snapshots

i haven't pulled my camera out of my bag but once or twice in the last week since i set foot once again on african soil. i didn't want to experience things through any sort of lens or barrier. i wanted to simply take snapshots in my mind's eye and hope that the most important things would be so impressed on my heart that i wouldn't need a photograph to remember them. since i won't have any pictures to show (except for the ones that the rest of the team will inevitable post on the fb) i thought i could use this post to share some of my mental pictures with you.

a few days ago, when we went to the veronica home to mud the hut, there was one little girl who left an imprint on my heart. when i exited our matatu the first girl to grab my hands after the traditional kenyan handshake, and not let go, was something special. she told me her name was lina. her head was shorn. her smile was white and brilliant. she had more eyebrows than a girl her age usually has. and, to top it off, she had sparkly eyes. i'm such a sucker for sparkly eyes. lina was wearing a white dress with a gold sash that was could have been some eight year old american girl's flower girl dress in its previous life- before it was worn and torn and discarded, only to be treasured by this lovely girl in the africa. lina's chin came up to my belly button and she held my hands tightly. but not too tightly. and our fingers were interlaced. the warmth of her hands in mine, the warmth of her eyes and her smile... that is a moment i treasured. i wish you could have held lina's hands.

this afternoon we went to the in step house, the baby house, the miracle house. after the tour, and the traditional chai we were unleashed on the children, or i should say that the children were unleashed on us. right now there are 81 children living under the care of jeff, carla and a handful of aunties. i had the opportunity to hold baby gloria today. gloria is probably four weeks old, but there is no way to know for sure because she was found abandoned in a maize field. gloria has some significant scarring on her hands, arms and neck because by the time she was discovered, abandoned and alone in a field, the insects had descended upon her. gloria slept in my arms the entire time i held her. she smelled like warm oatmeal, chocolate lip gloss and diaper. her hair was soft and curly, and her fingernails were the smallest fingernails i have ever seen. i honestly didn't know that fingernails could be that small. although she was sleeping i made her hold my fingers, because you can do that with babies. i wish you could have held her fingers.

it's late now. and i'm exhausted. i will try to get on here one more time to get a few more snapshots posted... but i just can't do it tonight :) thanks for understanding.

xoxo

janell