Break from School

School closed down for the month of April. We had a school closing event where the kids put on dances and a short skit to show their appreciation to all of the teachers. It really was quite the event and a lot of fun. Since school has been out all month I have been able to spend more time with the children. There isn't much for them to do and it has started raining almost everyday so that leaves even less options. However, there are soccer practices all week that alternate by age groups. Another lady and I are also teaching rugby to some of the older boys. Another guy, Mark, has also set up a small art studio and some of the boys have been paining and drawing artwork and even have them priced to sell. The Sterns are back from the States which has been awesome and I have been learning so much from them. One Sunday, Molly and I went up to the apartments and spent part of the afternoon cleaning up the hallways and staircases. It has been fun trying to come up with alternative activities for the kids

coloring Easter eggs

A house full of friends

Last week I was given the opportunity to travel to Lamu Island with a lady from church. We took buses to get there which was quite the experience. The trip took approximately 22 hours. One of our buses broke down in the middle of nowhere but luckily they were able to get it started and make it into a small town before it completely died. Being in the middle of nowhere at night is definitely not somewhere that you want to be. It just so happened that another bus had broken down ahead of us, so the company decided to send another bus to pick us up. The remainder of the trip we had smashed two buses into one bus; it was packed. Once we reached the bus stop we took a speed boat to the island. Lamu Island is right of the coast near Somalia and is completely gorgeous. The island is almost entirely Muslim and the streets are as narrow as hallways with donkeys at every turn. There are no cars on the island so donkeys are used to carry things and people. In fact, donkeys even get the right of way! We stayed with Pastor Thuku and his family so we were surrounded by buildings. However, a 45 minute walk away is a beach where tons of tourists stay. The beach is breathtaking and not very populated which makes it feel as though you are on your own personal beachr the kids.

View from the beach

The Church

Inside of the Church

Miss Jennifer and Miss Jane

The Pastor's wife, Miss Jennifer, tried to teach me how to cook, wash clothes by hand properly, clean, ect. It was really fun. Above their home, they have a Christian radio station which has really helped reach out to the Muslim community. The Thuku family is wonderful and their 11 year old son Moses is quite the energetic child. Moses came back to Nairobi with us... talk about tiring. The poor child trying to keep still for almost 24 hours straight was about impossible. Luckily the first bus was at night because Moses didn't have a seat to himself. He spent the entire journey to Mombasa curled up on my lap sleeping like a baby. The second part of the trip however was very difficult for him to stay seated. We had a wonderful time and I will hopefully be able to spend another week in Lamu before I come back to the States

An exhausted Moses on the bus