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Date: Sat, 8 Aug 2009 02:47:37 -0400
Hello from cold and rainy but HAPPY KENYA!!!
Lots of GOOD NEWS this week!!!
1. School is out and all of our kids are home very happy to be finished school. Not sure how well they did except that little Miss Alma of cottage C was Number One in all of Karen C School. Isn't that GREAT!!!
Reagan continues to improve and is building his strength by ridin his scooter around the oval and continuingto eat his mangoes, sausage and chips. Titus, one of our village kids, is now healthy and has returned to thevillage. Matta is still with us and recovering well from his surgery. canary is a real character nd Gilbert and little Priscilla are struggling a little right now but S. matron, her team and the rest of us are giving them plenty of TLC. please keep all of our children in your prayers. This cold weather is hard on them.
2. All 16 of our children plus Uncle Arnold and Mum Terry arrived safely in Ireland. Protus and I waited at the airport to be sure they actually got off on the plane. The only problem they had was with Laura P's passport but they let Protus go into the airport and he got everything straightened out for her. After finding suitcases, clothes, shoes and raincoats for the 16 of them I think I am going to retire from that business. i hope and pray they had everything they needed when they got there. Please pray they have a good time and everyone stays healthy while there. Also, pray for Geraldine and Dermot and all those who made this trip possible. i am sure lot of funraising activities were held to make this trip possible. Also pray for Protus and Helen who had lots of probems getting the kids passports but who persevered and got all of them.
3. There is a new little 2 year old girl in cottage G. Her name is Beril. She arrived yesterday. She is here for respite care from the leatoto program. Luckily Sister Little had not taken all the baby clothes to Leatoto so I was able to get her some nice clothing that our Irish friends has just brought. She is long and very thin and looks and acts like a one year old. I am sure that with good food, medicine and plenty of TLC another Nyumbani Miracle will be performed and she will be find. All of the kids were so happy that they got her in cottage G except Anthony. I do not think he is ready for anyone to take his place. Mum Christine was feeding her and Anthony was right there glued to her side wondering why Mum was feeding her and not him. Last night for the first time he slept with the other kids and Beril was in his bed. Wonder how it went? I tried to talk to him about being the big brother and caring for Beril but he did not seem to buy that line. i know that he will be fine as long as he still gets attention. It will just take him a little time to adjust. Please pray for our new arrival.
4. We have had a very good week sharing with Clare, Majorie and 5 Irish teenagers. They came to Mass last Sunday then had lunch in the hostels with the kids and Sister Mary after which they spent time just playing with the kids. On Monday we had planned for them to go to leatoto for a visit to meet with Nicholas and on Tuesday sister Little took them to kibera. On Wednesday they took a trip to the Elephant Center and the Giraffe Center as well as lunch with our Paul Miki kids. They were amazed at what good eaters our kids are.On Thursday with the high school students and all the volunteers they headed to the Tea Farm which everyone really enjoyed. Maureen packed everyone a great lunch and they got tea and freshly baked biscuits. On Friday it wastime to treat standards 1, 2, and 3 to lunch and the Safari Walk. So, they went to Java for lunch and then headed to Safari Walk. Today they are visiting the village. Sunday they will be here for Mass and take standards 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 to Bomas of Kenya for lunch and a tour. monday will be there final day here and we have planned a day at the movies. some will go to see the new Harry Potter movie and some will see ice Age III. while there they will get popcorn, soda and a candy bar or a hot dog. the kids are really looking forward to this. We are really grateful to Clare, S. Mary's cousin, nd her group for sponsoring all of these events nd for all foteh fundraising they did to make these trips possible. They also brought us lots ofclothes that Clare had washed nd ironed and packed neatly in many, many boxes andbags. Then Clare and I wnet therough all of these and searated them for here, the village and Leatoto. Plese ask God to bless Clare and her group for all they are doing for us. Lots of time, energy, and loving care went into making this trip possible. It was lots of work for Protus and I to coordiante all the activities this week but great to see how well everything went and how happy everyone was. We are very grateful for the many ways they have enriched our lives this week.What is good for me is that since the kids did all this tripping this week that I do not have to plan trips for them.
5. It was also good this week to have Sisters Rose and Francis spend the week with us after closing school last Friday. They got time to relax, get a little work done and some time to share with each other. They got the opportunity to experience the Rusty Nail and to share a couple of spaghetti dinners prepared by me. I am happy to say that as a result of my cooking that no one got sick. I am saying this because I know my 4 sisters are all wondering if they survived my cooking. I must admit I am not much of a cook but I cook vegetarian spaghetti for myself most nights so i do a pretty good job on this. The sisters will be leaving on Sunday and then Sister Nora who manages an internal displacement camp in Uganda will be coming for a visit on Tuesday and staying in our guest house. So, it has been a great Franciscan week for me. It is great to have the sisters visit.
6. A congressman from Washington state visited Nyumbani this week. His name is Jim McDernott and it was great to host him. Hillary was also in town and I hoped she might also visit but we were not on her agenda this time. Representatives from USAID accompanied him. The kids performed well for him and his group. There was even a woman named Lisa from Philly, East Oak Lane, who was with him. When she saw my Eagles fleece jacket we struck up a conversation. She is a big eagles fan and is anxiously awaiting the season opening. As an American it makes me proud to see our congressman coming to visiti Nyumbani and thanking our people for all they are doing and telling us that they will continue to support the great work we are doing here. They always seem very impressed by the work we do and especially impressed by how well our kids are doing, how friendly our kids are and how well they speak English. They know that the money they are sending to us is being well spent. Let us ask God to bless the American people for all of their support and pray that the American support we need will always be there for our children.
7. I am chairing the Foundation Day Committee which will be held on September 5th. It should be a great day as we celebrate 17 years of service to these children. The bishop is coming to celebrate with us and we will probably have First Communion and Confirmation for our children that day. So we are working on the invitations, the program, the mass, the entertainment, the set up, the parking, the signage, the financing, and the food. Lots of work but it should be a great celebration with lots of people coming.
8. I am working on Birthdays. We celebrate on August 23rd nd 24th. I'll give you all the names next week.
I think that is all the GOOD NEWS for this week. Please take care of yourselves. You are all loved and missed. Julie
The Jesuit Fathers in Malta are supporting a few Jesuit Mission works in Africa, and have begun collecting unused mobile phone for Nyumbani.
These projects, as well as others, are partly financed by mobiles collected from Europe.
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