I am so excited about sitting to write this today because I only have one other thing going today and that is a play late tonight! Just to have the time and write at my leisure is really something!
Here are some great pictures that a friend's daughter took while in the Mara. It was with a Cannon Power shot. I am thinking about getting one!
Banded Mongoose (or so you say mongeese?)
Starlings
Cheetah jumping off of a Jeep
Owl
We had a good week with projects.
Bethany Kids: They are still moving along well. They have not brought up concrete material because we had some rain this week. It makes the road very dangerous and impassable for big trucks when it rains. The contractor is crying that it is costing them a lot more money to keep a tractor here to help pull the truck up the hill and they want the equivalent of $7,400 per month just to keep the tractor here to help out! After laughing for a bit, we are now trying to negotiate that number!
RVA Woodshop: We had our second site meeting this past week. They have just about finished excavating for the ground floor slab and will be starting excavating for the footings soon. Things are going well and they seem to be only a week or so behind at this point (4.5 weeks into the project and 1 week behind = Pretty Good compared to the Bethany project)!
Upendo Village (HIV/AIDS outreach in Naivasha): We are still waiting on their US Board to give us a "go" on picking a contractor. Once we decide who we want, we will meet with the contractor and negotiate and sign. They want to start the project before the first week in July because Sister Florence is making a trip to Chicago. She will be gone for about 6 weeks and she is really on top of everything about this new Admin building. We are enjoying working with this ministry.
Jim was given a whole bunch of computer pieces and parts this week and was in heaven when he was here all by himself and spent the day geeking and putting things together! We had a friend who is leaving this summer and had parts to give away. He was able to restore one laptop that will be good to give to a Kenyan student.
We went to town (Nairobi) yesterday to look at some grass. A strange thing to do, but a very informative trip. It was called Vetiver grass. It is used in environmental agriculture to reduce erosion, manage waste pits, and stabilize soil. It is a variety that does not have seeds, so does not propagate into surrounding areas. It will make very strong hedge rows as the roots grown down about 2 meters (6 ft) or more! We have some possible uses here for holding the soil in the surrounding areas because of the rampant deforestation and also possibly for our waste pits that still need to be done for the hospital sanitation system.
The other great thing about going to Nairobi without kids was that Jim and I had a nice lunch with some friends (all adults)! It was a nice short get away, but the traffic was awful.
Last night was the titchie talent show. The kids get to perform what they want. Some of the talents were walking on stilts, Rubiks cube completing, magic, flute playing, and singing. Timothy and his friend Julia sang "Stronger" by Hillsong. They did a great job!
We also had our last Caring Community last night. It is a time where we host some of the dorm kids and usually just eat and hang out. I made Pizza and a trifle. It was yummy!
This week, I was looking for a quote from Pascal. A friend had told me this but I wanted to find it. I could not find it but found several more that were very good. The one I was looking for went something like, "We are not physical beings that happen to have a spiritual encounter. We are spiritual beings that happen to have a physical encounter." I love that! Here is another one that I found while I was searching:
"In faith there is enough light for those who
want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't". ― Blaise Pascal
We are studying the book of John in our bible study. In John 6: around verses 40- the end. John 6:44 is where Jesus is talking about "no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him...." This is very difficult to comprehend. Does God pick the ones to draw? Are we all drawn but some just don't see? Like Pascal says, "...there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't." Something to ponder.
Three more weeks of school and the kids are done. It is hard to keep a sense of seasons when school goes to the middle of July and it is cold! July 4th will be a normal working day but we may have a BBQ and will be in hats and coats! But, returning to Michigan will mark the start of a holiday for sure! We are going to request waffles and sausage for breakfast on that first morning- Please Mom!
Thank you all for keeping up with us. We love to hear how things are going with you too so emailing is perfectly acceptable! jimjulliet@AHC123.com
In His Hands,
Jullie T.
Sallie and Emily on the swing
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