We have arrived and all is well. All our luggage arrived also!! We are astounded by the beauty of the children, the Rafiki village, the flowers and feel blessed to be here. We feel that we have come to an oasis of shade and cooling breezes with very nice accomodations that will be very comfortable for us. Just outside the wall of this compound are many whoare scrambling to survive by their wits alone as there are few jobs to befound and there is no shade because most of the trees are gone. It is no wonder that when the locals come through the Rafiki gate they say "This must be Heaven!"
Today we met all the other volunteers, many of the children and their mamas. The mamas (local women hired to live with tenorphans) are very loving at the same time they demand best behavior. We also toured the school and already have a teaching schedule. Besides tutoring , we've been asked to teach small groups for reading and wholegroups for math. Many of the teachers here live locally and will appreciate our input and also some time off.
Tonight we were invited to one of the homes where Mama Ruth and her ten children were having evening devotions. The children sang with gusto several hymns before listening and answering questions about a bible reading. Then Mama Ruth asked Rogerto read them the story of Noah--how ironic! It was inspirational to listen to their evening prayers as they prayed for us and our visit here. Finally, we showed them pictures of our grandbabies, family, home and Dexter. I wanted to kiss them all good night!
Funniest part of day--Roger was surrounded by children who wanted to touch the hair on his arms and one little guy who was so afraid of Rog's hair that he ran to getaway! It's bed time and we're ready!
Roger and Jane
