Form 1 (CV)

 In Kenya the new school year starts in January, so our first week here was their first week back in classes.  Up until this year Mercy Home was only a primary school, but this January they started a high school.  This has worked out very much in my favour because it means that all the older kids that I became friends with on my last trip are still here, rather than being dispersed across town in different boarding schools. 

The primary system starts in ECD (kindergarten) and then goes from standard 1 to standard 8.  High school consists of Form 1 to Form 4.  At the end of standard 8, students must pass their KCPE exam in order to move on to high school.  Right now there are 15 students at Mercy Home awaiting their marks from the exam which they took in November.  The results are scheduled to come out this Friday!  Those students will begin classes the week after next.  Right now they are enjoying an extended vacation from school, so we are able to spend time with them during the day. They are kept somewhat occupied with odd jobs in the garden or in the kitchen, but our task for this week has been to make their lives a little more interesting since they aren’t able to leave the compound unsupervised.  

On Monday we took the 5 Form 1 girls (Cecelia, Winifred, Centrine, Angelina and Everlynne) into Kitale for a few hours to have lunch at Iroko’s restaurant and explore the town a bit.  We told them that they could order anything that they wanted, and they all ordered kuku (chicken) and chips with soda.  I had chapati and.. ehem..fermented pineapple juice.  I didn’t want to say anything, because I didn’t know if I was just being picky, but when I let the girls try it, they gagged and couldn’t believe I had drank as much as I had!

On Tuesday we held a bible study for all the Form 1 students.  We started off by serving biscuits and juice, which was a huge hit (as all Baptists know, snacks are important) and we ended up going through both jugs of juice, which were intended to last for two or three studies, in two minutes flat.  I shared about grace, using Ephesian 1:3-7.  The kids were receptive, and all brought notebooks and bibles.  In the afternoon, Griffins and Cecelia helped us recruit almost all of the students who are supported through Mercy Home (as opposed to day scholars who pay fees) in order to take new pictures of them to send to their sponsors.  It actually seemed efficient, which is rather unusual here. 

Wednesday we took some of the Form 1 boys to town (David, Ngai, Pius, Griffins and Peter). Samuel, one of the boys who just finished Form 4 also accompanied us.  We went out for lunch at the same restaurant we took the girls.  They were so great!  Griffins blessed the meal before we ate, and also asked that Anna and I would be blessed and live until we are 100 years old.  Afterwards, David prayed again.  Then we just wandered the streets for an hour or so.  We went into a couple of the bigger supermarkets just to look around.  I can tell that I’m getting used to rural life because I caught myself gaping at the hugeness of Khetia’s department store.  

We held another bible study this morning, this one on the Almighty nature of God, and how He is worthy to be praised.  This afternoon we are going for tea at the Ochana’s house.  This is the family that I stayed with last time I was in Kenya.  Stoked to see them and my old stomping grounds again!  

We have been trying really hard to post pictures, but we keep being thwarted by really slow internet.  Hopefully they'll come soon!

Our address is:

c/o Mercy and Caring Home

PO Box 1962

Kitale, 30200

Kenya 

East Africa

Thanks for following along.  Blessings to you all,

Candice