Our visit to First Love was a last minute addition to our schedule on our last day in Kenya. I had no idea what to expect...I was worn out but hoping for an experience to redeem the one at Mama Lucy's...something to give me hope. And that's exactly what I found at First Love Girls Home. The minute we arrived, the girls greeted us and gave us hugs. One girl, Caroline (13 yrs old) immediately connected with me. She grabbed my hand and took me on a tour. The facility was beautiful with nice buildings, flowers, a vegetable garden, animals (dogs, cats, chickens) and lots of trees. I was impressed by their bedrooms, decent clothes and clean toothbrushes. The girls shower everyday. They have one "mama", two "aunties" and two "uncles" to watch over them, cook for them and take care of the facilities. These seem like simple things but simple things that every child needs and deserves. On site they have an office/dorm, guesthouse, garage, woodshop, kitchen, water tower that doubles as a security watchtower and they're currently building a dining hall and second dorm. I could tell immediately that these girls were well taken care of and are on a path to healing. Some are already thriving. During our afternoon visit, we painted lots of toes, taught them sudoku, and made bracelets. The girls sang while crafting and it seemed full of life and peace and joy. These kids were different than the ones at Mama Lucy's. All of my teammates and I could tell the difference. We had to pick our jaws up off the floor!
Caroline gravitated toward me the entire afternoon. I learned a lot about her as we played on the swings. She loves singing and wants to be a singer when she grows up. She and another girl, Freida sang on video for me (see below). They are precious and have such deep souls. I knew it would be hard to say goodbye. By that time I had decided I would become her sponsor but until details were set up, I couldn't tell her. So I said, you will always be in my heart, I love you, I will write to you and pray for you. Being her sponsor means I give a monthly contribution to First Love and continue my friendship with Caroline through writing letters. I am really looking forward to watching her mature into a beautiful young woman. She has been given an amazing gift: opportunity. Opportunity to dream and learn and grow and live the life she couldn't live before. I love the name "First Love" because it reminds me how God loves us first...even before we know him or love him back. Spending the day with Caroline and the girls at First Love was so valuable. A tangible example of how God loves and takes care of "the least of these". My trip to Kenya was worth it just to meet her..I will be back! 
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing
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