“Meanwhile, back at HEART”

I gotta tell you I don’t quite remember what the rest of the team was doing while we were at Compassion on Wednesday. I think some of them went shopping for supplies and someone did laundry. When we got back, though, not wanting to tell anyone that we had just had ice cream, the girls started making cookies. The next day was going to be another big day out. We were going to be taking the orphans from Brydges to a park for the day. Along with everything else this park offered, we were going to be serving them lunch, to include a dessert of homemade cookies.

The kitchen at the HEART compound was a large industrial one, with a large stove, huge stainless steel countertops and deep double sinks. There was a large refrigerator and freezer. But there was no oven. So the girls mixed the cookies in the large kitchen and then carried the dough to the other end of the compound to bake them in the oven in Vickie’s quarters.

Maybe now is a good time to tell you some more about these girls as well as the rest of the team. Amanda was from Delaware. She was petite and cute as a button, a little bit silly and an incredibly good sport.

Sara, Carson’s older sister, was a tad more on the serious side. But she was also the singer of the group. On our many bus rides around the city she was often the one who would lead us all in songs.

Sara’s and Carson’s parents were Cathy and Jon. Cathy is an obstetrician / gynecologist from Indiana; her husband Jon is a farmer. In addition to the two kids they brought with on the trip, they had several they left at home. They have been friends with the Bells for years.

Because of that, Carson and Nate were already good friends. Brandon, though, seemed to get along with them just fine. Brandon and his dad Geoff were from the Madison area, where Geoff taught at one of the high schools.

The last adult was Michelle. She was from Iowa and had been to HEART in the past. She was married and had an assortment of children; she was already planning to return to Kenya with some of them the following year.

You already know me and Val. And I have told you enough about Dave, Jen, Nate and Kari. That leaves the last team member, Brie. Brie was from the Appleton area and was supposed to have flown with us from Wisconsin. With some phone calls and schedule changes, Dave was able to get her a flight to Nairobi on Wednesday. She arrived at HEART late in the evening, the same flight we had had. She was exhausted, not only from the long day and time change, but also from the stress of flying so far by herself. She still had a smile on her face though as I took her up to our room. She needed to get some sleep, the next day would be another busy one.