We’ve been here about 7 weeks, but this week contained an amazing number of firsts:

1. We officially got a dog (for the year). Her name is Jesse, she’s mostly black lab, and she is pretty sweet, but not terribly well trained. She belongs to a family who is on furlough (i.e. back in the states for a year), and will return to them when we leave in July. She has actually been ours since the first week we arrived and she met JT, but it took a while for the “official” part to happen-that’s a long, boring story that I won’t go into. What I will mention is that 5 hours after she became ours officially, we received a phone call. ” Are you responsible for Jesse?” “Yes” “Well, she stole our dogs food and then ran off with the dish and we can’t find it. Will you look for it please?” Hmmmm, talk about buyer’s remorse, and we didn’t even have to pay anything for her! But all the males (that’s 11 total) think she’s the greatest, and as long as they clean up any messes she makes, I’ll get along with her too. And she eats all those fridge items I would feel guilty about throwing away.
2. ALL of our 10-year old boys (that’s a total of 9) got band instruments for the first time ever. And they are all LEARNING to play them. That’s 3 trumpets, 2 saxes, 2 clarinets, 1 trombone, and 1 flute. Joyful noises, joyful noises, joyful noises. Seriously, they are all thrilled and I’m glad for them. We just need to establish a few guidelines about how many instruments can be played at me at one time in one cement walled room. (JT is learning sax and Matthew will continue with piano.)
3. I experienced being in a nation when all e-mail and long distance capabilities went down for a couple of days for the first time ever! That explains why there was some delay in replying to some e-mails. Kenya continues to amaze and surprise us. In the states I would get disgruntled when occasionally some convenience that I’d grown accustomed to failed to work. Here, it’s a given that power or water or phones or roads or something will not work each day. It’s a nation that wants to be modern, but tries to jump ahead before some of the basics are established, and therefore stumbles often. It’s also a country where corruption in all levels of government is rampant. As Steve put it, the corruption here makes you long for Chicago.
4. We had our first Titchie Field Day (remember that Titchie refers to elementary grades). It was a wonderful day. About a fourth of the parents were able to attend which made it nice for the kids whose parents came, and hard for the ones whose parents couldn’t. The teaching staff organized a morning of crazy games, scavenger hunts and obstacle courses and the kids rotated through them all. One of the more creative games involved a long string with a spoon tied on one end. Each team had to drop the spoon through their shirt and pants and then pass it on to the next person until everyone was connected by the string.  Different! The kids had a great time, and so did we. Lunch was served by the senior class and you could order hamburgers, philly cheese steaks, pizza pockets, hot dogs or chicken sandwiches. Yummy and I didn’t fix it. It was a fund-raiser for the seniors and they deserved every penny they got! Later we had a parents versus kids soccer game. I joined in on the ladies quarter and actually scored the only goal!?! That’s surely a first. And I’m not even tooooooo sore today.
5. Other firsts included meeting new friends, starting an aerobics class, making the first of my own decisions about what to do in the library, beginning a prayer partner relationship with a new friend here, and celebrating the first of our dorm boys birthdays. Joo Young Park turned 10 today!

A non-first included thanking the Lord for my wonderful friends and family back in the states who faithfully support us in prayer, financially, and with hearts and words of encouragement. And thanks to the many of you who sent me personal e-mails! Steve and I read all our e-mails together and appreciate them all, but so many of his friends are on the computer all day and find it much easier to zap along a brief note than most of my friends who are in their cars taking kids here, there and everywhere! Bless you one and all. This is just an amazing time for our family. Full of firsts, healing for our hearts, and a broadening of our hearts to see more and love more-hopefully with the love of the Father.

We pray the Father’s love to surround you there as it does us here,

Nancy