Wednesday, June 16th - Live and Learn

"Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer" - Rilke

Today I went to morning mass at 7:15 am, and then I quickly had tea and a piece of bread for breakfast before walking to the school. I helped Maria, the accountant, formulate and structure the budget in a more organized way. We went through her spreadsheets to compile the actual rather than the estimated cost of sponsoring a child. Maria is a very charismatic person who is juggling being a mother, working full time, and attending a University to finish her degree. She is from Kenya, her husband is from Italy, and she has a 2 year old daughter. She is teaching me bits and pieces of Swahili! She has a difficult job because there are so many needs of the school. Every child, office, and project at the school could always use more funding since many people who have sponsored children in the past no longer can because of the events in the economy. Many exceptions are also made based on individual need.

Today, I wish that I was a millionaire to solve many of these problems with a quick fix. Even though quick fixes usually do not facilitate sustainable solutions, I could not help but thinking how precious simple things are that I took for granted before this trip…such as CLEAN water. Once back on the compound, Julia and I went to Vespers and then “recreation time” which occurs every Wednesday night from 6:30-7:00 pm. Being naive I assumed that “recreation time” implied playing basketball or some outdoor athletic activity; however, everyone gathered in the living room for soda , popcorn, and peanuts. It was still great but not what I had assumed. At dinner, we ate papaya. I learned tonight that papaya and periwinkle leaves are excellent remedies for healing! I am definitely learning as many new things every day as I can! I know that not everything I'm being exposed to has answers but I hope that with time they will come.