Last Day With the Street Women

So today was the last day with the street women.  I didn't expect to get so emotional, but I definitely shed lots of tears.  (Can't imagine what the next few days will be like).  I was telling them about how the first time I came there, it was crazy.  All the women were yelling, shouting, on drugs, complaining, etc.  I complimented them on how far they'd come.  Today they were sitting down nicely listening when we walked in.  I'm so amazed by the small ways even that God is changing their lives.  We brought cookies and juice for a small farewell party.  We also carried thermoses of hot water so that we could wash the babies today.  The moms helped us, which was really nice.  And the kids seemed less upset by it.  One little boy, James, just stood quietly in the water and didn't cry at all.  Several of the kids have ringworm or some kind of worm on their skin, not to mention some crazy rashes.  I think one boy had a severe case of diaper rash, or maybe something worse; I'm not sure.  But I know that sitting in poopy pants all day cannot be good.  The women had nice things to say to us.  Mama Vincent gave me a necklace she made, and I gave her my shoes.  They stink pretty badly, but I think with some cleaning they will last a long time and be much better than the cheap flip flops most people wear.  Oh, and praise God...no one was doing drugs today.

In the morning we were in Kibera.  I've stocked up on lots of things to sell...necklaces, earrings, woven basket bags, and some soap stone bowls.  We had to do a little negotiating because a new lady came today and was trying to sell her necklaces for 100 shillings more than the other ladies.  That's only a dollar, but still it's kind of a big deal.  She tried to insist that the quality of her work was better, but I think they are equal.  So we got her to agree to less and I think the other women were pleased that we appreciated their work and wanted to make it fair for all.  Rachel and I took them a big bag of our clothes.  We're leaving almost everything here except for a few pieces of clothing.

Monday I took Peter to the hospital, and he got a mostly good report.  They said the skin graft took ok.  It looked really gross to me though and not all that healed.  But they took the staples out and said it was fine.  I had to leave the room during this b/c for some reason I couldn't handle it that day.  He goes back for a follow up in 2 weeks, which means someone else will be taking him.  They said he can start getting it wet next week.  But the part of the skin that was vacuumed together is still oozing really badly.  I just wonder how it will be.  And the doctors said he needs to have his bone looked at every few months in case the infection flares up.  Please pray that he would heal and mend and that this isn't just a short term fix.

On the way home today, the lady on the bus next to us started freaking out yelling in Swahili.  The person on the other side of me finally explained that she was upset b/c she claimed to have dropped some money and thought the person in front of her picked it up and took it.  The woman in front of her was denying everything, and the yelling continued while everyone on the bus turned to stare.

When we walked through Kibera carrying our tea for the women this morning, everyone kept making comments like, "mzunugu, give me some tea."  And I decided to have a little fun with the situation, so I started making comments like, "sure, chai 40 bob."  It should be only 5 or 10 shillings a cup, so the people started laughing or acting surprised and it became this big joke.  I said, "Special mzunugu price."  (That's what they tell me at the market).

I got my hair plaited and braided yesterday, and it looks pretty sweet.  I'm getting bad headaches from it being so tight, but it's worth it.  Julius' sister, Alice, did it for me.  And she took less than 4 hours, which is impressive.  Last time I sat for 6 hours.  Our Dutch friend, Shantal, had her hair braided on Monday and it was bothering her so much that she took it out the next morning.  She even had to cut some of her hair b/c she couldn't get it out. She and her family left this morning, which was very sad.  I hung out with them yesterday and it was hard because Shantal really wasn't ready to leave.  She is praying that God allows a way for her family to come back.  If her husband could get a job here there would be a possibility they would come back to stay here.  We ordered pizza with them and there was a big mixup at the pizza place over the number of pizzas ordered.  We ended up getting 10 instead of 6, so let's just say there was lots to go around.  And ice cream too because they were cleaning out their freezer.  I took the ice cream home and Peter and I had some before I took the rest over to our Eritrean neighbors.  I had to get rid of it quickly because it was melting and we have no refrigerator or freezer.  I stayed and had coffee with the neighbors.  They are super nice and polite.  But it's wierd too because the mom seems to think that I have some special power to help her because I am white.  She is a refugee here and I'm not sure if she is going to be deported or if it's just difficult to get a job here.  The family talked a lot about how they are discriminated against by Kenyans because they look differently.  Her husband was drafted into fighting in Eritrea...apparently Eritrea and Ethiopia are fighting over the border, which I didn't know.  And I think the husband was killed.  So they fled and now she is stuck here.  I'm not sure how she is able to support her 4 children.  There are 2 other Eritreans in the building, and they all hang out together and consider each other to be family.  They call each other sister and brother.  That is what I like about Africa--this sense of family and of taking care of each other.  We are after all part of God's family, right?  So may we not see skin color or background or upbringing or socioeconomic status.  That's my prayer today and that I would bring this value of family togetherness home with me.