Week 2 Recap: There's a Sunny-side to Every Situation

So this past week has been pretty random, but also pretty awesome! Throughout the week we continued working on fixing up the novices rooms....Yup...more painting and staining!! I'm not going to sugar-coat this one- painting gets really old after doing it for 2 weeks straight. Also, we were told today that there are another 8 or so more rooms that the sisters would like us to paint and stain....Don't get me started on how I feel about this...

Anyways...so Kate and I have made great progress in the past 2 weeks with the novices rooms! This week we are just putting the finishing touches on the shelves and cabinets as well as doing a second coat of staining on the floors. I think the only bright-side of this whole painting situation is that A.) the rooms look really great now and the sisters are soooo excited about the work we have done and B.) we actually got to use a moss green colored paint for the shelves which after weeks of doing "eggshell white" is a nice change. Oh the little things in life!

In other news, for some reason I keep getting sick in the middle of mass. Wednesday I took the day off because I thought I was going to either pass out or puke at mass. The sisters were really kind about it though. It was like having a dozen mothers checking in on me all day! They each had their on diagnosis and proposed treatment which was kind of funny. Even though I felt awful I got to eat some really great homemade chicken noodle soup! Again...there's always a sunny-side to every situation!

My mother would be so proud of this! lol ;)

The rest of the week went by pretty normally. Saturday was a very special day. We had 2 novices- Sr. Christine and Sr. Rosalia- take their 1st vows! Celebrations here in Kenya are a BIG DEAL! On Friday, Kate and I helped out in the kitchen- peeling potatoes, prepping corn, and (how could I forget?) sifting through dozens of bag of rice to check for "stones" (strange...I know). Anyways....on Saturday the families of the 2 novices came- some coming from as far as Uganda. Also, the 2 German volunteers (Catalina and Steffy) who will be staying in Ruarka and Harris were all there for the ceremony and after party.There was lots of singing and dancing during the 2 hour long mass. Sr. Christine's relatives were funny to watch because they kept dancing in the aisle and doing the screeching "Ay Ay Ay" thing that people here do when they are excited. At the party after the mass, there was tons of food and cake! The two families of the new "brides" each got up and sang and danced for all of us. It's really amusing to see how differently people here celebrate! What I like about it is that they don't hold back! People here truly know how to celebrate such a joyous occasion.

Saturday afternoon, Harris was able to convince Sr. Michael Marie to let us go back to stay at Amani Center for the rest of the weekend. For some reason Kate and I are never able to get straightforward answers from anyone around here, but Harris visits for one day and the sisters love him! We ended up hanging out Saturday night with the guys at Amani. We met Mike the other St. John's guy and also the guys' friends Augustine, Vincent, and Dan who are all really awesome! They even taught us how to play "Cardy" which is basically "Uno" using regular playing cards. Thus far, I think Saturday night was the most fun I've had since coming to Kenya. Just a lot of fun hanging out with some really great people. :)

Sunday, we all went to the 11am mass together. We ended up meeting up with the German girls. I got really dizzy again during mass and had to leave early. Yeah...I have to figure out this whole dizzy spell thing. It's no fun. Around 1:30pm we Skyped with Fr. Chris and got to say Hi to some of the monks back home. Miss them!! It was so great to get to hear from them!! Around 2pm, Kate, Harris, and I went into Nairobi and had pizza at this really great Italian restaurant. It was also funny because Henry and his friend ended up at the same restaurant- Happy 51st Birthday, Henry! Then, Kate and I took the matatu back to Karen..We are getting so good at this!

Well, going into Week 3 it looks like it will be more painting and staining for Kate and I! It's been really frustrating trying to communicate with the sisters about what we want to do, but hopefully we will be able to work out some kind of schedule for the upcoming month that does not include maintenance work. All in God's good time! Just have to stay positive and try to be patient no matter how frustrating it is!!

This week I'm going to work on being positive! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and there's no use wasting time on negative thoughts. After all, I'm in AFRICA with a group of really incredible people including one of my best friends ever- the one and only Kate Drinkwater! AND I have a jar of peanut butter, Pringles, and hot cocoa stashed away for when I need to be cheered up! What more could a girl like me need? ;)

It's going to be a long week!! Say some prayers for us! It can get lonely here and Kate and I definitely have been missing home from time to time in the past 2 weeks. And feel free to send us letters or something AWESOME!!! ;)
Here's our address::

Missionary Benedictine Sisters

Sacred Heart Priory

(Windy Ridge 181,Karen-Nairobi)

P.O.Box 24233 Karen

00502 Nairobi

Kenya

QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

"I'm preparing a room for you to join us!" ~Sr .Lydia (She is convinced that Kate and I are the new "aspirants".)

"They are delicate people...Not like us...We eat everything!" ~ one of the sisters' responses to me being sick

"Today is a happy day! No one should be sad! If you are sad you will fall on the ground on your face!" ~Fr. Gregor, the visiting celebrant (1st vows ceremony)

"Once in a lifetime is something to celebrate!" ~Sr. Michael Marie (1st vows ceremony)