Day One

Well I got to the house last night about 10:30 p.m. and was offered some delicious food called 'githeri' which is sort of a stew with potatoes, beans, corn, and a floury paste. I really liked it! I met most of the people who will be staying in the house with me, two of them being Wallace and Mary Kamau, the founders of Missions of Hope. Everyone has been extremely welcoming so far and I don't expect that to change because they all seem very genuine.

My roommate, Tahia, is from Chile and actually just starting learning English six months ago! She is frantically diving into Swahili too and so on the way to Pangani where the center is located we were going over different phrases and words. Leann, another intern and I, would sometimes have to translate both in English and Swahili haha.

As we entered Pangani, I asked Leann if this was the slum, and she answered, "No, this is a middle class neighborhood." She told me I would know when I was in the slum, but if I thought Pangani was the slum I have no idea what Mathare will look like! We pulled into the center and I was given a short orientation after being introduced to pretty much everyone who worked in all the departments. Surprisingly, I got to work in the clinic today! It is smaller than I expected with just three rooms: one being the pharmacy, another the front office, and the last a consultation room. There were many points throughout the day when I was doing nothing, but at one point I got the opportunity to fill medicine bottles with antihistamines and cough expectant for the children in the schools. You can't imagine how exciting that was for me! I have been waiting to do something like that for years and I get to do it on my first day!? Crazy.

I am pretty tired and it's been hard to stay awake all day, but I am still chugging along. I have connected well with Leann, one of the other interns, and that has been really awesome. She is actually from Springfield, IL and we have a good deal in common. She is here until May and will then start studying in Chicago to be a physician's assistant in June. She also is big on running so I think we will start running everyday together in the mornings which will be a great outlet.

This is me in my room before heading out for the day. That white drapey thing behind me is a mosquito net. We get to sleep with those over us every night!

This is me with Lillian, who has been a nurse working with Missions of Hope for the past year.

I am so thankful to be able to share all of this with you guys, and I am even more grateful for your prayers! Much love to all of you from over here in Kenya!