Work Work Work

Hey all, Micah here.

Two full days down at the MCC...what a whirlwind of activity! Our team has stayed uber-busy doing everything from teaching to constructing to treating medical conditions. A quick recap of the action:

Steve, Kim, Betty, Lydia, Casey, Emily, Breanna, and Aaron have all spent considerable time at the medical clinic screening and treating hundreds of the children from the school. Working with the school nurse, they have done a great job talking with children, cleaning them up, applying and dispensing medicine, and, of course, giving the students a bit of candy as they leave. It's amazing how tough and well-behaved the kids are, especially considering the often-painful treatment they receive.

In the building across the courtyard from the clinic, Mark, Luke, Jesse, Jim, Lee Ray, Melissa, and myself have made incredible progress demolishing and constructing just about everything inside the main classroom building. So far, they've managed to create a new office for the staff, expand an existing classroom, add a hallway to the back of the building, and completely renovate the entryway to allow improved foot traffic for the children and teachers.

Beth, Emily, Breanna, Casey, Lydia, Melissa, myself, and several others I'm probably not aware of have taught and worked with the children everything from computer skills to sign language, with a little bit of science, music, and English thrown in. The children are amazingly well-behaved, smart, and eager to learn. It's been a true blessing to see them grow in just two days' time; I can't help but think how much we could accomplish if we had such a passion and willingness to learn and grow too.

Breanna, Emily, Lee Ray, Melissa, and a host of volunteers have also spent time painting the main classroom building inside and out. It seems that Lee Ray hasn't quite figured out how to get more paint on the walls than on his hands and clothes, but we'll keep working with him as the week progresses.

We also had the chance to hand out flip flops and treat bags to the children today. You wouldn't believe how happy they were to get shoes, toothbrushes, and such. A big, big thank you to everyone that donated money and materials for all of the handouts. I'll get pictures of the occasion as soon as I can.

As you can see, the team has been pretty busy. I'd be lying if I said we hadn't been taking time to have fun while working though, and I think I can speak for the whole group when I say that we're all so happy to be here and are having a wonderful time. It's heartbreaking to see the conditions these people live in, but it's equally encouraging to see their wonderful attitudes despite it all. Perspective has been a key phrase in both our work and the situation; we're happy to be a small piece of a much bigger situation.

I'm still working on getting internet going at the Amani Center, and hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures this evening. Keep a look out for them. Thanks to all for the comments, thoughts, and prayers- keep 'em coming.

-Micah