July 6, Wednesday

Day at the orphanage: Made beds, folded clothes. Invented a playtime that Milan has named “Mariokart” in which he put each child in a little wagon and pulled them around the building. The little ones loved this.  I have seen Milan work with Terrence and I am very proud of them both. Milan has an immense amount of patience and Terrence has a persistence and resolve to learn.  Terrence is now doing large number multiplication and is learning division for the first time.  He is reading better and better each day. Later, Sr. Hilda beckoned the boys for some help. Sr. Hilda is the nun that Milan affectionately calls “Sr. Francis” because she is so good with the animals. The cows come when she calls them and the 2 shepherd looking dogs (Apollo and Shepherd) follow her everywhere. Anyway, Sr. Hilda needed wood brought up from down the hill for the orphanage. The three boys and Sr. went down this very steep hill and 2 more hills down and brought firewood up. It was there that Milan found a beautiful view of Njinikom. That same day, he took me down there after clinic, and the view IS breathtaking. I could just sit there and adore His creation. Milan has been there every day so far.  In the afternoon, he fed 3 little ones because none of them would hold still, they would come and go, easily distracted.

Listening to a fetal heart with a pinard horn

The Clinic: A gentleman with a posterior fracture dislocation from a year ago, hoping for surgical intervention. And different patients with a hydrocele, fever, abdominal pain, back pain, typhoid, and urinary tract infections. They had adoration in the clinic chapel today. I managed to get there for a ½ hour and sat there praying for the patients, Milan, our family and friends back home, caregivers, and all those suffering.  I talked with one staff member to gain a better understanding of why patients would default on HIV medication. Their opinion was that often times, even though the medication is free, they didn’t have the money to even get to the clinic. Some have to come from hours away. Some have to wait for their husbands to give them money. Some choose to go to traditional medicine where they may be told that they don’t have the disease or that they can heal them of it. It is these I pray for as well…