yesterday and the boys

First of all, thanks for all the comments because we're super-encouraged by reading them! And sorry for the long time between posts - between long days and internet that only works some evenings we're not able to get on here quite as much as we'd like!

Yesterday was an eventful day. We headed to school a bit earlier than usual to make sure we had time to visit each class before lunch. We brought with us little activity pages with some things to color and Bible passages on them - Mark 10:13-16 and Psalm 23. We went to each class, starting with the oldest (equivalent to 3rd graders here), and talked about Mark 10 and how God wants to be with the little children, and how He wants them to approach Him and talk to Him. We gave the lesson to each class and then turned them loose with crayons for a while and let them have fun coloring. The older two classes also worked with Justin on a bigger painting project (really cool, btw, look for pictures later on) and a play to act out the story. I really wish we had more chances to go in depth with each child, but with so many kids, so few of us and so little time we just have to do the best we can. My prayer is that the words we got to share do not return void, but rather that God uses them - now or later on - to bring the children around to an understanding that they can trust in Him and talk with Him about the situations and problems they face in life.

Also on yesterday's agenda was an unexpected item - some manual labor which turned out to be a good change of pace. Sadly no concrete was involved, but we did get to paint one of the rooms in the new building. We worked through most of lunch and into the afternoon alongside five other guys who are all members of Tom's church, and got the base coat finished. They'll probably wait until after we leave to do the rest.

Speaking of the guys, wanted to let you all know about them because they've been a big part of our experience. Evans, Ben, Eric, Freddy and Josh are all guys aged 18-25 or so who live in Korogocho and help out with whatever needs doing at the church and school - from worship on Sundays to translating for Americans to painting and any number of other things. Sometimes Tom pays them small salaries for specific tasks (like most in Korogocho they have no regular employment) but usually they're just there to help. All five have great, life-giving spirits and have been huge blessings to our team as peers who we can work alongside and joke and talk with. Monday and Tuesday we played after-lunch soccer matches with them which were lots of fun! Would love to tell you about each of them individually, but that may have to wait until we get back (there's another to-be-continued for you, Tyler)

That's it for now, need to get off for breakfast and another day! Today we will be working with the youngest kids who are still at the church, as well as visiting with some residents in their homes in Korogocho. Pray for energy for us as we do both, as some mid-trip exhaustion has begun to set in and we're very much in need of Christ as a sustainer right now! ps thanks Bonnie for Isaiah 58:11, it was a really good verse to read at this point in the trip!! Talk again soon...