Much more than just a mattress.

The Lord had provided the funding ABOVE and BEYOND what we had asked, and we had a feeling there was more to the plan than we originally thought.  With the new funds in hand I headed back into town to find another sewing machine and purchase large quantities of vinyl sheeting to make "rain jackets" for the junior mattresses.  The team continued their training workshops in culinary, sewing and medical.  We knew we could not even think about starting on the mattress covering project until we had completed the classes we had planed for the children.  What a blessing to watch the excitement in their eyes as they learned and applied what we were teaching.

As our first week in Kenya was coming to a close we all were ready for some much needed rest.  Sabbath (Saturday) couldn't have come sooner . . . we spent the day studying, worshiping and praising the Lord for His amazing gifts in our lives.  During that afternoon we enjoyed the beautiful Kenyan countryside as we walked with the children down to the lake.  FIWAGOH lies on the edge of the Rift Valley and I don't think I will ever tire of seeing Lake Elementaita or the hills and views that surround the orphanage.  It is truly amazing to see the creativity of our God.

With Sabbath behinds us our second week started with a flurry of pent up activity.  We had to move quickly if we were going to get every mattress on to a bed before we left that coming Friday morning.  Honestly, we didn't know HOW it would all come together, but we were determined to pull 'all-nighters' if that was what it would take to get the job done.  God had provided the funds and now it was our turn to be His hands and feet in action.

Our first challenge was to figure out how to best sew material covers for the sheets.  Doneva and Kris came up with a pattern to make large pillowcase style mattress covers to go on every mattress.  Our second challenge was how to make vinyl "rain jackets" that could fit down over the top and sides of the junior mattresses to cover and protect from any wetting issues.  Since we were concerned about our sewing machines holding up to the heavy plastic sheeting our two seamstresses came up with another design to cut the plastic sheeting to size, slice the corners and then glue them together with Superglue.  With a strategy all laid out the team started on the vinyl covers while the seamstresses tackled the mattress covers.  We organized ourselves and started unloading the storage room and moving mattresses, blankets and pillows up to the dining hall into a make-shift assembly line.  With our mini-factory in full production all eating and worship (morning and evening) which normally took place in the dining hall had to move outside.

Stacks of mattresses were piled and organized into three different size groups.  Rolls of vinyl sheeting were stretched out, cut and glued together.  The first evening we stayed up till mid-night and had the seniors join us for a night of measuring and fabric cutting.  As they finished each piece they would run it to the sewing room and returning to fit the new covers on the foam mattresses.  Somehow we even managed to fit in a rubber band war in the middle of it all!   What fun to see these kids laughing, helping and playing.  God is SO good!

Sewing late into the night...

Things were moving along well until our seamstresses made me aware of a small . . . well, actually a rather LARGE problem.  After taking a full inventory of ALL the fabric provided to them by Pastor Benson for the mattress covers they realized it was only sufficient to make 23 covers.  We had 146 mattresses . . .

So back to town I went to purchase 375 meters of fabric so the team could make the rest of the mattress covers.  After a little searching we found what we needed but we had forgotten one thing.  How would we carry it all back to our waiting bus which was parked quite a ways across town?  Pastor Benson's solution was to flag down a Tuk-Tuk, but Liz (my daughter) wasn't so sure.

The thought of fitting twelve bolts of fabric and three people into that little taxi seemed like a mismatch . . . but after squeezing everything in we realized it was the perfect visual for the overflowing blessings we had received!  I was beginning to realize WHY God had provided ABOVE and BEYOND what we had asked. At every turn we were prepared and able to handle the additional needs that kept popping up as our large agenda kept getting larger!  It took everyone being involved over the next four days to measure, cut, sew, and fit the covers onto the mattresses. As the final night arrived we were very tired, but oh so happy as we finished the last cover!

The OLD mattresses...

... and the NEW.

The old mattresses coming out...

... and the new ones going IN!

Stacks of pillows ready to go on the beds.

As wonderful as all those experiences are to look back on I have to say the very BEST part was having the privilege of carrying the finished mattresses into the dorms and placing them on the children's beds.  Seeing the JOY in their eyes as we helped them make and climb in to their new beds was such a blessing.  Those joyful expressions were cut into my memory even more as we took the old mattresses and covers that we had just replaced back out of the dorms.   My heart broke as I realized they were falling apart and wreaking with the smell of urine.  What a contrast to the pillow-top mattress I sleep on every night back home with multiple pillows, soft clean sheets and blankets.  All of that taken SO for granted!  Humbled. Speechless. Fighting bad tears.  NO words can describe the overwhelming emotions as these children HUGGED and HUGGED my neck saying "thank you Auntie Diana for my mattress, blanket and pillow!" How cute to see their little faces snuggled down in their beds, blankets pulled up to their chins and GRINS from ear to ear. Even better was when I would come across a bed with two or even three little faces beaming back at me. Their eyes dancing with excitement at this simple, but amazing GIFT.  This was NOT just a mattress, to each one of them it was a visible expression of LOVE.  NO words . . .

And even as I try to write this . . . reliving those moments . . . tears fall.  I struggle for a way to make sense of it all.  How can I live in a world SO blessed, SO comfortable while they struggle each day to have the basics of life?  All I can say is that God has opened my heart as He meets these orphan's basic needs right in front of my eyes.  By leading me here He has shown me just a little glimpse of the immense need in this world . . . armed with this new perspective I know now that it is my responsibility to MAKE A DIFFERENCE and at a minimum EQUIP ONE.