Group photo time!

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Since the kids are now off school for a month (approximately) I decided it was a good time for a group photo and Chuck decided it was a good time for sausages and soda (a few of the kids’ favorites!)

Dan sanitizes before sitting down to eat! I was practically giddy seeing all the kids sanitize before sitting down to the table!

 

looks like an army mess tent!

 

Waiting patiently for their sausage - everyone was able to have 2 sausages...a real treat!

 

Then it was photo time….try getting 27 kids to stand up straight, stay in place and not give their goofy hand signs all after a good meal of sausage, cabbage, chapatti, soda and a chocolate chip cookie bar!  But eventually it happened!

The gang's all here!

 

Back row from left – Roman (farm manager), Bosco (project manager), Moses, Erastus, Chris, Peter (social worker), Edward, Jacinta, Ann (house mom), Nancy, Kelvin.

Third row back from left – Kevin, Scholar, Morris, Elijah, Frank, Ceceliah, Doris, Jane, Doreen.

Second row back from left – Francis, Caleb, Pius, Isaac, Ben, Naomi, Mercy, Esther.

First row from left – Chuck, Dan, Emma, Bonface and me.

It was fun and a good time was had by all!

 

Slacker!

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Did not get a blog post out yesterday or the day before.   Here are my excuses:

  • day before yesterday internet was really lousy and I just didn’t have the fight in me.
  • yesterday we had kid stuff (more on that in a minute)
  • plus yesterday I tried 3 times to get a blog posted from my phone and it kept deleting the draft [aarrggghhh]

Now for more on the kid stuff:

 

We had a meeting with our secondary (high school) kids, they are back home from completing their first term of 2012!  Grades overall were good and we are looking to transfer 2 boys to another school which we have a really good relationship with and is #4 in the District!!  The reasons?  One school raised their fees 6000/ksh (approx. $71) the day we showed up to drop off the kid at school in Term 1 and has now raised fees for Term 2 another 7000/ksh (approx. $83)…both with no explanation.  The other school had a riot last year and hasn’t recovered, therefore education is not a priority for them at the moment.

It felt really good to talk to these kids as a family unit, letting them know they have a support system.  Plus I don’t think anyone has ever asked them their opinion about their classes, why they received a particular grade or what they see for their future.  We also had some “parental” talks….don’t leave the compound without permission (teen boys tend to think they know it all!), decide between getting your hair done (weaves are big over here for the ladies and the girls can only have it done during break because they aren’t allowed to have this done during school) or having a scarf for the cold mornings, no you can’t have all the lotions/perfumes/hair coloring you want!

I could see some taking it all in and even questioning a few things (yeah!) but I also saw a few not being too interested in the whole thing….guess that’s part of being in a family, different attitudes/personalities/objectives but that’s exactly what we told them.  We are a family and we all need to cooperate and talk about issues that come up.

So I’m sorry for slacking off the past few days…oh and by the way we are still out of running water, that doesn’t have anything to do with getting a blog post out but goes to state of mind!

Slow down

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Around here you can want to get things done quickly but Kenya has a way of slowing you down.

Today as I was typing forms into the computer for our social worker (Peter) the electricity went out.  I kept typing though hoping it would come back on quickly….which it did! 

However, just before lunch it went out again and I figured since it was lunch I would shut down the computer and finish typing afterwards.

It is now 2 hours afterwards and still no electricity which means I’ve been getting alot of reading done instead!

As long as you take the down times in stride they can be ok.  Plus it is a great time for tea! It’s just when the down times last for an extended amount of time it gets frustrating.

Here’s hoping electricity is not off too long!

I’m no camper

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It seems to be a running joke in our family that my idea of camping is Motel 6.  The whole idea of camping just never thrilled me, maybe because I lived in a trailer house my entire childhood and therefore vacationing in another camper trailer wasn’t my idea of vacationing…granted a few of the camper trailers were bigger than some of the trailers I grew up in!

Chuck’s family however did A LOT of camping and since Chuck and I were a serious item in high school I was granted access to this cult called “campers”!  What I enjoyed most though was the camaraderie, laughing with family around a campfire.  The other camping stuff was not my cup of tea….public showers (ewww), public toilets (even more ewww), washing dishes in a basin, no place to wash clothes.  This was in the early days until mom and dad (love you guys!!!) got with the program and their camper then had access to running water…yeah!.

Now I seem to be living a camping experience.  Granted I’m not in a cramped trailer but we are still out of running water after 4 weeks.  I wake up every morning in anticipation only to have my hopes dashed when I turn on the taps and nothing happens.  I guess I should have been grateful for those public showers and toilets with their precious running water!

We are making it though….we use cistern water for flushing the toilet (thanks to the house help we are never without water in our container) and purchased water for washing dishes and bathing (the cistern is open and therefore has items in it which I would rather not have on my dishes or body).  It’s just frustrating not to be able to go to the sink to wash my hands or rinse out a cup or take a shower.

Just this morning I put in my journal “You [God] continually give me strength to make it thru yet another day-to see tomorrow in hope.”  Sure it may just be the hope in having running water tomorrow, but I’m thankful for His strength and hope each and every day.

No connection

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Today my phone ran out of data so I couldn’t get on the internet and I was down to 30/ksh on my phone for calls and texts.

When Chuck tried to top up my phone the system wasn’t working.  So I was out of communication most of the day…no issues I did have other computer work to get done (which I did).

Finally just before heading home my phone was topped up and I purchased internet time and here I am!

Now I am attempting to talk with Amanda, our youngest, but we are having bad reception.  I did however get to talk with Tarrin just before Amanda called.

Communication is not guaranteed here, whether that be because of lack of shilling, reception or the wind blowing in a certain direction. I am thankful though for when it does work but admit to being frustrated at the slow internet speed.

Until next time when the stars are in alignment and communication comes together!

More stones….

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Five additional stones have been stacked bringing the total to 56 stones!  Thank you!  For more info on “stacking the stones” please visit our website for details.

I would also like to express my thanks for another person sponsoring a child!  It’s been (and will continue to be) a time of great reliance on God’s provision…school fees will be coming due the end of this month for the secondary students.  Which means around $3,700 is needed in addition to the regular funds needed to run C4KK Children’s Home.  But when I start to feel a bit overwhelmed with it all God shows me yet again how He knows the situation.

C4KK Children’s Home currently has 10 kids waiting for sponsors…of those there are 6 in primary and 4 in secondary.  If the secondary monthly sponsorship seems out of reach ($70) we encourage anyone to “share sponsorship” to help cut the monthly (or yearly if you prefer) commitment down per person.

Please visit our “Sponsorship Gallery” to see these great kids….we’ve had fun sending letters back and forth between the kids and their sponsors, a few of the kids have drawn pictures and it seems they are all  having a good time getting to know each other via these letters.  If you feel lead please prayerfully consider becoming a part of a child’s life here in Kenya.

A big thank you again for any and all help you can give.

Tut, tut looks like rain!

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It has been so dry, hot and dusty around here that last nights threat of rain was a welcome sound…lots of very loud thunder and lightening.  However, there was only enough rain to keep the dust down for a day or so but better than nothing!  The entire time the thunder was cracking outside though I kept thinking…when will the electricity go out and for how long? Sure enough it went off for a few hours during the night.  Which wouldn’t be so bad if we could open the windows to let the cool night breeze come in – pesky, killer mosquitoes!  But since the windows stay closed we use a fan at night and without it sleeping gets very uncomfortable.  Needless to say, sleeping last night was uncomfortable.

BUT on the other hand, I love this time because it cools down, I love seeing the rain-like conditions in the sky, hearing the thunder and knowing the plants will be watered by God!  Plus it’s an excellent opportunity to have some Kenyan tea!

It may be a little hard to see the dark clouds in this photo but I love the change in weather from sunny to dark clouds!

Let it rain!

Plus as it cools down we get rid of some insects while others come out:

this is about as big as my hand!

 

As we drove to C4KK you could see people preparing their shamba (garden) for the rainy season, which by the looks of the clouds will soon be upon us.  Since many do not have the resource to either form an irrigation system or even get water to their shamba, they rely on God’s providence…He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside. (Job 5:10)

Saturday

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A typical Saturday:

Boys will be boys....pile of dirt and shovels and they are ready to "help"! They were basically shovelling from the bottom of the pile to the top!

 

Meanwhile Esther picks tomatoes...isn't she colorful!?

 

Cabbage & spinach are coming up well and tasting very delicious!

 

The Lord blessed us with a plentiful amount of peppers...some will be sold to the community.