Wednesday

Today was a huge day. After breakfast we arrived at the Kosovo school to find a courtyard full of 50+ community residents waiting for clinic care. We were told they had been there since 7:00am. I think the group was a little stunned by the quick response - and the crowd did not let up for the entire day. We were told that by rough count, yesterday the clinic treated 194 people - and that was with a "slow start." Though we don't know how many exactly, today's total is sure to have been even higher.

The good news of this is that many people are receiving perhaps the only medical attention they have ever received. This is certainly true for the children. The bad news is that even if we spent the next 3 months working full-time, it would only scratch the surface of the number of residents living in the Nairobi slums. Inevitably, people have to be turned away at the end of the day. Tomorrow we are arriving a bit early, and likely staying a bit late...

Even with the numbers of sick people, our medical team is staying in good spirits. They are tired and verging on overwhelmed at points - but they are working hard and doing good. The Kenyan partners are a good inspiration for us - no one works as hard as they do. They are stressing to us that our team should "Take their time, do good work, don't rush..." Even with the countless numbers of people, they want to emphasize quality over quantity.

VBS is equally exhausting - but much more fun, I'm sure! The kids all pile out of their rooms with fingerpaints all over their faces, singing the songs they've learned, and laughing... The workers are the same way. Each member of our team is keeping the enthusiasm up and having fun. It's interesting to have a facility like the school simultaneously hosting a medical clinic and a kid's VBS. On the one hand is sickness and long waits to see the nurses and doctors - on the other hand are songs and laughter all around.

The mural is nearly complete! It is turning out really well. Phil and I work with 2-3 Kenyan locals each day to do the major sections, and then we are joined by a few others from our team during the second half of the day. It has come along very fast and we're sure we'll be finished tomorrow. It's great to have the local neighhorhood walk past, stop, and give big grins and thumbs up to the crew. The splash of color is dramatic in an otherwise grey and dreary landscape.

The day ended with a wonderful dinner at Doug and Jennifer Kurz's house - American missionaries. They made Mexican! We stayed awhile and laughed a lot. I'm finding that our group has a strange "balance" to it, and that the later the evening gets, the more the balance tips... One half of the group is unconscious with exhaustion, while the other half is about to explode with late-night energy. When the balance tips too far and the group becomes energetically polarized, it's time to call it a night! Anyway, that's my theory... :)

Tomorrow will be an even bigger day than today - so, good night!