Day 9 and 10

Day 9

A day of rest and fun!! Oh how the team needed it. We started the day out with Jennifer Hatley in down town Nairobi. The team had fun bardering with the shop venders. Many found great bargins.

After shoping in down time Nairobi, David Hatley me up with us at Carnavor. This is a fun restaurant in Nairobi where they serve all kinds of fun meats all cooked on swords over an open fire pit. You get to eat as much meat as you want.

Then we headed off to Kazuri Beads. Kazuri means "small and beautiful". Each bead is hand made and hand painted. Norstroms buys these beads up and sells them for hundres of dollars more. It was fun to shop there.

After a long day of shopping we all headed back to GCC Langata to hang out with the kids till dinner. They were so excited to see us and we all had a great time laughing, holding and doing hair together.

Day 10

This was our last full day of ministry. The morning brought 3 more sick people. It was said to leave them behind but we knew the rest would do them good. It was Sunday so we headed over to GCC early to help get the kids ready for church. Scott and Jeff went to teach the men's Sunday school calls and Belinda and Donna the women's. We all met up at the church for worship. This took 2 hours!! Love worshiping in Kenya!! Jeff also sang a worship song in Ki Swahili. He did amazing!! After worship, Jerilyn and Robyn taught the teens Sunday school class, Amber G and Raquel the older children and Vicki and Donna had the youngest kids. What a fun time.

After lunch we spent the afternoon with the kids of GCC Langata. We once again broke up in smaller groups. The older kids had balloons attached to her ankles and had to chase each other to pop them. The younger children did crafts, crosses they colored with glitter. The children under 5 all go to play with this great sticky corn starch things. They could make all kinds of things with and it was safe if the littlest put them in their mouths.

We then went out side and played games with a parachute provided by CHCC's mission council. Once again we had a wonderful time with the kids doing fun things and just hanging out. At the end of the day, the oldest kids walked us back to the place we were staying at. It was about a 10 minute walk. We had so much fun all walking together. Once there, they all went in to visit with the 3 team members that did not join us that day. It was a HUGE treat for them all.

Day 7 and 8

Day 7

This was a hard day for half of the group. During the night 5 of us got very sick. We were all up most of the night due to the sickness, so come morning only half the group was able to do the days work. The rest stayed back at Hunters Lodge to sleep and heal.

Those that were not sick headed to the pre-primary schools of Makindu and Kisingo. There was singing and crafts done at each school. We also left behind pencils and note books for each child in the schools.

At each school there was also a feeding station. Once again the team pitched in and helped the workers feed hundreds of hungry children.

After lunch the healthy half of the team came back to Hunters Lodge and had an afternoon of rest as well.

Day 8

The prayers of all you back home could be felt this day. Each person who was sick the day before woke up this morning feeling great. We were all in good spirits as we headed out to the Mikindu Hospital.

At the hospital we brought enough burn cream to last about 6 month, food for 3-5 months and supplies donated from Overlake Hospital. We were able to go first into the children's ward. Here we saw burns, broken limbs, malnutrition, malaria, and some unknown illnesses. We prayed with the children and parents. Gave each child a Beanie Baby and a sucker.

We then visited the adult wards. This was so hard to see. There are no privet rooms. It was like one big dormitory for each the women and the men. We saw broken bones, AIDS, sickness and malnutrition. Again we prayed with those who wanted prayer and visited with others.

Afterwards we went back to the girls home to finish the mural. The team members working on the mural did an amazing job. It looked wonderful. Once it was all finished we said our goodbyes to the girls that were there and we were back on the road to Langata.

The 4 hour drive went by so fast. Those who were sick did great once more. We got back to Langata and after Kenyan food for so long, we decided to order Pizza!! Yes, Kenya has pizza and it was great!!

Day 5 and 6

Day Five

We all slept in a little and then headed off to Makindu. It is about a 4 hour drive. Most of the way the new road was in and it was smooth but for a few points it was not ready and the detoured roads were SO bumpy!! Kamal (also known as William) was our driver. He quickly became a great friend to all on the team. He was out going, funny and full of life. He made the trip fun.

When we finally got to Hunters Lodge where we would be staying we were all ready for an afternoon of rest. Some took naps, some wondered the amazing ground that are an oasis in the middle of a dessert, and some went to the wood carvers shops to buy gifts. It was a nice evening for all.

Day Six

We had an amazing day in Makindu with the girls of GCC Makindu. All but 4 of the girls were released from school for the day. We started the day with the Wordless Book. Then had stations set up for the girls to go to: Letter writing to their sponsors, hat making, Wordless Book bracelets, cross etching, certificates with the girls names and their biblical meanings on them and face painting. It was a wonderful time with the girls.

Half way through the day, right before lunch, we went over to the Makindu feeding station. This was the hardest station of all. Kids from miles come for food. There were about 800 of them. This is done 5 days a week. Many it is their only meal for the day.

In Makindu, the rains have not come in a long time. It is very dry, dusty and you can feel the sadness all around you. Crops are failing all over, dust storms are everywhere, animals are dieing from lack of water and food. People are hungry.

The last half of the day, Amber B lead a team to work on the mural outside of GCC. It was in need of repair. The work her team did was amazing. It looked bran new!!