Candy for the Kids

Last night we were really tired so we skipped our blog posting and went to bed. It's now early Friday, and we wanted to at least share some photos before we head out at 7:00.

Yesterday we brought a bag of lollipops to give to the children we see on the road to Watoto who are living in a very poor area. As you can see, they were delighted to get the candy - and SO grateful.

As soon as they saw that the bus was stopping and we had something for them, they came running and seemed to come out of nowhere.

This little girl kept saying "Thank you Mzungu" (thank you white people")

This little one figured out immediately how to eat the lollipop, but another child put the lollipop in his mouth with the paper still on it. We kept trying to tell him to take off the wrapper, but we don't think he knew any English. He finally got it ...

Another sweet moment was when group of kids came running out and got their lollipops, but the littlest one - less than 2 yrs old - stood back near the house and was crying. Our host Paul said he was probably too scared to come up to the bus, but he was very sad that he wasn't gettting any candy. So we gave one to his brother and Paul told him to take it to his little brother. As soon as that lollipop was in his mouth, he instantly stopped crying. We all laughed and said it was a good reminder that kids have some things in common no matter where they're from.

We gave out the remaining candy on the way home, and when the lollipops ran out we gave away little bags of fruit snacks, and then tore open a bag of chocolates we had intended to give to someone else. The kids seemed to mulitply before our eyes, and we wished we had brought at least twice as much to give out. 

It was a special treat for all of us to be able to do something nice for these poor children who have so little.

Other updates:

Yesterday was our last day of building, and we made great progress - even though it was the hottest day we've had so far, and we were all dripping with sweat and feeling the effects of the sun by lunch time.

Now that the walls are getting higher, we had to use scaffolding to add the top layers. For several people. this represented a major victory over their fear of heights.

And here's the view at the end of the day! We're off now to go the site for a special dedication ceremony, and then to take a tour of the Watoto Village and Baby Watoto where they care for those younger than 2 years old.

Thanks Leanna and Ed for the comments - and "Irene" says hello back! Cindy Garrett (aka Cinderella) would like to hear from KISA ... so it you're reading this, please post a short comment to let her know.  We love getting comments, sort of like being away at camp and getting letters from home. :)

Blessings,

the SS Nazarene Watoto team