A VERY large class

Today i taught the pastoral education class at a local school. I taught the story about Jesus walking on the water and Peter coming out to him. The kids in this class were about 2nd-5th grade. They lump all of them together and consequently there were probably 75 kids in the class! it was nuts. i had 1 african in there helping me too. but when there aren't enough seats for everyone it is so difficult. they sit on the desks and share seats. plus kids constantly come in and out of the room. the lack of structure here is so challenging, even for a crazy art teacher like me. i taught them this song at the end, which was going pretty well. and then i asked them to stand up and do it with me...stupid idea. some of them stood up on the desks, so then i had kids towering over me and everything kind of crumbled from there. i hope that despite all this maybe some seeds are being planted.

yesterday 3 of us took Melody, a girl from Kibera with cerebral palsy, to physical therapy. i must say that i was pleasantly surprised that the doctors' offices are semi clean, really no worse than what i remember seeing in Italy. definitely not up to american cleanliness standards, but cleanliness is very foreign here. although on that thought, despite all the dirt and trash, people do care about looking nice and keeping their houses nice. all of the africans living in our house are always ironing their clothes (i hardly even do that in america) and often are wearing suits, especially to church. last week amie, my house mom, had to tell me i wasn't "spreading the sheets." i really had no idea what she meant. i knew she was referring to how i made the bed, but i didn't get it. so after some explanation i understand that everything has to be tucked in really well and nothing can be on the floor. this is very difficult b/c we are living out of our suitcases b/c there isn't anywhere to put stuff. it's funny that i'm 24 and people are checking to see if i clean up my room :) anyway, back to this girl, Melody. B/c of her cerebral palsy, she cannot walk at all. she is about 7 and has to be carried everywhere. our organization is paying for her to receive therapy. despite her condition she smiles and likes to sing "Jesus Loves Me." We got to push her around in this walker thing she is strapped into. Again, I'm so inspired and uplifted to see someone who is struggling still find joy to smile. Know that you are blessed my friends.

The pace of things around here can be quite challenging as I expected it to be. Last night Julie and I went to meet our friend Steve, and seriously it took 30 minutes for the bus to get around 1 block. But I suppose it was worth it b/c we went to a "posh" but reasonably priced place where it was okay to order a salad. salad is not something africans really eat, nor is eating lettuce in kenya as an american a good idea, but it was fine here. i've never enjoyed salad so much. i love eating the local food and know that i haven't been here that long, but sometimes you just want to embrace a bit of your own culture. in other travel news, we usually walk about a mile in the morning (i love walking! especially after all that rice) to get the matatu and then drive 25 minutes into the city. then we get another bus into kibera. one girl calculated that for every week we're here, we spend 1 day of it traveling. that might be exaggerated but really we are in a bus a lot. it's good think time though. and i'm so thanking God that i haven't been getting car sick despite the bumpy roads, and very loud music. and actually i'm grateful for being short b/c even i hit my head on the ceiling of the matatu when i'm in the back. yes, it is scrunched.