Fun in the Mud:9-29

Babandogo clean up day! Leann and I went to join the group in Babandogo for a cleanup similar to the one we did on Saturday. We really got to work with those guys! It was a blast. By the time we got there, most of the ditches were free of trash (it was in piles). We went through with shovels and the guys used rakes to scoop the trash onto our shovels. We worked together to lift the trash and dump it in a wheelbarrow.

It had rained the night before, so everything was muddy and wet. This actually made it a lot more fun. We got messy. I found that being around the sludge and trash was a lot less gross the second time. I don’t really know why. I earned a ring of mud almost up to my knees from splatter.

The men in that group have become like my brothers/friends. They are so nice. As it turns out, most of them speak English. They were just shy around the newcomers at first. One of the members of the group named Elias brought his two and a half year old son, Ryan, to join the cleanup effort. Ryan was adorable and his dad helped him manage a rake to clean the ditch. I felt very encouraged to see an awesome dad in Mathare. Ryan is going to grow up seeing his dad working for the betterment of the community. Even at some previous meetings, Elias had brought Ryan and he frequently falls asleep in his dad’s lap while everyone is brainstorming. I pray that Ryan will learn from his dad’s leadership and grows into a man of God who will serve his community.

We spent the morning cleaning alongside those men all the while chatting. They are all passionate about improving their community. While we were working, some ladies who had food stands along the path wanted me to take their pictures. I did and they were thrilled. Leann and I even jumped in on a few of the pictures and it totally made their day.

In the afternoon we came back to Pangani and Timothy asked Leann and me to teach a devotional at the beginning of a HIV/AIDS Post Test Club’s meeting. The meeting was for all the members of all the Post Test Clubs totaling around 30 people. It was an interesting experience to interact with everyone. But the most interesting part was that it was totally normal. All the people there had HIV/AIDS, but they are all God's beloved children just like everyone else in Mathare (obviously). The stigma that gets placed on them is unnecessary.

Observing everyone, I noticed that some definitely looked sicker than others. Some had cheekbones that were sticking out. Some had red fingernails. Most of the members wore scarves over their heads. Some were very quiet and some were very outspoken. Men were represented, although the majority of the members were women.

We did the devotional on John 6:1-13, Jesus feeding the 5000. We boiled everything down into faith, hope, and compassion. I discussed how Jesus can take what little we have of something and multiply it. If we have a little faith, he can multiply it into a lot of faith. If we have a little hope, he can give us a lot of hope. The group really enjoyed it. Timothy told us that we did a great job. I felt humbled (again) that I could provide some devotional thoughts for the club. It was very moving to encourage 30 people with HIV through the word of God. His word is living and active.

On the way home, we picked up Faith and Victory from school. I got behind a school bus that was just stopped in the road, blocking our way. We sat there for a little while and I asked Mary what the appropriate measure would be. She reached over to the steering wheel and honked the horn! The three Mzungus started cracking up. We couldn’t believe that she just honked at a school bus to move out of our way. She said the driver was talking to someone on the side of the road. The children had already walked across. I love Kenya. We can honk at school buses. After getting the kids, we went to Java House (again) to get milkshakes. I bought the Kamau’s milkshakes and we all devoured them. It was a great night.