Well we hit day 10 of our blog today and all in all we had yet another great day. The day began with French Toast for breakfast...what a treat it was. We also had some Maple Syrup from Fulton along side it. We enjoyed some fruit and hard boiled eggs as well. We, of course, had our coffee and today Scott almost poured salt into his coffee which is stored inside a creamer container here at Tina's. Good thing Cali was alert as she saved Scott from having a salty cup of morning coffee. Following breakfast we had devotions where we read aloud Philippians 3. We were urged to press on knowing that we haven't fully obtained yet and to not put it on auto pilot. And that we didn't, we pressed hard today.
In the morning most of the team went to the orphanage while Cindy went to 41. 41 is a Ministry started by Tara Clapper, from the US, which is just up the road from Tina's. Essentially, what the ministry is a burlapp tote bag ministry. Tara began the ministry and with the sale of each handmade bag a child is fed at the local Kanama School. With the sale of each bag 1 child is fed 1 meal a day for 1 year. Hence the title, 41.... (for 1 child). No 41 has 20 treadle sewing machines where 34 women are employed to make bags. Most of the women who are working are orphans and some still live at Noel Orphanage. They work on commission and have an opportunity to raise money to get them to their next point in life. The ministry also sells aprons, potholders, headbands, necklaces, and they will soon have Christmas stockings thanks to Cindy. Cindy went to 41 this morning and developed a prototype with the ladies of a Christmas stocking. She said that it went well and the head lady would translate to the other ladies as Cindy would give instructions. By the end of the day the ladies were making Christmas Stockings on their own. Thank you Cindy! What an phenomenal ministry started by one person with a vision. Jumping ahead, we did visit the Kanama School today. With an extremely bumpy ride through a market area, as 16 of us were packed into a van which is near the size of van that would fit 7 in America, we bumped our way through roadways while kids chased the van screaming Mzungu, Mzungu! We almost backed over some fruit stands as we turned around in the roadway and everytime the van needed to be started we really did not think that it had another start left in it. However, we were all put at ease through the turbulence by the Leopard Prints seats we were sitting on. When we got to the school we had a couple thousand eyes glued to us and it was like a show had come to town. The kids quickly ran toward us and we felt as celebrities as we gave smiles and high fives to school kids who were exicted to see us. We had the opportunity to see the kids eating the one meal that No. 41 provides. We also got to see the No. 41 room that the school provides for the storage of food and organization items. This room had multiple heads of cabbage, bags of maze flour, many containers of water, and many bags of beans. They had a lot of food on hand for the kids and staff. Currently, 910 lunches are being served as a result of No. 41s efforts. They are looking to expand to 1,100 meals next term (beginning in January). We were told by school executives that with No. 41 provding meals for the kids they are now able to hold school from 7:20 am to 5:00 pm as opposed to 7:20 am to 1:30 pm when lunches were not provided. The kids are now able to have a whole day of school thanks to No. 41. The school stated that they function off of governnment money for which they get little of. That certainly sounds like a lot of lunches and it is! We got to go to the kitchen area where 3 cooks work to prepare the lunches. One of the pots used could nearly fit our entire team in it. Probably the largest pot we have ever seen. They are looking to expand the school to a seond location come January as well.
What an excellent thing No. 41 is doing and we got to tangibly see the results. The school administrators were very grateful for the work No. 41 has done to partner with their school as they provide education to both primary and secondary students. If you would like to know about No. 41 and how they work please visit their website at www.no41.org.
In the morning we spent about an hour and forty five minutes at the orphanage before heading to the No. 41 house (their headquarters). When we got to the orphanage the mamas were weighing and measuring the toddlers which is done twice a week. They would simply call the names of the kids and they would march right over. On a good note, Heather's little Patrick was back from the hospital. Dr. VanGorder attempted to learn about his status, but it was difficult due to the language barrier and the person he spoke with really didn't know what medicince he would be on. Dr. VanGorder, Pastor Wade, and Fred got to feed the 1-2 year olds and help out the mama's. The mama's expressed their gratefulness to them for helping which is very reassuring for us as we don't know what they are thinking often times considering the language barrier. This morning we played with the bean bags that Cindy made and Heather initiated the photo bomb dance with the kids. While she was taking a picture a girl got in the back of the picture and Heather said, "Photo bomb. We have to take another." From this point on dances with chants of " la foto bomba, la foto bomba, la foto bomba," were heard from the young girls. It was very neat to see as they laughed and danced.
In the afternoon, after visiting No. 41, having lunch, and goings to to the Kanama School, we returned to the orphanage. Little Flip, a cute little two year old boy that Pastor Wade named, had a rough morning as he walked around holding himself for a while before finally letting his bladder loose a foot or two from me as I sat on the ground. Rough morning, and a little scary for me, but I saw it coming and told Fred that Little Flip was going to let loose any time and sure enough. But when we returned this afternoon Little Flip had new clothes on and a new pair of pink shoes on that actually fit him and looked good. You would have to see Little Flip to enjoy how cute he looked with his new kicks on. Scott held a baby which we have named the "singing baby" as this baby had her hands held high and was able to put on some moves as Scott sang to her. Scott started a nice round of Farashaka and the dancing baby lit up. Following the dance she got Scott a little wet. In the afternoon, following from Farashaka from me, she got me a little wet. The other day she got Pastor Wade a little wet as she sat on his lap. We aren't sure if she has a healthy bladder or a bladder control problem. Nonetheless, she's a cutie and can dance! This afternoon Fred had each and every hair combed. For about an hour straight the kids combed Fred's hair with a building block. Fred was thoroughly surprised at how incredibly methodical the kids were! After Fred had his hair combed, repeatedly, many of the kids (about 30 of them) met Elaine in the dining room for some coloring. We kind of left poor Elaine on her own, and like the old cartoons, after the twister had passed, Elaine came out unscaved but empty handed as the mobs had rid her of both her paper and her crayons. Cali got to hold baby Quesa and as she did they all yelled, "Quesa's Mama!" As Cali became a mama, Elaine and Cindy got to feed babies with bottles today as opposed to bowls and spoons. Many kids were outside this afternoon, including many of the babies that they let us take out, but we did miss some of the 8-9 year old girls as they were in school late this afternoon. All in all a great day!
When we got home we got washed up, cleaned ourselves, and had a short rest before eating dinner. Dinner was good again and Cindy pulled out her jar of Peanut Butter with dessert and put it on the small bananas we had. It made us think of all the lucious treats we have in America that they don't use here (milkshakes, chocolate cake, etc....). We are a spoiled people. After dinner we did worship and for the second night in a row the power went out. Thankfully, it came back on while we were writing the blog.
Please pray for the Mama's at the orphanage as they have long days with the kids everyday and seem to perpetually be doing laundry. Also, please pray for us and the orphans as we only have two days left with them. We have developed some solid relationships and are enjoying getting to see them everyday. We strive to finish strong!
-The Team
In the morning most of the team went to the orphanage while Cindy went to 41. 41 is a Ministry started by Tara Clapper, from the US, which is just up the road from Tina's. Essentially, what the ministry is a burlapp tote bag ministry. Tara began the ministry and with the sale of each handmade bag a child is fed at the local Kanama School. With the sale of each bag 1 child is fed 1 meal a day for 1 year. Hence the title, 41.... (for 1 child). No 41 has 20 treadle sewing machines where 34 women are employed to make bags. Most of the women who are working are orphans and some still live at Noel Orphanage. They work on commission and have an opportunity to raise money to get them to their next point in life. The ministry also sells aprons, potholders, headbands, necklaces, and they will soon have Christmas stockings thanks to Cindy. Cindy went to 41 this morning and developed a prototype with the ladies of a Christmas stocking. She said that it went well and the head lady would translate to the other ladies as Cindy would give instructions. By the end of the day the ladies were making Christmas Stockings on their own. Thank you Cindy! What an phenomenal ministry started by one person with a vision. Jumping ahead, we did visit the Kanama School today. With an extremely bumpy ride through a market area, as 16 of us were packed into a van which is near the size of van that would fit 7 in America, we bumped our way through roadways while kids chased the van screaming Mzungu, Mzungu! We almost backed over some fruit stands as we turned around in the roadway and everytime the van needed to be started we really did not think that it had another start left in it. However, we were all put at ease through the turbulence by the Leopard Prints seats we were sitting on. When we got to the school we had a couple thousand eyes glued to us and it was like a show had come to town. The kids quickly ran toward us and we felt as celebrities as we gave smiles and high fives to school kids who were exicted to see us. We had the opportunity to see the kids eating the one meal that No. 41 provides. We also got to see the No. 41 room that the school provides for the storage of food and organization items. This room had multiple heads of cabbage, bags of maze flour, many containers of water, and many bags of beans. They had a lot of food on hand for the kids and staff. Currently, 910 lunches are being served as a result of No. 41s efforts. They are looking to expand to 1,100 meals next term (beginning in January). We were told by school executives that with No. 41 provding meals for the kids they are now able to hold school from 7:20 am to 5:00 pm as opposed to 7:20 am to 1:30 pm when lunches were not provided. The kids are now able to have a whole day of school thanks to No. 41. The school stated that they function off of governnment money for which they get little of. That certainly sounds like a lot of lunches and it is! We got to go to the kitchen area where 3 cooks work to prepare the lunches. One of the pots used could nearly fit our entire team in it. Probably the largest pot we have ever seen. They are looking to expand the school to a seond location come January as well.
What an excellent thing No. 41 is doing and we got to tangibly see the results. The school administrators were very grateful for the work No. 41 has done to partner with their school as they provide education to both primary and secondary students. If you would like to know about No. 41 and how they work please visit their website at www.no41.org.
In the morning we spent about an hour and forty five minutes at the orphanage before heading to the No. 41 house (their headquarters). When we got to the orphanage the mamas were weighing and measuring the toddlers which is done twice a week. They would simply call the names of the kids and they would march right over. On a good note, Heather's little Patrick was back from the hospital. Dr. VanGorder attempted to learn about his status, but it was difficult due to the language barrier and the person he spoke with really didn't know what medicince he would be on. Dr. VanGorder, Pastor Wade, and Fred got to feed the 1-2 year olds and help out the mama's. The mama's expressed their gratefulness to them for helping which is very reassuring for us as we don't know what they are thinking often times considering the language barrier. This morning we played with the bean bags that Cindy made and Heather initiated the photo bomb dance with the kids. While she was taking a picture a girl got in the back of the picture and Heather said, "Photo bomb. We have to take another." From this point on dances with chants of " la foto bomba, la foto bomba, la foto bomba," were heard from the young girls. It was very neat to see as they laughed and danced.
In the afternoon, after visiting No. 41, having lunch, and goings to to the Kanama School, we returned to the orphanage. Little Flip, a cute little two year old boy that Pastor Wade named, had a rough morning as he walked around holding himself for a while before finally letting his bladder loose a foot or two from me as I sat on the ground. Rough morning, and a little scary for me, but I saw it coming and told Fred that Little Flip was going to let loose any time and sure enough. But when we returned this afternoon Little Flip had new clothes on and a new pair of pink shoes on that actually fit him and looked good. You would have to see Little Flip to enjoy how cute he looked with his new kicks on. Scott held a baby which we have named the "singing baby" as this baby had her hands held high and was able to put on some moves as Scott sang to her. Scott started a nice round of Farashaka and the dancing baby lit up. Following the dance she got Scott a little wet. In the afternoon, following from Farashaka from me, she got me a little wet. The other day she got Pastor Wade a little wet as she sat on his lap. We aren't sure if she has a healthy bladder or a bladder control problem. Nonetheless, she's a cutie and can dance! This afternoon Fred had each and every hair combed. For about an hour straight the kids combed Fred's hair with a building block. Fred was thoroughly surprised at how incredibly methodical the kids were! After Fred had his hair combed, repeatedly, many of the kids (about 30 of them) met Elaine in the dining room for some coloring. We kind of left poor Elaine on her own, and like the old cartoons, after the twister had passed, Elaine came out unscaved but empty handed as the mobs had rid her of both her paper and her crayons. Cali got to hold baby Quesa and as she did they all yelled, "Quesa's Mama!" As Cali became a mama, Elaine and Cindy got to feed babies with bottles today as opposed to bowls and spoons. Many kids were outside this afternoon, including many of the babies that they let us take out, but we did miss some of the 8-9 year old girls as they were in school late this afternoon. All in all a great day!
When we got home we got washed up, cleaned ourselves, and had a short rest before eating dinner. Dinner was good again and Cindy pulled out her jar of Peanut Butter with dessert and put it on the small bananas we had. It made us think of all the lucious treats we have in America that they don't use here (milkshakes, chocolate cake, etc....). We are a spoiled people. After dinner we did worship and for the second night in a row the power went out. Thankfully, it came back on while we were writing the blog.
Please pray for the Mama's at the orphanage as they have long days with the kids everyday and seem to perpetually be doing laundry. Also, please pray for us and the orphans as we only have two days left with them. We have developed some solid relationships and are enjoying getting to see them everyday. We strive to finish strong!
-The Team
wow project 41 sounds like it is really working to provide food for kids? How many bags did you buy??? If you want to find out how long 16 days is have your husband go to Africa!!!
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