January has somehow gained the ability to fly by in fast forward! We’re three-quarters of the way through the month already! The days have sort of all blended together, yet the weeks go by quickly. We have been (mostly) following the Grace Academy school schedule, so our kids have been out of school since the beginning of December. Due to covid, the start date for school restarting was bumped to January 24 (today!). We have had nearly had two months with no school!! I am looking forward to structured days, and jumping back in the routine of homeschooling, and especially reading aloud with the kids again. I’ll be honest, I’m not looking forward to teaching them Math and Writing, as these are usually not met with much enthusiasm!
On my Christmas post, I mentioned that many of the kids left for holidays. It made for a quiet month with so many away. There was beauty in the quiet – it meant a lot more time with the younger kids. Between Shannon and I, we were able to take each of the children that remained at Grace, on an outing. Our kids had so much fun doing things together with the Grace kids. We did a fun variety of outings, from bumper cars, an arcade, Capture the Flag at Mwaiseni, out for lunch at a restaurant, swimming at a hotel swimming pool, and a picnic lunch with painting at the farm. It was the best – experiencing fun and new things with the kids. Hearing their chatter in the car, comments about how some trees they were seeing were the same as ones that grow at Grace. Comments about all the billboards with the president’s picture on them. It was so special to witness the kids who had never been swimming before, jump in the water (with life jackets), and give it a try. They would call out, “Auntie Renae, watch me!!”, as they learned how to kick, or jump off the side of the pool. I’m so glad we had that time with them.
We also had a huge water fight, which is a guaranteed good time! There is no chance you walk away from a water fight without being completely drenched!
Now holidays are over, and Grace has filled back up. It’s wonderful having everyone back again. We’ve played some basketball with the older boys, and watched Saturday soccer again (every Saturday the older boys play against each other – it’s so fun to watch), and even busted out the baseball bat and gloves! We’re grateful to God for their safe return, and has been interesting to hear how everyone’s experience was.
We’re definitely in rainy season over here. Almost every day brings at least some rain. The speed at which the clouds can blow in is crazy. One minute there can be blue skies and kind white clouds, and the next minute everyone is running for cover because the rain is pelting down! Rains here can last for minutes or hours, but we haven’t experienced rains that last all day. The lightning storms are wonderful to watch – the lightning strikes so frequently! The booming thunder always makes me think of God and His mighty power over the weather! The beauty of rainy season is that it is still fairly warm (unless you get soaked by the rain 😉), most days averaging about 25-28 degrees.
A few weeks back one of the farm cats had kittens, and our kids have been doting on those four kittens ever since. Multiple times a day they are going to hold and play with them. Sometimes they don’t even make it out of their pajamas before going down 😊. I mean, how can this little kitten not melt your heart, even just a little?
And one more cool looking critter that we've seen. I'm quite sure it's a praying mantis.
The Farm Crew challenged the Construction Crew to a lunch-time soccer match. The build-up before the game was quite funny - both teams were confident they were going to win. The Farm Team pulled a 3-0 victory, and were pretty proud of the fact :) The atmosphere of the game was so good - kids, staff, teachers ... so many spectators!
The Farm Team! Had to get those hard working ladies in on the picture, too :)
That wraps up January, thus far! Thanks for following along with us. Please continue to pray for the work being done here at Seeds of Hope. Pray for the all the kids that transition back in to school, into their new grades. Pray for the aunties (dorm moms) as they care, teach and raise the children in their dorms. Pray a word of thanks for all the people who sponsor children here, and that more people will feel the call to sponsor. Thanks for reading!
Till next time,
Love, Renae