Feel the Burn

So mom and I have literally felt the burn... in our backs, hands, and shoulders! We offically finished digging 45 1 1/2 feet deep holes around the orphanage. Please keep in mind that the ground was not the nice soil we think of at home. It was full of cement and rocks and took the two of us about 1/2 hour to dig one hole! We wer grunting and laughing at each other the whole time... well so were the workers watching us. They thought it was funnier just to watch us struggle rather than actualy help us. We then had to drag soil in a bucket to fill the hole and then plant the flower. I still do not think the holes needed to be that big and deep as the flowers were little!!! Ha But we did complete this task that we set out to do. The cement security wall is in the front of the orphanage with gates but the rest of the place is surrounded by barbed wire fence, which is where we planted these 45 vines that should climb the fence and have purple, red, and orange flowers. It should be beautiful. Hopefully in six months it should give them the privacy and security they need.
I also felt the burn as I got really sunburned... even though I was wearing a 70 spf! Who burns with a 70 spf?? The kids kept touching my shoulders saying "pink pink!" LOL - it was pretty funny as they were also asking what the white cream was I was applying before this all happened. This just solidified why beach vacations are not my thing!
After our hard day of work and our nice cold bucket shower :) Mama Rehema made us a feast! Mama Lynne had not tried a bunch of her specialities so she spent all day making sure Mama Lynne would enjoy her cooking and hopefully come back soon! Mama Lynne tried Chipati, Rehema's fried chicken, fried bananas, fried sweet potatoes, huge avacados (size of a small canatlope) and ugali! Lets just say that we were so full that night! Wonderful African evening.
Saying our goodbyes was hard, but we celebrated before we left! The day before we left we had worked it out with a local pizza place owner to go there for the day. The kids were so excited for pizza and pop! Also to their surprise though behind the pizza place was a huge playground:) The children played all day (so did Mama Lynne and I) on the slide, swings, climbing ropes, and sea saw! The kids were in heaven- always yelling "Mama Lynne watch me!!" "Jackelinn come here, look at me!" It was quite the fun, exhausting experience. We got some great pictures. The children were so cute. They all came out in there colorful Chicago t-shirts before we left- so everyone felt special that day I think.
We left the next morning with a short, tearful goodbye as I think it is hard for the children to realize what is really going on. We sang a few "I love you in the morning and in the afternoon. I love you in the evening and underneath the moon!" Hopefully they do know that we do love them even though we are not always there with them.