School is Finally Out!

Hello All,
Oh, Happiness for the little things:  I am sitting here with a cup of Chai (almost gone though!) and kids quarrelling in the background after sleeping in till 700 and doing my blog.  Life is Good!

This was a great week for us.  We had progress on the Peds wing, and the sanitation system, the kids got out of school, we went to the graduation of a good friend from a local Bible College and got to hear/see Trevor playing in the Jazz Band and the Wind Ensemble:

Peds Wing:  We met with our potential contractor this week, who, by the way, is an Italian (big plus for them in my eyes)!  We had a good meeting and are zooming in on an agreement (regarding price).  The Bethany Kids Board is meeting on Sunday to discuss the matter and hopefully ratify the agreement so that we can sign a contract with them.  If that happens next week (before we leave) it will be because you all are praying for it!

Sanitation System:  We had a design meeting this week with the professor that we have contracted to be our consultant.  We are very close to the solution for and locking in the design.  I am not happy that I will be leaving just as we are mobilizing digging crews and pipe crews.  But, our Engineering and Facilities Team here is doing a great job and I am sure will get things done.

School is out!:  The kids finished up on Thursday.  They are all excited to be done.  This past week was what they call "dead week" for the High School though, so there was really not much going on.  Graduation for Seniors is today.  We are not invited though.   You have to be blood related to get a ticket!  There was (and is) a lot of crying going on up there this week as everybody says their "good-byes."  Some of these kids have been here since 5th - 7th grade!  Here is a picture of Timothy and some friends as they did the final flag lowering ceremony:

Our good friend Patrick Saruni graduated with a diploma from the local bible college - Moffat Bible College.  This was 3 tough years for him.  He is a Maasai and just getting through to a high school diploma without any money was an amazing accomplishment.  But now that he is a pastor, he will be able to go back to his people and help them understand God's love.  He is so excited!  He will actually return for one more year to get a higher diploma so that he will be able to work with the African Inland Church.  Here are some pictures of Graduation day:

Jim, Patrick and another friend with her baby.

Who is that old lady on the far left?

We are very proud of Patrick.  He calls Jim "Mzee" (which is old man in Swahili).  It is not a put down though, it is a sign of respect.

Band Concerts:  Last week end all the bands and the Choir performed.  It was great!  The jazz band played for about 1 1/2 hours on Sat night and then the Wind Ensemble was on Sunday night along with the Choir.  Trevor has gotten so good on the Trumpet.  He has an amazing teacher (Mr Taylor) here and has improved so much.  He had a solo in Jazz band and just blew us away with the sound.  He had been talking about how Mr Taylor wants him to start looking at buying a better trumpet for college that will cost $600 - $800!  I was a bit taken aback, but after hearing him play with this trumpet, it makes me want to get it for him!  This picture is rather dark but I like it all the same:

Here is another picture of Trevor that I found on Face book.  It was at the Sophomore Restaurant where he had the role of Maitre D'.

He Looks very happy between these two beautiful girls.  But, he says he was "forced" to smile! I don't believe him!  Here is another picture that I found on my phone of Trevor and some of his class mates while we were delivering valentines day sale items:

 Here are a few more pictures from the past weeks:

Jenelle and Sallie with Puppies - Girls and Puppies  - How Happy is that?!

Have you ever been this close to a giraffe?

Sallie at the Giraffe center - Their tongues are so smooth!

And their eyes are so gentle

Hope you have a great week ahead.  We are getting the kids ready to go to camp (Timothy and Sallie).  And, because of that, we will hopefully have a quiet week around here to wrap up some things before we head out.   Please pray that our contract for the Pediatric wing comes together and also that our Sanitation system project stays on time and in budget! 

In His Hands,

Jullie T.