Sorry we have not been able to post the last couple of days because we have not had electricity. The rest of the team arrived safely so we are now all here ready to get to work. We have been blessed with great days and I will share the team’s blog:
Today was another great day in Tanzania. Sundays are a special day here because they truly devote it to the Lord.
After breakfast, we went right to work putting together a skit to share with the kids. We chose to tell the story of Noah. I played the part of Noah, Taylor played God, and everyone else played townspeople and animals. We even scraped together some last minute costumes and props so the kids would enjoy watching it even more.
After lunch, we joined all of the kids and staff at Tudor Village for a church service. The service started with the children singing, and the joy was apparent on their faces. Then we were invited in front to perform her skit. The kids were intent on the message and laughed at the funny parts.
We also took the time to walk through Tudor Village with the girls who just joined the trip. They got to meet all the children, and the kids were excited to play with more people!
Overall, it was a great day. I believe we all saw a glimpse of God in the service, and as always, we loved spending time with the kids.
Tarynne Kinghorn
Three of us were lucky enough to join Gayle and Dr. Wheeler at St. Joseph’s hospital in Moshi. We started the day in the clinic where we saw some orthopedic patients. One case that I found to be eye opening was a man who had fractured his elbow about 10 years ago. He never got the initial injury fixed and now, the joint was almost completely fused together. He could barely bend the elbow at all. He could not even eat with his injured arm. It seems like so many patients avoid getting treatment and it can cause more problems in the long run for some. Money can be a big deciding factor as to whether or not someone gets treatment. If someone cannot pay, they will be discharged without any treatment at all. It is so hard to believe that they can just send people away without doing anything for them.
We had one minor surgery where Dr. Wheeler reduced an arm fracture. I was given the task to hold down the upper arm, while Dr. Wheeler manipulated the lower arm and casted it. It was interesting to see the whole process of the reduction up close. I’m glad the child was under anesthesia, because it looked very painful. Before we left the hospital, we were asked to help move a man with a spinal cord injury down to x-ray. They did not have any of the equipment that we probably should have had to move the patient. When we moved him to the x-ray, we had to pull the sheet as tight as possible and hold the head stable. We also had to help log roll him to get another x-ray. It was pretty nerve wracking to help, but we did very well working together. It was a day full of learning and we have great teachers to learn from.
Olivia
Hello all!
Today was a fun day! Three of the girls from the group went to the hospital, while the rest of us stayed at the village and hung around with the kids. We started that morning going to Happy House and playing with the smaller kids at the playground. I brought my Polaroid camera with me thinking that we could take pictures and I could leave them with the kids, but it ended up being too bright outside so the pictures didn’t turn out. As soon as the kids figured out that the camera was a new toy I quickly had a crowd around me and there were Polaroids everywhere.
We went back to eat lunch and rest awhile, and then we headed back to the village with a bag of nail polish that Taylor and I had brought. It was a hit! Everyone wanted every color of nail polish on their fingers! Some girls were even trying to paint their nails themselves, and one even took the time to paint the nails of the Mama of the house. That was very cool to see, and I it brought the hard working Mama a lot of joy! The teenage girls loved taking the time to paint their nails!
It was also a very sad day. We said goodbye to all of the kids as this is most likely the last day that we will get to be with them. Some tears were shed by both our group and the kids. I think that they could sense what was happening. It is very sad knowing that I might not ever get to see these kids that I’ve grown so close with. I am filled with the joy that they have brought me!
Tomorrow is our outreach clinic. Please pray for us as it will be a very eventful day!
Thanks for reading and God Bless!
Haley Stevens
