Misty Monday in Nairobi

Hello All –
Just a short update to let you know that things are fine here.

We are experiencing August in Nairobi – which can be a bit dreary. Today is overcast and misty. We had some sun over the weekend which was very nice.

We are experiencing a water shortage here in Nairobi. We are having to be very careful about our water usage in our home. Stories about the exact cause of the shortage vary between a shortage of rainfall (which was not entirely evident this year) or lack of maintenance in the dam that stores the water for Nairobi. Apparently, it leaks and has not been repaired or maintained in the past few years. Water is coming from the city supply to our house at the moment, but it is running with very low pressure.

Horace is on his way down to Immigration to complete his work permit renewal today. Mine is not ready – which is typical here. The head of the household’s will the completed before the spouse. I am waiting to hear when mine will be ready.

This week, Horace will be traveling to see their progress first hand. So far, he has visited Juja and Murang’a. Murang’a farmers are dealing with a disease problem in the passion fruit. Thankfully, most of that can be treated with proper pruning. We will provide further updates later this week.

We have begun work towards the demonstration farm which will be used for researching locally marketable produce. Our goal is to start a home delivery service of organic vegetables which will be grown by local farmers. We are excited about the prospects of that new project.

All is well with us here, and we pray that all is well with you. Please continue to pray for the farmers with whom we work.

Blessings,
Anne

Back to Work & Back to School

We are back in Nairobi after a short trip to the US. We enjoyed our time there, but probably didn't spend enough time with anyone. For those of you that saw us in early July, I have recovered from my monster case of poison ivy. No more steroids - I was beginning to feel like the Pillsbury Dough Boy!
While we were there, we enjoyed seeing family, friends and supporters. We thank everyone for the hospitality and fellowship during our travels.
We returned to Nairobi last Friday night. The trip was not so bad, but it was the first time that we have not stopped somewhere on the way and rested. What a difference that makes! Jet lag has been rough for the whole family this time. We are not yet on a regular schedule, but hopefully all will be normal soon.
The next few weeks will be spent catching up with our projects and starting the research process for 2009 projects. We will update you as we progress with our work.
Well, here we are at the beginning of school. Horace, Jr. begins 9th grade which puts him in high school. Mary Shea begins 6th grade, which puts her in middle school. Both are ready for the challenges, but it is hard to believe they are making these transitions. The main comment today for Horace from some old friends is "He's huge!!".