My Kingdom for a Broom.

Today we painted...well, primed, to be exact.  We ran errands in town in the morning...on Kenyan time (i.e. everything takes longer than expected). We returned to the new orphanage in the early afternoon and began to work.  

The walls are hand-made brick covered with cement or stucco so they needed to be sanded and then the dust wiped off.  We had MANY helpers!!  (Perhaps too many?!)  We started priming and, of course, everyone wanted a paint brush!  That part didn't work out so well.  We tried to corral the kids, teach them how to paint properly, tried to get them to paint over a drop cloth (i.e. cement sack cut in half and laid open), but it was truly chaotic.  With that said, we loved and appreciated the children's enthusiasm and energy, but we sent the majority of the kids out to the yard to play and kept only a few of the older boys to help us.

Me and my boys, Abuod and Leban...these two are some serious workers.  Please note the newly primed walls in the background!  I'm claiming them both for my crew tomorrow.  

We completed three rooms today...only about 1/10 of what needs to be primed (and did I mention two coats of paint?)  Lots of work to do.  (But my new best friend, Ken Sparks, who is leading a group here next week from Colorado, might be bringing a paint sprayer!! Exciting!!)

Which brings me to the title of this blog "My Kingdom For a Broom"...

Cypress branches tied together with string!!  Yes!!  Now, the good news is it smells really good while you're sweeping but the bad news is...obvious...your back! Ouch. 

My other news...I'm learning Swahili and making all the kids laugh.  I'm trying!!   One young man, Brian, is very good at explaining the words slowly and showing me how to form the syllables...so he is my tutor.  My vocabulary includes hello, how are you, I'm good, thank you, you're welcome, please (though everyone says no one uses this word...awww...), what is your name, be quiet (very useful), yes, no and see you tomorrow.  Pretty good, huh?

Tish