Sardines in a can

On Friday night Sarah, Becky, and I got into a Land Rover with our sleeping mats, sleeping bags, and mosquito nets. Our friend Carlos drove us out to New Matati for our sleepover with our Bible Study girls (9 high school and college-age girls that we have a Bible study with every Wednesday). When we drove up to the orphanage most of our girls were waiting for us. They carried our bags into the room we would be staying in, which was way nicer than we thought.

Once we settled in we walked to the local market and bought some food to cook for dinner. Sarah did most of the cooking with the girls while Becky and I got our hair plaited. They crushed up some peppers and added them to the potato greens and was added to the deep-fried fish. This was put over rice and we ate it communal style. I have to admit I was definitely praying that I would not get sick and I didn't, Praise the Lord.

The whole time we were out there we just laughed and laughed. They are so dramatic but very deep. I was talking to Mary and I asked her what her dreams are for the future. She looked at me with such confidence and said "I want to be a medical Dr. I pray every night that the Lord will give me the chance." I just can't wrap my head around that concept. In most Western Countries education is about effort and abilities. It has little to do with opportunity. What I mean is that if anyone really wants a certain education if they work hard enough and put enough effort to get scholarships, grants, or loans it is actually possible to obtain your goals no matter how lofty they may be or what your financial status is. But here, it is different. It is actually not feasible to go to medical school, especially if you are an orphan. Here there is no government support. There are no grants, scholarships, or loans to apply for. So what then? Just what Mary is doing, her best in school and a whole lot of praying.

Our girls are just so funny. They are so easily amused and entertained. I guess you have to be right? Annie, the oldest, decided she was going to be the MC for the evening and then whipped out her imaginary program and announced we were all listed to do solos. None of us are hugely vocally enclined, but we all had to do it. When they sing, they are so confident. Most of the songs they sing are gospel songs, with the occasional Akon song.

When we were ready to go to bed the girls followed us into the room that we were staying in and sat down. We started to get ready for bed and they just watched every move we made. I am sure they think we are so weird. I have these face washing towels that are disposable and they all wanted to try one. After a little time passed the girls started to settle in on the floor, we asked them where they were going to sleep and they kinda looked at us weird and said "here", like duh it is a sleepover. Becky, Sarah, and I slept on the double bed with this purple mosquito net over it. They tucked edges of the net under the mattress and we felt like we were sleeping in a cage.

All of the girls slept on the floor like sardines in a tin can. At 5am they all got up neatly folded their blankets and were off to morning devos and then started their chores.

Saturdays are washing day and plait day, hence all the little ones with afros. Saturdays are also for playing. We played a game called lappa. It is kind of like dodge ball meets shoe organizing. We played that for a while and Josh (Sarah's husband came to pick us up) came to pick us up. Overall it was so fun. I love those girls.