Prayer Walk

Yesterday I got to go out for the afternoon with Steve Bateman and Edgar (the Chiefs son), to meet and pray with some of the people in the village. I meet grandmothers who took care of their orphaned grandkids, an elderly woman who has been bed ridden for 2 years, single moms, and a gentleman with Aids. Edgar says that the HIV rate in this village is about 60% for adults and 40% for kids. After a day of walking and talking with people all I wanted to do was have a shower, but when I got back to the guest house Ja was gone downtown. To have a shower here most days it requires pulling a bucket of water from the well, carrying it back to your room and sponge bathing. If you’re lucky it rains and you can shower outside. So I cried.
The days are long here. It seems like we have been here for a month. The sun is also kicking my butt. It gets close to 40 degrees every day. We come home eat, sleep and start all over again. Ja is so sunburnt that it is painful for him to move. The remarkable thing is that even with all of this we all are still feeling so fortunate to be here. We have made friends, and seen things that I don’t ever think I can explain.
I just got back from downtown with Ja and a couple of others. The streets of Busia are littered with trash; the landfill is right in the middle of town. Last week I saw small children picking through the trash. There are cows and goats all over the place, and literally thousands of people on the streets. To get around you take a bota bota, (bike taxi). You can use either a peddle bike or a motor bike. I have done it a few time and thankfully not crashed-no helmets. Most people here have not seen white people before. The kids sing Mzungo (one white person) or Wzungo (many white people) wherever you go. The smell is distinct and is everywhere, and the poverty is overwhelming. Most people live is mud huts, and sleep on grass mats on the ground. Kids wear the same clothes day after day, and play with sticks and garbage they find.
Everyone has seemed to have found where they fit into this equation we find ourselves in. Clothes and boots bought for the worker we have employed. Toys for children, blankets for orphans, hospital visits for the sick. I could go on and on about what I see people doing. I have got to see my husband and others in a new light. I have learned a lot about myself also. The biggest thing is that I have a new outlook on what my part in the world is. Doing something is better than doing nothing. There are so many opportunities as individuals, families, churches, and schools to change the lives of people in Africa or even at home. I will not forget what God has taught me here, I can’t.
Please pray for the health of our team. We are all tired and the elements are starting to ware on us. Also please pray as we attend a funeral tomorrow for a local boy who died in an accident yesterday. Pray that we might be an encouragement to him and his family and support for Edgar. Also good conversation. (We played bible trivia at supper tonight!! ) Thanks for your prayers.

Some of you are probalbly wondering how I get internet when we have no power. Douglas (Sophie's son) is an IT Tech and has provided us with wireless internet that works when we have generator power.