MONDAY--FEBRUARY 21, 2011

SIGN NEAR THE FRONT GATE

FRONT ENTRANCE TO THE BABY CENTRE

CRIBS IN THE NURSERY FOR UP TO ONE YEAR OLD BABIES

JOHN MARKING BOARDS TO BE CUT

JOHN USING ELECTRIC SAW TO CUT BOARDS FOR FENCE

KASEY AND JOHN PAINTING BOARDS FOR FENCE

BACK OF BABY CENTRE SHOWING TWO WATER TOWERS WITH THE RIGHT SIDE ALREADY FENCED AND THE LEFT SIDE YET TO BE FENCED

MWANGI AND JOHN BOLTING FENCE BOARDS TO METAL FRAME

MARY WITH A JUG OF WATER ON HER HEAD

GUARD HOUSE AT FRONT GATE SHOWING CONCRETE WALL

VIEW FROM MY BEDROOM

GUARD DOG JACK

GUARD DOG JILL

JOHN'S BEDROOM

SITTING ROOM/DINING ROOM OF OUR APARTMENT

Monday--2/21/11 We received orientation to the AGC Baby Centre with a tour of the three areas where the babies are housed and cared for.  The first section is for babies up to one year old; the second is for babies up to two years old; the third is for babies up to about four years old.  The Baby Centre is under the direction of missionary Staci Keter whose husband is Pastor Wycliffe Keter of the nearby Africa Gospel Church.  They are adopting twins from the Baby Centre and have a daughter of their own.  One of our ways to help at the Baby Centre is to assist the care-givers by holding, walking, or playing with the babies of which there are more than forty.  Visitors or volunteers cannot bathe or feed the babies.  Mwangi is the Maintenance Supervisor who gave us direction about the fence building.  He had already constructed a metal frame of supports on which we will fasten the boards.  A few inches must be cut from each of the over 600 boards needed.  We have been painting a primer coat on each board in the full sun of nearly 85 degrees most days.  We have some Kenyan ladies who clean our rooms, wash clothes every day, and either make all of the meal or prepare part of the noon and evening meals.  Mary is the lead Kenyan lady serving us.

     

      The compound for the Baby Centre is surrounded by a block wall topped with barbed wire.  There is a guard at the locked gate at all times.  From sundown to sun rise there are two guard dogs named Jack and Jill.  In the middle of the night, the two dogs can certainly make a lot of noise, especially when barking and running on the second floor veranda outside our rooms.  I share an apartment with Jeremy and Laura.  The apartment contains two very spacious bedrooms, one bathroom, a very large sitting/dining room, and a kitchen which contains the freezer and washer for the team.  There are five apartments of varying sizes on the second floor.  In the bathroom, my bedroom, the sitting room, and the kitchen there are electrical outlets for 110 volts since a missionary had previously lived here.  All floors are cement with an area rug.  All walls are block.  The ceiling/roof of the second floor is corrugated metal.  I hope there is rain sometime so I may experience the sound of raindrops on the metal roof/ceiling.

      The babies are placed at the Baby Centre by court order.  One came when only four hours old.  Others stay until about four.  After being cleared by the court, all of the babies are available for foster care or adoption.  Currently, the Kenyan government does not permit foreign adoptions.  There is a strenuous screening process for the foster care and adoptions.  Some people are not permitted to adopt for a variety of reasons.  But, all must profess to know Jesus.  The staff at Baby Centre matches a child with the prospective foster or adoptive parent.