The gathering of spirits signed up for this adventure happened today all day. People of all ages stepping into Africa, many for the first time. I could feel the hearts wide open, expectant and deliberate. I am in awe of people, what moves them to jump in to help children in one of the poorest slums of the world, and I look forward to finding out more about them.

I heard today that last year at this time when Carter brought a group, the children at the orphanage only had cows food to eat, corn and grain leftover from their feeds. The food is barely digestable for humans, but that is all there was. Their little bellies were swollen from it. The Americans who came on that trip decided together not to eat lunch at all during the days they worked at the orphanage because they couldn’t bear to eat in front of the children. This year it is different, they have found funds to give the kids food they can digest – mostly beans and rice, and occasionally fresh foods. So, we get to bring lunches when we go there. I may fast anyway.

Tomorrow is Sunday and the school isn’t open, so we are planning to visit an elephant orphanage – a place that rescues elephant babies orphaned by poachers and such. We’ll have a day of adjusting to Nairobi, this time zone and each other before we jump in to the work in Kabira. Here we go.