July 11- July 15

I have a quiet moment here, kind of. It’s been really hard these past couple days to really sit down and write anything more than just ‘this is what I did today.’ I feel like I have written so much, yet there is so much more going on here that I haven't written down. I’m realizing how little time I actually have left here and I want to spend time with the other volunteers here. But so much is going on to reflect on! Today on the way up to the clinic Molly and I got to talk about what we are learning here. Both of us really feel that this has been an incredibly humbling experience. I have been learning how incredibly faithful God is in every situation, even when I can’t see His entire purpose or plan.

Quick recap of the past couple days and some highlights.
We spent the night in Mbale Friday night after at bar-b-q at Dr. Rafi's and then headed to Orphan Camp back in the village. Orphan Camp is run by a Canadian named Barbara. She runs a vocational school during the week for kids and adults who aren’t in school and teaches them things like sewing, brick making, and computer work. On Saturdays her orphans, called the Children of Peace, come and have classes. Not all of them are truly orphans; some just have really bad home lives and don’t go to school. For $100 a year, sponsored by people in Canada and the States, they come and learn on Saturdays, get a meal, and feel a part of something.

First thing when we got there, we see a child with a huge infected abscess on the back of his ankle/calf. Apparently it was from a piece of glass which got infected and wasn’t properly cared for so it grew and got very infected. George, the little boy, was so tough as they were cleaning it and dressing it again.

Next we went and learned how they made paper beads. It was so cool. They cut up magazine-type paper into small strips and then rolled it into beads. They add a drop of glue then let them dry. The other half of the group was stringing beads onto fishing line. After they do that, they dip the string into a gloss of some sort. They sell these beads at the market to raise money for the orphans. We all have bought some, because they sell them for $3 here, but $15 at small craft stores in the states. I tried my hand at making them, they laughed at the first couple we tried to make, but then we got better and ours look just like theirs.

There is a Canadian family volunteering there for the past couple weeks. The parents said they had always wanted to take their kids to a third world country to have that experience and show them how blessed they are. Their son is a senior in high school, and they have two daughters, 15 and 13. They were such a sweet family. They had also brought lots of toothbrushes, toothpastes, and raised lots of money to buy all the kids soap and Vaseline. So we got to help them pass them out. I have never seen kids so happy. To each get their own toothbrush, their own toothpaste, their own bar of soap (which is like four of ours), and their own jar of Vaseline. You would have thought it was Christmas. Amazing moment of the day.

Sunday consisted of a hike to one of the local cooks house for lunch. He used to be a caterer in Nairobi, so the food was awesome.

Monday started with hiking Mt. Nusu. We set off around 8am. They told us it would probably take 5 hours total, in there. Let me try to describe this mountain to you. First of all, the locals call it a hill. Let me assure you, it is no hill. It looks just like Grinch mountain. It has a pointy peak and it is very steep. It’s not an easy hike, it’s sort of the marathon accomplishment that volunteers aim for while they are here. You’ll have to see pictures because I don’t think words can accurately describe this mountain. Words can’t accurately describe a lot of things here. But we made it and it was completely worth it.

We met Richard, Tina, and Marion up at the clinic and set out to do family planning home visits. When I envisioned my work in Africa, I definitely pictured working in the clinic, taking vitals, clinical stuff every day. Recently, though, Molly and I have really figured out that we can make the most impact through education. We have been working on a health prevention lesson plan, teaching people how to prevent getting sick, prevent spreading illness, and when symptoms are serious enough to see a doctor.

For family planning home visits we go into the community and visit people at their homes and give our family planning presentation. People love to invite us into their homes and listen to what we have to say. They always have great questions for us too. Part of the education is dispelling myths that they have heard about different methods of family planning. All family planning is available for free at our clinic and local hospitals, but they haven’t had the education on proper use. Richard is so good at answering their questions and taking what we say and making it applicable to them. He has actually become quite the comedian/storyteller when doing presentations. He always acts out being a really old pregnant woman when talking about the importance of family planning. For family planning methods that can be stopped when you decide you want to have more children, he always tells a story of the miracle plane that drops money from the sky into your field so you can afford more children. He always makes them laugh because sometimes they feel a little awkward talking about it. When we got to our last house of the day, Richard did the normal introductions and asked if we could do our family planning presentation. This couple asked us to come back another day, though. When he saw how confused we looked, Richard explained that they had lots of neighbors who also needed to hear, but they were working that day. So we scheduled to come back Thursday morning. It was great to see how they wanted to learn, but that they also wanted their neighbors to learn as well.

I didn’t play soccer tonight, I played with some kids and we took pictures. It was hilarious. The first couple times they are confused at what this thing flashing at them is, but then when you show them the pictures they go nuts. They have never seen themselves or a camera before and they love it. By the end they were making funny faces and showing off for the camera. Its those moments and those pictures that remind me why I’m here.

I don't think this post adequately describes everything that has been going on here, but I'll be home in a little over a week and can't wait to share more stories with you! Thank you for the continued prayers and support!