Hello friends and family!
My mom and I are doing just fabulous!!!! We have been at Tumaini Orphanage in Kikuyu since Sunday and we have made lots of new friends. We have had a variety of jobs....playing with the kids, washing dishes in the kitchen, leading a bible study, jumping rope (this was Dianne), clearing a field out at the farm, and trying to teach songs in English.
The kids are amazing!!! There are 53 in total ranging from 2 months old to 19 years. They all have of a different story but nonetheless they are well fed and very well loved. The toddlers just maul us every morning when they see us. They fight over our hair and try to braid it. They are all so sweet and even take great care of one another. We are surviving off of chai tea (where we get our calories), ugali, and githeri - all authentic, cheap African food. No meat for us!! Our health is fine so far which is amazing as the same towels that are used to wipe the floor and handle raw meat are used to dry the dishes. Dianne is struggling with this:). Fortunately, I am the "dirty" one in the Ferrell family so whatever:).
We are staying at the orphanage with the kids in a small storage room with our own bathroom. No mirror though so fortunately we cannot see how rough we look. There are ants everywhere and they have gotten into our food and we are not wanting to touch our sheets, but after yesterday we are staying at the ritz!
Yesterday, we went to the second larget slum in Nairobi called Mathare.....sewage running in the streets and just starving people. We went with a PNP who graduated from Vandy and she and I saw the patients. I treated a couple of ear infections and referred for HIV testing as some had cardinal signs of AIDS. My mom weighed the kids with the social worker and gave out half of a peanut butter sandwich to each. There were kids coming off of the streets so I think we gave out a lot more. At the end the kids started fighting with each other and somehow I was left with the last bag of sandwiches. I was surrounded by about 20 starving kids that were hitting each other and sticking their hands out for the food. It was nothing like anything I have ever experienced. I had to be in my "nurse role" to keep it together but we just wanted to sob. I cannot even describe the amount of guilt we feel now for all of the worthless things we have bought over the years and for being born into the families we were born into...undeservingly. I have no desire to go back to the life I lived before and hope to be permanently changed. The phrase "there are starving children in Africa" has a whole new meaning.
Well, we have to get off the computer which is the social worker's at Tumaini. We miss everyone back home and appreciate all of your prayers. We are safe and can really feel the presence of God with us and the children. Love from Kikuyu, Em & Dianne
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Em & Dianne - Thank you for sharing your day with me. It sounds as if your lives will forever be changed. We need to put our heads together when you get back to see what we can do collectively to stop starvation in Africa. This is more than heartbreaking. I will continue to pray for you both every morning and evening. And Dianne, if this is any consolation, Mike said that when he was in Indonesia they also had the same rule when it came to towels; their use was multi-purpose, as well. I can't wait to see you all again! Love, Linda
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