Five weeks ago, I had a dream but no children. Five weeks ago, I thought I knew what being a parent looked like. Five weeks ago, I was hopeful that things would work out, but not sure what any of this would look like. Five weeks ago today, my life flipped upside down, and changed forever. Its been five long, hard, and extremely rewarding weeks since we opened Joseph's House. I would first like to say that this is SO much harder than I thought it would be. I don’t think it hit me until I had them home, but essentially I just adopted 5 extremely special needs boys. Like, the stories you hear about people who adopted from Russia and found out their kids had all kinds of neglect related special needs? Well that is basically all of my children, only I knew that when I brought them. Raising them takes every ounce of creative energy I have. It takes all my wisdom and patience, and to be honest I am exhausted. But I see so many incredible changes already, and its only been five weeks!
Sabote would not stop fighting when he got here. All he did was sleep and fight, sleep and fight. He still fights, but not nearly as much. He loves school, and studies really hard every day. His English is still really broken, but we are finding out that he has much better cognitive skills than we expected. And he is kind, really truly kindhearted. Behind all that fighting is a boy who cried for Waswa when he ran away, and tied Enoch’s shoes for him after swimming, because Enoch was to sick. Is a boy who has natural instincts to protect first, to protect me. A few days ago, I was sick, and Sabote sat outside my room with a stick, swatting at anyone who tried to knock on my door (he wanted me to sleep). Sabote has a beautiful heart, and every day that he is here I get to see more of it.
Joseph is our peacemaker. He never fights, and keeps his cool when everyone else is in chaos. He is so sweet, and a really good friend. Whenever someone is upset, its always Joseph who tries to comfort him. This is especially true of Waswa, who has problems with almost everyone else. But Joseph never fights with Waswa, and he is always the first to trie and give words of comfort. The last time Waswa had a meltdown, Joseph ran outside saying “where is my Waswa? I have to comfort my Waswa!”. Joseph is also my silly one :) He is super ticklish and giggly, and genuinely loves to play. And yes, he can be defiant. And he is the one having the hardest time leaving drugs behind. Last time he ran away to Kisenyi for drugs, I went with Sam to get him. We were looking in all the little alleys and hiding holes the boys stay in, and I spotted him. He was in this alley, with a bunch of other boys, holding his chenge. He looked so sad, and broken, all dirty like that. And when I saw him, my heart flooded with love. All I could see was him (I seriously don’t remember what other boys he was with, though I remember I knew them from programs) and I thought “that one belongs at home”. And he does! He is stilling next to me right now, watching “Space Buddies”, and watching me type. I know he belongs here, and am so glad that God reveled Joseph to me!
Enoch is my challenge, but he is so cute it makes up for it. Oh goodness, that boy is cute! But he has been through more than his share of hardship in his life, and is broken because of it. He constantly wants attention, but cannot handle it when he has it. He is still trying to decide if he can trust being here, and therefore is trying to manipulate and push our staff to their limits. But its okay, we were ready for this. On the other hand, Enoch is used to being in the Bombo homes, so he is used to the house schedule and the way we run things. And he makes me laugh, much as I try and be serious with him. Last night, he was awake when he was supposed to be in bed, and he was talking to me through my door. I told him to go to bed, but instead (in a super deep and gravely voice that I didn’t know he was capable of making) he said “no, aunt Cait this is not Enoch, this is a kidnapper! But, I cannot break your lock, so you just be afraid inside your room!!!”. Honestly, you have to know Enoch to see why this is to funny, but he is this tiny little guy. Hearing him make this “scary” voice was just too funny! I did pull it together, and sent him to bed, but its that kind of defiance (when he thinks he is so sneaky) that I adore. I know God is going to heal Enoch, and that His plan for Enoch is to be here, in the API homes, safe and loved.
Waswa is doing really well too. Oh Waswa, precious kid! He has a lot of challenges, everything from school work to paying attention in devotions. He is easily aggravated, and has daily “meltdowns” which can last 5 min or 3 hours, depending on his overall mood. Still, at the beginning, these meltdowns always lasted hours and hours, and they happened every day. Now, they don’t happen every day, and when they do we can almost always correct things before they get out of control. We are getting better at predicting his behavior, and I am learning how to help him through the tough times. Though he doesn’t like it, he needs physical tough when he is super upset. I have bruises from the last time he was upset, but it was totally worth it because it helped him calm down. Waswa is a beautiful, creative and happy child. Yes, he has tough moments, but God is already healing his heart. I know that, over time, Waswa will settle. He is the perfect example of what Joseph’s House is all about. There is no way, with all his struggles, Waswa would ever have been loved or stay in any other home. With all his years on the streets, nobody ever even approached him to be in another home. Everyone saw him, and his behavior, and stayed away. What a shame, because they were missing the beautiful boy that he is!
Alex is the most amazing transformation. I hoped he would be, but to be honest I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure bringing him home was a good idea, not until the day I actually did it. I was afraid he would just use it to misbehave more, and I would be wasting a spot on a boy who didn’t really want it. I praise God that I listened to Him, and not my own fears, because what a mistake that would have been! Alex is a natural leader, but that can be a really good thing. He loves helping the other boys, talking with them, helping them make “good choices”. He is so so helpful, and really wants to please. I have always believed with Alex the old saying about children that ‘children want to be good, you just have to provide a way for them to do it’. Alex loves being good, he loves helping and has a protective and nurturing heart. All those years on the streets caused a lot of damage, there is no doubt about that. But that childlike wonder and kindness is not gone from him, and its being repaired every day. Right now, Alex is outside building a rabbit hutch. He wanted to be the one to build it, and I let him because he has a genuine love of creating things (a few days ago, he made me a clay heart out of mud in the backyard). He loves taking care of things, and people. And he calls me mom :) He is precious beyond words, and though it will take a lot of time and work, I believe there is a heart of gold under all that damage. I know God is going to use him to do great (and good) things!
There is something new every day with my boys. Its a battle, an ongoing one with the enemy. The evil one loves to tempt them, draw them back to the street life, because its comfortable and known. The unknown is a future in this home, and that is scary for the boys- I understand that. So every day I fight to win back a small part of their hearts. Little by little, we find the broken parts and give them up to Jesus, who puts them back together. Right now the parts that are broken still outnumber what is healed, and that broken part often wins out. But it wont always be like that; someday, the healed and new parts will be more, and the boys will struggle less and less with the damage that they suffered. There will always be a part of these boys (like all of us) that struggles, and we will never know this side of Heaven how far they truly come. But I am confident that God will complete a great work in them, and so for now, I will fight for them. Struggle with them every day, to win back those tiny little pieces.
Sabote would not stop fighting when he got here. All he did was sleep and fight, sleep and fight. He still fights, but not nearly as much. He loves school, and studies really hard every day. His English is still really broken, but we are finding out that he has much better cognitive skills than we expected. And he is kind, really truly kindhearted. Behind all that fighting is a boy who cried for Waswa when he ran away, and tied Enoch’s shoes for him after swimming, because Enoch was to sick. Is a boy who has natural instincts to protect first, to protect me. A few days ago, I was sick, and Sabote sat outside my room with a stick, swatting at anyone who tried to knock on my door (he wanted me to sleep). Sabote has a beautiful heart, and every day that he is here I get to see more of it.
Joseph is our peacemaker. He never fights, and keeps his cool when everyone else is in chaos. He is so sweet, and a really good friend. Whenever someone is upset, its always Joseph who tries to comfort him. This is especially true of Waswa, who has problems with almost everyone else. But Joseph never fights with Waswa, and he is always the first to trie and give words of comfort. The last time Waswa had a meltdown, Joseph ran outside saying “where is my Waswa? I have to comfort my Waswa!”. Joseph is also my silly one :) He is super ticklish and giggly, and genuinely loves to play. And yes, he can be defiant. And he is the one having the hardest time leaving drugs behind. Last time he ran away to Kisenyi for drugs, I went with Sam to get him. We were looking in all the little alleys and hiding holes the boys stay in, and I spotted him. He was in this alley, with a bunch of other boys, holding his chenge. He looked so sad, and broken, all dirty like that. And when I saw him, my heart flooded with love. All I could see was him (I seriously don’t remember what other boys he was with, though I remember I knew them from programs) and I thought “that one belongs at home”. And he does! He is stilling next to me right now, watching “Space Buddies”, and watching me type. I know he belongs here, and am so glad that God reveled Joseph to me!
Enoch is my challenge, but he is so cute it makes up for it. Oh goodness, that boy is cute! But he has been through more than his share of hardship in his life, and is broken because of it. He constantly wants attention, but cannot handle it when he has it. He is still trying to decide if he can trust being here, and therefore is trying to manipulate and push our staff to their limits. But its okay, we were ready for this. On the other hand, Enoch is used to being in the Bombo homes, so he is used to the house schedule and the way we run things. And he makes me laugh, much as I try and be serious with him. Last night, he was awake when he was supposed to be in bed, and he was talking to me through my door. I told him to go to bed, but instead (in a super deep and gravely voice that I didn’t know he was capable of making) he said “no, aunt Cait this is not Enoch, this is a kidnapper! But, I cannot break your lock, so you just be afraid inside your room!!!”. Honestly, you have to know Enoch to see why this is to funny, but he is this tiny little guy. Hearing him make this “scary” voice was just too funny! I did pull it together, and sent him to bed, but its that kind of defiance (when he thinks he is so sneaky) that I adore. I know God is going to heal Enoch, and that His plan for Enoch is to be here, in the API homes, safe and loved.
Waswa is doing really well too. Oh Waswa, precious kid! He has a lot of challenges, everything from school work to paying attention in devotions. He is easily aggravated, and has daily “meltdowns” which can last 5 min or 3 hours, depending on his overall mood. Still, at the beginning, these meltdowns always lasted hours and hours, and they happened every day. Now, they don’t happen every day, and when they do we can almost always correct things before they get out of control. We are getting better at predicting his behavior, and I am learning how to help him through the tough times. Though he doesn’t like it, he needs physical tough when he is super upset. I have bruises from the last time he was upset, but it was totally worth it because it helped him calm down. Waswa is a beautiful, creative and happy child. Yes, he has tough moments, but God is already healing his heart. I know that, over time, Waswa will settle. He is the perfect example of what Joseph’s House is all about. There is no way, with all his struggles, Waswa would ever have been loved or stay in any other home. With all his years on the streets, nobody ever even approached him to be in another home. Everyone saw him, and his behavior, and stayed away. What a shame, because they were missing the beautiful boy that he is!
Alex is the most amazing transformation. I hoped he would be, but to be honest I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure bringing him home was a good idea, not until the day I actually did it. I was afraid he would just use it to misbehave more, and I would be wasting a spot on a boy who didn’t really want it. I praise God that I listened to Him, and not my own fears, because what a mistake that would have been! Alex is a natural leader, but that can be a really good thing. He loves helping the other boys, talking with them, helping them make “good choices”. He is so so helpful, and really wants to please. I have always believed with Alex the old saying about children that ‘children want to be good, you just have to provide a way for them to do it’. Alex loves being good, he loves helping and has a protective and nurturing heart. All those years on the streets caused a lot of damage, there is no doubt about that. But that childlike wonder and kindness is not gone from him, and its being repaired every day. Right now, Alex is outside building a rabbit hutch. He wanted to be the one to build it, and I let him because he has a genuine love of creating things (a few days ago, he made me a clay heart out of mud in the backyard). He loves taking care of things, and people. And he calls me mom :) He is precious beyond words, and though it will take a lot of time and work, I believe there is a heart of gold under all that damage. I know God is going to use him to do great (and good) things!
There is something new every day with my boys. Its a battle, an ongoing one with the enemy. The evil one loves to tempt them, draw them back to the street life, because its comfortable and known. The unknown is a future in this home, and that is scary for the boys- I understand that. So every day I fight to win back a small part of their hearts. Little by little, we find the broken parts and give them up to Jesus, who puts them back together. Right now the parts that are broken still outnumber what is healed, and that broken part often wins out. But it wont always be like that; someday, the healed and new parts will be more, and the boys will struggle less and less with the damage that they suffered. There will always be a part of these boys (like all of us) that struggles, and we will never know this side of Heaven how far they truly come. But I am confident that God will complete a great work in them, and so for now, I will fight for them. Struggle with them every day, to win back those tiny little pieces.
So amazingly honored to know you sweet sister! Praying for you every Monday especially has been my joy! Love you and I praise Jesus for His evident love pouring through you! xoxoxoxoxo, Laeya
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