Madison's Blog

I really don't know where to begin! There is just so much to say and to share. From the day we knew we were going to be able to come, I was ecstatic! I love being around kids, I feel like God has called me to be a pediatrician for that reason. I love being around them, mainly because they love to be happy, and I love making them laugh and smile.

On the first day we got here, the flight got in at 11:30, and after lunch, we only had half a day with the kids. As soon as the kids saw Jeff's car, they ran to it and started waving. Anyone could see the joy on their faces as we got out of the car. Now I thought that they would be a little shy and that it would take a while for them to warm up to us, but thankfully, I was completely wrong. They immediately ran up to us and yelled, "Mi bebe! Mi bebe!" Which means carry me in Swahili. That day, I probably held 15-20 different children and I loved it. Soon, it was time for dinner. Keep in mind, there are 102 children here to feed, change diapers, bathe, brush teeth, and most importantly, keep settled down. There are multiple tables in the Veranda. The Veranda is the main place where they do things. They color, sing, eat, bathe, and brush teeth in here. The Aunties had to serve the children, and we helped. They put a certain portion on each plate and hand it out to each child. When some of the children finished eating, they literally LICKED their plates clean! It was pretty cute! :)

The second day we were here, we really learned the whole day schedule. The kids wake up around 6, go to the Veranda, bathe, eat, brush teeth, go outside to play around 8:30, eat their uji (which is like porridge stuff), around 9:30, potty break, play outside until lunchtime, eat lunch, nap until 3, play outside until 4, go on a Safari (walk), until 5, eat lunch at 6:00ish, then brush teeth and go to bed!
We had planned puppet shows, and stories to tell, skits to act out, but our luggage that had all of that stuff in it was lost. But we ended up doing just playing with the kids, teaching them songs and coloring with them, which is fine with me! Either way we show them God's love and they love it! I just have had an awesome time!

Some of the things that really stick out in my mind are things like all of them playing with my hair. I had to take my hair down so all of them could have some to play with. What really surprised me, though, was how the boys played with it more than any of the girls did!

One day, a lizard was on the concrete, and every single kid here ran up to it and formed a circle around it screaming. Some of the really smaller ones were screaming at the top of their lungs. by the way they were acting, it was like they had never seen an animal before, which seemed ironic to me because they live in Africa!

I had seen every child's picture, and read all their stories, but I never thought it would be as moving as it has been. There is one small girl, Tracy, who is one of the sweetest ones here. When she was very small, an oil lamp spilled on her head, and she had to have skin grafts taken from her legs and put onto her head. To make a long story short.. They did a poor job. She always wears a hat because the scars are so bad, and her legs are in very bad condition. She has scars from her knee up to her hip covering the whole top of each thigh. Yesterday, the wind blew her hat off, and I was on the brink of tears when I saw how bad it was. There were scars covering almost her whole head. She had small patches of hair here and there, but those are barely noticeable up next to the scars. It broke my heart to see that, yet it filled my heart with the love of Christ that I knew I needed to keep sharing with her and every other kid here.

I have had an amazing time here and hope I get to come again. I love each and every child here and ask that you pray for their safety and health, but most importantly, that they would see the love of God and know that even if they don't have an earthly father, they will always have a Father in heaven.

Madison