Bernard and Jason

Bernard and Jason have become my special little guys from the orphanage. About once a week they come home with me for the day. I think the extra attention is good for them, but the truth is that I have the most fun! Bernard has figured out the routine now, so when I arrived at the orphanage last week he grabbed my hand, looked up at me with those BIG eyes and said, “Bye, Bye?”

A couple of weeks ago we had a Sunday outreach planned with John and Beth Reese who were visiting at Namwianga. They are from Austin and work with World Bible School. I decided this would be a good chance to take my little guys on an outing and let them experience a trip to the bush with us.

I picked them up early on Sunday so we had time to read (see photo) and play a bit before we left. They did well on the bumpy ride to Kanyaya, with Bernard sleeping most of the way. As it turns out, Bernard was running a fever and slept most of the day. Jason was content to sit on Beth’s lap and enjoy the scenery.

We arrived at the Kanyaya church building and were greeted by the members. Jason clung to my skirt, not sure what to think of all the new people. We went in and sat on the low wooden plank benches and the service began. Bernard fell back to sleep on Beth’s lap. Jason looked all around at the small thatched building, the rows of people, and especially at the other little children. It occurred to me that Jason has only seen a handful of houses, the Namwianga church building, and the Namwianga clinic in his two and a half years. Slowly his eyes began to register how overwhelmed he was with all these new sights, smells, and sounds. Big tears started rolling down his cheeks. I held him close and hoped for the best, but in a few minutes he lost his composure and began to wail. I carried him outside and got him calmed down after a few minutes.

Then Beth came out with Bernard because he had fallen apart when he saw Beth’s face and not mine. I sent Beth back inside and put both boys in the back seat of our vehicle. Bernard fell back asleep and Jason and I spent a pleasant half hour or so just sitting together. Later the boys ate the nshima and chicken that the ladies had cooked for us.

We bumped and jolted home. The boys had a long nap before I took them back to The Haven. There is a good chance that both Bernard and Jason will be leaving the orphanage soon to go live with family members. I hope our outing helped them get a little preparation for the big world out there.