More on babies, driving in Kenya, and a Rift Valley adventure

We've had plenty of time with the babies at our house in Eldoret. For now we are staying in a rented house in town with David and Rachel Gallagher; two other volunteers, Renee Scobill and Ruth Major; three babies, Belinda Caroline (Bel), Esther Ruth, and Diana; and three dogs, Mocha, Java, and Chai. The babies are a real joy to work with, and Matt is even pitching in with the feeding chores although he hasn't changed a diaper as of yet. The house is also used as the office for the Open Arms International Kenyan staff during the week, and today approximately two dozen staff and visitors have visited and worked at the house for various reasons. Hopefully we will be able to move everyone, including the offices to the OAI village in Mlango sometime in the next two or three months when construction on the first phase is completed and water and electricity become available at the village.

In addition to helping out with the babies, we also helped out with the feeding program for homeless orphans in the slums of Eldoret. It was difficult to watch some of the children with distended stomachs suffering from malnutrition, but also encouraging to know that we were offering them a nutritious meal, likely the only meal they would receive that day.

Driving back and forth to the village, to appointments, or to the feeding program everyday has been an experience in itself. Neither Cheryl or I have had the courage to drive any vehicles yet in Kenya, but just being a passenger has been an adventure in itself. Driving on the left side of the road has been hard enough to get used to, but entering busy intersections simultaneously with six or seven vehicles, twenty to forty people, and various cattle, goats, and chickens without any sense of order (I am not exaggerating) is slightly disorienting. Cheryl is convinced that she won't take up driving in Kenya, but Matt may get the courage sometime in the next few weeks. More on that later.

Matt drove out to a village above the Rift Valley with David Gallagher on Saturday and we saw some spectacular views of the valley floor, and vistas of various overlooks and cliffs above the valley. We were fairly high in elevation, over 9,000 feet, and walking around the village almost took our breath away. We stopped and visited with a farmer and created quite a stir with the children who had likely never seen any Wazungus (white people) before. About two dozen of them followed us around the village as we talked to the farmer and his brother. Finally, they gathered up the courage to talk with us after we convinced them we weren't going to eat them, and after I took a few photos of them, they all wanted to be in the photos. It has been a busy week, and we look forward to sending more blogs your way soon.