We have had a busy but wonderful time in Kenya for the past few weeks. At the beginning of April we had a brief ceremony at Open Arms Academy comemmorating the completion of our first term. We had several local officials join us including two area chiefs, a representative from the District Education Office, and the District Children's Officer. In addition most of our staff from our Eldoret Office, all of the children at 
the village, all of the house parents, and almost all of the village staff attended the event. 
The children were very excited to be wearing their brightly colored new school uniforms. We began the ceremony with a flag raising ceremony, the first of its kind at the Open Arms Village. We concluded the event by awarding the top achievers in each class a special award and giving all of the children some sweets and other sugary substances which the house parents sincerely 
thanked us for.
the village, all of the house parents, and almost all of the village staff attended the event. 
The children were very excited to be wearing their brightly colored new school uniforms. We began the ceremony with a flag raising ceremony, the first of its kind at the Open Arms Village. We concluded the event by awarding the top achievers in each class a special award and giving all of the children some sweets and other sugary substances which the house parents sincerely 
thanked us for.On Easter Sunday morning every one at the house in 
Eldoret and 
at the village in Mlango got dressed up for Easter. This in
cluded Baby Esther and Baby Diana who were the two best dressed babies at the Open Arms Easter service. The children gave a very brief but creative version of the Easter drama beginning with the Passion Week, and the oldest boy, Abel (the one in the blue shirt) playing the part of Jesus. We had a wonderful time with the children at the village, and after the service we all had lamb, potatoes, and lentils 
(fortunately no goat intestines for this meal). After the meal, we 
had the first ever Open 
Arms Village Easter Egg Hunt or at least something like it
. None of the children at the village were familiar with this Western tradition, but a group of visitors from the UK brought plastic baby chicks which they hid in various spots throughout the village and every child had to find so many of them. At the end of the hunt, each child was wide eyed with astonishment and excitement as they received chocolates, oranges, cookies, and other prizes.
Eldoret and 
at the village in Mlango got dressed up for Easter. This in
cluded Baby Esther and Baby Diana who were the two best dressed babies at the Open Arms Easter service. The children gave a very brief but creative version of the Easter drama beginning with the Passion Week, and the oldest boy, Abel (the one in the blue shirt) playing the part of Jesus. We had a wonderful time with the children at the village, and after the service we all had lamb, potatoes, and lentils 
(fortunately no goat intestines for this meal). After the meal, we 
had the first ever Open 
Arms Village Easter Egg Hunt or at least something like it
. None of the children at the village were familiar with this Western tradition, but a group of visitors from the UK brought plastic baby chicks which they hid in various spots throughout the village and every child had to find so many of them. At the end of the hunt, each child was wide eyed with astonishment and excitement as they received chocolates, oranges, cookies, and other prizes.
This week involved several visits to the village as Matt inspected the pr
ogress on the building 
project at the village. In fact, four of the five orphanage homes have been completed and the three visitor cottages are close to completion as the first phase of the building project comes to fruition. In fact, the roofs are up on all three visitor cottages, plastering, plumbing, and electricity is completed in the first two cottages, and rumor has it that the floor tiles on the first visitor cottage are being installed as I write this blog. We hope that the visitor cottages will be completed in time for our summer teams to be able to stay at the village in June, July, and August. Matt has also been leading a Bible Study on Wednesdays with the work crew during their lunch hour. He started a month ago and eighteen men showed up at the first Bible Study. The Bible Study has been growing every week with a few new visitors and this week forty people came for the meetings. In addition, Elly Amollo, the local contractor overseeing the building project at the village says the workers have bec
ome more industrious, hard-working, and they are even beginning to pray for each other.
ogress on the building 
project at the village. In fact, four of the five orphanage homes have been completed and the three visitor cottages are close to completion as the first phase of the building project comes to fruition. In fact, the roofs are up on all three visitor cottages, plastering, plumbing, and electricity is completed in the first two cottages, and rumor has it that the floor tiles on the first visitor cottage are being installed as I write this blog. We hope that the visitor cottages will be completed in time for our summer teams to be able to stay at the village in June, July, and August. Matt has also been leading a Bible Study on Wednesdays with the work crew during their lunch hour. He started a month ago and eighteen men showed up at the first Bible Study. The Bible Study has been growing every week with a few new visitors and this week forty people came for the meetings. In addition, Elly Amollo, the local contractor overseeing the building project at the village says the workers have bec
ome more industrious, hard-working, and they are even beginning to pray for each other.Cheryl has been busy working at the office, but help has arrived. Ruth from Manchester, England, just came back to Eldoret this week. Cheryl had been overseeing Ruth's job as the Operations Director for Open Arms while she's been gone for the past four months but now that she is back, Cheryl and Ruth are sharing duties much to the relief of both of them. In addition, another couple from England, Dave and Linda Munsie, arrived a month ago, and Linda has been helping to improve the accounting systems for the Open Arms office and Dave has been overseeing the construction at the village allowing Matt a little more time to work on more projects.
Nevertheless, this weekend, Matt and Cheryl are relaxing, catching up on some reading, some blogging, and a little well reserved rest. We will keep you updated on our adventures and events at the village soon.
Kwahere,
Matt and Cheryl Tallman
