"Chapati Over Here!"

So an update to my previous post…2 hours after my good hair afternoon, we went to town to get groceries and as soon as we got on a motor boda to go home, it started POURING…I mean it hurt it was so hard. So by the time got home we were soaked and my good hair afternoon was over. At least I had it for a couple hours…it was enough


Tonight we went to some of the Oasis boys homes for dinner. There are 3 boys homes and we will switch every week and go to a new one. Tonight was house 2 with Steward, Joseph, Moses, Martin, John, Johnstone, and Timothy.
Words cannot describe how fun it was…

Timothy, Allison, and Joseph in the kitchen making Chipati


Edwin & I brought the ChaPARTY...

Moses making Chapati


Before dinner entertainment

Allison & Johnstone before...

Everyone after...This is what happens when you decide to use Chipati flour for something other than its intended use...


I mean it was so great to just hang out at their house. It was a little less crazy because it was a smaller group of the boys and we could talk to them a little bit more about school and how they were doing. But it doesn’t stay calm for very long around these boys even if there’s only a couple…

Oh you want some of this chapati??


I gave Moses some new music to listen to


Stewie


Martin...


Its amazing what these boys do to our hearts, they are just incredible and we absolutely love them. My cheeks usually hurt because I seriously can’t stop smiling….

Joseph's moustache pose...were not really sure what it is or why he does it...

Imitating Joseph's moustache pose


Praying at the dinner table...Lydia would be so proud


Chris was still feeling under the weather from his Malaria, but he was able to dig deep and still show us some of his best poses...


If tonight was this much fun i cant wait until tomorrow...we get to have them the whole day

Vanity at it's Best...

Ok fair warning this is going to be the lamest, most self absorbed post, so either get ready or turn away but…


I just had the best hair day since being in Africa…Not to mention putting on makeup to complete the effect!
Judge me all you want, I don’t care…Im overjoyed to actually feel like a girl right now so I don’t care one bit…


Im so overjoyed in fact, I had to share it with someone and Chris is at Sister Freda’s getting shot in the bum for his Malaria and Allison is watching One Tree Hill on her computer hence why it became my post for anyone whos out there…Thank you for listening. And to those of you who do judge me I say to you, you come live here and try and feel like a pretty girl!
I don’t need much but once in a while, it’s amazing what feeling like a clean human can do for your spirit…
So I hope you enjoy your day while I enjoy my hair

Pools, Haircuts, & Goodbyes

Kitale Club Pool and Golf Course...



We went to Sister Fredas yesterday and took some of the kids that live there to the pool at the Kitale Club. They weren’t quite sure what to make of it at first but once they got used to it they loved it. We never left the kiddie pool but I think it’s going to be a weekly occurance…
Morgan, Jaci, and Elia getting ready to go in for the first time...

Elia

Cute Moses...

Esther apparently thought it was a photo shoot for Sports Illustrated...


Elia's towel was a bit too big, anyone thinking E.T...

Mini Jaci and her giant towel

Kitale club & golf course

Me & Elia


Side note, Chris has Malaria…He hasnt been feeling well for a while so when we were at Sister Freda's he got tested and found out he had Malaria...hey better that than the HIV right? Sorry that sounded insensitive...

When we got back to sister Fredas, Richard asked me to cut his hair…And being an expert at cutting hair, I accepted…

Now try and keep in mind that the last time I cut someone’s hair was in high school and he had to go to Super Cuts to get it fixed…

Next up was Allison…its still a work in progress…


Poor Jaci, Megans trying to steal her corn...


Later we had to head to the airport and say goodbye to 2 of our teammates. Now when I say airport I mean a landing strip in the middle of a corn field…No joke there was a shepherd chasing after his cow in the middle…
The Kitale "Airport"



It was sad and kind of surreal to have to say goodbye. It seemed so long ago that I had gotten here and Carol was picking me up from the airport. Now it was our turn to take her and Megan.



Have I already been out of the country for over 2 months? And it actually made me wonder if I would be ready to leave in Feb. Probably but Allison and I both said we couldn’t imagine leaving yet.
Its definitely going to be a lot quieter around the house and I already miss our old room that we all used to stay in…I totally understand though, when you know its time to head home. Its definitely not my time, Im just going to miss them being around…
To Meg and Carol, hope you guys had a fun trip home and Ill miss you a ton

I have to say today was a challenging day. No particular reason other than it was one of those days. Nothing bad happened.
Maybe I was just really tired or something but I was really worn down and my attitude was not the best. I definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed to begin with. Then getting into the shower only to realize as I turn the nob, there is no water. For the 2nd time in 3 days…
Now I realize what the thought process is at this point…”You’re in Africa” and my response is “Yes, I know” But that doesn’t make it any better at 715 in the morning and all you want sometimes is a shower and coffee…
Call me picky or high maintenance, for the most part it’s never a big deal. But today was different, like I said I woke up on the wrong side of the bed…
So after an afternoon of rest and journaling and a little bit of crying to relieve all the stuff in my head, I feel better…I also identified the many catalysts that all added up to today’s mini meltdown…part of it had to do with missing home and my life there, as well as the inconveniences that living in Africa can present, among other things but… Ill save that for my journal…
The point of this post? I couldn’t really tell you, other than maybe show the other side that once in a while shows up
On the bright side we went to dinner at Geoffrey's house. He works at Oasis of Hope, as the co-director along with Lydia. It was awesome. His wife,Olivia, made an amazing dinner of chicken curry and chipati. Not to mention avacado ice cream for desert...That'll be a good head start to tomorrow...
This picture describes me perfectly today...this is for Allison, for multiple reasons...

Back to School, Back to School

Joseph, Jonah, Steward, Braum, and Paul


We got to see some of the Oasis boys today when we visited them at their school. Geoffrey took some of us to go talk to the “Deputy” of Kitale Forest Primary about a couple of different topics. One of which was the issue of me being a P.E. teacher there 3 times a week! I can’t even imagine…but I would be totally amped for it, so ill have to see how that figures into the schedule…

Evans snuck in there...


They looked so freaking awesome in their uniforms.
Braum and Paul

I think we caused a small riot, because most kids were on break so they ALL wanted to see the mazungus...



Paul and Evans



Jonah looking sharp...


Steward


When we got back to Oasis, I got to help with interviewing some of the current kids. Its been a while since the files have updated so we have been going through and taking new pictures and doing interviews. I really enjoyed it because I was better able to identify the kids and know their story…

The afternoon was spent at Freda’s clinic. There have been a couple extra people around the last week who have been filming footage for a documentary…you should give it a look, the directors name is Tyler and the movie is called “A Chance For Peace,” www.achanceforpeace.com.


It was their last day and Freda was having a free clinic to the community.




Umi had betrothed me to Tyler…Heres our happy family picture…

The Boys Are Back!

Today was great! We went to church at Oasis and got to see the boys! Some of the boys didn’t show up yesterday at the field so I was oh so excited to get to spend some time with them …I love getting to go to church with the boys. Since they started school we only get to see them on the weekends and they usually have chores to do so our time with them is pretty limited. They are my favorite…

I don't think Steward ever stops dancing...


Chris trying to hang with the Oasis boys...



I found Evans after the service in the corner of the church pretending he was a preacher...

We hung out after the service and got to catch up with the boys about how school was going. I found out last sunday that Moses loves Elvis Presley among some other surprising artists, so I made him a playlist of music I thought he would like and he loved it...
Next step, teach him how to dance like Elvis...


I wish we had more time at to spend with them but I think were going to get to hang out with them next Saturday...

How cute are Martin & Jonah...

Evans & Braum...they make me smile


After church we went to lunch and then to the salon. Allison was supposed to get her hair done but the hair color had not arrived from Nairobi, so we just had to make due with pedicures…


Only Caroline and Megan got theirs done because we ran out of time but just being there was a great enough experience…