Maua Workday Two

Photos from top:

1) One of the main buildings at the hospital.

2) Noel and Tammie working on interior walls at the hospital staff flats.

3) Installing wood 'tops' to fill the seams between siding planks at the orphan house.

4) Installing roof trusses at the orphan house.

5) The orphan house at the end of work day 2 (Early, Charles, Jennifer, Melissa and Dave).

On our second workday, we continued work on our two main projects, but switched teams.

AIDS Orphan Home - Dave, Early, Jennifer, Melissa and Tammy, along with the Kenyan team, completed the siding on the house and added the trim that covers the seams between each piece of siding. Early helped the Kenyan team put in the roof trusses and the Kenyan team added the tin roof. We also painted primer (which was thinned with about 1 part turpentine to 3-4 parts paint) on trim to be installed on day three. The house is up the hill from a primary school, so we heard the children laughing all day. At lunch, some of the kids were excited and curious to see what we were doing. They generally approach asking "what's your name?" Early entertained a few, giving a group of them high-fives. The children became a bit excited - and pulled at Jennifer's curly hair out of curiosity. They asked Melissa to share her m&ms, but she couldn't because there wasn't enough for everyone. Previous teams have made the mistake of giving candy to a few children - to be overwhelmed by 200 children the next day, so we've learned to give gifts to the hospital to hand out and not to give gifts to any individuals, as hard as it is not to. After a long day, George (the local supervisor) asked if I would return next year. I'll take that as a complement!

Hospital Housing - Bob, Dixie, Gianna, Noel, Stuart and Vicki (plus Tammie in the afternoon) added to the walls at the house. Let's just say that when it comes to 'slinging mortar', some have the gift and some don't. George (the local supervisor) has the gift. Tammie and Noel - are working on it. The highlight of the day was catching a video of Peter, then Tammie, demonstrating their skills.

Some of the team members visited two community programs - Giving Hope, a local Zoe Ministry, and local Food Delivery Program. Giving Hope is a mentoring and empowerment program for young (ages 15 to 23) heads of household, many of whom have lost one or both parents or are caring for terminally sick parents and are the head of household for their family. Go to http://www.zoeministry.org/?page_id=2467 for more information about Giving Hope and Zoe Ministries. Carleen, Janet and Tammie met three of the youth in the program and one project that is an effort of one of the Giving Hope support groups. Two of the youth had their own tailoring shops. One of the girls has a five-year old child from rape and also cares for her four siblings. During the trip, the group learned that music is not necessarily a cultural difference as much as an generational difference. Tammie and the local Giving Hope intern, Andrew, discovered that they both like the group "Black Eyed Peas". Carleen chimed in that she likes cornbread with her black eyed peas!

In the afternoon, Carleen, Gianna, Janet and Stuart accompanied Stanley Gitari from Maua Methodist Hospital and the local retired bishop for the Kenya Methodist conference for the inaugural food delivery at a local boarding school. Kenya is experiencing its worst drought since 1984, causing many families to go hungry. The local hospital is beginning the food delivery program to provide maize and beans to the local students and their families. The team delivered 90 pounds of maize and beans to the school (Stuart only thought he was getting out of heavy lifting for the afternoon), some of which will be cooked and served to students and some will be sent home with the students. The project was started in part by a donation from Memorial Drive Methodist Church in Houston, who made a donation after learning the school may be closed because of the lack of food.

After a busy and productive day, one of the highlights for me was one of the most simple events - at this morning's worship service in the chapel on the hospital grounds, we all said the Lord's prayer (in English). We are so different, but we are the same. "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ." 1 Corinthians 12:12.