Making a List, Checking it Twice

Well, Christmas has come and gone. You know it was a holiday in Moshi because everyone ate pilau, which is a rare treat because it involves meat. Protein is not something you come across very often with our families. But everyone was happy, went to church, came home, and ate pilau. While not a time of gift giving and Santa Claus, Christmas here is a time for family, and it was wonderful to see relatives form other villages coming to see some of our kids and their caregivers. Even non-christians celebrate with their families. It was good times.

As for OIT, holidays have slowed things down, but today we went to the newly rented center to see how the renovations shaped up, and it’s looking good. There are a few classrooms, offices, and a volunteer house, which should be really nice. We have to do some cleaning of the floors, so we made a list of everything we will need, then added on some things we will need to get for our New Year’s day party, then some more things we need for basics… we have a lot of shopping to do! But it’s good and very exciting to be getting things set up so OIT can be a really useful organization for our families and this community, and to have the center be a place where people feel comfortable and at home.

I apologize for the lack of pictures—the dial up internet has not been my friend, so I probably won’t be able to get any up until I am back in the USA in late January. It’s hard to believe my time here is half over (well, this trip anyway)…