Who needs a Gym?

Today was a day where the team divided and conquered! We had several different projects to accomplish and thus we divided and each went our separate way. One group went off to a classroom to do a medical clinic with the kids. The second group (of which I was a member) took pictures of all the sponsored kids and dispursed the gifts that had been sent, and the third group worked with the women’s ministry. The day ended with the clinic ran out of vitamin A and thus we will all resume tomorrow and finish up. I was happy because I got to see little Rashidah again! As I got off the bus she reached for my hand and whenever she was not in class, she was right there beside me.

Since I couldn’t be three places at once I have asked the various teams to report. Stacia who worked with the Women’s ministry had this to say, “When we arrived at the women’s ministry building, we were greeted by about a dozen women who sang and danced for us in welcome. They tied scarves around our waists to get us to dance too. We were not very good dancers, but Lynda is quite good at the “Yi Yi Yi Yi” greeting that is common here. They liked to hear her do that! We sat down in the shade of a tree, while they showed us all the crafts they had made, including woven baskets and jewelry made from paper beads. We agreed on prices so we can buy the items from them, then re-sell them in the U.S. After lunch, Lynda showed them how to make beads from polymer clay, as a new craft project. This will take some time to learn, but at least we got started. Overall, it was a very productive, and very satisfying day. I loved spending time with the women. They are so sweet, and so eager to learn new skills, so they can empower themselves and help provide for their families. Praise the Lord! Lynda’s comment, which made us all laugh out loud, was when one woman asked her if she took English in school!!! I guess she sounded pretty fluent!

I worked with Judy and Adam today taking pictures of all the sponsored children.  Again, I was in my element. The Lugandan word for smile is seka and if I said it once I said it a thousand times today. Some of the kids, no matter what, are not going to smile. But most of them have the most beautiful smiles. For the first half of the day I continually stepped up and down a ledge that stood about 1-1/2 feet. By lunchtime I hurt in places I didn’t know could hurt! So after lunch I changed my location and continue to shoot away. By the end of the day we had photographed every child that was in the school and sponsored. Tomorrow we hope to catch those that were not there today. I did manage to squeeze in about 50 of little Rashidah!

The clinic saw approximately 250 kids today and only stopped because they ran out of Vitamin A. The majority of the kids they saw were healthy. They did one test for malaria and it was negative. There were a few wounds that were treated and overall it was a hugely successful day.

Today’s highlights and comments from the team:

Hajji: He was on the bus when I had the opportunity to give Rashidah and her father the groceries I had bought for them. I was trying to explain to her father all that I had for them. I finally asked Hajji to translate for me because I could tell he couldn’t understand me. Hajji’s comment was that we should all talk MUCH slower when talking to Africans.

Judy:  Many of the sponsors have sent lanterns to distribute to their sponsored child. She loved watching the kids get so excited about receiving their very own source of light. Her hope and prayer is that this will impact their grades since they will be able to study at night when the sun goes down.

Lynda: She loved the whole day being at the Women’s Ministry but especially loved the way they were welcomed. She went with Stacia and when they arrived the women took them into the house and started singing and dancing. The rest of the day they sat under a mango tree. Her low point of the day was running for the bus at the end of the day and stepping in animal dung! If I had seen it I would have captured it on film!!

Vicki:  She loved it when the nursery class came through the clinic. One little guy just was grinning from ear to ear. Every face she made at him he just mimicked back at her. He was so innocent. The little ones are not yet bashful about looking you in the eye. Her low point of the day was that her sponsored child is failing school miserably. Her mother came to the school and the issue is that her parents just don’t care. They are not going to help her study, nor are they willing to pay the 10,000 shilling required for school fees. She is in P6 but realistically could be put back in P1 or P2. Instead, she is going to repeat P5.

Russell: He loved being the Bubble Meister. While he was blowing bubbles the kids had found feather like sticks and were tickling him and Adam.

Sylvia:  She loved being the vitamin dispenser to the younger kids. After receiving their pills they really didn’t want to leave. They loved the attention.

Vickie:  She commented that the crew in the clinic today was great. Russell was the heal man (checking the heals of the children). He was also responsible for weighing the children. You’ll be glad to know that girls of all cultures take off their shoes before being weighed. It must be a chromosome thing! One little girl that she caught yawning and pointed quickly bowed her head in embarrassment. She loved being able to see their personalities. Unlike yesterday there was no chaos. The kids were very well behaved.

Les:  Yesterday he had talked to the Pastors about the possibility of going into the business of making bricks and the consensus had been negative. Today, Trevor, one of the people Tree of Life works with, stopped by Tree of Life and spoke with the Pastors directly. His passion for this business and the positive effect it can have on the future generations was amazing. By the end of the meeting the Pastors were all in agreement that it was the way to go! In fact the enthusiasm was so overwhelming that Les expected all the teachers to come running out of their classrooms jumping up and down!

Adam:  He had the opportunity to meet Hilary, his grandparent’s sponsored child. She opened up a Bible that was a gift to her and the whole room lit up. Another child received a harmonica from his sponsored family. Though he had never seen one before one demonstration from Adam and he was a natural. We were all amazed!

As for me the highlight was giving Rashidah’s father several bags of groceries for his family. Afterwards he asked for a picture so Hajji took one of his five children and us. It was a very sweet moment and I know if something happens to me Hajji can become the team photographer!  I love you all very much and thank you for being a part of my life!