Wow! Surely I am not the only one who felt like this week would never end. Well I know I'm not the only teacher anyway. If I got paid by the hour, I'd be set this week. Exhausted would be an understatement. On top of the already rough week, the long hours and back to school germs got the best of me and I ended up with a sinus infection. As a teacher it's much harder to be out than it is just to be there and since I wasn't contagious I just kept on keeping on. But dang I am tired and am in desperate need of the weekend.
Looking forward to this weekend for several reasons. Like...
Sleeping past 5:30 of course!
The fall weather! I walked Sophie tonight and I was COLD! I love summer but have grown to also love fall. The beginning of it anyway. With fall comes many exciting things to me. Pumpkin flavored anything, football games, chicken stews, bonfires, hoodies, snuggling up and THE FAIR, just to name a few.
Paul and I will be spending our Friday date night watching The Lion King in 3D!!! We both love Disney movies but have become especially fond of them since going to Disney World in March. The Lion King has always been a favorite for both of us. We rarely go to the movies but this was a definite for a date night! My best friend growing up and I used to watch The Lion King all the time (hope you're reading this Traci :). Not gonna lie, we even had the soundtrack! I still know every word to every song and it will take all I have not to sing out loud in the movie theater.
Saturday I am finally getting the massage that Paul got me for my birthday. I've only had one massage in my life and it was 30 minutes and was about 12 years ago. Pretty pumped.
Happy almost-weekend, y'all!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Kenya Recap, Take 5
Saturday and Sunday-August 6th and 7th
Saturday morning we went to Imani Orphanage. I visited this orphanage my first year in Kenya but this was my mom's first time going. The lady who runs the orphanage is incredibly sweet and selfless. She gladly works day and night to care for and love on these children.
All of the children were cleaning or doing some kind of work that morning. NONE of them complained and the toddlers were better little helpers than plenty of grown children I know. I admire so many things about the way children are raised in Kenya. I didn't see it as child labor abuse at all. It was what had to be done. They can't afford to hire someone to do it for them. It's what they do to survive. And they are more than happy to be doing it.
Speaking of admiring their children, this is a picture of ALL of the children-from one to fourteen sitting perfectly still for 30 minutes listening to a Bible story.
No books, no smart boards, no toys...just a voice, and they were so thankful to be being taught. I know Paul and I don't have children yet, so it's easier said than done, but we sure do hope to instill some of these Kenya ways into our children one day.
There were a few special needs children and of course I was immediately drawn to them.
This little boy had autism.
I don't know that people in Kenya even know what autism is, because it is a lot more rare than it is here. But they call special needs children "crazy". It sounds mean, I know, but they really don't mean anything by it. They just don't have access to the research we do so they simply aren't sure what exactly is wrong, in which case they don't know what to call it.
Here are the children singing a goodbye song to us.
After the orphanage we went to the wood carving factory. It was A-MAZ-ING!!! I'd always wondered if everything there was really hand made. This was proof. I could have watched them carve for hours. They are so incredibly talented. To know how hard they work on those carvings for what little money they make on them breaks my heart. At the factory they have a huge store with tons and tons of things for sale. We always buy all of our carvings and gifts from Jimmy Safari, but a lot of the things in this store were exactly like what we've bought from him.
Sunday Daphne, Chuck, Arnold and I went to church at Airport Baptist. Samuel's father started this church 20 years ago and they were having a HUGE anniversary celebration service. I was honored to get to be a part of it. All of the pastors from the Malindi Baptist Association were there and a lot of them gave a speech. About half way through the service I saw Harrison walk in. I didn't know he was coming so you can imagine my excitement! He had preached at Mbuyuni and caught a ride on a motor bike and headed on over. It was so special.
Two cakes this size fed well over 100 people. Cake is rare for them and they simply eat it to celebrate, not to overindulge in something that tastes good. Everybody literally got a taste and of course there wasn't one child who complained about not getting more.
Chuck and Samuel
Arnold with Samuel and his family
Harrison :)
Three very, very special Kenyans...Francis Katana, Jimmy Safari and Samuel Katana
This is Francis Katana singing Happy Birthday to Airport. Precious!
It was an incredible weekend in Kenya! Daphne and I taught at the youth conference our last three days. I will have one more post to recap those days and that will be a wrap!
Saturday morning we went to Imani Orphanage. I visited this orphanage my first year in Kenya but this was my mom's first time going. The lady who runs the orphanage is incredibly sweet and selfless. She gladly works day and night to care for and love on these children.
All of the children were cleaning or doing some kind of work that morning. NONE of them complained and the toddlers were better little helpers than plenty of grown children I know. I admire so many things about the way children are raised in Kenya. I didn't see it as child labor abuse at all. It was what had to be done. They can't afford to hire someone to do it for them. It's what they do to survive. And they are more than happy to be doing it.
Speaking of admiring their children, this is a picture of ALL of the children-from one to fourteen sitting perfectly still for 30 minutes listening to a Bible story.
No books, no smart boards, no toys...just a voice, and they were so thankful to be being taught. I know Paul and I don't have children yet, so it's easier said than done, but we sure do hope to instill some of these Kenya ways into our children one day.
There were a few special needs children and of course I was immediately drawn to them.
This little boy had autism.
I don't know that people in Kenya even know what autism is, because it is a lot more rare than it is here. But they call special needs children "crazy". It sounds mean, I know, but they really don't mean anything by it. They just don't have access to the research we do so they simply aren't sure what exactly is wrong, in which case they don't know what to call it.
Here are the children singing a goodbye song to us.
After the orphanage we went to the wood carving factory. It was A-MAZ-ING!!! I'd always wondered if everything there was really hand made. This was proof. I could have watched them carve for hours. They are so incredibly talented. To know how hard they work on those carvings for what little money they make on them breaks my heart. At the factory they have a huge store with tons and tons of things for sale. We always buy all of our carvings and gifts from Jimmy Safari, but a lot of the things in this store were exactly like what we've bought from him.
Sunday Daphne, Chuck, Arnold and I went to church at Airport Baptist. Samuel's father started this church 20 years ago and they were having a HUGE anniversary celebration service. I was honored to get to be a part of it. All of the pastors from the Malindi Baptist Association were there and a lot of them gave a speech. About half way through the service I saw Harrison walk in. I didn't know he was coming so you can imagine my excitement! He had preached at Mbuyuni and caught a ride on a motor bike and headed on over. It was so special.
Two cakes this size fed well over 100 people. Cake is rare for them and they simply eat it to celebrate, not to overindulge in something that tastes good. Everybody literally got a taste and of course there wasn't one child who complained about not getting more.
Chuck and Samuel
Arnold with Samuel and his family
Harrison :)
Three very, very special Kenyans...Francis Katana, Jimmy Safari and Samuel Katana
This is Francis Katana singing Happy Birthday to Airport. Precious!
It was an incredible weekend in Kenya! Daphne and I taught at the youth conference our last three days. I will have one more post to recap those days and that will be a wrap!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Kenya Video
Thanks to my mom for telling me that the first Kenya video did not work...it was accidentally set on private. It should work now. Somebody please comment and tell me if it's still not working :)
Labor Day Weekend
I knew it was going to be a good weekend when I got the news on Friday that my friend Laura was in labor. Baby Ealy decided to come on out about two weeks early but she was healthy and mama and daddy were happy.
Saturday I slept in (which for me these days is 8:00) and stayed in my PJs until almost 5:00. Can't think of the last Saturday I was able to do that. I did a little school work, updated my blog and spent about 5 hours working on a Kenya photo book on Shutterfly. But best of all on Saturday was when I got a call from Harrison and Thomas in Kenya. I hadn't talked to them since we left and it made me so happy to hear their voices. It seriously made my whole weekend!
Saturday night we cooked out at my brother's house with my family. To me, it doesn't get much better than food and family together. My nephews are growing up so fast so every moment I get with them is very special to me. Matthew is in the "too cool for pictures" stage of his life but here are a couple pictures of Bryan...
My good friend Meredith got engaged on Saturday. She has waited almost 30 years for this and I couldn't be happier for her and Chad!
After church on Sunday Paul and I went to lunch with my mom, Gram and Chuck. I haven't gotten to see Chuck much since we got back from Kenya. It does my heart so good getting together with people that have been to Kenya because we can talk about it all we want and we all "get it".
That evening Paul and I got to go meet sweet baby Evelyn. These pictures are taken from my phone and do not do her justice. She was absolutely perfect.
Mama and baby
I tried to be a little productive around the house on Monday but it was mostly another day of relaxing and hanging out with Paul. Soccer season doesn't allow much time for us so it was so nice getting to catch up with each other. God has sure blessed me with a good man!
The newly engaged couple hosted a Labor Day cookout.
We had the best time gettin all up in it, as Meredith would say.
Can't have Katelyn and Derek at a cookout without music :)
These two are up next for getting hitched!
Definitely the best Labor Day weekend I can remember! And tomorrow is already hump day :)
Saturday I slept in (which for me these days is 8:00) and stayed in my PJs until almost 5:00. Can't think of the last Saturday I was able to do that. I did a little school work, updated my blog and spent about 5 hours working on a Kenya photo book on Shutterfly. But best of all on Saturday was when I got a call from Harrison and Thomas in Kenya. I hadn't talked to them since we left and it made me so happy to hear their voices. It seriously made my whole weekend!
Saturday night we cooked out at my brother's house with my family. To me, it doesn't get much better than food and family together. My nephews are growing up so fast so every moment I get with them is very special to me. Matthew is in the "too cool for pictures" stage of his life but here are a couple pictures of Bryan...
My good friend Meredith got engaged on Saturday. She has waited almost 30 years for this and I couldn't be happier for her and Chad!
After church on Sunday Paul and I went to lunch with my mom, Gram and Chuck. I haven't gotten to see Chuck much since we got back from Kenya. It does my heart so good getting together with people that have been to Kenya because we can talk about it all we want and we all "get it".
That evening Paul and I got to go meet sweet baby Evelyn. These pictures are taken from my phone and do not do her justice. She was absolutely perfect.
Mama and baby
I tried to be a little productive around the house on Monday but it was mostly another day of relaxing and hanging out with Paul. Soccer season doesn't allow much time for us so it was so nice getting to catch up with each other. God has sure blessed me with a good man!
The newly engaged couple hosted a Labor Day cookout.
We had the best time gettin all up in it, as Meredith would say.
Can't have Katelyn and Derek at a cookout without music :)
These two are up next for getting hitched!
Definitely the best Labor Day weekend I can remember! And tomorrow is already hump day :)
Monday, September 5, 2011
Kenya Recap, Take 4
Thursday and Friday-August 4th and 5th
When we got to Mbuyuni that morning, Harrison walked up and handed me a bag of wood carvings. Apparently the man brought them to me just 15 minutes after we left the day before. I was so excited! I had not paid him yet so I was surprised he'd just left them with Harrison. People there can trust each other so much more than most people here can. I hated I didn't get to see him again and thank him personally.
We went back to check on the old man and the little boy. The old man had been taken to the hospital. I hated to hear that but at the same time was glad he would get some professional care. It made me sad that I probably wouldn't see him again though. The little boy was also gone. When they took him to the hospital the day before, they had already closed so his family had just left to take him again. Like with the old man, I was very glad he was getting some medical care but hated that I wouldn't see him again.
We talked to and visited a lot of villages today. Here are some pictures from Thursday...
This is me beating dried up corn for ugali. Ugali is the main source of food in Kenya. To make it they dry out corn cobs, break the corn off and then mash it into small pieces in one of these big wooden things. Then they add corn meal and cook it over an open fire and it becomes a very thick, dough like consistency. When it's finished, it looks almost exactly like mashed potatoes. I have tried it before and let me tell you-it tastes nothing like mashed potatoes! But is cheap for them to make it and makes a lot, so it is able to feed the whole family. And in Kenya, they don't eat for satisfaction, they eat to live. Then they roll the ugali up-because they do not have silver ware-and they dip it in beans or a vegetable or meat. They even water it down a lot and feed it to tiny babies. The Kenyans love it when we do stuff like this because it shows them we are interested in their culture. But they just crack up watching us do it because they are so much stronger than we are.
Hanging out at Mbuyuni before Chuck's teaching...here is that precious little girl I told you you'd see again. Just look at her sweet self!
Friday and Saturday we had off. These are the days we've gone on safari the past two years. Since we had all been before, we decided not to go this year so we could spend more time seeing people and doing other things. First thing Friday morning Jimmy Safari took my mom and I to a seamstress to be measured for a dress he had made for us. He is so sweet and my mom and I are very close to him, but we were still so surprised and humbled that he would do this for us.
After that my mom and I headed to Gede, which is about 45 minutes away from Malindi where we were staying. We spent a lot of time last year working at a church and had visited a school one day. The school, Sita Hidden Academy, is a private one with mostly orphans. The sweetest old man, Wilfred, runs the school. He lives there and it is his life 24/7. He relies completely on sponsors to run the school, feed the children and pay the teachers. After visiting there last year, my mom decided she wanted to sponsor a student. She had not met the student because we had already gotten back home last year when she began sponsoring her. She received her name, which is Everlyne (not Evelyn) and some information through e-mail about her from Wilfred. She had been dying to meet her for almost a year now. This was the day she finally got to meet her and wrap her arms around this sweet young girl. Meet Everlyne, my little sister...
Mom putting on the cross necklace she brought for her.
Watching them hug for the first time was one of the sweetest moments I've yet to experience in my 30 short years of life.
This is us with Wilfred, the head master of Sita Academy.
The school put on a huge performance for us of African singing and dancing. It was so beautiful! In this first song they are saying, "We have a Master who changes not." I don't know of a sound more beautiful than this...
During the performance a down pour came and we had to go into Wilfred's tiny little office until it stopped. While we were in there my mom told Wilfred she wanted to sponsor a second student. I asked him if he knew who it would be so we could meet him or her before we left. He already knew exactly who it would be and he said he would go and get her. Within a few minutes, this precious, timid little girl came walking in. Her name was Furaha, which means "joy" in Swahili.
Wilfred told us that her mom was crippled and her father was not living. As he was telling us about her mom, he pointed down to the doorway and there was her sweet mom, crouched down on her bottom. She still had her legs but they did not work. She had her hands in her flip-flops and used her hands to lift her body to scoot around. It was so pitiful. You can see her a little bit in this picture.
Mom with her two Kenyan daughters :)
After we left Sita we went back to the hotel to get Daphne and then went to spend the rest of the day at Thomas' house. When we got there I gave Thomas some old Love Winston-Salem (a ministry our church does every summer) t-shirts so he could wear them and think of us and where we live. As soon as I gave them to him he went and put them on. It was so sweet! This is my favorite picture of Thomas. I have this picture in my Bible, on our refrigerator, in my classroom at work and I have one more to frame.
Daphne gave him a little lion pillow. She'd brought it with her from home and knew there would be someone special to give it to. I wondered if being 15, Thomas was think it was babyish, but he sure didn't. People there are so grateful for ANY and EVERYthing.
Making ugali with Thomas and his family :)
Them showing us how it's done. Look how they bend at the hip.
I loved spending time with his family. I could have stayed there forever that day.
Thomas had an appointment that afternoon at the ENT specialist that his doctor had referred him to. This appointment would give us a lot more information about what exactly is wrong with his throat and more info about the surgery. We were thrilled that we got to go with him. The clinic couldn't have been any different than what we'd see here in America, but it was very clean.
The doctor was super nice and spoke very good English. We got to go back in the room with him while the doctor examined him. Within just a few minutes of him doing an exam on his throat, he guaranteed us that the growth was not cancerous!!!! We all had immediate tears of joy. As it turns out, his thyroid gland did not close up correctly and it formed a growth on his throat. Although it is not cancerous, it does cause him pain and has formed a small hole in his throat that is very prone to infection. So the doctor said he definitely needed the surgery. He told us that an American ENT doctor from Vanderbilt comes to Malindi every year to perform surgeries as a ministry and that he would be able to do Thomas' surgery! Things were getting better and better by the minute. If that weren't awesome in and of itself, the Kenyan doctor told us that he was about to go to the states to study under that same doctor. Call that a "coincidence" if you'd like, but I'll never believe anything other than it being God orchestrating His perfect plan for Thomas. And we got to be a part of it! To say we were humbled would be such an understatement.
Friday evening Jimmy Safari brought his wife, Joyce, to the hotel for dinner. I had never met her before and as close as I am with Jimmy, I couldn't go another year in Kenya without meeting her. She doesn't speak very much English but she was so sweet and I really enjoyed spending time with the two of them together.
Friday was probably the most special day of the whole trip for me.
Another recap or two and that will be a wrap!
When we got to Mbuyuni that morning, Harrison walked up and handed me a bag of wood carvings. Apparently the man brought them to me just 15 minutes after we left the day before. I was so excited! I had not paid him yet so I was surprised he'd just left them with Harrison. People there can trust each other so much more than most people here can. I hated I didn't get to see him again and thank him personally.
We went back to check on the old man and the little boy. The old man had been taken to the hospital. I hated to hear that but at the same time was glad he would get some professional care. It made me sad that I probably wouldn't see him again though. The little boy was also gone. When they took him to the hospital the day before, they had already closed so his family had just left to take him again. Like with the old man, I was very glad he was getting some medical care but hated that I wouldn't see him again.
We talked to and visited a lot of villages today. Here are some pictures from Thursday...
This is me beating dried up corn for ugali. Ugali is the main source of food in Kenya. To make it they dry out corn cobs, break the corn off and then mash it into small pieces in one of these big wooden things. Then they add corn meal and cook it over an open fire and it becomes a very thick, dough like consistency. When it's finished, it looks almost exactly like mashed potatoes. I have tried it before and let me tell you-it tastes nothing like mashed potatoes! But is cheap for them to make it and makes a lot, so it is able to feed the whole family. And in Kenya, they don't eat for satisfaction, they eat to live. Then they roll the ugali up-because they do not have silver ware-and they dip it in beans or a vegetable or meat. They even water it down a lot and feed it to tiny babies. The Kenyans love it when we do stuff like this because it shows them we are interested in their culture. But they just crack up watching us do it because they are so much stronger than we are.
Hanging out at Mbuyuni before Chuck's teaching...here is that precious little girl I told you you'd see again. Just look at her sweet self!
Friday and Saturday we had off. These are the days we've gone on safari the past two years. Since we had all been before, we decided not to go this year so we could spend more time seeing people and doing other things. First thing Friday morning Jimmy Safari took my mom and I to a seamstress to be measured for a dress he had made for us. He is so sweet and my mom and I are very close to him, but we were still so surprised and humbled that he would do this for us.
After that my mom and I headed to Gede, which is about 45 minutes away from Malindi where we were staying. We spent a lot of time last year working at a church and had visited a school one day. The school, Sita Hidden Academy, is a private one with mostly orphans. The sweetest old man, Wilfred, runs the school. He lives there and it is his life 24/7. He relies completely on sponsors to run the school, feed the children and pay the teachers. After visiting there last year, my mom decided she wanted to sponsor a student. She had not met the student because we had already gotten back home last year when she began sponsoring her. She received her name, which is Everlyne (not Evelyn) and some information through e-mail about her from Wilfred. She had been dying to meet her for almost a year now. This was the day she finally got to meet her and wrap her arms around this sweet young girl. Meet Everlyne, my little sister...
Mom putting on the cross necklace she brought for her.
Watching them hug for the first time was one of the sweetest moments I've yet to experience in my 30 short years of life.
This is us with Wilfred, the head master of Sita Academy.
The school put on a huge performance for us of African singing and dancing. It was so beautiful! In this first song they are saying, "We have a Master who changes not." I don't know of a sound more beautiful than this...
During the performance a down pour came and we had to go into Wilfred's tiny little office until it stopped. While we were in there my mom told Wilfred she wanted to sponsor a second student. I asked him if he knew who it would be so we could meet him or her before we left. He already knew exactly who it would be and he said he would go and get her. Within a few minutes, this precious, timid little girl came walking in. Her name was Furaha, which means "joy" in Swahili.
Wilfred told us that her mom was crippled and her father was not living. As he was telling us about her mom, he pointed down to the doorway and there was her sweet mom, crouched down on her bottom. She still had her legs but they did not work. She had her hands in her flip-flops and used her hands to lift her body to scoot around. It was so pitiful. You can see her a little bit in this picture.
Mom with her two Kenyan daughters :)
After we left Sita we went back to the hotel to get Daphne and then went to spend the rest of the day at Thomas' house. When we got there I gave Thomas some old Love Winston-Salem (a ministry our church does every summer) t-shirts so he could wear them and think of us and where we live. As soon as I gave them to him he went and put them on. It was so sweet! This is my favorite picture of Thomas. I have this picture in my Bible, on our refrigerator, in my classroom at work and I have one more to frame.
Daphne gave him a little lion pillow. She'd brought it with her from home and knew there would be someone special to give it to. I wondered if being 15, Thomas was think it was babyish, but he sure didn't. People there are so grateful for ANY and EVERYthing.
Making ugali with Thomas and his family :)
Them showing us how it's done. Look how they bend at the hip.
I loved spending time with his family. I could have stayed there forever that day.
Thomas had an appointment that afternoon at the ENT specialist that his doctor had referred him to. This appointment would give us a lot more information about what exactly is wrong with his throat and more info about the surgery. We were thrilled that we got to go with him. The clinic couldn't have been any different than what we'd see here in America, but it was very clean.
The doctor was super nice and spoke very good English. We got to go back in the room with him while the doctor examined him. Within just a few minutes of him doing an exam on his throat, he guaranteed us that the growth was not cancerous!!!! We all had immediate tears of joy. As it turns out, his thyroid gland did not close up correctly and it formed a growth on his throat. Although it is not cancerous, it does cause him pain and has formed a small hole in his throat that is very prone to infection. So the doctor said he definitely needed the surgery. He told us that an American ENT doctor from Vanderbilt comes to Malindi every year to perform surgeries as a ministry and that he would be able to do Thomas' surgery! Things were getting better and better by the minute. If that weren't awesome in and of itself, the Kenyan doctor told us that he was about to go to the states to study under that same doctor. Call that a "coincidence" if you'd like, but I'll never believe anything other than it being God orchestrating His perfect plan for Thomas. And we got to be a part of it! To say we were humbled would be such an understatement.
Friday evening Jimmy Safari brought his wife, Joyce, to the hotel for dinner. I had never met her before and as close as I am with Jimmy, I couldn't go another year in Kenya without meeting her. She doesn't speak very much English but she was so sweet and I really enjoyed spending time with the two of them together.
Friday was probably the most special day of the whole trip for me.
Another recap or two and that will be a wrap!
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