Hello everyone,

The trip is going really well praise God!

On Monday we went to the Kabui School for the Deaf. We thought we were removing jigger but it turned out we were fumigating the boarding rooms & classrooms from mosquitoes.  We were part of a bigger team of volunteer community health workers. It was fantastic to work alongside other Africans. It enabled us to encourage them in what they do & get to know them personally.

On arrival at the school there was a big CBM sign. I noted this to the Principal who said that without CBM the school would not exist!! It was wonderful to see the work that CBM are doing & how well the deaf kids (many also mentally/physically handicapped) are cared for.

So we ended up with a crash course in sign language in order to communicate with them! What was supposed to be a 2-3 hr visit ended up being 6-7 hrs as we got to know the kids & play with them after we had fumigated. They danced for us (they are deaf!!) and we all joined in. Our hearts were bursting with love & admiration for these kids when we left. I will call CBM when I get back to congratulate them on a very productive partnership with this school – go CBM!

Yesterday we met up with the same team of community health workers & went to a local primary school called Kanjai. The kids treated us like rock stars. It seemed that they had very little if any interactions with mzungus (white pple) before! They were screaming & cheering & touching us, shaking our hands. We went from classroom to classroom (it was recess but raining so they were inside) hugging, greeting chatting – amazing!!

We were there to treat about 10 kids with jigger infestations but they were told the day before that we were coming and didn’t turn up!!

The public health officer wasn’t having any of that so we went to their homes instead!

The first home we went to was horrific. The kids were all malnourished, filthy dirty & severely neglected by a drunken father/uncle. It was utterly heartbreaking to see the state of the kids & the degree of emotional & physical neglect they are faced with. I had to fight HARD not to openly weep. I have no photos of this –it was not appropriate. All I could do was hug them and say over & over “Yesu akupenda” – Jesus loves you.

The second & third homes were also poverty stricken & the people very apathetic about their health & living conditions. It is virtually impossible for us to come & help someone if they have no regard for helping themselves. More feelings of hopelessness and how broken the world is.

So it was a restless night last night – crying out to God trying to reconcile all that we had seen.

Today will be a more upbeat day (I hope!). This morning we will be preparing  bible study on Matt 9 – Jesus heals the blind & the mute. We will then travel into Kibera – Nairobi’s largest slum to study with the Power Womens Group. These amazing HIV positive women have formed a co-op & run a little shop in Kibera selling crafts & home made items. I had the privilege of visiting these women in Aug last year so I’m really excited about seeing them again!! Sharing faith with them is always amazing coz they bless us with their resilience & faith way more than we can ever bless them.

So sorry to rant on but I thought you’d enjoy hearing in a bit more detail what we are doing. The group I am travelling with are wonderful – relaxed, engaging and open. Im trusting that God is doing a mighty work in us all. The Holy Spirit has been fully present – almost touchable! What a great comfort that is.