Day 35

This morning I awoke with butterflies in my belly as I mentally prepared to teach two classes a song, read a bible story and draw pictures. We started with the song. The song is from the songs I have taught the kids at church on Super Saturdays (VBS) are the songs I’m using to teach the kids. There are fun hand motions for them to learn. The kids just love it.

After the song I used a children’s Bible that a dear friend from back home gave to me. We started at the beginning of the Bible about Gods creation. The main message I wanted to give them is that God loves them. Out of everything God created he loves his children the most. He loves his children more than the galaxies, more than the mountains, more than the birds and more than the flowers…When the story was complete I had them draw pictures of Gods creations. They are very creative.

After class I saw a girl named Mercy that attends the school in Vipingo. She has a very interesting story. Mercy has a difficult medical condition to live with. She has too much fluid in her head. Because of the additional fluid, her head is very large. This condition has caused Mercy very many problems.

She used to go to a school that was much further away than Vipingo. She had problems walking there. While walking she would fall over and hurt herself. She felt dizzy and was in pain with headaches. She would vomit often. The school that she was attending was very difficult to learn in especially with her condition. The classes hold an average of 100 students per class with only one teacher. The school does classes in shifts because there are so many children in one class. The teacher gets very tired because of the long hard day at work.

Paul is the head teacher in Vipingo’s school. He also is the children’s pastor for the church that has been started there. He noticed that Mercy was having difficulties getting to school and learning in the school she was attending. He observed that she could not walk far distances without being in pain and falling over. When he saw her struggles he decided to place her in the Vipingo School that he leads. She started attending there about 1 year ago. This switch helped her a lot because she did not have to walk a far distance to school anymore and she could learn in class because the learning conditions are so much better. She went from a class of about 100 students to a class of 35 students. She is getting fed well. She has teachers that love her and care deeply for her.

Paul knew that Mercy needed to see a doctor. He brought a doctor into school to evaluate her problem. The doctor recommended that she go to the hospital for an examination. This examination normally costs 15,000 schillings; however, out of the doctors kind heart he only charged 7,000 schillings. Jim, who is the missionary that started the school, paid the 7,000 schillings for the exam.

The exam determined that Mercy needed to go in for an operation. The operation would entail putting a tube in her head to tell the excess fluid where to go. This surgery cost 150,000 shillings. Mercy’s family cannot afford to pay for this surgery. A group from a church in Texas saw Mercy’s need and decided to raise the money for her surgery. They raised the 150,000 shillings and sent it here to Kenya. Jim also donated 150,000 schillings. The left over funds are needed for Mercy’s follow up appointments. Some of the funds were also used to purchase a bed for Mercy to sleep in, food and other daily necessities.

The successful operation took place in April. Since that time she has felt much better. She no longer falls when she walks. She smiles. She can run. She used to write very slowly; however, she now has the ability to write faster. Paul said that it makes him happy when Mercy is running, playing and smiling. Before the surgery she was in constant pain; therefore she smiled very little. She could not run at all. She would watch other children play, but could not do so herself. The doctor stated that if she did not have this operation it is very likely she would have died.

Mercy has a chance to enjoy her life because the outreach of those who noticed her problem.