Pizza and planes in Nairobi

Last weekend we took our older kiddos to Nairobi for the weekend to broaden their view of their lovely country and encourage them to dream big.  And also just to have a great time :)  It was wonderful and exhausting, and I will say it again-I DON'T KNOW HOW TEACHERS DO IT.  If your child has ever gone on any kind of a field trip or excursion, you need to write their teacher a thank you note right now. 

The weekend was full of a lot of firsts, the most significant probably being their first time on an airplane.  They were delighted.  When we reached cruising altitude and all you could see below us were clouds that appeared to be unmoving, James asked why-with a note of alarm in his voice-we had stopped moving and how long we could hang in the air like that before we started to fall.  We explained how different things look when you are so far above them, and we were still actually moving very fast even though it looked like we weren't.  I've never thought about it before, but he was right- it looked like we were simply hovering in the air.

I found myself having to explain things I've never had to explain before, like how an elevator works, what a breakfast buffet is, and what wifi is.  Carol had never been to a pool before, and insisted on swimming in the outdoor pool the first evening we were in our hotel, despite the fact the rest of us were in long pants and sweatshirts.

We went to the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, which was Eddah's favorite, and the giraffe center, where we all got licked in the face by big purple tongues.  We spent an afternoon at the Nairobi National Museum, and lastly, visited the campus of Nairobi University.  We talked about how the different schools work within the university, and want living on campus is like.  They all now plan to go there :)  Since Nairobi literally has everything, we took the kids to Pizza Hut for lunch.  The were all big fans, except Eddah, who said she still preferred ugali.

Huge thanks to Ray, Dana, Lynet, and especially Natalie, for helping me plan and pull this fun but slightly hectic weekend off.  I think it was a success :)

Jessie

Paperwork and Panties

Time is flying by here as usual and I can't believe Natalie  (my little sis) is already here.   We have been keeping very busy, and Nat has jumped into our work and handled jetlag with the utmost grace :)

We have been visited several new schools and enrolled them in the pad project.  Natalie is a teacher by day, and was a natural in front of a jam-packed classroom, despite the fact that we were discussing a generally embarrassing subject while trying to bridge the ever-present cultural gaps.  The teachers and the girls were so appreciative of the pads and our program, and once again I am so thankful we are able to do this work.   Thanks to our wonderful donors we were also able to distribute lots of pairs of underwear to the  girls as well.  Obviously the pads become significantly less useful if you don't have any undies, and once we become aware of this problem we have been bringing over as many pairs as we can.
 

(Natalie in the middle of the welcoming committee at Ratta Primary School where we went to deliver pads :)

This was not in my plan for my last few weeks here, but we have spent the good part of last week working on the registration paperwork for a CBO (community based organization).  Although we are a registered non-profit organization in the US, we needed an official registration over here.  And silly me thought it would be a few forms to fill out and we'd be done..........as the process stretched on and on and we began to need things like a constitution,  behavioral plan, by-laws, etc.-I started to have panicky flashbacks of the IRS paperwork I had to do for our non-profit that took 3 months to finish.  Much to my delight, since Natalie has spent the lasr 3 yrs helping to start a charter school, she knew exactly what needed to be done and whizzed through the tasks I found daunting.  As always, God has provided us with just the help we need, just when we need it.

Jessie

Surprises and Sunday Dresses

Janet

Janet is now officially ours and I can't believe the resiliency of that little soul.  We went to pick her up last week.  She was ready to go and dressed in her best Sunday dress.  We spent some time sitting in the dimly lit living room with her family and neighbors.  They all wanted to express their gratitude for Janet's chance a brighter future.  Her grandmother seemed the most relieved by Janet's good fortune, and I have a feeling she loves Janet the most.  Her grandfather and uncle will be coming to Jemo House this week to see where she lives and where they can visit her. As I sat in this dingy room, filled with this small community, and what felt like support, I wondered why Janet was pulling at our hands and so ready to leave with us.  I know not everyone there was delighted that she was leaving though, especially since she was doing a lot of work for them.  More work than any child should have to do.

Janet (purple dress) and her cousins and neighbor kids

Janet's grandmother, Jacky, Janet, Me and Praxcedes (our social worker)

After we had shaken each hand several times, taken photos for their family, and been given countless blessings, we finally set off down the road to Janet's new home.  She was running and jumping and skipping in from of us, and chattering non-stop.  I cannot wait to see how she fits in with our family.  Naomi has been the only little girl in the house for quite some time.  Janet, I have a feeling, is going to shake thing up a bit.  The house-moms and I have already talked about this, and plan to do our best to make it a smooth-as-possible transition.  

Getting a new child is like opening a package that you have no idea what's inside.  I love the surprises.  I have never seen a child so fiercely delighted with life.   She loves her new uniform.  She can hardly stand the fact that she can't go to school for another week because the term exams are still finishing.  She's always smiling.  She doesn't just get up to play, she skips and hops all the way to the door to go outside and play.  She makes Jacky laugh all the time, those your-laugh-makes-me-want-to-laugh-too kind of laughs.

We are very blessed to have this sweet girl.

Jessie