Update on Dorcas: She did not show up to Oasis on Wed, so Jade & Laila and I went to look for her on the streets downtown. After a few minutes of walking around, we asked a street kid who said he knew where she might be, and sure enough, through the city and across the train tracks, there she was . . . walking towards us. Long story, but in the end, she decided she wanted to stay there. Hard for me to understand, but she has a whole life that I know very little about. I was disappointed, but decided to be glad that at least she knew that we had come to specifically look for her, and she knows where we are if she ever wants to come back. This story has a happy ending.
As we were walking away, a little boy came up and said "hi", and then wouldn't let go of me. We asked him if he wanted to come to Oasis with us, and he agreed, and got his friend to come too, who immediately latched on to Jade. These boys were so precious. They walked the 20 minutes up the railroad tracks to Oasis with us; Samuel clinging to Jade's hand, and Peter clinging to mine. He never let go. Our hands were sweaty, but he never let go. They said they had never been to Oasis before, and were excited to get there. I knew that God had sent me to look for Dorcas, only to find precious Peter. Their torn jeans were filthy, and their white shirts were brown. At Oasis, they got to play, ate lunch, and were able to wash their shirts. Laila translated for me and I found out that Peter's father is in prison for attempted murder three times, and his mother has no money and beats him, so he ran away and now lives on the streets, at only 11 years old. He looks more like he's 8, but he may just be small because of being malnourished, so I'll take his word for it.
There was no school at Oasis on Thurs or Fri, so on Friday, Jade and I knew we had to go back downtown to find the boys, so they wouldn't think we had abandoned them. No sooner did we turn the corner to the store where they hang out, than I saw Peter running down the street toward our van. We barely had time to pull over, I opened the van door, and Peter jumped up, hugged me, and ripped me out of the van. I'll never forget that moment. It's like he had been waiting for me, and I felt desperate to find him. His head had been cut because he got into a fight and another boy threw him to the ground. I was able to re-bandage his cut and talk to him for a while. Leaving him behind was heart-wrenching, but he said he would come back to Oasis on Monday. I've never felt this way about a child that isn't mine. Leaving him downtown left me sobbing, and I can't stop thinking about him. Please pray for his safety, and that God's hand would be upon his life. He used to go to school, but can't afford the fees anymore so he just lives on the street. The day before we found him he said all he had to eat that day was a mango. God has laid Peter heavy on my heart, and I can't do nothing. More to come . . . in the meantime, here is a picture I took of us together . . . .
On Thursday we did another mobile medical clinic with Sister Frieda. This was tough. We were in a small slum, not many people, but very extreme poverty. Here is a picture that Howie took of what all of their houses look like:
We were there to assist in any way possible, but most of the problems were jiggers. Jiggers are sand fleas that get into open wounds, mostly on the feet, and are usually a result of unclean conditions and no shoes. We took a lot of pictures during the day, mostly hoping to send them to the right people and get the attention of Toms Shoes. Their organization is in Africa, but not Kenya. Already God has opened the doors to get that ball rolling.
Most of our "patients" were children, which was very hard. It's so hard to listen to a child scream in pain while you try to do something that will ultimately help them. It's painful to have them removed, but worse if they stay in the foot.
Wanted to share a few pictures, but please be warned, they're not pretty. This is a picture of Jenny removing jiggers from a young man's foot, and what it looked like close up. Don't scroll down if you have a weak stomach. This was our medical clinic: in the dirt. Clean needles, but everything else was a bit dirty.
To remove jiggers, we use a sterile needle and have to dig under the skin to remove the egg sacks. Hoping they don't come back, but without shoes, they most likely will.
Someone ended up donating a small box of shoes that didn't go very far, so when we were done with the clinic, Howie went to town to get shoes for the rest of the village that had none. Below is me in the middle of the mob trying to get shoes from the box next to me. They started fighting a bit. They are desperate for a pair of plastic sandals that cost less than $1.
This was a traumatic day for many of them, having jiggers removed or getting shots. We also handed out water, biscuits, suckers for the screaming children, and shoes. They were grateful, but I know it was traumatic too. We ended with some encouragement from Scripture, and some singing. I have a beautiful video of the singing but it won't upload right now, so I'll try to put it up later.
Little Howie got sick yesterday, and was worse today, so we're taking him to get tested for malaria in the morning. We will keep you updated on how he's doing.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying!!
Special prayers for little Howie.
ReplyDelete