Random thought by Stacy (Jack)-Handy

We made it safely around in Nairobi. We had many problems through security because we had large carry-ons...we eventually had to convince security that we were carrying medical supplies. Eventually we made it through. I didn't get any jet lag thankfully. London was good...but raining and cold. Kenya is nice... mostly in the high 70's...perfect weather! The only problem is that it has rained about 3 times. VERY bad in the slums.... the rain water mixes the sewage and then the children and people drink the water and get very bad diseases. Yesterday was the 2nd day of the medical clinic. I have been checking people in... doing all the medical history work. I have very good helpers who have been helping translating. I have seen all diseases...including something called amoeba... apparently it is non-existent in America. I've seen HIV, Cholera, amoeba, skin problems such as ringworm and boils. Yesterday was the most stressful. It was getting dark and the last child seen was a young boy... probably 2 or so. He was very sick. Vomiting, diarrhea. We are told cholera is going around. He was at the point where he needed to be taken to the emergency room...but his mother could not pay for it. The boy's eyes were rolling into the back of his head and was going in and out. The doctor, Dr. Charles, gave him electrolytes. It was really scary. Apparently the mother was single and basically had to work, so she left him alone with another baby.

Its really sad to see that HIV is so rampant, so everyone is depressed, has sex for recreation, has children that they don't care about and just leave their children to fend for themselves.
I'm warning you right now that I will most likely have reverse culture shock, and I may want to just return to Carbondale immediately to unwind and process with people from my church who have been on many mission trips. Please don't take offense to this idea.
Anyway, I survived the squatty potty... I'm actually getting pretty good at it now and it doesn't feel weird. The YMCA is what i would consider fine-camping. We have a roof and a toilet that isn't a latrine..it flushes. We have a toilet in our bedroom. it is basically an above ground toilet like ours that does not have a toilet seat on it. you use that toilet only for number ones... we use the squatty for number 2. It smells pretty gross. They call them the "choo". The choo in Mitumba is actually way nicer than the Y's. Every morning we get 3 pieces of bread... not toast!, a fried egg, and a sausage link with either coffee or tea. The sausage is good...it's goat sausage.
I'm adapting very well to everything. I'm what Paul calls "refreshing" and Jim calls me flexible. April, my roommate, is still coming up with the perfect one word to describe me!! I haven't had any complaining... I'm just rolling with the punches.
The children in Mitumba are so adorable. It breaks my heart knowing many of them have HIV and that their quality of life is not good. There is a boy that has some sort of mental retardation. He can not talk and drools a lot, but he understands everything you say. April and I think that he just may be autistic. In Kenya, people do not implement special education programs so many of the natives don't know how to deal with people who have special needs. He has become a student in the schools since last year when April was here. He now makes eye contacts, smiles, gives a thumbs up, and nods when you ask him a question. Violet (Shadracks wife and the REM School Administrator) said that this boy was recently electrocuted by live wires in Mitumba and he almost spoke and cried for help. This was the first time he almost said an actual word-HELP.
Please pray for our team! Thank you and Keep the faith.
Love,
Dr. Stacy