Ah, I'm loving life!'

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Hello! I hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend!

This morning I woke up before the sunrise to milk a cow... and then at breakfast I drank the milk I helped retrieve! What an amazing experience!!

My bucket bath this morning was a good one... I had warm water!

I am learning so much from my students and Kenyan friends! They are teaching me to dance!! I'm trying to learn Kiswahili as much as I can, I have several friends to help me translate and practice. I am so intriuged by the language here.

Easter weekend for me was excellent! This past Saturday I traveled to Uganda. We stayed 2 nights in a hostel and on Sunday we went white water rafting on the Nile River! The raft I was on only flipped once... but it was awesome!! Flipping was the best!! That evening our group went out to eat at a restraunt called "2 Friends" -- they had pizza! The next day we did some shopping in the town of Jinga. I bought some earrings and a cow hide drum!

St. Teresa's Kabula Secondary School is closed for this week due to the Easter holiday, so myself and the others living on the farm have decided to put together our service learning project. We found a school in the nearby village, of Harambee, the school is needing a lot of work. We are going to empower the community there so they can assist us as we fix up the school and give those children what they need to get the best education possible. We are rebuilding one of the walls and putting a door on the building. We are also going to build a chalkboard, and 6 tables. Along with the tables we will build 12 benches...if finances allow. Our group is going to help lay down a curriculum and provide resources the children will need. There are about 45 children below age 7, who are sitting on the muddy floor of a 1-room school - without books, without a chalkboard, without paper, without a meal for lunch--- trying to learn something, anything... so they can better their lives. Our group has high hopes for this school and the community seems really excited and on board with us to help and continue what we begin. There is a lot of potential for this school in Harambee, and our group is excited to get started! We are getting materials today!

Everyday is so amazing here.... it rains , but no one cares about the storm....its expected and just a part of every day. Its just accepted. My time here so far has made me become so much more appreciative of life -- the way God intended it to be- simple, happy, beautiful, pure, and full. Here in Kabula, Kenya... its less about how big you are or how much you have at the end of the day .... its more about how you've interacted with your community, loved your family, and helped your neighbors. It's not what you do, its how you do it.... and why.

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