Catching Up

I have been neglecting to update you all! The internet her is very slow and freezes a lot, so I hope this works!
Today had to be one of my favorite days so far since I have been here. We went to a slum called Muthigae. Getting there was the hard part. We took a Matatu over the bumpiest roads I have ever been on. We went around curves up over big hills and we were much too close to the edge for my comfort. I prayed the whole way there. Once we were there it was wonderful. It was an absolutely beautiful place. It is up above a quarry. It is a farming community and the flowers and vegetation are just gorgeous. We had a VBS type day with about 75 kids. We sang and then acted out a skit. We did the parable of the seeds sewn and the ones in the good soil took root and grew. Then we passed out paper and crayons for the kids and they had a blast. We played a ton of games with them…red rover, red light green light, duck duck goose and some others. I held one little boy for a long time and he laid his head against me and tucked his arms against me and I just rubbed his back. I didn’t ever want to put him down he was just so precious. The kids are so funny. They all want to hold our hands and at some points there may be 3 kids holding each hand. We were playing on a grassy/dirt hill. I have never been so dirty in my life I don’t think. Between sitting in the dirt, having kids hang all over me and sitting by the open window on the way home I am a mess. Good thing I don’t mind getting messy!
This past Saturday was a wonderful day too. We went to the girls’ shelter that Martha (Our pastor Imbumi’s wife) started. There are 2 house mothers age 22 and 23 and they take care of 21 kids. We went and played with the kids for a few hours. They were also a complete joy. They played with my hair for about an hour taking turns braiding it and unbraiding it (I didn’t mind one bit!) We also sand together and a bunch of the kids played soccer with the other interns. I learned how to say all the different animals in Swahili. We even saw a monkey in the field we were playing in behind the shelter.
Tomorrow we will be back at Kibera for the AIDS support group that meets on Tuesdays and we will be helping out the teachers too. The teachers love our help because it is rare that they ever get a break and Kibera can be a tiring place to be. Please pray that we would be bold in sharing our faith and also please pray for our health. The two girls got really sick one night last week and I got sick one day in Kibera. The day I was sick I went and sat outside the church on the ground where it was nice and cool. A little girl named Sylvia came and sat next to me and we talked a little and just enjoyed sitting together. I love moments like those. I think we have all recovered from upset stomachs. However I am still fighting this cold that is now a cough. It sure doesn’t help my already poor singing voice that I am expected to use so much.
I am truly loving being here. I feel so loved by all of the Kenyan people and being with them is a blessing. Hanging out with the kids is my favourite thing to do. They are great kids. Very well behaved. They just crave attention and I enjoy giving them as much as they want. It is as good for me as it is for them. We are all stating to settle in here. I miss friends and family, but I know I will learn so much from being here and I can’t wait to see what else God will continue to do. I already feel so blessed by the experiences I have been able to have.