His name is James Esenyen. James is 14 years old and in class eight.
In 2008 James’ father
Joshua was training to become a police officer. While home from training one
weekend, he complained of a very bad headache and went to the hospital. They gave him an injection of some sort and
some medicine and sent him home. Three hours later he died.
There were four children -Jackson, Eunice, Anderson and
James. Their mother Mary was left to care for all four of the children. In
April of 2012, Mary was infected with typhoid and died. Four children were left orphaned.
When James came to
Holy Trinity to interview he came in his tattered school uniform. I remember him very well. He was quiet and
very respectful, but not much of a smiler. What I noticed most was that James
had a terrible infection on his lower jaw the origin of which seemed to be
inside his mouth. Infections scare me- particularly in Africa. Left untreated,
death is never far to follow.
And so James was enrolled in the Children’s
Education Fund. He is in class eight at the school and doing very well. He is
an incredible “footballer” and all
around athlete as well as a leader in the school. He has a great sense of humor
and a delightful laugh.
After several trips to the dentist, it was found that James
had lost a permanent tooth and that the roots were still lodged in his gum. The source of the infection had been
found. The roots were removed and James is healing very well now.
James spends holiday with our Kenyan friends who live in the same compound that we do. There he has 3 brothers and two sisters. He is happy and healthy. We are able to watch that wound and make sure it is indeed completely healed.
James is a delight to be around. We took all the children to Lake Naivasha for a trip a few weeks ago. James helped prepare lunches and made sure all the younger children were ok. Whenever we are working at the compound he is always first to volunteer.
Today James helped me clean out the pharmacy closet. I taught him a few things about the medicines we have and he helped me organize. We had some bibles in the closet. The only thing he asked me for was a bible . There were tons of soccer balls, clothes and tons of other things, but he wanted the bible. He did not have one of his own.
A few minutes into our cleaning project, James asked me if he had to call me Susan. I said no, but what would you call me instead? And he said I'd like to call you Mum. Many people in Kenya call me Mum. But few have ever asked if it was ok. This was different. The time we have spent together has been good for both of us. And so he can call me Mum and I am happy that he asked instead of just taking for granted it would be ok.
This afternoon we will be going through school supplies. James knows that God blessed him by sending him into our path. I hope he realized that God blessed me by sending him into mine.
