Thumbs Up!

These kids make it cool!

La Ladies

Da Dudes

Just Because......she's really cute

Although...from the first pic...I wouldn't want to cross this 2-year old....haha

Some Crazy Shots!

Sponsor Kids

Becky - We spent the day at the school after the children finished their mid-term exams this morning. They break for a month after that, so we took today to take updated pictures of all the sponsor children (the 2 in the pics are ones we just had to share their cuteness - their names are Junior and Rita) and hung out with the kids for the rest of the day. Twas a blast!

TTC

Becky - Today we received word that some of the students at the King's Glory Teacher's Training College had been attacked and beaten late last night as they were walking from the college to their dorms (about a 5 minute walk). These "students" are between 20-35 years old, as they are training to be teachers, and many of them are wives, husbands, and parents. Long story short, a woman had been suspended, complained to her boyfriend, and he got friends together to hide and attack the men as they were walking to their dorms. They were beaten with clubs and sticks. We drove out to the hospital today and picked them up to make sure they were ok and take them back to their college. Today was supposed to be the last day of their exams, but that obviously had to be postponed and they will resume tomorrow, as keeping them in school longer requires extra money to feed and house them. The men had head wounds and other dislocations, it was very sad, but they were released from the hospital and were doing well. The men who attacked them are being arrested today.

Anniversary Package of Love!

Mike - WOW! Two days before our anniversary my family sent a wonderful Anniversary package! It was a huge surprise, and so thoughtful. We enjoyed it very much, including the amazing bright green matchie-matchie winter Olympic t-shirts that we wore on our special day. We love you all!

More Anniversary Fun at Kiboko Bay

Mike - After riding the impalas all through the park, we galloped over to Kiboko Bay Resort, a nice and very relaxing place right on Lake Victoria. It was beautiful! Just like my wife. She is the most beautiful woman in the world!

Anniversary Treats...

Mike - The week leading up to our anniversary has been interesting! We still have no running water (going over 2 weeks), which means no showers, no clean dishes, no laundry, and no toilet. It's pretty awesome! This morning we were hot, sweaty, and sticky, and our tummies weren't feeling the best (too much oily food I think...for example, butter fries, butter fish, and bhajias - which are deep-fried breaded potatoes...haha) - so we toasted our Anniversary with some good ol' yoghurt!
Then we didn't eat for the rest of the day to give our bellies a break...but we celebrated in the evening with some mini-eggs (sent in a lovely care package!). Since our wedding was near Easter, we had mini-eggs for favours, so we are making it a tradition to eat some each year on our Anniversary! Maybe it will turn into an all day mini-egg feast as the years go by...and 200 pounds later, we'll be rolling each other down the street.

More Impala Pikachus

2 Year Anniversary Fun!

Mike - We can't believe it - but our marriage is 2 years young! We never thought we would be celebrating in Africa. Today Becky and I decided to take a day for ourselves to celebrate. We visited the Kisumu Impala Sanctuary, a tourist destination known all over the world (we're told!). We walked in the doors, and Becky almost got ran over by an impala! They just roam free all over the park, along with some monkeys - it's awesome!! We were also able to see leopards, cheetahs, water buffalo, hyenas, and lions (they were all in a cage...). Side note: when we came to the lions, a female was in full hunting mode, prowling across the ground ready to hunt some impala. Unfortunately, there was a fence separating them. How mean! Oh, and a cheetah almost attacked and hissed at a lady trying to get a picture near the fence...it was AWESOME! OH, I can't forget this, Becky and I found the CUTEST little monkey we have ever seen! He crawled down his little tree, just to come say Hi to us. He crawled up the fence, and held our hands. His fur was so soft, and his hands were so tiny and smooth! We tried to find a way to take him home...needless to say, it was an incredible day, down by the bay! (literally, Lake Victoria!). Yay for Anniversaries! It's going to be hard to top this one.

Fireproof!

Becky - We had an idea to play the Fireproof movie for the people here for 2 weeks, and then lead a Bible Study on it. The families here are really hurting - women are very devalued, abuse is rampant, polygamy takes place, and the first wife simply has no where to go. This past week (Tuesday through Saturday) the Deliverance Church Kondele has been trying to put on a movie in the open-air market by the church, so that everyone in the area will flock. It is a perfect way to start showing the Fireproof movie, and we and the Pastors are very excited about it! Each night and each attempt has been met with obstacles however - the first night, the tech team hadn't tested the equipment so the generator blew both their dvd players. Two of the other nights it started raining so we had to shut down. So we haven't been able to show it just yet - but we're still trying. We watched the movie on a laptop with the Pastor and he was crying, and really feels that it will speak to the people, and their hurting homelives. There were equipment issues another night so we relocated to the church parking lot and set up the little screen on the back of a truck. It was a late start and was already pitch black (in a dangerous neighborhood) so we played a Jesus film dubbed in Kiswahili to attract people. It was adorable - everyone would clap after each miracle Jesus performed in the movie...and Pastor Jasper did a sort of alter call halfway through - that was very well received!

Sad

Today is a sad day. One of the young girls who attend the school, in the Child Sponsorship program, passed away. She is an orphan, living with her aunt & uncle, and the Pastors and the church did everything they could to get her good medical care, but when the guardians don't have her best interests at heart and her only option other than living in that home would be on the streets, things just don't go well. She was an adorable little girl. The funeral procession is today - they do funerals quite differently here. There is a service, and then afterwards the family and friends all get on motorbikes covered with leaves and branches, and drive around the town howling and honking their horns. The first time we saw one we thought it was a parade - but when we were told it was a funeral procession...gosh it's really sad when you hear the wails going by.
Well - her life was a testament to the good that Father's Heart and the Deliverance Church are doing down here - because when the teachers had taken her to the hospital they were told that the nutrition she was receiving when she was at school, was sustaining her. So the program is helping a lot of kids - it is just so sad to see some of the home situations.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Mike - Here are some pictures of our new friends! So far, we have been hanging out with Deanna (the girl in the photo), who is from the US and is just finishing medical school. She is working with HIV patients here in Kenya, and is thinking of making it permanent. Jason (the dude in the pic), is in the Peace Corps from the States and is stationed here for 2 years. He was just transferred to Kisumu, but has been in Kenya for almost a year. We went for a late night milkshake party. They were our first North American friends here. Becky and I are VERY excited about it, as you can tell by the pictures! Yay for friends!!! Hip-Hip-HOORAY!! Round of applause!! High Fives all around! Pats on the back! Cool beans. :)

We Spoke Too Soon...

Becky - Alright sooo....we definitely spoke too soon about our shower working again...I think we jinxed it by getting overly excited and blogging about it. We were actually BOTH able to have one shower! So that was amazing! But that afternoon, the hot water shut off, then all the water completely shut off. A plumber drove down from Nairobi because the whole complex is out of water (QUITE the drive) - and we're told it'll probably be another week before we have water again. This has really been a test for us...and I think a huge learning experience, on not taking things for granted, and not being too comfortable. When you can't shower, wash your face, wash your dishes, use your toilet, wash your sheets or clothes, or have any water to purify...things get interesting. We're now buying mass quantities of bottled water to brush our teeth with, use for boiling water, and drinking. We've been sharing bottled water with our neighbors. Also, when you can't rely on the electricity, when it cuts out daily and the fridge will die, and you carry around a flashlight just in case - it really teaches us to not only appreciate what we have back home, but also to understand a bit more of how hard life can be - and we are still FAR from living in a mud hut and cooking in a firepit! Whenever we get mildly frustrated because this is just not what we are accustomed to back home, we take it as a learning experience. Right now we're basically camping, with a roof over our heads, haha. It's fun when you think of it that way! Thumbs up!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!!

Becky - We just wanted to share how excited we are - to shower! Our shower has been broken for the past week - and let me tell you, when you're sweating all day and all night, and most of the roads are dirt....it's not a pretty sight when you have no water! So we were overjoyed to be able to indulge today...oh my goodness we are so happy. Even happier than the day we bought our fan, hehe! Check out our awesome Norwex microfibre XL antibac bath towels...they are delicious treats. Fast-drying and super compacting! Buy now while supplies last!! Teehee LOVE you, Jeff & Jenni! :)
P.S. I'm REALLY excited in that picture...haha

The Skeleton Key

This is the key for our house...it's a scary Skeleton Key...that's all...

Complete With Stunning View

We also have adorable herds shepherded past our place daily. The cows look like they've swallowed their souls...but the calves are SO CUTE!! (This is Becky by the way...I don't want to confuse Dave, haha)

Our New Pad!

Mike - Here are pics of our new place. It's in Milimani, a safe neighborhood in town. We have an electric fence around the building, with a 24/7 Watchman. It's great being close in town, we're able to get around very easily (the van helps too, haha). We still go through a bottle of Doom per day, but we're not complaining. I never thought I'd say this - but we're actually getting used to the bugs crawling out of every corner, day and night...
Some pics of our clothes drying too. Sorta takes over the place. Recognize the bag in the sink, Mama Nay?

More Pics of the School