BY APRIL BERESFORD

February 3rd

My best day yet! I was out at the triage station all day. I had some very good translators, who not only made my job easier but were fun to talk with. They would ask me questions about America and our culture, and teach me words and phrases in Swahili, and teach me about their culture. Most of the beneficiaries that are working with us are those that are aspiring to join us in the healthcare field. They are really very bright. "B" is 20 years old and is waiting to go to a university to study medicine. He wants to be a physician. While he is waiting for a sponsor, he teaches biology here. I taught him how to take a blood pressure with my stethoscope and my cuff. He already has a good working knowledge of the major systems of the body. He is very smart. Many of the older kids (young adults) are quite nurturing of the younger MCF children. "S" reluctantly disclosed to me during our day that one of the sick children coming to us was HIV positive. From a medical prospective, you would follow a different thinking pathway for patient who are immunocompromised so it was important for us to know which kids had HIV, but "S" was also concerned that anyone would treat him differently. He said, "He has HIV but we don't treat him any differently. We love him dearly, he is our little brother." That touched my heart. I met some really precious people today.

My favorite part of the day was when they brought the pre-teens and young teenagers to us in classes for a quick medical screening and vitamins/deworming. I asked each kid how school was today, what their favorite subject is,and what they wanted to be when they grew up. I was genuinely interested and loved it when they would return the smile and chat with me. A few wanted to be pilots, a few doctors or nurses, and a few wanted to be hostesses. (I'm still not sure what that entailed, as there aren't a plethora of restaraunts here... It must have a different connotation.) I was really happy to meet them all. Truely blessed.

After we wrapped up for the day (over 200 patients!) and locked up, Melissa and Kayley and I went to visit the younger children during their devotional time. We sat with about 50 kids from ages 2 to 10 in the middle of their classroom and sang songs like "Father Abraham" and "If you're happy and you know it". I was in my glory. The sound of these beautiful children singing happy songs and knowing that they are safe and have a family to love and encourage them, even if it was non-traditional and not ideal, was the most beautiful sound ever. As soon as we sat down we had kids in our laps. The little kiddo on my lap, Victor, was totally snuggled into me and he was about Charlotte's age. It felt so good to snuggle! It felt so good to share that time with the kids. Just before I stood up to leave, I realized that Mr. Victor had peed on my leg. Oops.

Still no bush baby sightings for me. They come out at night. I can hear them, along with the bats and the bullfrogs. It's very pleasant to go to bed with that white noise outside of my window. The night sky is so HUGE and so BLACK. There are no city lights here to mess it up. I have never before seen so MANY stars in the night sky. Evenings are quite comfortable, in the low 70's. I wear just a tee shirt and capris, but the locals here consider this to be chilly and many of them wear sweatshirts or jackets. They don't know what cold really is. :o)