Rose has gone off to another home in the community, for an afternoon of prayers for the thieves who, earlier this week, broke into several homes in the area. So Jill and I are left here to catch up on some computer work and do some writing.

This morning we took off for the local community church in Gerald's trusty truck. How thankful I am for that "blue monster"! I don't think I have ever seen such a road as we were one......except maybe yesterday in Mashaka. In places the ruts down the center or side of the road are a foot drop-off! There are huge rocks throughout the road, and most than once the bottom of the truck was scraped by the unevenness and rockiness of the road. None of the roads in this area are paved, except for the main road that just passes by. All the secondary roads are merely wide paths that have been worn down into a "road". The lucky ones have a layer of dirt on top, but the one today hadn't seen any dirt in a long time. At this time of year they are extremely dusty, and since it is windy here, the air is filled with the smell and taste of that red dust. In the wet seasons, the roads become slippery, muddy messes. The dust is bad, but I think the mud would be worse. Plus, here, the latrines, wells and graves are all in the same area, so when the rain comes, all the water and waste and remains gets mixed together, making for very unhealthy conditions. I would not want to be here in the wet season.

The church service was three hours long and the church was nearly full. The service was very lively and everyone loved it when Jill got up to dance along with the other women there. When she wasn't dancing, Jill was taking video and soon we had many kids around us wanting to watch the camera. Their curiosity overcame their apprehension of our whiteness, and soon they were even sitting on our laps, and spent the rest of the service staying by us. We were asked to introduce ourselves to the congregation, and address them as to the purpose of our visit. We told them how happy we were to be with them, and thanked them for making us feel so welcomed. I had a couple of samples of the quilts and they were very interested in what we were doing in Mashaka.

Yesterday, was Saturday, so both Jill and I got to sleep in. Those of you who know me well, know how much I loved that! After breakfast, Jill and Rose when shopping into Meru, while I stayed at home. My stomach was still giving me fits, so I decided to stay home. When Jill got back, she said I hadn't missed a thing, and I would not like Meru. She did not feel safe there, and she also hadn't liked the ride to town on the matatu, which is the local van which carries folks around in the area. They are usually 15 passenger vehicles, but always carry more than that. People are crammed inside and often on top of each other, and often with animals too. Jill said she tried not to breathe except when they stopped to pick someone up or drop someone off.

After lunch Rose and Gerald took us out to the orphanage in Mashaka. The squalor of that place is hard to describe. The roads are like the one we were on to church, and are shared by folks and animals alike. The wind was blowing so the dust was swirling everywhere. As we pulled up to the orphanage gate, our vehicle was surrounded by many, many children all yelling "Monica, Monica!" Monica was here last Feb-April, and did much to help the people. Many of the kids from the school live in Mashaka, and so knew Monica from the school. Monica was the first white person the people here had seen, so when they saw me, they thought she had returned.

At the orphanage, we were first taken in to where the nuns stayed, and they were having a party for some new postulates. Have you ever "crashed" a nuns' party? Well, Jill and I have! When we were finally able to pull away from the party, we got to go back to visit the children. I was immediately "adopted" by a little boy, named George. George is 2 1/2 and such a charmer. He insisted that I carry him, and when I tried to put him down, he cried. I finally got him to hold my hand, and then he was happy to lead me around, and "show" me everything. He talked constantly, not minding that I didn't understand a word he said. He was very curious about me, and kept putting his nose to mine, and looking deep into my eyes. What a darling! He stole my heart!

When George was out of my presence, I got to hold several of the other children, but not when he was around. He claimed me for himself. It was so hard to say "goodbye", but without a doubt, I will go back there before I leave this place.