Hello all! So far it has only been one week since our arrival at Lance's Deaf Orphanage/School for the Deaf but it feels like we've been here for weeks.  I'm typing this out on my little iPad, so please bear with me as I try to give you a general account of what we've been up to thus far.

Friday I arrived at 9:30pm after over 30 hours spent in the air and wandering around terminals in Tallahassee, North Carolina, NYC, and Paris.  The flight from NYC to Paris wasn't the most pleasant flight, what with being crammed into economy class with the air conditioning on the fritz and a woman intent on elbowing me in every part of my body.  But I survived and got the entire aisle all to myself on a deliciously cold jet from Paris to Nairobi.  Score.

Once I got out of the airport, I was greeted warmly by the entire ODO team and our two Kenyan team leaders, William and Winston. William is an interpreter and Winston is a deaf pastor, both of whom work closely with LDO and have done so for years.  Not much happened after that.  Just checked into the hotel, had an frigid shower, ate beans with hominy (they call it maize here), and then passed out. Saturday We did some errands and finished our big-city business before heading over to the bus station, where we waited for hours for our rental van to pick us up at 2pm.  Then it took three men to cram all 14 of our luggages and 9 of us into the van for a long but beautiful ride through the countryside to Kisii. We got to enjoy the views of Rift Valley and a herd of zebras grazing on the roadside.  No lions or any other large, vicious mammals.  We got to LDO past the children's bedtime, so naturally we were disappointed.  But after the men pushed the van out of the mud bath it was intent on taking in the middle of the road, we walked up the road into an ambush.  All the children were awake and waiting for us by the road.  It was the best feeling in the world to see their smiling faces and to shake their hands and warmed our hearts after a long and tiring trip.  A fantastic, blessed start to our stay here in Africa.

We were given two rooms with brand new beds, sheets, and mosquito nettings, all thanks to Lance McWilliams (yes, that Lance) and his team.  You can scroll down to an older blog to see pictures of the rooms.  I was put into a room with the married couples (Abenchuchan/Arteaga) and the two single guys (Javiar Reyes and Dallas Brock) took the other room.  The accommodations are basic but they fulfill our needs to our satisfaction.   The entire orphanage consists of two long buildings, an outhouse, a separate kitchen, and a rabbit cage.  In each of the buildings are several small rooms- bedrooms for the children, the staff, three classrooms, an office, and two guest rooms (which we're staying in).  There are generations of rabbits living on the grounds, a kitten, and a cow.

Sunday: We woke up a little late and walked out of our bedrooms to find the children waiting for us at our door.  I got into a game of Pickle with the girls and William, and that was when I learned they aren't at all fragile, timid, or afraid to test their strength. The girls (and the occasional boy) all have vicious throwing arms.  Fortunately, they play with a hacky sack so whenever I got hit, no bones were broken.  We spent the majority of the morning playing with the kids and getting to know them. Then after lunch, Alex led a short sermon on how Jesus loves all and we got to play name games to help us get to know one another.  Then we headed into Kisii to get some much-needed supplies for the orphans and drinking water for us.  We got to travel Africa-style, (public transportation) crammed tightly into a 8-seater van with maybe 8 other people.  At least I got to sit by a window.  With my head and half of my upper body hanging out, I didn't have any issues with the body odor steaming up the van.  It.....was.......FUN!  No, I'm not kidding, it was! Totally awesome. At the store, we were able to buy 10 new mattresses, sheets, and blankets for the children.  Also a new water tank for the orphanage- their only source of clean water is rainwater collected by gutters leading into a tank.  If it doesn't rain for a while, they don't have water.  This way, they can have more water in storage. We also got some seeds and trowels to start a garden for them, some chairs, and a large tarp for a pavilion we're planning to build between the two buildings. These items had to be delivered the following day as we didn't have a way to haul them all back to LDO (they do not have a vehicle).  All these things we bought were made possible by the donations of wonderful people back home.  Thank you - your donation has made a huge difference already, on the first day. We wrapped up the day with the kids, trying to memorize each other's names.  I've never seen a more well-mannered and cheerful group of kids before.  Their energy and smiles are contagious and warms my heart.  It is evident that God watches over these kids and has given them a wonderful group of teachers and staff at LDO (ALL VOLUNTEERS).

Monday: After breakfast, while the children were in school, we had a lesson in Kenyan Sign Language from Daniel Ogembo, the Director of the orphanage.  Alex and William went back to town to ensure the delivery of the things we bought the day before.  Once the things arrived, we spent the rest of the time before lunch hauling out the old mattresses, putting in the new ones and putting on the sheets and blankets.  When the kids got out of school for their lunch, we all started playing on the old mattresses piled up high in the area between the two buildings.  Dallas showed the kids how to flip up side down onto the mattresses and then there was no stopping them.  I had a go several times myself on the mattresses.  Fun funfunfun.  We also gave out the clothes and toys that our friends and families donated back in America.  The excitement of the kids were overwhelming. They've been playing with their toys every chance they get since then. We spent much of the day discussing projects we need to do for the children's benefit and ended up with a long list.  Sadly we had to edit the list so we wouldn't go over the budget ODO has for projects.   Which brings me to this- please donate so we can have some more money for projects!  To donate for this specific reason, go to the ODO website and make a donation to Alex and Alexa's ODO fundraiser.

Tuesday: We spent most of the day in town buying supplies, which was no easy feat since they don't have one-stop stores here like Lowe's or Home Depot.  We got back after dark, so we weren't able to see the orphans for very long.  Once the kids went to bed, I manually washed my clothes using three plastic bins: one for the wash cycle, one for the rinse cycle, and the last for the extra rinse and spin cycle. This is how the kids wash their clothes too.  Only they hang their clothes to dry on the barbed wire fence that surrounds the property. 

Wednesday: I went into town with Kristina, Alex, William, and Winston to finish buying supplies for the building projects we had and to rent a lorry to haul all of our purchases from the previous day to the orphanage.  A lorry is a large truck that resembles an army cargo truck. Moises and Kristina had someone donate 200 USD for them to buy shoes for the children, so we were able to get three pairs of shoes for them all.   Alex, Kristina, and I rode in the back of the lorry with the supplies.  Bouncy fun funfunfun.  We got back to the orphanage before dark and were able to socialize with the children some.  The children got their shoes that evening and it was wonderful to see them running around in shoes that doesn't have large holes and chunks missing from them.

Thursday: We spent all day on two projects.  We broke ground for the garden we're going to put in and worked on erecting the massive pavilion that now stretches from one building to another.  The pavilion will provide relief for the children during hot days and rainy days as well.  Hopefully the garden will provide extra food for the children.

Friday: We're in town for to update our blogs, but will go back and continue to work on the garden and other projects. Camp officially starts on Monday! Pray for us and the people at LDO.   I'm getting addicted to the Kenyan way of life!  Everything's so much simpler here, but the poverty that surrounds us is heart breaking. The children are starting to show their personalities more and more now and we're starting to know them better now. Once the pavilion was erected, the children had great fun playing under it.  I want to thank God for making all this possible because without God, we wouldn't have been able to do anything.  Also, if you want to, I'm still asking for donations to help cover my living expenses while I'm here.  Since my arrival, a few additional expenses has come up (transportation, interpreter, team leader, supplies, food) so any donations are appreciated.  You can still donate via the ODO website, just follow instructions on the "How To Donate" page above.   God has definitely blessed us in this trip.  We're the lucky ones, to get to meet these wonderful children and people of LDO.  I know my life will be far richer for having known these kids.

Stay tuned for my next update! God Bless, Kat

P.S.- I met Rolling Stones drummer Chuck Levell's brother, Billy, on Thursday! He's deaf too and has been to Kenya multiple times to work with the deaf people.  This mention is for you, Daddy. :)