Ten Things Kenyan Orphans Don't Know

1. What it's like to fly across the ocean. Not only is the experience of international flight highly unlikely for them, but the concept that a team of people traveled over 24 hours stepping foot in 5 different airports in three nations in order to see them has little context for them. They know that different-looking people just show up sometimes, act and talk a bit funny, talk a lot about God, give lots of hugs, and then leave after a week or two, until the next batch shows up a few months or a year later.
2. That there are sponsors. We don't explain the whole sponsorship idea to them. At the orphanage, we don't have sponsors for every child, so having a label of "sponsored" or "unsponsored" would be very damaging. We tell each of them that they have friends in the US, adults and children, who love them and pray for them and write them letters. We don't mention the money or the status of being sponsored.
3. A mortgage. This is more than just the family never having a mortgage. How buildings are paid for is completely different. Most Luo people in this area will never finance a building. Rather, they piecemeal everything. Save enough money to build a wall, then you build the wall. Then you wait to save more money for the next part. That's also how you put gas in the tank or get minutes on your cell phone. You don't fill up the tank or get a monthly plan. You put in a little bit of gas frequently, because that's what cash you have. You put just a few minutes on the phone because that's what cash you have. Piecemeal.
4. Identity theft. No digital footprint at all. Perhaps no birth certificate. No identity card or even identity number. And therefore, completely immune to identity theft. But also prone to falling through the cracks.
5. Having the air conditioning go out. Sounds obvious. But with this also means no griping and moaning when it goes out. No expensive repairs. No tendency to "hole up" indoors and become more isolated from your neighbors. No monthly bill big enough to buy a couple of weeks' worth of groceries in order to be more comfortable. But also no way to cool a malaria-induced fever.
6. A bad waitress. No restaurants, no waitresses, no bad service. There are restaurants around, but most of our kids won't eat in one until they are much older, if at all. Rather, food preparation is an event, a social interaction, a training time from older to younger, a daily rhythm, a responsibility even for the kids. No Happy Meals with toys that become boring after an hour, no playscapes, no mess left under the table that someone else has to clean up for minimum wage. Food is not fast - food is fellowship.
7. The assumption of medical care. If one of the kids here gets hurt, you just go to the hospital. You don't worry about how much money is in your wallet, or even if your insurance will cover it. You just go. Or better, you just call and they come and get you. In the village we go to, if an orphan gets hurt, there is no hospital nearby. Furthermore, there is no assumption of just going. If you don't have the cash on you, you might not get care, so you count your money to decide whether or not to go. And so sometimes you decide not to go. Instead of the assumption of medical care, your assumption is that the child will just make it without care.
8. Fame. Fame and popularity are amazingly low priorities. Not just "American Idol" fame, but BMOC fame at an orphanage in a village. The group ethic is so much stronger - success is more often group success than individual success. Not a Socialist removal of success to level the playing field, but true success as a group. Fewer Lone Rangers. "Luo Idol" fame, if you will. (The more modern the area in Kenya, the more individualism, it seems.)
9. An unwelcome guest. Yes, there are bad characters roaming around, and they are unwelcome. But other than that, if you show up unannounced, they are actually glad to see you! More than that, they are eager to invite you in. We've seen people show up unannounced, and not only stay for dinner, but stay for the week!
10. Escape. This hits me every time I depart. We heroically "rough it" for two weeks, then leave. Within hours we are in air conditioned, multi-storied buildings, and after an elongated day, back in our own beds. They are still there, where we "roughed it." Our two weeks is their 24X7. What we "put up with," they live. Chances are, it is what they will live their entire lives. Our ministry to them gives them a far better chance to live it well, and perhaps bring change to themselves and their neighbors. But few will know escape. (It’s not a horrible place that needs to be escaped, but there are hardships that do.)

Reread this article and realize how many things that Kenyan orphans know that we don’t. Please pray for these infinitely valuable bearers of God's image who know so much.