Tuesday and Wednesday were work days. We spent Tuesday doing some work at the village, but it seemed like we didn't get as much done because I think people were tired and people were wanting to spend time with the children as well. On Wednesday morning we helped Ted and Brenda build a greenhouse for the local widows in the community that will enable them to grow tomatoes for their families and also to sell to the community. It should be a great sustainability project for the widows and their families. We worked hard and were able to get almost the entire frame of the structure installed in about 6 hours. I think the team felt good about what they accomplished on Wednesday, and on Thursday we got to play.

It was fun going up to Kerio View. Cheryl and I hadn't been there in a few years, and the team really enjoyed their time there. We got a rare treat as well, because several Kenyan Olympians were eating lunch there as well, getting in some last minute training before they ran the marathon next weekend in London. They were flying out this Tuesday, but we got to meet Wilson Kapsang (winner of the London Marathon) and Abel Kirui (2009 and 2011 World Track and Field marathon champion). We're not completely sure they will both get medals at the Olympics, but it is very likely that at least one of them will, and probably gold. I got my photo with Abel and I think he will probably win but we'll see.

On Friday morning, I had to say goodbye to our team and Cheryl as well as they headed to Nairobi and back home. As I write this blog, I called Cheryl this morning and she had arrived home safely after the long flight. After the team left, things at the lodge got pretty quiet, but first I found out I was the special guest speaker at the closing ceremony of the school for the term with all of about 12 hours notice. It was fun though, and it was great to see how much the children have learned and improved in school. There were a few wonderful surprises at the school as one child from the community, Peggy, got a perfect score on her end of the year exams in the top class of the nursery school, and numerous children from the village and the community improved significantly over the past year. The biggest surprise perhaps was little Johnny, who had been having significant problems learning in school over the past three years, and we found out at the ceremony that he was third in his class of 15 in overall testing scores. We were all so proud of him, and all the others that had improved so much.

On Saturday, I got to relax, do laundry, catch up on some e-mail, and have fun with three of my favorite girls: Belle, Esther, and Diana. Of course, Cheryl and I changed a lot of dirty diapers for them while we lived in Eldoret for a year. They have grown quite a bit, and the girls got to have a little tea party to celebrate Esther's third birthday.

On Sunday, I had Diana, Belle, Mama Rachel, and Kendra over for breakfast. I cooked everyone a yummy french toast and bacon breakfast along with some fantastic fresh pineapple. Yum yum!! After that we went up to church, and Paul Maswai, the house father at Amani House, spoke this morning. He did a great job, and we even had a guest choir come from the local Seventh Day Adventist Church. It was  a great time. After church, I brought kites over to each of the homes that Cheryl and I had bought.  I still think they are out there playing with the kites now. Some of the children were able to get the kites all the way to the end of the string and keep them up there for quite awhile. Seems like they catch on quick or some of them have done this before. It was a lot of fun. Now I am finishing up e-mail and this blog before I get ready for dinner and Skype Cheryl. I already miss her terribly.

I will try and get photos to have with all this text soon but they take too long to download with the internet here. Maybe I'll add them when I get back home at the end of August.

Mungu Akubariki (God bless you)

Matt