Thursday in Bahari Beach.

Hello all!

Jenny has not been feeling well, so please pray for her. She has had a fever and a sore throat since yesterday afternoon. Her fever has broken as of this morning, but the sore throat remains. It is no big surprise that several of us have been getting sick lately, as the kids we are with each day are ridden with all sorts of germs, runny noses, infections, skin problems, etc. (Our friend Adam woke up the other day with bright red eyes that have lasted until his departure today. We think he has "Nairobi red eye" and we have been putting drops in his eyes each day. Very strange ailments, for sure!)

"Tinkerbell" is well! She came back to school yesterday and has been to the Doctor!! We were so excited to see her and know that she is recovering. She smiled today for the first time and we were thrilled!

Let's chat a bit more about my little guy that I told you about yesterday. His name is Mwadenny and we have totally bonded. When he saw me this morning, he ran up to me, put his arms up and when I picked him up he gave me his bright smile and squealed. Other than when I was teaching, he was being held. Grace, the social worker, and I had a long talk about him and how much I love him. I told her that I wanted to meet his Mom and let her know how precious I think he is. We went to his little hut after school, and only saw his neighbor. She explained to Grace that his Father is not in the picture and that his Mom lives in northern Tanzania where he was until a few months ago. She was not taking care of him, so her sister brought him to a "nicer" area- Kunduchi village. (I know that you have seen a few pictures of the village, but to imagine something less glamorous than Kunduchi is hard to fathom. His Aunt is currently out of town, so he is being watched by the neighbor that we met today. Grace said that she doesn't think that he eats well or often, and his skin is so filthy that he is not cared for in that way, either. (I wiped him down with some "Wet ones" yesterday and his little legs were left with suds on them because they are so dirty, calloused and dry.) It is such a privilege for me to love him each day, although it will break my heart to leave him on July 1st. When I let him down today and left him at home he started to cry and wouldn't look at me. I think for him to be held, is such a rarity, that he loves every moment that I am paying him attention. I absolutely do, too.

Last night was a sad one as we had a "goodbye" party for Imran, Adam and Bruce, three of our friends who are leaving this weekend to go home. They have been an excellent source of laughter and traveling help. We will miss them greatly!!