12 Aug Faces of Children of Hope: Bethsheba, Darian, Gracious
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4
Despite our two homes in Kikuyu and Kitalale being 250 miles apart, exciting news travels fast between them – especially when it involves new kids. This past year, we were blessed with six new kids to our Kikuyu home, and though both homes celebrated this news, the kids and Aunties at Kitalale couldn’t help but wonder when it’d be their turn to welcome new siblings.
A couple of months ago, their prayers were heard and for the first time in four years, we welcomed three new kids to the Kitalale home. Join us in welcoming Bethsheba (7 years old), Darian (5 years) and Gracious (3 months) to the Children of Hope family!
As soon as the Aunties and kids found out there were three new children on their way to the Kitalale home, they immediately started getting ready for the traditional welcome ceremony. At the exact moment the new kids walked into the compound, all of the kids, Uncles, and Aunties met them at the gate and burst into song and dance. Once in the dining hall, our family took a gentle moment of prayer and gratitude to the Lord, the kids took turns meeting their new siblings and making them feel right at home by introducing themselves and giving them hugs.
Meet Bethsheba
After the unfortunate passing of their mother during childbirth, Bethsheba and her siblings were left under the care of their father. Due to mental disabilities he was unable to care for the children, Bethsheba’s father turned to the children’s department for help, who in turn asked us to take in the young and vulnerable children. On May 30th, Bethsheba joined the Kitalale home along with her siblings Darian and Gracious.
At Bethsheba’s initial medical examination, we found she had malaria, jiggers on her feet, and a case of stunted growth due to the lack of proper nutrition. Thanks to this initial assessment, we were able to quickly treat Bethsheba for these conditions. As a welcome present, she was given a beautiful pair of Crocs, which will help protect her feet from jiggers and loves wearing around the home! As for her malnutrition, we’ve already seen tremendous improvements thanks to the Aunties’ and Uncles’ hard work. Her favorite meal so far has been chicken and chapati, the traditional Kenyan bread.
Meet Darian
Darian has shown remarkable improvement since joining our home, and we couldn’t be prouder! Due to malnutrition, Darian came to us with underdeveloped leg muscles. This means that, despite his five years of age, he had never learned how to walk. During his medical assessment, the doctor said that with plenty of love, exercises, and physical therapy, he should be able to get stronger and develop the muscles fairly quickly. So far, Darian is able to stand holding on to stools and chairs, which is something he wasn’t able to do when he first came into our home. We will continue to monitor his progress and cheer him on!
In recent weeks, we’ve continued to see Darian’s improvement and had the privilege of seeing him open up to the Aunties even more. He has started to smile, laugh and make jokes around Auntie Petty, his favorite Auntie. Darian still gets a bit nervous around others and when this happens, he gets very chatty and talks a lot without stopping. We expect to see this behavior subside as he starts to build relationships with the other kids and feel more at home.
Meet Gracious
Gracious is the youngest of her siblings. After her mother’s passing, her aunt tried to bring her into her own family. Sadly, with six kids of her own, Gracious’ aunt was unable to care for an additional newborn. Children of Hope feels blessed to be able to provide Gracious with protection, love, and care.
With no medical issues, Gracious has been eating and growing just like any other healthy newborn. She has started adjusting to a regular sleeping pattern, which our Aunties are very happy about. Gracious has become the center of attention in the home — the older kids want to cuddle and play with her!
As the days pass, we continue gathering as a family to make sure our three new kids feel comfortable at home.
It takes a tremendous amount of courage to get through the types of experiences that many of our kids have faced. It takes resilience to be able to open up and smile again. But thanks to God’s grace, the love from our Aunties, Uncles, and supporters from around the world, we are able to welcome new family members to our homes and give these kids a second chance.
To date, our three new kids are in need of a sponsor. If you or a friend are interested in sponsoring Bethsheba, Darian or Gracious and support their growth, please click on the button below and place a note in the comment section with the name of the child you would like to sponsor.
We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for allowing us to live our mission and create positive, lasting change for each of these courageous children.
Sponsor Bethsheba, Darian or Gracious