New Leaf

Today I went back to Oasis to see Dorcas (the name of the girl I talked about in my last post).  


We started the morning with 12 girls, all between the ages of 13-16, ready to take pregnancy tests.  Thankfully, all the tests came back negative. They were all a bit worried, but before we told them their test results we took a moment to sit them down and talk to them while we had a captive audience.  We talked about the importance of abstinence, and what they would all do if they contracted HIV, another disease, or ended up with a baby. The culture is very different here in terms of sex and abstinence, and so it's a difficult talk to have with these girls, but one that I wanted to have anyway. 


After the talk I took Dorcas back to the clinic room to change her bandages, which desperately needed changing after only 24 hours. She cried a little because she thought it was going to hurt like yesterday, but I finally convinced her that I was only going to re-bandage and that I wouldn't hurt her. 


When we were done (here's the miracle), she hugged me! She was so stiff and unresponsive and sad yesterday, and today she was laying her head on me, holding my hand, and then started asking me if I had money to take her to America. She was checking my pockets for money, rubbing my skin and saying that she wanted to be white, and begging to go to America. When I told her that I was going to come back tomorrow, and stay in Kitale for a while with her instead of taking her to America, it just wasn't good enough . . . so she asked for chocolate. Apparently women's needs are universal. 


Please pray for Dorcas, and for me as I begin this relationship with her, and continue to try to love her in a way that she has never been loved before . . . without abuse attached.