children, especially babies with hydrocephalus. The doctors are some of the best in Africa and a lot are missionaries from many different countries. These kids are being looked after by some of the best, while also being prayed over.

Overall this was a great trip! I had fun with the team, enjoyed spending time with the missionaries and seeing a new culture. 

Thanks for all the prayers and support! 

Sarah