I wake at 6:30 or 7. The boys laughter keeps me awake. I lay on my back for a while, before lifting my mosquito net and climbing out. I have until 8:45 to dress, eat, Facebook... At 8:45 I head downstairs for preschool I sit with the two year olds. Half way through the two year olds are dismissed and we head to another building where we read, color, practice colors, and play. At 10 I have a break until 11. Drink a coke, listen to audiobook... At 11 we head outside and play with the kids, at 12:15 I go back with the girls and they eat, bathe, put diapers on and then go down for nap. I'm free from 1:15- 4:00. We sometimes will go into town, or just take a nap and hang out. At 4 I have one-on-one time with one of the kids, OR I'm outside doing activities with the kids. That last for two hours, and then it's dinner, bathe, diapers, pjs, brush teeth, bed, and then the mosquito nets go over the beds. There are 16 girls, most of them are still crawling age. I was the only volunteer in the girls room for the first 2 weeks and it is so wonderful to have another volunteer helping. Bedtime is the craziest part of my day and I walk away so tired. For dinner I have top ramen, cookies, toast, banana, pineapple... Whatever I feel like making. And then my day is done. It's a rewarding day.

If you have never come to Africa you are missing out. I am falling in love with this place. It's outside my comfort zone for sure. Some sights you see makes you shake your head and say "this is Africa..." like storks in a dumpster, a dirty boy in a suit, a boy sleeping on the ground... The potholes in the road. I was asked by a teenaged boy to buy him some food, and being told that there are ministries and these street children choose freedom over filled bellies, I told him no. I also recognized him from begging before. It breaks my heart to walk away, but I know they know/think that they can trick mzungus (white people) into buying food. So I walk away and leave him to beg other people. While Jesus says to feed and clothe the hungry, I don't think He met to give free handouts and make teenagers believe they can get through life off of tourist. Over lunch today a small boy was watching us eat, his empty eyes and tore clothes showed us he was truly living in poverty. We offered him a piece of flat bread and he thanked us and began to eat it. There is something about these street kids that intrigue me... How can I say no to one boy, and yes to another? If the mzungus began to hand out to the kids it would eventually be like setting a Seaworld dolphin into the ocean after years of having every single meal brought to it... It would starve and die not knowing how to fend for itself. It's finding balance here, yes, I wish I could sit down and buy all these street kids meals, but there are ministries who know of a better way to care for them and if they wished to they could go have a meal and a place to sleep.... But it still breaks my heart. And that's a good thing.