Life at Sila Home
The kids and staff worship together about 15 times a week.
A Day in the Life of a Sila Home Family Member
A typical day starts at 5:00am with an army of teeth-brushers. The kids then file into the main room to worship, pray and read their bibles together. When they are done, they dress, do their chores and eat before piling into the back of a covered truck to make the trek to school. After school they each have chores - sweeping or helping make dinner. The little kids play while the older ones break out books and help out around the home. After dinner, they study or do homework for an hour and then play organized games for an hour. At 8:30 the pastor meets with all the children to talk about being good stewards, special events and share with them about his faith. Then they're suppose to hit the sack, but the older kids are often up late studying and talking.
Saturdays entail tackling bigger work projects in the morning and games and movies in the afternoon. Sometimes they all visit the market or go to a nearby waterfall to play. On Sundays there is a church service for the community at the home in the morning, followed by a community lunch. Afternoons are time to relax, play and study before kid-style worship in the evenings.
They function like a gigantic family here. They'll go together to other church's parties or to do practical things. When a kid gets sick at school they call the pastor and he'll come take them to the doctor, when the kids have a field trip, they'll ask one of the mom's if they can have money to go. They pack lunches, buy socks, do laundry and eat snacks just like any family would.
The leadership also has an incredible vision for the children's lives! They are disciplined with love, welcomed with weakness and taught well to be generous and kind. They know that they are a light in their community and they are learning to shine for Jesus wherever they go!
Who takes care of the kids?
The majority of the kids are at least 12 years old, so they are very independent. The kids who are younger are checked in on by one of the two 'moms' who live here. You can also often spot one the older girls tending to a scraped knee or teaching multiplication.
What is the facility like?
One main building houses the pastor's family, visiting missionaries and all of the children. In the center of it, there is a kitchen and a main room, used for church, homework and activities. There is a small room with two computers for the kids to use, and office space for the pastor. In addition to the main building, there are four bamboo huts for staff/guests. Sila Home farms cookable mushrooms to sell, has four cows, and raises chickens for sale.