Malaria Monday!

Day 28 

Today was another great day in Africa. I am now in Dr. Tullos’s group for the first time. Our schedule consists of a language group in the morning with the Toddlers at Haven 3. Then we switch to Haven 1 and work with 6-9 ish month old babies; also language. During the afternoon we work with special needs children which include Crites, Jonathon, and Rita.

The language session this morning went really well at Haven 3. Last week we had some difficulty with behavior in the groups and it was hard to keep the group on task and focused. This morning however went very well. I worked with Lee. Lee is usually a very quiet child during therapy time and he was this morning, however he is always well behaved which is always appreciated. It was encouraging to see many of the children that usually cause problems perform well during the session.

Our next session took place in Haven 1 with younger babies. The session always starts with some tummy time, and language enrichment. It’s very low in structure and a lot of one on one time, which is my favorite. During this time we got to work outside for a little while so the film guys could get some outdoor shots in. During this filming I lost the fun baby I was working with, Peace, and received another baby, Ruben, who later on during the session peed on me. It was a great trade. The last part of our language session in Haven 1 usually consists of lots of singing and reading books to the babies. Today we managed to put 3 out of the 5 babies we were working with asleep during this time! Tomorrow I have a chance to lead and I hope to beat that record… we will see.

During the afternoon I had the privilege to work with Jonathan. Jonathan has mild cp, and autism. I really enjoyed working with Jonathan. He is quite a handful and loves to squirm around, but he is such a happy child. He did not cry or show discomfort, he only smiled and clapped. Today we did some turn taking activities, and we did various activities focusing on “in and out” and “up and down” then we practiced some Tonga words like run, stop, sit, stand, and jump. Jonathan loved running and stopping and falling to the ground and so did I.

After working with Jonathan I walked him back to Eric’s house where he stays and I came back to work with Sydney (my favorite). Today me and Sydney were privileged enough to get some film time. Sydney did her classic “deer in the head lights” look when the camera came out, but eventually we got some looks. Today was very exciting. Sydney needs to learn to walk and usually when I try to practice with her she stands for about 5 seconds and the fusses and stops standing, but today for the cameras she took many steps forward while holding my hands which is more than I have ever seen her do, even with the Aunties. So that was a very fun and exciting event this afternoon.

After therapy time was over we headed back to the Hamby house for dinner. The power had been out all day so we ate sandwiches. Later in the evening we had a group care and share time where we talked about a lot of our experiences here. Over all it was a great discussion. After that time was over we watched a movie out on the porch. Webster and Justin (the night watchmen)  wanted to sit next to me so they said that I must sit in the middle of them both. They are funny guys. I have really enjoyed getting to know them. They are not looking forward to me leaving, and I agree with them.

Thank you for all your prayers.

Ben