June 19th and 20th

June 19th and 20th
Lea Groebe

The past two days have been both fun and exhausting. Each morning for the past few days, Sister Christine has led us in a prayer. She had us think of a bird that had characteristics similar to the way we woke up feeling that day. The first bird that came to my mind was a parrot. I thought about the bright feathers and the talkative and energetic personality they have. I woke up energized and ready for the day. We usually share the feelings we have during the reflection with the entire group. Everyone from the team agreed that it was the perfect way to start off our days and reminded us of what we are here to do and why we are doing it. Yesterday, after prayer, we spent the morning at the Barefoot School painting the rest of the wall mural we started earlier in the week. The mural said "Welcome to Barefoot Community School." Underneath were two feet and their school motto, "I Can Do It." It was a lot of hard work, but seeing the final product and the excitement it brought to the Barefoot community made it worth it.

 In the afternoon, we went to St. Anthony's Orphanage and spent time playing with the kids there. For me, this was my last time going to the orphanage, as I chose to spend my morning today at the Kavu Clinic with Dr. Hansen. I loved seeing some of the kids I had previously connected with during our other visits to St. Anthony, but also enjoyed meeting some of the other kids there as well. I especially loved spending time with the babies and helping to hold and feed them. It was sad for me to say goodbye to all the kids because after spending even just a few short days with them, I felt attached to some of them. I also felt the need to keep helping as much as I could because the kids need a lot of attention, especially given the attention they receive at the orphanage. Even though it was extremely hard, I realized that the days I spent with the kids made a difference in their lives, even a small one. I will never forget all of the beautiful faces at St. Anthony's and they will always hold a very special place in my heart.

 After St. Anthony's we came back to Fatima School and walked into the building to see some of the nuns grilling. They were grilling a ton of food for our farewell dinner. We had to do our farewell dinner last night because due to Ms. Africa night tonight, we will not have time. After settling in a bit, they called us for dinner. We walked into the courtyard to see a huge table with chairs all around it set up with a ton of food and drinks. It looked like a huge feast! The food was fantastic. During the meal, all of the students spread around and talked to some of the nuns. I really liked this because it gave me to chance to get to know some of the nuns on a more personal level. After we finished eating, we did speeches. Each person would get up and say a few words showing their gratitude. After speeches we had dessert and the Vis students even sang a few of our own songs. Overall, it was an amazing night that I will never forget. it helped me to realize how amazing of a community the sisters have established. They are so active and work hard everyday and are both amazing women and role models.

Today, I had the opportunity to go to the clinic with Dr. Hansen. Only one student can go to the clinic at a time, so today was my day to go.  I really enjoyed this experience. I recorded notes based off of what Dr. Hansen observed about each patient and helped pack the medicine they needed. This was interesting for me especially because I am interested in pursuing nursing as a career in the future. I learned so much and saw a lot.

Tonight we have Ms. Africa night! I am excited to experience this and heard it is a lot of fun. Tomorrow we wake up bright and early at 5 am and leave for the Safari!
Much love from Team Mutomo