days 10 - 12

it is sunday evening, and lydia and i are in the missionary apartment, our home away from hkme this trip. we are at the halfway point with still many things on our to do wish list. 

friday was a day that wiĺl long be remembered ❤️ stephen took us to homabay.... the next location where lives will be transformed! homabay has a very different culture, even being just an hour away from kisii. while we have met many obstacles in kisii, the homabay leaders have embraced this new venture with open arms. the area chief, former chief, security director, ward supervisor, and three others met with us to share their enthusiasm and gratitude for the project. the drilling of the well has begun, hitting water at 120 feet. design of the community center is underway, and we marked the cornerstone of the small home that will be built in 2026. the hope of my heart is that my kids will use this place as a launching pad to serve in kenya. 

we drove to lake victoria which is only minutes away. it holds the title of the second largest freshwater lake in the world touching tanzania, kenya, and uganda. 

it was a magical day ❤️

saturday we went to church with alex. it is a friendly and lively church, very much what you might imagine an african church to be like. it is the rainy season here coming into summer. the clouds rolled in and unleashed torrents of rain. rain equals very muddy shoes and floors 🫣. afterward, bella (who is serving as program director) and i spent hourssss attempting to do online shopping. we had asked several of the staff during their performance reviews to give us a list of items needed -- security, housekeeping, counseling and therapy room, and medical office. omg. the only website avaliable is painfully and woefully lacking. amazon, i desperately miss you! then we get to checkout and it doesn't work. all the items we painstakingly selected still sit in the cart 😡.

sunday, it was a different church with different friends 😁. we sang twelve songs in swahilii. well, we tried 😆 phoebe had thrifted many ties, and we passed them out to the men. after service, they served cokes and white bread. it is always humbling when you know the funds are unbelievably tight and they sacrifice for guests anyway. we had lunch at martin's home afterward just like we did in june. we love their family very much. and they have kitties! and 100 chickens 😳

alex met us at naivas, the main grocery store, and we bought coffee supplies for cleophus and william, our nighttime security guards. we have been making them coffee every night and so we decided to buy them all the things... there's water and electricity at the guard gate and now they have a kettle, real mugs, sugar, a spoon, and nescafe instant coffee. they are thrilled!!!!! 

it was a long good day. we are choosing to remain hopeful that the government officials actually show up tomorrow 🥹 we are 100 days and still waiting. 

this week should be less hectic than the last. our sewing pilot program starts tomorrow as well as kids' club. i want to just hang out with the goats too 🫶

pics uploaded in completely random order 😋

(stephen's new command base

for homabay projects)

(drill site)

(the cornerstone : )

(at homabay site)

(government leaders)

(signs like this every.where!)

(mt. ruma)

             (captain yvonne gave us a tour of her boat)

      

(random goat passing lake victoria)

(this sucker is stinking huge. two inches! he hangs out in our stairwell)

(swahilli hymnal)

(11:54 at church : )

(martin's church)

(alex's church. people are fascinated of white people with white hair 😆)

(on the way to church in backseat of a truck)

(men with ties compliments of phoebe : )

(kitty!!!)

(martin's family)

(ack! chickens!)

(favorite picture of alex and his son, neliud)

melissa, you are making this trip very easy for me 🩷