Lauren here again! I arrived safely and soundly Tuesday morning at 3:30 AM and have been adjusting well. Making tortillas, burning my foot with oil because I was lazy. Washing clothes in the tub, playing tickle monster, hanging with the kids and showing them the wonders of an iPod :)
Work begins here in Nyeri soon! Veronica leaves tomorrow to go to the retreat in Madrid with the Catholic sisters for 11 days. She is very anxious about leaving the children, as it has been a very cold winter for them here, and she has never left them for more than a day or two. She has never been on an airplane and asked me all about it. I taught her a little Spanish in exchange for some Swahili :) The weather for me is not terrible, but low 50's at night is freezing for Kenya, and so V has moved the smallest babies into her own house on the other side of town while she is away. Today we played games all day, and the kids have been drawing and coloring like mad! we have already filled two walls with all the pictures they have colored, and, if I may say so as an artist myself-- man are they good! They only need the tools, the resources, and the talents just rush out of their fingertips with such dexterity!
We are getting things in place to hit the ground running in September- discussing who to hire as a project manager and hooking up the water lines. I am asking around for purchasing a van, and V is trying to discern whether we should hold out for a little more cash (m*pesa) to buy a really great NEW van or not. We are also researching places for teams to stay, ike Belwop Project in October. I visited St. Mary's Boys School today where teams have stayed in the past, but Veronica stresses she wants teams to be as comfortable as possible and wishes to look elsewhere. The dinner will be a wonderful night, I am sad to miss it, but I know our hearts are together and our hands are doing work far apart. The house is drafty, but the kids are eating well every day. Today after playing the American football game "500" and coloring for hours, we took a late lunch/ early dinner of rice and cabbage and watched Anne of Green Gables (one of my all-time favorites) and it really had a new ring to it this time. Seeing an educated girl who had been orphaned, rise above her circumstances, use her imagination and good spirit to lift those around her was inspiring today. I looked at the older girls in the room and they were enraptured by this red-haired girl, who became first in her class, just as they did, and they smiled with every victory and blushed with every interaction with Gilbert Blythe. What a time to be a teenager and taking care of the younger ones, keeping the house clean, washing the clothes AND keeping up with their studies. Amazing.
David, my boyfriend, comes in 11 days and will be keeping busy as we plant a garden at Belwop and attempt to make a great video for the donor dinner. These kids are hilarious and adorable so, look forward to that! That's all for now! Asante sana (thank you very much)
Nakupenda (love)
Lauren
