Save the Camel... Save the Children!

What an exhausting day! What a blessed day! 

Our day started with our 6:00 am breakfast and by 6:40 am we were walking to the Maua Methodist Hospital chapel for morning worship. The security guard from the hotel, Titus, walked with us to make sure no one bothered us along the way. As soon as we began our walk a camel appeared with his owner and also made the journey with us. We all were commenting on how healthy the camel looked and Dr. Lee took several pictures of him before asking the owner where they were going. Titus told us he was going to be slaughtered!!! I was ready to start a campaign to save the camel but I wasn't sure how Terry would react if I returned home with a new pet. How sad to think he was making his final journey. I hope the camel realized how much we enjoyed seeing him and walking with him this morning. He was a beautiful creature and I am thankful that we have pictures to remember him by.

The children of the area village followed us as we walked from the village church to the tea factory.

This morning we attended chapel where I was honored to be asked to help serve communion - but wasn't aware I was receiving real wine instead of grape juice. Since I don't drink wine, especially that early in the morning, I was taken by surprise. I hope no one noticed  the expression on my face when I realized what it was. I learned that they offer both wine and grape juice during communion. The congregation is instructed which serving station to go to in order to receive the beverage of their choice. After chapel we toured the hospital compound and then had 'tea time' at the missionaries' home with the hospital leaders. Then we were off to start building our aids orphan house.
 

A new home is well under way.
Pictured: Michael and Charles, our foreman and friend.

I know you will all be glad to hear that my sawing and hammering skills have greatly improved. Obviously prayer works! It was exhausting work but worth every sore muscle I will feel when I wake in the morning. While working on the house, I realized how blessed I was to be in this company: Steve, Dr. Lee, Micheal, Bell, and Charles the foreman with his three helpers. (Vicki was back at the hospital working in the lab. She has made a great impact at the Maua Methodist Hospital by sharing and teaching in her grace filled way. It is obvious that she is very well respected here.) Steve has led many mission teams and has a great  passion for missions. He has taught me a lot. Working side by side with my youngest son, Michael, was an experience I will never forget. We were a great team out there and I am so proud to introduce him to everyone as my son. I had the opportunity of getting to know Belle Otte, Steve & Vicki Freeman's granddaughter, when I served at League City UMC. Here I am working side by side with one of the students I helped confirm a few years ago. And Dr. Lee Grumbles is my new found friend. She works and teaches  in the areas of palliative care and hospice care at UTMB. We have had some great discussions about caring for individuals and their families while we've been hammering and sawing. She has such great compassion for people.

Of course I did stop and play some of the time. I played beach ball with some of the children  and mothers, a grandmother and a special needs young man. What fun we all had! A $1 beach ball, an invitation for everyone to come play - and there was such joy and laughter!

The current home of four precious
children and their parent.

I also had a chance to talk with one of the children who will be living in the house we are building along with her 3 siblings and one of her parents. I'm not sure yet which parent is still living. She looked to be about 6 years old.  She was a little shy but I hope I can win her over and share the love of Jesus with her before we finish the house.

I started the day wanting to save the camel. I ended the work day determined to get all the boards nailed on the frame of the house even though I was exhausted. I know this house can help save these precious children. I was thinking about a special song we've all song when we were little and what an important message it holds for all of us: Jesus loves the little children all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world. 


Blessings!

P.S. Some of you may remember my struggles with the bathroom on my last trip here. You had to remove everything from the bathroom before turning on the shower or else it too would get soaked. After much thought I came up with an idea and it worked!! All it took were two Command hooks and a shower curtain from the dollar store. I covered the back wall of the bathroom with the shower curtain so I can now leave items on the window ledge and the top of the toilet tank. Believe me this makes all the difference! I also brought a squeegee to help get some of the water on the floor pushed to the drain so it's not a lake in there after I shower.