So much has changed, but so much is the same.  There may be new infrastructure and new people at Tenwek, but it still feels like home.  We have been here 5 weeks and are quite settled in.  I actually wrote 2 weeks ago and didn’t post it.

It has been wonderful to be back and to see so many familiar faces.  When we arrived, it was somewhat anticlimactic because all of the missionaries were on retreat and the compound was quite vacant!  Within 30 minutes of our arrival though, many dear Kenyan friends who heard we were returning began to stop by throughout the evening.  We have missed being at Tenwek and with our friends here!

The girls are loving their life in Kenya.  They play outside almost all day, every day.  There are tons of trees to climb and lots of children to play with, both missionary and Kenyans.  Our neighbors have 13 bunnies and 4 large turtles so our girls can often be found playing with their animals.  They have each adjusted well and are having a great time!

Katie has become our resident “critter getter”.  She has found several chameleons, a wounded butterfly, a grasshopper that was missing one of its back legs, and for several days, we had the “privilege” of keeping three 4”-6” slugs.  She is constantly on the hunt for animals to collect.

AnneMarie is knitting hats for babies in the hospital.  Her first hat was give to baby Faith.  We took her on a mini tour of the hospital one afternoon and she was able to give away her hat and hold another baby that was in the nursery.  Almost daily, she is asking when she can return to the hospital.  When she is not outside playing with friends or practicing her gymnastics, you can find her knitting.

Jenna and Clara follow their sisters’ leads.  Jenna loves to climb trees, too.  Clara attempts to climb trees.  Twice, while she was watching her sisters in the trees, she stood in one place too long and pincher ants crawled all over her.  On both occasions, we quickly had to disrobe her and start pulling the ants off her and out of her hair.  She quickly learned the word ant and when she sees them now, she tries to stomp them!

Each morning, we go on a walk down to the river.  We have made several friends along the way so we stop and play with them for a bit.  Usually when it is raining in the afternoons, we do our school time.  This frees us up in the morning to play when the sun is shining.

More updates coming soon!