First week back in Kenya and God is already breaking my heart again. Sometimes I feel like things don’t phase me as much any more because of all of the heartbreaking things that I see on a daily basis. Then there are days when everything seems like its going to be normal, then we walk past a house in Shimo that we always pass. Except this time we see an older kid just sitting in the dirt with no pants on. We got closer and could see that he had some sort of disability, maybe cerebral palsy, but its hard to tell. His mom was a little skeptical of us at first when we started asking her questions about him, but she warmed up after a while. His name is Syril and he is fourteen years old. He stuck out his hand to greet us when we walked up and just held on and kept reaching out for us if we walked out of his reach. His legs look like they are burned and he was just sitting there grinding his teeth. His mother told us that he didn’t have an appetite, so they had just stopped feeding him. The weather is dry and hot now and he was just sitting outside in the direct sunlight. 

Syril

Today we went back to see how he was doing. He looked a lot better today. He had pants on, was sitting in the shade and wasn’t grinding his teeth as much. She told us that he hadn’t eaten, but drank some tea this morning. We brought him powder to put in his water to help him get rehydrated.We took pictures of his legs so that we can see if we can get medicine for him. 

Syril's little legs are swollen, peeling and painful.

 It was good to see that his mother was taking better care of him today. She also has a lot on her plate. First she has Syril and she also has a little thirteen month old and she is pregnant and looks like she is due any day. 

Syril’s little brother’s name is Henry and he looks like he might have some developmental delays as well. He has already had to have one surgery on his eyes when he was five months old, but his mother said that he can see much better now. 

Sweet little Henry's got a great little personality and is a funny  little kid. While we were sitting and talking to their mom we were playing with the kids. Leila reached down to shake Henry's hand and he pulled it away. Then I did the same and he reached out and grabbed my hand. He is such a funny little guy.

I can’t get this family out of my mind. It breaks my heart that this mother feels helpless and overwhelmed. It breaks my heart that there is nothing in place here to help kids like Syril and Henry get the help that the need and deserve. Even though there is no obvoius solution right now, we will continue doing what little we can to help Syril and Henry at the very least let them see a bit of God’s love for him. Please pray that their mother gives birth to a healthy little baby and that God continues to hold these sweet little boys in his arms.