BY APRIL BERESFORD

February 4th

I can hardly believe that this was our last clinic day. I have had a total change of heart, and instead of feeling homesick I am sad to be leaving tomorrow. I am much more relaxed (my Type-A finally found a way to chill out) and able to enjoy myself during the work day instead of worrying about efficiency and details. Finally, our work day ran like a well oiled machine, just in time to go. It's still hot outside, but my body is coping with it much better and I have adapted to the point that I no longer notice the smell of sweat and body odor. I have come a long way, indeed!

I have formed friendships with some of the young adults here at MCF and I am going to really miss them. I will remember them forever. "E" who has resided at MCF for about 5 years now is headed to Germany this summer to study nursing. She is so smart, and because she helps at the clinic for the MCF kids she is already familiar with a lot. "C" is also hoping to study nursing. She was rescued about 7 years ago when her mother died from AIDS and left her and her sister all alone. She and her sister lived in a slum with their grandmother who could not afford to feed or clothe or educate them, so they were referred to MCF after all of their other relatives refused to take care of them. Before they were rescued they were living on the streets, fending for themselves. I think of my two kids and I just can't bring that picture to mind. "C" is a beautiful young woman with a great sense of humor and a wonderful singing voice. It amazes me that she is strong enough to keep on living and trying to have a better life after suffering so much as a child. How does anybody get past that much pain? But her story is not uncommon here. "R" is very smart and very professional and is a dynamic athlete. "A" is funny and has a flare for the dramatic. She is always dressed up in her fanciest shoes with painted toenails. "G" is a very hard worker, she's so observant and knows what you are going to need before you do, and most times if you turn around she's got everything ready for you. She is so sweet and so genuine. "A" is our hostess and our guide while we are here, and has arranged all of our accomodations from the bus travel and the hotel in Nairobi to the menu here to the clinic translators to the safari plans we have for tomorrow. She takes her job very seriously and she does a fantastic job! She is the last one to bed and the first one up in the early morning. She came to MCF as a young girl after her father died and her mother and sister were not able to provide for themselves. Her mother works at MCF and while they kids were young they attended school there. "A" did really well in school and went on to study at University and finished her degree. She is not employed at MCF and lives at MCF with her mother and sister and young daughter. She is usually quite serious but I have been able to get her to crack a smile a couple of times. Love her to pieces. "B" is very funny and is extremely smart. I wholeheartedly believe that, if given the chance, he will do very well at university and become an excellent physician. "L" shared her story this week with us, too. She came to MCF in 2003 after both of her parents died from complications of AIDS. She and her twin sister and little sister lived with family members who were not able to care for them, and her twin actually died from malnutrition. Something so preventable. I can't fathom how hard it would be to lost a twin sister. "L" and her sister were rescued by Charles and Esther Mulli and are now loved and appreciated and cared for. She has a BEAUTIFUL singing voice and leads the worship singing team at church. She is quite shy until you give her a microphone. :o) "T" has worked tirelessly for our clinic all week, and he has done it all with a smile. he is so fun to joke with and he honestly cares about everyone around him. It's easy to see. He is the first one to volunteer for a job. He was rescued from a slum in Vilpingo as a child. He was born to a mother who was a prostitute. She abused him for years, and left him alone for days or weeks to fend for himself in the slum. No clothing. No food. No schooling, No comforting. No hugs. No bed. No healthcare. No hope. She spent her money on clothes and drugs for herself, and often left him to go beg for food. He ran away from home with his brothers to pursue a life on the street, begging for food and at times stealing food. He lived on the streets for a few years. In that time, he saw girls raped and people hurt badly or killed. Then Charles Mulli found him and changed his life. There are so many kids here with similar stories. I love that they are safe and given opportunities, I love that they have each other and can help each other heal, that they are safe and loved and respected. But I have a hard time holding tears back when I hear of how bad their lives were before they arrived here.

Back to the clinic.... we saw over 200 people again today. That brings our total this week to about 1,000! Wow! I'm pretty proud of that accomplishment. Although a lot of what we were doing was just putting band-aids on much larger problems (ex. treating water-borne diseases and sending the families back to that same water source) but there were a few people that I feel we were really truely able to help.

After we finished up at the clinic, about half of the group got ready to bring supplies to a family in the area that was in need of some help. We quickly packed up a duffle bag with some of the children's clothing I had brought from home to donate. Esther Mulli got some flour and sugar and salt ready with a crate full of vegetables. It was a little emotional for me to give away some of the clothes that my daughters wore, and remembering those days when they were so little, but I was happy to be giving them to someone who really needed it. We got our things together and set out to walk down the road and through the bush to where the family lived.

The woman of that faimily had just given birth to her fourth living child. They had no money, no food, and no resources. She had come to Esther eariler that week to ask for help. Her husband was not providing for the family. So we carried the food and clothing about 3/4 mile down the road and a foot path. Our little procession ended at a little 8' X 8' mud home with a thatched roof and a scrap metal door.

We rewrapped the infant in clean clothing and in a clean receiving blanket, and gave the big bag to the family, along with the food. They were quite grateful. The children were either curious about us or terrified of the white skin and light hair.

It is still hard ot put into words the thoughts and emotions I had. I'm still trying to process all of it. It was like being in a scene from National Geographic. This whole trip I had really tried to shed all of my pretenses and opinions and judgements. Different is not always bad, right? But as a mother, visitng with another mother who was desperate to provide basic needs for her children but was failing to do so just broke my heart into tiny little pieces. This was a whole different kind of 'poor'. It was a type of poor that just doesn't exist anywhere I have ever seen in America. And for so many here, this is normal daily life. Standing in their presence and using all of my senses to soak it all in was a really powerful experience for me.

Walking back at disk to the MCF compound along side the dirt road was a little frightening. The bats were out in full force, and the traffic, though infrequent, flew by rather quickly and kicked up a LOT of dusk. I couldn't get too far off the side of the road because I am night blind and have virtually no vision in the absence of adequate light. I can't imagine living out here in the African bush without electricity.

We had a very late dinner that night and we were joined by Charles and Esther as some of the Missions Team singers seranaded us during our last MCF meal. I will never ever tire of hearing their voices lifted up in song! :o) I LOVE IT! A few of the young adults shared their testimonies and I shed a few tears, both because of the utter devastation of their stories and the joy at having a home and the hope for a future.

My last night of bush-baby hunting was not sucessful. I can hear them but they are hard to find and I was a little hesitant to go out hunting them with the group for fear of the large snakes that live in the trees. I hear there is quite a variety here, but none that I want to meet.