Electricity in Kipkaren, AIDS campaign and more

I (Adele) just walked into my home after a marathon couple of days for all of us.

When the team got back from Sudan on Wednesday, they were happy to take showers and drink lots of fresh water. Wish you could see them devour the ice cold watermelon I gave them as they were heading to take showers... Later, we sat on my porch and chatted about their experiences. You'll want to ask them MANY questions when they get home. They have lots of stories to tell!

The team had both shrunk and grown. Micah, Kevin and Jen had gone straight to Nairobi, and Tammy joined the group from LA. She arrived on Wednesday night.

On Thursday morning, we headed to Kipkaren. They were welcomed by the Kipkaren children, after which they had tours of the centers. They were in Kipkaren on a historical night: The first night ever that there was electricity in the area! (Other than that from generators or solar panels.)

On Friday morning, we headed out bright and early to a nearby town for an AIDS campaign. It was in a small village where people are still very afraid of talking about HIV/AIDS, so the crowd was a bit smaller than usual (maybe 1500 as opposed to 3000+). More than 400 people got tested, of which 7 were HIV+.

The afternoon's events were interrupted by heavy rains, but about 30 minutes later, the soccer team was back on the field and the crowd back in their positions, cheering. Then followed the prize giving, after which we headed home. The Salvation Army Band from Kitale was still playing their hearts out by the time we pulled out and headed back to Kipkaren. (A band from Nairobi was also present, but not the usual band we have. They didn't play as much since it seemed like the very rural crowd enjoyed the Salvation Army guys more than they enjoyed the city boys!)

The band from Nairobi had a concert for the kids from the children's home after dinner (ask the team about it--I headed home for some down time), and then, BAM! there was a massive thunder storm and heavy downpour. It was wonderful! But the lightning hit something, and now there's no power in Kipkaren again... Power should be back soon!

Today, the team had some much-needed down time. They came to Eldoret to walk around the market, buy postcards, relax at Poa Place (poa means "cool"), the local hang-out for families. (It's a swimming pool and playground for kids.) I was not with them since I joined Laban and Angelina Rono's 25th wedding anniversary celebrations, followed by a birthday party for 35 of our kids in Ilula.

Tomorrow, the team will participate in church activities in Kipkaren, then go for some home visits. On Monday, they'll come to Ilula where they'll visit the ELI Drug and Alcohol Rehab Center. Jervaun leaves on Monday evening. The team will spend the night at Ilula and will try to connect via e-mail at that time.

On Tuesday, they'll head back to Kipkaren, see the ELI clinic, and on Wednesday, they'll get to be a part of a Children's Ministry event at Kipkaren.

Thursday's back to Ilula. They fly to Nairobi early Friday morning to spend the day in the city (shopping & seeing touristy things), and then they'll be off, home-bound!

Please keep them in your prayers this week. I'll upload photos to my Flickr account later this week. I just realized that the USB cable for my camera is in Kipkaren... Sorry you can't see photos right now.