What a Week!

This week has flown by. I can't believe it's Friday night already. I have really gotten into the groove of teaching in Class 2 and Class 3. Simiyu and David have passion and drive. It's an honor to be in their rooms each day and to work with our students on their reading skills.

Things got hairy on Tuesday night when I got sick. I had some sort of 24 hour bug, not because Africa- but because we went from having 3 people to 26 people in the guesthouse. i was sent to sleep in the infirmary so the bug didn't spread to anyone else. Luckily, no one else got the bug, I took Wednesday to recover. On wednesday afternoon, we got word that we would be getting a new baby boy, a one month old. Of course, I didn't go to pick him up because I was sick, but Ashley and Allie got to go along for a very exciting time. Unfortunately, as is more often the case than not here, the "abandoned" baby was not really abandoned- it was a scam. Ashley and Allie were heartbroken, having been there and held the baby and seen everything crumble before their eyes first hand. We talked about it when they got back, and we prayed for the sweet child, who as of yet has not been named by his biological mother. We also prayed for the mom and the others involved in the scam.  I don't know why God allowed that to happen, but I do know there is purpose in Him bringing this child to Naomi's Village attention. He will not leave us or forsake us, even the least of these, even an unnamed one month old baby boy, unwanted by his mother.

Thursday was our first day off. We went to Enashipai Resort in Naivasha, which is absolutely gorgeous. There's a spa, a restaurant, a pool, a coffee shop, a waterfall, and a lake full of hippos. We ended up taking an hour long boat tour to look at wildlife on Lake Naivasha, and it was a blast! We feasted on soup, salad, sandwiches, and fancy coffees. We had time to sit and talk, to think in solitude on God's vast creation, and to marvel at the beauty set before us as we enjoyed the day.

And today, it's already Friday- and what a packed day it was! I took my two 2nd graders to the dining hall this morning for an hour to do some intensive reading instruction. They. Were. Perfect! Polite, focused, making attempts to sound out unknown words- I had to teach them what the word "impressed" was! I gave many high fives and many fist bumps ending in explosions. It was so encouraging! I went to spend time in Class 3 after that, and we worked on (well they worked on) Kiswahili, and then CRE (Christian Religious Education). The lesson was about God's desire for us to be fair to one another, and how it saddens him when we treat each other unfairly. I find it utterly astonishing that the Kenyan government includes this as part of their compulsory curriculum... and yet in most Kenyan public schools, 5 out of 100 pupils in each grade level are actually taught the material. The juxtaposition of the important religious lesson and the reality of what happens in public school here is staggering. I am grateful to God that the kids at Naomi's Village have loving, compassionate teachers who teach every child and stick it out until the concept is mastered. They do not physically, emotionally, or spiritually harm the children in any way, which in and of itself, is miraculous. Beyond that, every child is learning and making progress. Cornerstone Teachers are not the norm in Kenya, and I'm thankful for that!