Love Abounds

Ezra, Elijah and Enoch

Good morning America!  We have already finished our first week of service here at Tenwek!  It has been a week of renewing friendships and making some new acquaintances.  The needs here continue to be overwhelming especially since secondary school fees are due now for the coming year.   I have been approached by many already asking for help with these fees. Knowing when to say “yes” and when to give an empathetic but firm “no” are extremely difficult.  That is especially true when you know that you can help them but that it is wrong to build up a dependency on missionary help.  As we all know it is better to give them seeds and let them produce their own crop.  Again, not easy

The twins that I was helping with have gone home.  The tradition here seems to be to name the children with the same initial so they were called Louis and Lewis!  You must know that Louis is pronounced “Lois” here!  Still a bit confusing!  Now I am helping a Mom with triplet boys named Ezra, Elijah, and Enoch!  Mom has a family of seven now having had four girls before the three boys!  She assures me that her family is complete. Thankfully her mother-in-law is here helping too so it will be a community effort raising these babies!  I am impressed with both of these mothers and grandma. They are all loving and smart.  It is not easy keeping track of how much formula versus breast milk each tiny premature baby receives every three hours around the clock.  Over the years I have been generally very  impressed with African moms; their love and devotion to their children is to be admired.

Love is in the air here at Tenwek!  I have been surprised with how many of my young nurse friends have gotten married during the past year.  They are quite secretive about it and kind of spring it on me in a quiet moment.  Yesterday, two young women whom we have known and helped through the years also announced that they are in love; one is getting married on March 11!  Not only that, the minister preached on Love and the importance of fidelity in relationships. 

Miriam