Kenya 2024 Day 4

Today we went to the Dream Center. On Saturdays they do what is called the 500 club where they plan to feed 500 kids. We met in the morning with the leaders to have devotions and it was on the lesson we would teach the kids from Acts 16:16-40. When we finished, we went outside to let the kids in and have  worship. Tucker quickly had a kid with him that would not leave his side. I had a little girl come lean against me and wrap her arms around me. Then others were holding my hands. After a couple minutes, some kids were pointing out tuckers veins and drawing in the dirt with sticks. They were even tracing my shoes and doing designs next to that. One girl wrote part of her abcs. Worship was fun and to hear so many children sing at the too if their lungs is an amazing experience. From worship, we went to study groups. Margaret and I were with the teenage girls. They may have been 12-16. It was hard to tell. Aaron said the people are smaller on the cost and even smaller with lack of nourishment. The teacher, Flo, lead the message in English and Swahili. The girls actually seemed to listen pretty well… even with the distraction of mzungus. Next was game time! They played a couple games and then brought out mine. JoAnne had me bring the parachutes from our team supplies, so we were able to use them. It was complete chaos! They loved it so much! At one point the leader grabbed a ball and threw it on the parachute and the kids tried to keep it on. It was then time to line up for food, but a couple of the kids stayed to help rebag the parachutes. The kids are fed by age and get numbers so they know who is next. Some of them had bowls, but many of them had containers they were reusing. Some of them were small ice cream containers and one girl had a box with a lid that could be a hard plastic pencil box. The older kids were taking care of their little siblings and even feeding them. Many of the kids ate a little of their food and then covered it for later or maybe even family members to eat. At this time, Mike was treating some of the kids for sickness. One of the main leaders knew what kids needed to see him, so she had them go to him. Then it was the leaders turn to eat. I was sitting with Tucker, Rudy, and three older students. The one next to me was Lazarus. I asked how/why he started helping at the dream center. He said he has been helping for 7 months. He did not want to help because children are stubborn, but he heard a voice that told him to. God had called him there to help with the children. It sounds like he does enjoy it, even with the kids being stubborn.

After the Dream Center, we went back to the house and changed for the beach. Aaron had a meeting, so Dama and the kids took us. Zuri had me carry her into the water because she did not want to walk through the thick seaweed. I had her jump on my back. Then she wanted down when we were past, so I acted like she had to stay there forever. I finally relented and let her down. The girls had fun swimming around and then they had a splashing party with Rudy and I. Tucker and Rudy went back up the beach, so it was just the girls and I when Mike and Margaret walked down. Margaret called us out and then asked if we wanted to ride the camel. Dama was negotiating a price for us. We did! When Tucker and Rudy were back from their walk, the guy with the camel was starting to come back to pick us up. It ended up only being four of us. From front to back it was Amana, Tucker, Zuri, and I. They had to tighten the straps on the saddle. We could tell it was loose. As Tucker pointed out, the back of the camel was probably a little crazier when it got up and down because of the angle and how we were always higher. After that, we went home for dinner and fellowship before bed.