Ahhhh.... My first post from Kenya

Hello friends!
  First of all let me apologize for not writing sooner and letting you know that I got here safely.  It has been busy, but the main reason is that the internet connection up here in the hills of Kenya is not what you would call fast or dependable (I know shocking right?).  So I will do my best to update when I can but if my entries are sparse between now and Tanzania you know why.  Also, I sadly cannot add pictures yet because of the slower connection, but as soon as I can I will post pictures of life in Kenya.  It is so beautiful here with the rolling green hills and wild animals .... sidenote but I actually am woken up every morning by either a rooster crowing or a burrow making whatever noise a burrow makes.
    The main thing I want to send you pictures of though are these precious kids.  I cant describe just how incredible these kids are, but I am just so humbled by being around them everyday.  They are the cutest kids in the whole world, and once you know most of their stories you cant help but be in awe of them.   The more fortunate kids come from homes where their mother and father passed away from a variety of things (AIDS being the most common) and their guardians just couldnt provide for them, but some of these stories are heartbreaking.  Our newest orphan in the childrens home was being severely abused for 14 months until a neighbor took the child to the police where the child lived in a cell with the inmates for 1 month until they called the childrens home to come get here.  Other stories involve rape, abuse, malnourishment, and neglect.  Yet when you meet these kids they are so joyful and all they want to tell you is how lucky they are to be at the childrens home and how God has blessed their lives, and they just laugh and smile all the time.  You just realize how lucky and spoiled most of us are and it is just humbling (especially when I remember my biggest problem a few weeks ago was that we had regular coffee creamer and not french vanilla..... oh yes I suck).  The other day Katie said how she is just inspired by these kids and I couldnt have said it better.  I will post pics as soon as I can of these kids so you can see just how precious they are.
  So other than getting to know these kids better I will give you a quick update on life in the Trans Marra.    We are living with a wonderful family next to the childrens home outside a town called Kilgoris.  Joseph and his wife Annah have been so good to us and she is an amazing cook (so much for losing weight in Africa :-).  Plus their 9 kids have been alot of fun to get to know as well (only 3 of them live at home and they are all grown), and when they are all home its a bit of a party.  Katie and I share a room and its not a mud hut or anything but its not quite like home.  The toilets are holes in the ground and the shower is the bucket of water they leave for us in the morning, but honestly its not been bad and the simplicity has been a nice change (wearing no makeup and not washing you hair for a few days is pretty nice I must say).  We start our day with breakfast made for us by Annah (God bless this woman) and then head to the childrens home where we hang with the kids not in school and update info or take care of random needs.  So far (with the staff doctor and Katie) I've been to the ENT to talk about one orphan who needs tubes in her ears, been to the clinic to get update health of our kids, done dental exams on all the kids, done HIV tests on our newest kids, began giving guitar lessons to a could kids, taken 2 kids to get teeth extracted (let me just say I will never take US dentist for granted again), gone to many community homes where we are honored guests and served much Chai tea (which I always have to double up on bc Katie doesnt like the taste and we cant insult the hostess by refusing it), and we have been officially taken into the Maasai tribe and given a Maasai name in an official naming ceremony.  My new name is Naasisho which means one who does much work (ha ha).  Im also doing physical therapy everyday with a kid name Noah who had surgery a year ago for his club foot and he needs to strengthen his leg and arm on his right side.  This kid has an amazing spirit and I just pray he is healed quickly.
  Ha that sounds like alot but it has all been pretty incredible.  We have been so welcomed into this community and they have accepted us and trusted us so quickly it is again humbling.  I just cant believe how excited they have been to have us be here and how they constantly remind us how welcomed we are.  It takes hospitality to a whole new level.  There have definitely been times so far that have been hard (and its not the accommodations) because mainly I just want to fix any problem these kids have and you just cant.  So I lean on my faith and Katie and my support team back home to know that this all happens for a reason and for now I am just really grateful to be here and to have the trust and opportunity that the Maasai community up here offers.
  I know there is so much more to say but I think I'll stop there for now and send another update soon.  Thanks for letting me rant and update.  Hope all is well on the other side of the ocean.  Goodnight!