Today I finally had the chance to help with a house mudding!!  I enjoyed the day so much!  So far, I've always been busy teaching when the opportunity came up, so this time it was great to be on summer vacation! We were planning to head out promptly at eight this morning, but unfortunately the Patrol decided not to cooperate and insisted that it wasn't in the mood to haul six of us girls plus Joseph and Becky out toward the Nandi Hills.  No, actually, there seems to be a fuel leakage problem and maybe some other issues as well.  Ranjit, our mechanic, has been spending a hefty amount of time under the hood, building a relationship with the occupants that inhabit the space there, but apparently, it's a one-sided friendship.  So.... we waited for quite a bit while Joseph did his best to fix the Patrol's stubborn attitude.  Eventually, even Steve came to see what he could do, and it was decided that the Patrol would stay here in the compound and we would head out in one of the old vans.  Eric and Jessica are from Oroba church, so we again went jostling around and through the many potholes and bumps on the notoriously rough Miwani Road until at long last we finally "reached."  After stepping inside to pray a blessing over the dala and to sit a while, we headed outside to begin carrying water while the men started their work.    

Ready to begin! 

Pumping water... lots of it...

Carrying water "the Kenyan way"

 After a bit, Valerie and I jumped in to start mixing mud with our feet.  It was thick and goopy and sticky and rather slippery as well.  It was also exceptionally fun.  We stomped and pranced around in our miry puddle and became slightly splattered and quite, quite joyous.  It's also an efficient and entertaining exercise to work out your leg muscles! 

Mixing mud with our feet...

Before we could start slapping mud into the frame, we were ushered back inside to eat nyoyo.  We washed it down with good strong lemongrass tea and impatiently waited for the signal that it was permissible for us to head back outside.  We were given instructions by a few old mamas and then we began to enthusiastically "mud away."  There was a lot of laughter on our side of the house as our wall grew higher and higher.  A few of us were a bit skeptical that our section was a tad inferior to the native's handiwork beside us, but they kindly waved aside our doubts and jovially told us that we were doing a fine job.   

Teresa (left)... Becky (R) 

Stacy & Lynnae ~ hard at it!

The men carried mud for us and kept us supplied so that we could keep working.

Our happy crew who had the most fun of all:) 

Working hard and laughing harder with Valerie (one of the WATER girls)

Almost finished for today!

A few of the neighbor children...

The completed project ~ finished for today, that is...

In several weeks, after the mud has dried they will put another layer on both sides of the wall and then again another layer later, mixed with cow dung. 

While the cooks were finishing lunch preparations, we had a spur of the moment Bible study in the brand new house, then ate a hurried lunch and rushed home so the WATER girls could finish packing and prepare to head back home to the states.  This evening, Rhoda, Stacy, and I took them to the airport and dropped them off and then headed back for a wonderful supper at Stacy's house.  The power was off part of the evening, so we some rather dark, sweltering moments, but now the electricity is back on and we have FANS and lights and internet once again...and I am SO thankful! What are you grateful for today?

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."             -William Arthur Ward

Hey, I’m finally here again! :) I’ve been back home in Kisumu for a week and a half now, but I didn’t get my computer fixed until this week. (It wouldn’t turn on and I couldn’t charge it because there was a loose connection with the battery.) Since then, whenever I’ve had a few spare seconds to post something, the power was always off…Kenyan life at its finest!

I left home (VA) on Sunday evening, the 10^th, and got here on Tuesday.  Right now the WATER girls are here in Kisumu, so things have been extra busy with fun activities that we are doing with them.  Here’s a quick update on what I’ve been doing since I’m back and maybe someday I can do a little catching up from previous weeks…

Wednesday morning, I headed into the hospital to see the newest little member of our compound family.  Joe and Glenda Yoder have an adorable little boy, Elliot Layne.  He was born on Monday morning while I was still traveling.  I ended up staying at the hospital for awhile with Glenda because Joe was out running errands.  It was great to have a chance to hear about everything that I had missed out on here and to hold the tiny little guy while we talked.  They were hoping to come home from the hospital later Wednesday evening, so that afternoon, I went to Nakumatt and got a few things for them and then did some cleaning and laundry to get things ready for them after being away for several days.  That evening, we 3 girls went to the lake with Joseph and Becky and the WATER girls.  I never get tired of spending time at the lake!!

2 days old and as sweet as can be!!

Elliot's big sister, Tiffany :)

Teresa Moyer, Lynnae Brubaker, and Valerie Musser

Thursday morning, we took the WATER girls to do some fabric and souvenir shopping.  In the afternoon, I made some food for different folks and while I was baking, worked on supper preparations for us girls.  Somehow the day flew by exceedingly fast!

Friday morning, we youth girls were planning to take the WATER girls for an early morning boat ride on Lake Victoria before heading out to Ng’ia to spend the weekend with Mark and Mary Ellen Beachy.  I decided I’d better stay home and get some work done.  Seemed like I had barely gotten home and had lots of little bits and pieces to wrap up around the compound before I left again for a couple of days.  So I stayed home and worked on food preparations and other things for the weekend.  When the girls got back from the lake, we headed out to Mark’s.  They are a little over an hour away from Kisumu.  We had a great afternoon doing a book distribution at a large school nearby.  We visited each classroom, did some singing, Mark would do a quick Bible story or ask a few questions from the Bible, and then we would give each child their own Bible story book.  I love watching their faces light up when you hand them their VERY OWN book to treasure.  Like I said, it was a huge school.  We passed out 1,800 Bible story books to the students and 73 Bibles to the teachers and staff.  It was a rewarding, but exhausting day.  That evening, Mary Ellen and I went to visit one of her neighbor girls, Idah, who was very sick with malaria.  After supper, we had a great time singing together and then talking and laughing until really late…

Imagine teaching a class of 75... How many would REALLY learn?

Notice their tattered uniforms...

All of the 8th graders outside ~ 147 students 

Saturday, we headed to the hospital in Siaya to pass out Bible storybooks and Bibles to the patients.  Sylvia, Stacy, and Rhoda came out from the compound to join us for the morning, so that was fun.  We also did some singing at the hospital and passed out lollipops to the children… AND I DID MANAGE TO STAY UPRIGHT and not do any fainting tricks in the delivery room like I did the last time I was there! ;) After lunch, all of the Kisumu girls (except for me) left to head back to the compound.  We took it easy for a little, then Valerie and I went with Mary Ellen to visit some of her neighbors.  Around 5:45, neighbor children started showing up for their weekly Bible story with Mary Ellen.  We played with the children for about a half hour, then the WATER girls taught them some new songs and did a flannel graph story for them.  We played with them more, then sent them home when it was getting dark.  Had a delicious supper and another late night.  Markus and Micah kept us quite, quite entertained!!!

One of the brand new little additions at the hospital...

Lynnae and Teresa playing with the children... It's SO much fun having these girls around!!

The WATER girls ~ Lynnae (L) ... Valerie (Center) ... Teresa (R)

Sunday morning, we four girls went with Mary Ellen to their neighbor lady’s place to watch her make mandazis.  Came back and ate breakfast, then headed to Dienya.  I had never been to their church before, so I really enjoyed it!  We relaxed after lunch for a little bit, and then left for the Sunday evening activity at the compound.  At 6:00, we youth practiced some songs that we were supposed to sing that evening at Gerald’s.  Mark shared a bit of his life story, the 3 WATER girls told us a little bit about themselves, we had some singing, some sharing…and then a grand ole party with lots and lots of good food and camaraderie with the youth group.  It felt great to be back at my own house again. :)

The girls doing a
 flannel graph story to go along with Mark's sermon...

So much fun and so many memories with these 5 over the weekend!!! #goodtimes #manylaughs

Monday was family day and we headed out for the day again.  Wayne’s kindly invited us to join their family at Jennifer’s Garden for the day.  I really enjoyed the day!!  There’s such beautiful scenery along the way (about an hour and a half from here)… Before lunch, Valerie and I relaxed beside the pond and talked while the rest of the energized group went on a walk and encountered a bunch of monkeys.  We ate a leisurely lunch including some FABULOUS fried chicken!!!  That afternoon we played bocce ball and kan jam and eventually packed up and headed back down.  The weather was perfect all day long!

One reason that I love going to Jennifer's! Calla lilies have always been my favorite!!

Tuesday…did laundry, made food, ran here and there, and worked at my house.  In the evening we 6 girls went out to eat (compliments of Joe and Glenda Yoder) at a wonderful Chinese place on Main Street.  When we got back, the girls came to my place for fruit smoothies and cake.

On Wednesday Stan took me to get my computer worked on!  In the back of a shop, we headed up a set of steep stairs to a rather dark room with a very low ceiling.  It felt like any minute the floor would collapse and we would fall through and catch our shortcut to heaven, but amazingly we didn’t.  The two guys up there seemed to really know what they were doing and took my computer all apart and fixed the loose connection and now I can charge it and it will actually turn on!  I’m SO glad to have it in working order again!  Later in the morning, a group of us girls went to a nearby orphanage.  We visited one of the special needs classrooms, fed the little ones at lunch time and put them down for their naps.  Wednesday afternoon, Bible study was at Morris and Caroline’s.  Lynnae, Teresa, and Valerie came along to Lela’s Bible study so that was fun.  It was soooo good to see my church people after such a long time!! :) We joined Wayne’s for their traditional Wed. supper of beans and chapatis. :)

The WATER girls singing at Morris and Caroline's...

Friends at Bible study... 

Thursday, I was actually at home a little bit and got some work done!  At twelve, I went to join the girls who were swimming, then came home and made food for supper.  The 3 WATER girls and Stacy and Rhoda came over for an early supper and then we met on the lane at 6:00 to go with the rest of the compound to sing at the hospital.  When we got back, we had fruit and baked goods at Jake’s.  I didn’t stay around long and soon headed to my corner of the compound.

On Friday, we left “bright and early” to go along with Joseph’s for the day.  We traveled for an hour and fifteen minutes ‘til we “reached” the Nandi Hills.  We waited at the clinic until Jebet was finished introducing us to her nurse colleagues and getting things ready.  Then we set out walking with her as she made her rounds up in the hills.  There were moments of pretty intense hiking, but we went quite slowly and rested at people’s places.  She was mostly checking up on people, so I was a little disappointed.  I’d like to go with her sometime when she’s changing people’s bandages, giving shots, etc! We took a nice LONG piki ride to her house to eat lunch.  Her sister, aunt, and neighbors had cooked up a real feast:  chapatis, rice, potatoes, fried cabbage, chicken stew, meat (tough, chewy beef), and beans.  After we had finished our sodas, we walked some more and visited more homes.  Joseph came and picked us back up at 3:30 and we bounced our way back home over the rough roads.  We ate supper at Jake and Janice’s and then had some great volleyball games on the lane with so many extras that we had 3 teams! 

...up in the Nandi Hills...

What a view from their dala (home)!!!

I love piki piki rides... :)

All of us... It was such a fun day! :)

Now today is Saturday already!  The electricity has been off a lot today so it’s been difficult to get any baking, laundry, or other work done.  Finally I decided to sit down and type this…We’ll see when I can actually post it…  Blessings to each one of you! :)