-June Gunden
I spent the weekend in Njombe, my
first one off. It was nice and relaxing, the best part was sleeping in! I got a
lot of skype calls in, and just had some time to myself. I missed the kids, but
I have to say having zero responsibilities was pretty nice. One of the nights I
made dinner for Kayla and I. We found hamburger meat in town so I made the
famous bbq mac! It was so delicious and you know, meat!!!! So at about 3 in the
morning I woke up and had to use the restroom. I come back to bed and all of a
sudden I am really hot, and these horrible stomach pains kick in. I go back to
the bathroom and start throwing up. The last time I got this sick was after
eating a lot of meat. My body is not used to it, and now when I have a
substantial amount I reject it, which makes me really sad, because I love it.
The getting horribly sick part aside, it was a really great weekend.
The next day is shopping day. I
still feel a little woozy, almost like a car sick feeling, so I am in for a
long day. We go to do our shopping and about half way through it starts to
pour. We make a run for it and yet are still soaked, head to toe. We have to
wait out the rain before we can finish. (All dirt roads, no pavement, makes it
really hard to walk around during/after rain.) When it finally stops it’s
around 5pm, so we go finish the last few things and get a taxi home.
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| Elia & Ima |
Corrinne and I, in our expert
cooking skills, have now mastered the Lasagna, the most delicious one that I
have ever had. We made the noodles from scratch, the greens from the garden,
fresh tomato sauce with meat, complete with lots and lots of cheese. I was a
little hesitant to eat meat again, after what happened Monday, but I did and I
was fine. It seemed to be a big hit, and something we are going to do again
sometime!
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| Lasagna Baking! |
Our momma cat had babies!! There
are four of them, one black and orange, one black and gray, and two orange. She
had them in a flower bush during the night, so I moved them inside into a box.
I didn’t want the kids to bother them and plus when it rains it pours
here.
You know that saying, “the calm
before the storm”? That is the best way that I can describe what happened on
Saturday. It was a beautiful weekend, sun shining, warm, freshly cut grass,
everyone in good spirits, but all good things come to an end and they did on
this day. I never even saw it coming; we were having such a good time all day
as we were preparing for all the guests on Sunday. It happened as a domino
effect, one thing after the other. First the boys wouldn’t come in for dinner
when we called, so when they are late for meals they have to sit off to the
side and wait until the staff are finished and then we serve them. Next I was
moving the table towards me and it hit the bench in front which slowly, but too
quickly, landed on my foot; hard, solid, wooden bench, directly on the top of
my foot. Of course everyone is in there, and instantly “Sorry, Sorry, Sorry!”
Which as everyone knows when you REALLY hurt yourself, the last thing you
want/need is everyone trying to check on you at the same time. I hobble out of
the dining room as I assure everyone I am “just fine”, and go get some
Ibuprofen. I start to check out my foot and notice it growing in front of me
and changing color. I can move my toes so I don’t think it’s broken, but it
seriously hurts. I wrap it up and head back in to the dining room a smile on my
face and a hobble in my step.
The boys who are in “time out”
start to goof off and won’t listen, so now they have gotten soda taken away
from them for the next day. I am not sure exactly when “all hell broke loose”
but next thing I know Hosea is trying to run away, and since I am hobbling
around, Corrinne and the new cook go after him. They literally have to bring
him back kicking and screaming the whole way. So they take him to his room and
he goes to bed, but is still trying to run, so we have to lock the bedroom
door. Then Elia is upset because he wants to buy black shoes in the store, but
we don’t have anymore, I tried explaining this to him and he starts to cry.
Next Ima just starts crying out of nowhere, so I tell them all to go to bed,
knowing that they are all just tired and need a good night of sleep. So I open
the door and make them go in. What could possibly happen next you ask? Well, as
soon as I close the boys’ door, they all start full on wailing; I’m talking
crocodile tears, sobs, basically competing with each other to see who can cry
the loudest and hardest. We can hear them all the way in the kitchen, which is
in a different building. I can’t help it, somewhere between the foot smashing
bench and the crying competition, the only thing left to do is just laugh. What
an evening!!
Sunday was our two year
anniversary for Sunrise. It was such a nice day and we had around 75 people
attend. Corrinne and I taught the kids the “I love you” song from barney.
“I love you, you love me
We’re a happy family
With a great big hug
And a kiss from me to you
Won’t you say you love me too.”
It was adorable! Bibi Kay
introduced everyone, (staff, volunteers, children). It was my first chance to
meet all the families and my first introduction to a large group that I am
here. (Other than the Lutheran church on my first day.) The party was great,
everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. It was short and sweet and we were all
wiped out by the end of it.
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| Some of the women from the village helping with Dishes! |
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| The Sunrise Crew, minus one Kid. |
“Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your prescence or
take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and
grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Psalm 51:10-12
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| Just a picture of awesome road construction in Africa. |
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