Truth be told, I was the older boys’ favorite when they were younger. But that is not the case with the dynamic duo, who favor Nancy to a staggering degree. I’m not threatened by this; it is a sign of their high intelligence.

However, I discovered WHY Nancy is the favorite, and I must admit to seeing a sense of relief. Katie and Ben are on a blistering pace to complete toilet training; I am now hoping they will be toilet trained before THEY retire. But I had Katie on top of the potty, and she asked for Momma.

ME: Why do you want Momma?
Katie: Momma wipes better.
Me: How does someone wipe better?
Katie: Momma wipes twice.

There you have it, and any suggestions on techniques can go to my dear friend Rex Miller who has an amazing book coming out next month and is probably looking for ideas for the sequel.

One of my favorite parts of life right now is how much the twins love their big brothers. When JT leaves for school, he makes a big show of walking to the door and saying `BYE!’ The twins immediately yell `KISS’ and he walks back and kisses them goodbye. The way they interact is one of my favorite parts of life.

They had the official opening ceremony for the computer center on Friday. Like many Kenyan traditions, it was confusing and exhilarating at the same time. There were probably a thousand people in attendance.

They had a `tent’ set up ( it was some maize bags tied together) , and a car battery hooked up to a sound system, and an obsequious announcer who would say things like `Steve Peifer is now walking towards us’ who had generally inane things to say throughout the afternoon, which made it funnier to be there.

The first thing was to plant a tree, which made me miss my friend Mark Buhler, who did so much to instill tree planting in Kenya. After that, it was time to see lots of entertainment. Nancy and I got to sit on the first row, next to the MP (member of Parliament) who was funny and charming.

They decorated us with something that I can only compare to a Hawaiian lei with an ornament you might put on an ugly Christmas tree.

Then the stupid moment hit.

Some of the children were doing a dance, and they invited the MP to and dance with them. She knew the moves, and the kids loved it.

Then they asked me.

Long time readers are familiar with my dancing issues. Instead of gracefully waving them off, I had this weird thought: Maybe I could pull this off.

And I got up there and danced. And hundreds of kids starting screaming `Can you teach ME how to dance like that?’ For a moment, Africa and America were as one.

Actually, when I got up there, for some mysterious reason, the only dance I could think of was to do something like I saw on Hullabaloo (and if you don’t know what that is, say a prayer of thanks).

They all LAUGHED at me.

There were lots and lots of speeches.  The MC introduced each speaker with `the hope that their worthy remarks will remain brief.’ This was not to be, but the speakers were good, with some surprising things to say.

Many people noted that until the computer center was built, they felt isolated and unknown. Three different people said that they couldn’t understand why this center was built in the middle of nowhere. But they all said they didn’t think they were in the middle of nowhere anymore.

But the best thing the headmaster said was that the ones most excited were not the parents or the present students; it was the younger students, because they could see that they had a future.

What a gift you have given to them.

Walter and I went through the center while we were there, looking for structural issues, power difficulties or any other problems. We couldn’t find any. We had wanted to make sure it was right before we continued.

We received notice of funding for the second center this week. There will be issues as to where it goes, but another school is going to get a chance.

The world can change if we want it to change. We can be passive, and allow what has occurred to continue, or we can say `No more hungry children and no more children without opportunity.’

It’s our choice, and our opportunity.

Your pal,

S

PS. We will leave for the states four weeks from today!