day 3 is in the books

I first want to apologize to everyone who has checked on the blog throughout the day back in the states. We did not get back to the MCC until just before 5. That would be 10 a.m. your time. We had to get everyone showered and ready for a dinner reservation at 6:15. It was Marks birthday. Happy Birthday Mark! We all went out to an indian restaurant. It was really a great time. By far the best Indian food I have had. The staff brought out one scoop of ice cream for everyone in our group. They just piled balls of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry and put a sparkler on top. 

I know Carroll wrote out a blog and hit the publish button. While it was in the act of loading it on the page, the internet went down in the computer room. This is starting to become the story of our blogging life over here. It always wants to wait till we are so far into a blog of uploading a pic to just shut down on us. It is almost like forces are at work to battle against us. The funny thing is, I walked outside the door and picked up wireless and was able to get right back on. So whatever it is that is defying us will not hold us down. 

Today was really a long day for us. We started the clinic for the school today. We saw 200 kids and had a few mothers bring their babies in from the surrounding slums. Carroll even worked her PT magic on a few of the ladies. I really thought that just driving around Nairobi and the slums was a huge culture shock. Seeing all the illnesses that the kids of the surrounding area are plagued with was a huge eye opener. We only had a chance to see the preschool, 1st, and 2nd grade classes. It took us an entire day from 9-4 to just get that many classes done. It was really sad to see the condition of many of the kids. Nearly every child had scabbies. The other illnesses we witnessed ranged from HIV, ear infections, fungal infections, and malaria. We had some other cases that we were unsure of. Now, there was one girl that had a sever case of malaria. It had developed into blackwater fever. She came in with a temperature around 102. We had a bed constructed for the clinic. So she laid down and took some medication to bring down the fever. It was a very sad case, because we knew there was not much else we could do for her. There were 3 kids who had the scabbies so bad that we had to strip them down and treat the entire body. It was really a sad sight, because some of these kids can do nothing to control the scabbies. That is due to the living conditions at home for these kids. Most families in the Mathare Valley live in small 10x10 houses with around 10 family members. So they are forced to lay next to one another. So if one person is infected, nearly everyone in the room will get infected. This is just another luxury that we in America take for granite. We have the health care to provide care for us. I know most of us complain about the cost of insurance and things being to much to afford. Well, at least we have the opportunity and knowledge to heal ourselves from many of the illnesses that plague the people of the Mathare Valley. 

Rebekah went straight back to hitting the classes. I am not to sure what classes she taught, but I am sure she is doing a great job at what she is doing. She also found the time to help us out in the clinic when she was finished with her duties. Pastor Mark also taught a class today. I got a chance to walk by and see what was going on. From what I can see, it appeared that he was doing bible drills. It sure looked like the kids were loving it. Mark even helped us out in the clinic when he was finished. We really needed every man we could get to help these kids out. 

I really wish I could share more with you folks. We are just limited with time today. Not to mention the internet troubles we are having out here. I need to save a little bit of time to upload a few pictures for you folks. This is by far the most challenging day we have had thus far. So we need some prayer from everyone. We all are drained physically and emotionally today. For those of you who have not heard of Anni. She is part of our group who lives in Australia. She spent her day as most days filming students. She will be bringing everyone another video of this trip and her other time she has spent in Africa this summer. So, even though you might not get your fill of pictures till we get back, you will have a video coming from Anni. She is doing a great job!