Productive Few Days, but Not Much to Report

Hey there!  Just wanted to check in a minute while we have internet...it's been up and down quite a bit over these past few days.  Also up and down?  Our water.  Today was the first day in about a week and a half that we haven't had water issues; most mornings, we've been without water.

The offices opened back up on Monday, so the plot doesn't feel like a ghost town anymore!  Actually, not that I have really been able to tell a difference.  I was able to work out of the house yesterday, and today I was in the baby house from 8am-6pm.  Things seem to be coming together pretty well for the internship that begins in 11 days!  I am very much looking forward to the ladies coming.

So, the reality of the baby house set in today.  The baby house is set up to be a safe house for children who need emergency care.  We got our second baby on December 28th, and as of this afternoon, he has been reunited with his family.  I didn't realize how hard it would be to say goodbye to the kids.  You really pour your heart and soul into them; this morning I was just thinking how fun it was that I was learning all of his quirks.  Brenda and I had taken him to a game park over the weekend, and while I was carrying him I noticed that he was getting incredibly hot.  I started blowing on him and his face broke into the biggest grin I've ever seen, and he started blowing back.  Over and over again.  This kept him entertained for almost 30 minutes.  I was doing that to him on and off these past couple of days, and he just loved it.  Also, Dietra and I taught him how to high-five and then cheer for himself.  There were a few other particular things that would make him laugh, and it was so fun to discover what those were.  I am praying the best for him and his family.  I'm also praying for Brenda; with her tender heart and love that she has for the children, this part of the job is very difficult.

Here are a couple of fun pictures from the park this weekend:

One of the giraffes ("Joe the Jolly Giraffe") let me get within about 20 ft of him, but I didn't take any pictures when I was that close, because I didn't want to spook him.  There are 11 giraffes at this park, and we were able to see a family of 3.  Very, very cute.

I was so close to the zebras!

I also saw wildebeests for the first time out here.  They spooked too easily so we couldn't get anywhere near them, but that's ok, because they killed Mufasa.

Oh, one last side note.  The weekend was so much fun; not only did I get to go to the game park, but I also played paintball for the first time in my life.  There's a course right by the plot, and it only costs about 100 Pula to play; that's roughly $15.  I had some pretty major welts (from cheap shots.  I had "killed" a couple of the guys, who then shot me from about 5 feet away after I got them); that night I woke up at least a dozen times.  Every time I rolled over and landed on one of the welts, I woke up.  So much fun though!  We're definitely going to go back...maybe I'll take the interns there as an initiation :).  Sunday morning I helped with Children's Church again; we were playing with play-do and I made a penguin, and the kids laughed hysterically and all made one too.  So cute.  Oh, and before church started, I was letting some girls play with my hair, and one of them leaned over to me and said "You're nice."  I love the kids out here.  That night, I watched The Princess Bride with Dietra and Mason and I have not stopped laughing to myself over some of the quotes.  "Mawage.  Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday."  Haha!  It's a must-see, fun-for-the-whole-family movie.

Anyway, that's all for today!  Have a wonderful day/night/week.