Operation Clippers

Today my assignment was to clip all the nasty long fingernails for all three Havens, and for the most part, it was a success. I had never clipped a child's fingernails before so today's experience was a first, and after clipping 78 babies nails, I have to say I'm pretty good at it now. I started in haven 1 because I figured the little ones would be easier to clip. I found out the opposite, the little ones were much more fussy compared to the toddlers. Some of the toddler saw what I was doing and held their hands out like, ready to be clipped. (Memory and Maureen) Once I was finished clipping nails I stayed in Haven 2 and helped the Aunties feed the toddlers Shema. I fed Martin and Quinton. Martin ate most of his meal, but Quinton did not want to eat. I eventually found out that if I held the spoon in front of his face long enough he would give in and eat a little bit off the spoon. Once they toddlers were done eating it was bath time! So I left for Haven 1.

When I got to Haven 1 Dr. Weaver had sweet Rita ready for me to hold. She is the newest baby, and is only 3 weeks old. I was able to finish feeding her, and then I clipped her nails and then I was able to hold her the rest of the time until she fell asleep. For lunch today we had Chicken Spaghetti. It was very good, one of my favorite meals to have here in Africa.

At 2 o'clock Dr. Weaver drove Ashely, Mel, Tori, and I to the Havens to meet Mrs. Cathy M. She needed people to help her take babies to the Clinic to test them for HIV. We took Jonathan, Joy, Emanuel, Olivia, Owen, Jacob. There were six of us all together in this truck, including the driver...yes the driver was driving a stick shift while holding a baby! There were two aunties in the back, and the rest of us sat in the cab with our babies. When we arrived we got alot of looks from people. White people with babies, and even more looks were at me, a white male holding a baby. We waited in a room for a while with the babies until the nurse was ready for us. The whole process was very easy. The nurse would prick the babies foot and squeeze until there was enough blood on each of the testing spots. The babies all screamed, but once it was over, they were calm.

When I got back to the Havens I spent the rest of my time with the babies at Haven 2. I always enjoy my time with them. Today I didn't spend much time with any certain baby, but it was nice to work with all 78 babies in one day!

This evening we sang again with Webster. He taught us a song that we learned last year, so I was able to pick it up quickly.

Continue to pray for our group. A few of our number are slightly ill. Please pray that we remain healthy enough to continue good work here. And of course continue to pray for the babies!

Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Ben