Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgivng. We were really missing our families!! We wanted to do something to celebrate while we were here, so we decided to treat the kids at the orphanage to something that many of them had never even tasted -- WATERMELON!! We went to the fruit market, bought 8 large melons, hired a "Tuk-Tuk" (small 3- wheeled vehicle) to bring them to the orphanage, and got busy in the kitchen cutting up watermelon slices. We figured we must have cut about 400 slices!! The kids went crazy for it! We caused a near riot - with everyone scrambling to be next in line. With so much melon, most had seconds and thirds. They really enjoyed it and were thankful. We enjoyed seeing the smiles on their faces. The kids usually get the same thing everyday -- ugali and sukumawiki (maize meal and kale) - so you can imagine what a treat this was for them!

We recently took a trip to visit another orphanage that we had learned about. It is in a rather remote area about 45 minutes from here. The orphanage is supported by a man who's in the safari business. The proceeds from his business go towards supporting about 80 children living there. We had a wonderful time. The children sang and danced for us and we spent time talking and playing and dancing with them. We also brought some cookies to share. There are mostly girls living there. They seemed very happy and were very welcoming and friendly to us. We stayed the night at the orphange and found ourselves feeling really COLD for the first time in Kenya. The elevation of this place makes the nights especially cold. It was kind of nice for a change. The orphanage is in an old "white settler's" house and is set in a beautiful and peaceful location overlooking a deep valley. There were also a couple of French tourists who stayed there when we were there. Believe it or not, the only way we could communicate with them was because I could speak Spanish! They spoke no English, but were from an area near Spain and had more knowledge of Spanish!! I never thought I would be speaking Spanish in Kenya! We plan to go back to stay for a few days at this orphanage later in December and plan some games and activities.
On this same trip we continued on up the road to visit Thompson Falls, crossing the equator on the way! The waterfall is a beautiful cascade into the lush ravine below. There is also a lovely lodge that was built beside the falls, where we enjoyed a relaxing lunch. Unlike most roads in Kenya, the road to the falls was great! Except for a few potholes, it was smooth sailing. Most travel in Kenya is done via "matatu", a Toyota van outfitted to cram in 14 seated passengers. So a smooth road is really appreciated.
Final exams are over and school is now closed until Jan. 9. That means our days of teaching have come to an end. We will, however, continue to go to the orphanage and work on some projects. We have started a vegetable garden and have so far planted carrots, zucchini, beets and spinach. There are some other things we want to do to help improve the facility. We will also continue to have activities for the kids. The last couple of weeks, we started showing videos to the kids. They have really enjoyed them. Many thanks to those of you who donated videos! They will be left here for the kids to continue to enjoy in the future.
We attended an African wedding this past weekend. The son of the director of the orphange got married at the chapel located on the grounds of the orphanage. It was an all day affair, which started 3 hours late - fairly typical around here, where life is taken "pole-pole" or slowly so that more blessings can be received. It was very nice and the bridal party was "dressed to the nines". The only thing that we had a hard time with was the volume of the music. They use heavy amplification in a fairly small space and everyone singing uses a microphone into which they sing their loudest. They had a great meal, which included rice pilau and chicken (kuku) and Bosco's favorite - chapatis! There was an American Pastor and his wife visiting also. He spoke during the service and also led an all day retreat the previous day, which we also attended. He and his wife have been in Kenya since January and have been coming for the past 4 years to share their ministry.
We had a great meeting today with 3 local men, 2 of whom work at the school, the other a recent business school graduate. They asked for our input and cooperation in forming a new non-profit organization here called "Afrikayote" (which means "all of Africa"). The main focus of the organization will be to facilitate volunteers to come to Africa to work with various projects, with an emphasis on keeping the cost at a minimum to the volunteer. Projects will fall into 4 categories - Education, Health Services, Environment and Conservation, and Socio-Cultural Development. There will also be an element of local community involvement, enlisting local adults and youth to participate. We came up with a lot of great ideas and we are very excited to be involved in getting this off the ground and being the key contacts in the US when we return.
I want to send out a special "hello" to the kids at Unity Temple! The kids here can't wait to receive your pen pal letters!!