7 Of The Boys I Love

So, when I returned Benja to the centre (after swimming) the teacher's said the two other boys that I love (Derrick and Churchill) told her that I don't love them. That I only love Benja...So she asked if I could please take them somewhere, too...

I was going to take them yesterday, but time (and cab fare) got away from me...Moses had said he would like to visit Discover to Recover with me (as did Johnstone) and I thought this would be a great opportunity for them to meet the little boys...maybe they could hang with them every-once-in-a-while...

This morning, Dan (the taxi driver) came and picked us up and took us to House 2. Daina stayed at the house while I walked to D2R (nickname given by Leigh Sarti) with Moses, Justus and Patrick. Johnstone was cleaning the foyer and meeting us there. As we're walking up the huge hill, Moses says, "Why do you come to this place?" I told them that I know these kids don't have parents or many people who love them...so I like to come here and show them love...he nods as says, "okay..."

We arrived, meet some of the kids, picked up the boys and jumped in the taxi...
We grabbed Stone from the house on the way to the Coffee Shop.

Here are the kids:

Churchill (I like to call him Chachi)
You know Benja
Derrick
Moses, Chachi and Patrick
We ordered: 4 passion fruit milkshakes, 2 strawberry, 1 vanilla and 1 chocolate. And they were delicious.
Stone and Moses were so great about talking to the little boys, asking questions, teaching them to use the straw as a spoon to eat the ice cream chunks...it was a very fun melding of the worlds I love.
Sweet Benja loved his strawberry milkshake
Chachi kept taking sips and making a face like it was gross, but it translated in to being really sweet...he looked down the straw to see what it was made of...Moses thought it was so cute that he asked him to do it again for a picture.

Moses tried to climb around all of us...when I asked where he was going, he said he wanted to take a picture of the whole group...I was near the edge, so I took it instead.
Moses helped Benja eat the chunks...
Then Benja tried on his own...that tiny white spot on his forehead? Oh, that's ice cream.
Chachi didn't love his vanilla as much as he loved the strawberry, so he drank some of Benja's. Benja, in turn, drank the end of everyone's.
Moses was heading to the bathroom, so I asked him to see if the boys needed to go too...they all did. So, Moses headed over with two while I carried Benja over...I put him down and he said, "Wapi? (Where?)...oh! Hapa (Here!)"

When they came out of the bathroom, they were so excited that they ran back toward the table...Derrick and Churchil crashed in to a small table and knocked over all of the glasses. Four of them broke...and we had to pay for them...

So we headed outside to wait for the taxi...it was cheaper in a place where there was nothing to break. Benja crawled under the table and would jump out to surprise us...then was hitting Stone on the leg. Stone was pretending to cry and Benja would say, (in Swahili) "I know you are not really crying! You are just pretending!" and continue to "fight" him. It was really, really cute to watch the two of them play together...

On the way back, Chachi and Derrick sat in the front with me and Benja in the back with the big boys...It's silent until we are almost home and then Benja asks Stone "What's your name?" Stone says, "Johnstone, but you can call me Stone...and this is Moses" silence "So, what's my name?" Benja says, "Stone." in his cute voice.

When we got back to House 2, Stone says, "Thank you for taking us...they are very cute." I said, "Maybe when I'm back in America, you could go over there sometimes and play with them...so they still feel loved...that would be great"

Stone is quiet (he hates talking about when we are leaving)...and then nods. I said, "Okay...we won't talk about me leaving anymore..." He nods again...

I love these boys...the little boys and the big boys...It was such a fun day to have them all in one place together...