Maize, Praise, and Cloudy Days

Brook ready to go

This morning we watched as Brook dawned her back pack and headed out the door to begin her ascent of Kilimanjaro.  It crazy to imagine what she'll be accomplishing the next six days.  19,341 feet is no cake walk, but we know she's going to have a lot of fun and work hard.

Teacher with Zainabu on the left and Eliza on the right

We just got back from picking up Eliza from her boarding school.  She is deaf and mute, and was found about a year ago begging with her blind grandmother.  They made a pretty successful team with Eliza being able to see and her grandmother being able to hear.   But one night two volunteers were walking back to the orphanage and saw that Eliza was all alone so they brought her with them.  She fit right in to the orphanage and when her grandmother was tracked down, Eliza was so at home that everyone agreed she should just stay.   Finding a good school for someone who is so severely disabled is no easy task here though.  Greg and Teacher went sought out a few schools but none of them seemed right until they found St. Francis.  The application process sounds like it was pretty brutal but after a few months she was accepted and has been at the boarding school for six months.  Jackie and I drove about an hour with Teacher and Zainabu who is one of Eliza's closest friends at the orphanage.  We got there during church service so we sat outside and listened to the choir sing and the prayers in Swahili, and watched as it was all interpreted into sign language by one of the older kids standing on a chair.  Once the service was over other families started to arrive and we watched as kids were reunited with their parents.  About half of the students are deaf and the rest have various other disabilities.   The school is very nice and clean and all the teachers we talked to were incredibly nice.  It was great to see such a well run place here.

Brook, BeBe and Jackie

Yesterday we went to see Thomas' grandmother who lives about six miles from town.  We took her groceries, cooking oil, and some new shoes and a kerosene lamp to replace her broken one.   Thomas is 16 and one of the oldest boys at the orphanage.  Before he came to the orphanage every morning he would walk all the way into town to beg for money then walk all the way back at night.  Now that he's at the orphanage he's doing well in school, is a great soccer player and a very nice young man.  After meeting his grandmother I see his kindness is a family trait.  She was incredibly gracious and patient with Jackie, Brook and I as we struggled with our Swahili.

Shedrack and Thomas at his Grandmas'

After getting back from the country we got to work making a new brochure for the orphanage.  Jackie and Brook took the lead on that and I went back to the orphanage to help Georgie, the Italian volunteer, with the new book shelves in the computer room.  The brochure was finished in just a few hours and looks great.
We've been back to the farm property to pick the rest of  the maize and it'll take a week or so before it'll be dry enough to process.
We're hoping for a hot sunny day soon so we can take some of the kids swimming at the local YMCA, but it's been very overcast here, still very hot by our standards but I think most of the kids here will end up shivering on the side of pool if we try to go in this weather.
Things have been going by so fast it's hard to keep track of everything that's been happening but we will try to post more frequently to keep everyone at home updated.

Working on the Brochure 

Much Love!

Agnes, Viola, and Glory

Brook, Elena, and Bebe's cow

Elena and Shedrack