Sunday, May 11, 2008

Mathari Valley Project


The photos came in, and we managed to get them up in time for our May push to raise money for the street kid dorms, outside the Mathari Valley slums in Nairobi. The first weekend, we raised $3500 toward the project, and this past weekend looked similar. I'm looking forward to seeing our friends from Kenya in a few weeks when they come to speak. These shots are of Debbie, my travel partner to Nairobi, and David, attaching the photos to the triangle pillars that volunteers built. David rigged a tv in one of the pillars that shows a video I shot about the project. Sarah grabbed this photo of me touching up paint on one of the pillars.


Debbie works on all the overseas outreach projects at church, and has terrific ideas of how to motivate people and raise money. For this project, she is "selling" these neat little cinderblocks in exchange for any $100 donation. And, she is organizing a church cookbook. David submitted a recipe for dinner when your wife is out of town. It involves bread, crushed peanut spread and jelly, a paper plate and cup of water.

Mom's day

Alden woke me up this morning, "Mom, come quick! Close your eyes!" I tripped my way to the kitchen, holding his hands, and was greeted with a lovely breakfast of raman noodle soup and garlic bread, and MANY beautiful presents. I was a bit too tired to get the photos in focus, but you get the idea. I feel blessed.

Camille, who has been watching the kids all week while I've been out of town working, volunteered to host a spend-the-night at her house on Friday, so David and I could go on a date. We missed the kids, honestly, but it was nice to have the house to ourselves - and to sleep through the night.

I asked Camille's husband David if keeping kids overnight was a new method of birth control, and he just laughed. They are truly a wonderful couple!