Day 3 in Meru

The past few days have been so very busy, yet so very fruitful - we are all grateful for all that has been accomplished in such a short period of time.

We arrived safely in Meru on Wednesday night, and checked into Hotel Incredible in the heart of Meru Town. (Is that not the greatest name for an African hotel?) Our beds are comfortable, and the breakfast is great. We even have hot water (sometimes) for our showers, which is a bonus for Meru!

The weather is unusually cold, probably lower to mid-60s, and rainy. This kind of weather is normal for July here, but not late August - we expected 70s and 80s, and yet we are all wearing the one sweater or jacket we brought every single day!

Most of Thursday was spent with the Hope Board: Esther, Rev. Elijah, and Ibrahim (Josephine's father). The other 2 board members (Amalia, who is currently taking classes in Nairobi, and Harun, who works during the day) were unable to join us. We visited together, got to know each other a bit, and then launched into business: comparing logistics of how we send sponsor and donation information with logistics of how the Board receives and distributes the donations, family by family. We also checked out the computer at the Hope office to check for internet capability. We took a break for lunch (which did not actually get consumed until close to 4pm!), visited Esther's home-to-be, which is under construction, and met up with John Ikiugu - who has been living in Tacoma for the past year - and his new bride, Heldine. Our dinner meeting with the Board later in the evening was a brainstorming session on what kind of administrative support might be needed for the ministry to grow and continue; we will continue that discussion when we meet tonight.

The seminar for the sponsored kids and their families took up all of Friday. What a day! Some highlights:

• We estimate about 250 attendees, including sponsored kids, siblings and friends, parents/guardians, and alumni.
• All but about 10 of our sponsored kids came to the seminar - some from very far distances! Gifts from sponsors were given, pictures were taken, and each kid wrote a letter back to their sponsor.
  
• The alumni who came had big smiles on their faces, and encouraging words for the younger kids who are currently sponsored. One gal came all the way from Nairobi, where she is in her 2nd year at a university.
  
• The breakout sessions included sustainable farming for the adults, study skills for the high schoolers, "sex education" for the standard 4-8 (grades 4-8) kids, and playtime for the younger kids.
• I was able to give a brief nutrition lesson to the entire crowd, which seemed to be received well.

All in all, we feel like the seminar was a huge success. It was a great way to see as many sponsored kids as possible in a short period of time, and an opportunity to witness how effective the program has been here in Meru since we last visited.

Today, Saturday, we are catching up on email, attending a wedding, and then meeting one last time with the Hope board. Our remaining days here will be spent trying to meet up with the sponsored kids who did not attend the seminar, and visiting dear friends here. God has been so very good to us! Everyone is feeling healthy and well - pray that we remain so.