Hope 4 Women

   Yesterday morning I woke up and I felt like my head was a giant balloon. That is never a good thing. So I got ready for the day and decided to head to Smile Africa early so that the nurse could test me for malaria...again. Pastor Ruth and I walked to Smile at a quick pace. As soon as we arrived I went straight to the clinic. Caleb saw me walking and ran to me. I got my morning hug from Caleb and then I went to the clinic to be tested. The nurse pricked my finger and looked at my blood under the microscope. Turns out I have malaria...again.

   After getting the medicine that I would need, I got a ride back to my hotel. Pastor Ruth ordered me to go back to my hotel and rest. I didn't really like the idea of resting and not getting things done. Ruth told me that I would be way more productive if I was healthy. So I agreed and went back to the hotel.

   At 2pm there was going to be a graduation for the widows of Smile Africa. They have been doing some kind of school to learn how to make crafts to earn a living. This was all made possible by an organization called Hope 4 Women International. They raised money to make all this happen. I am so grateful for them! All these women had done a beautiful job and I was so proud of them. I walked to the church at about 2:30pm and the graduation was just about to start. I looked around the room and saw a bunch of widows with their heads held high and pink graduation caps on. It was so beautiful to see. These women were now empowered. I loved seeing these widows stand up and take action and learn how to support themselves and their children.

   Once the graduation was over I went back to the hotel and rested a little more. Then Pastor Ruth came to pick me up for dinner. I was not hungry at all, but I did really want to run. The place where we were going to eat with all the graduates was a hotel that had a treadmill. This was so exciting. I got to run for about 30 minutes. I was so happy! Then I went to join the rest of the people for dinner. It was a wonderful way to end the night. 

"Thank you Jesus for that beautiful graduation. Thank you for empowering your daughters. I pray God that you will continue to heal my body and that I will be malaria free. Please continue to bless the widows and the work of their hands. I love you. Amen"