Day 4

We woke up early this morning so that we could get the five children to the medical clinic. I went with Karen, Megan, Kelly, and Pastor Wesley. I have really built a bond with the three children going to Oklahoma. We waited for a bit at the hospital before they called each child in individually. They filled out their information and a list of blood tests. We then waited a little bit longer before they finally called the children in by twos. Joseph and Mawoline went first. Mawoline got his blood taken first. He was so scared. He was screaming and crying. In the middle of him getting his taken, Joseph walked in and immediatly began screaming and crying. It took a lot for us to get Joseph to give the dr. his arm. After the boys Elizabeth went in. She was much easier. She sat in my lap and I had her look at a poster that was hanging. She didn't even cry. Kelly took all three of them to get bananas and peanuts. That changed their mood a lot. The babies were next. Karen and Megan took them inside. Megan was such a champ. She had to get a urine and stool sample from the babies. She took off their diapers and grabbed stool from one, the wrung out the cloth diaper to get urine... All without gloves! We made an appointment for the three kids to go back and get their physical exams and results of their tests. The twins do not have passports yet, so they cannot get their exams until they have them. We waited a while longer before going back to the home. Tricia and Diane had a great day. They read Christmas stories to the children, went and got water for them, and bonded with the caretakers. We picked them up and went to get the boys. We sat at the church for a bit, then finally left to go to the beach. Water is so amazing to me. We were walking around where the tide was so that it got our feet wet. We could mess up the sand all we wanted, but everytime the water comes in it washes the sand free of those impurities. Isn't that what the father does for his children? Wipes away out impurities. It was a really great time for me to reflect and see the beauty of the Lord's earth, and as beautiful as that water is, he thinks we are better. Its a hard concept to grasp for me. After the beach, we went to dinner wet then hometo spend time with the neighborhood children. We met as a team and went to bed. The week has gone by so fast. I'm not ready to think about leaving.