days 16 - 19

it is monday morning, and the weekend's crazy fun has left me feeling both thankful and tired. who knew two days of dancing could be exhausting?! 

this is the last week of trip #4. they just keep getting more familiar, more comfortable, more peaceful. at church on saturday morning, i was looking at the beauty all around me. most of the service is spoken in swahilli, so my mind wanders. i was thinking what is it about here that resonates so within me? i have landed on two things -- one in me and one outside me. in me, i have peace and purpose. peace because i have shirked all responsibilities of home 😜. the farm is in such good hands and the kids are pretty much grown and self-sufficient. purpose because there is endless opportunity to help improve the lives of others. their gratitude and lack of expecting anything makes you want to help. kisii people work so so so hard doing everything manually. what a blessing for me to encourage them and provide them with more workers and tools to make things a tiny bit less hard. 

the thing outside of me -- hands down, their smiles, laughter, outpouring of love and joy!!! how can someone not love that? they serve and work with zero complaint... and i literally mean zero. every day, i learn about how little you can live with, how to be content right where you are, and love without restraint. 

okay, back to recalling the days so i have a journal for myself to remember how God showed up day after day after day. thursday was shopping day! lydia, bella, alex and i spent the day in town buying items on our long list. shopping here is not like shopping in the states. it is an exhausting adventure of people and traffic and noise and walking.  parking is ummm, challenging. and, like everything else here, it works. somehow, it just does. our car was filled and a boda boda (motorbike) brought what we couldn't cram in 🤪

stephen came by that night, and he and i sat on the steps and talked. and talked. and talked. i have never known anyone like him. he's a magical mix of intelligence and humility. every once in a great while you meet someone who is a true kindred spirit. we connect in a way that is really rare, and i am very grateful that the Lord made a way for our lives to intersect in such a big way. 

friday, it somewhat hit me that days were winding down and there was still much to do. i have been keeping a list of all that has been accomplished this trip... it has been productive!!! bella, alex, and i determined where to have the 4' wide and 6' deep trash pit should go. from there, we staked out the new chicken coop and run. we have 40 hens (eggs) and ten roosters (food). the coop will be done next week. and we decided to enclose the entire goat area with extra chicken wire so we have no escapees (pan and waldo are expert at working their way to neighbor's corn). all goats can then roam freely without needing to be tied. this makes me so so so happy!!!! 

friday afternoon we had our third kids' club. we did musical chairs which was crazy fun! i love introducing games and songs they have never played 😁.

saturday, we went to church with alex as usual. every time, they call us up to say hello... even though we have been there numerous times 😋 it was bella's 50th birthday and i asked if the church could sing to her. she forgave me 😜

saturday afternoon, we took five staff plus lydia and me to humphreys' hotel for a night of dinner and dancing. then sunday we repeated with the rest of the staff. there is absolutely no way to describe HOW MUCH FUN WE HAD!!!!! so many memories were made... never in forever will any of us forget this weekend. to see the staff in a totally different environment, all dressed up, and having the time of their lives was JUST THE BEST!!!! moses is the architect and owner of the humphreys and he was extremely hospitable, joining us in our private balcony room and dancing. he never stops smiling. when staff would come and ask to turn the music lower, we would say, "we know moses!" and they would nod their head and shut the door 😆

it.was.stinking.awesome!!! lydia brings fun to a room and she has the ability to bring everyone into their crazy inner self. i love that about her 💜