Hayley's Wedding Day

Oops...I accidentally posted this awhile ago before I was finished!

It almost seems ridiculous that we are closer to my sister's 1 year wedding anniversary than her actual wedding day at this point and I am just now posting about it. Part of it relates to wanting to complete my Kenya posts first (I am giving up on this) and part of it relates to the fact that I was so busy enjoying the day that I do not have many photos from the big event (browsing through them now, maybe I have more than I thought!). For someone who likes to document anything and everything, it was very hard to look back and realize that I wasn't able to capture much of the day myself. BUT...I enjoyed taking in each moment without being behind my camera and fully engaging in and savoring the day's events.

My sister's wedding day was a special day of celebrating the beginning of her life with Jerry and sharing in that with so many of our family, close friends, and neighbors. Being surrounded by people we love and who have cared for us over the years was almost overwhelming. My heart felt so much joy that day.  And I did not want that day to end. Here are some of the moments that I was able to capture...    

Whitney, who I knew when she was little and even babysat for, did Hayley's makeup and hair (and mine as well). She did an amazing job! I always dread getting my hair done because I rarely like it, but this time was a major exception. I loved what she did on both of us!

 

Keira, our second cousin, was the flower girl. She acted really shy at the rehearsal and somewhat objected to getting her hair done, but when it came time for her to perform, she was great!  And adorable! She was a little too nervous to walk down the aisle by herself so she walked with me. There are some sweet photos of this and so many other moments that the professional photographer took. Eventually I will get my hands on those and be able to share. Unfortunately, I did not get any with Landon, the ringbearer (and another second cousin). He was the cutest and so entertaining. The neatest part about him being in Hayley's wedding is that his Mom (my oldest cousin on my Mom's side) was in our Mom's wedding.

 

Hayley and her bridesmaids got ready in a large room at the Chapel that holds children's church so there was lots to keep Keira entertained while we waited.   

Opening up her gifts from Hayley (more toys to keep her entertained)...

 

How special it was to have both grandmothers at the wedding...especially Grandma who is 90 years old and prefers to stay at home in her pjs. She gets around ok (and usually refuses a walker or cane) but agreed to a wheel chair since the length of the aisle at the Chapel is quite long. It was a full day but she was a trooper and made it nearly to the end of the reception that night.

Hayley and Jerry did not "see" each other before the wedding, but they did walk back to back to get a few different photos before the ceremony started. Although I felt like I shouldn't be an onlooker of this private moment, I was glad to get a picture.  

We had high hopes of getting these pictures below plus some family photos done outside before the wedding. BUT, the weather did not cooperate AT ALL. It was pouring pretty much the whole time before (and up until) the ceremony started. So the background of these photos is a little less than desirable. 

Hayley obviously enjoyed us putting on her veil!

  

 

  Jerry & his entertaining groomsmen

 

 One of the highlights of their reception was the "father/daughter" and "mother/son" dances (and, of course, Hayley and Jerry's choreographed dance, but no photos of that!). After Hayley danced with Dad and Jerry danced with his Mom, they invited all mothers/sons and fathers/daughters onto the floor. There were so many of those relationships at the wedding that the dance floor was full. It touched me to be a part of this.

Father/Daughter(s)

Mother/Son

I had made it through the day without tears...of course, until I saw Grandma "dancing" with 4 of her 5 sons. This was one of those special moments from the reception that I will always remember. 

Sparklers to send off Hayley & Jerry!

 

Kenya {Day 4} - First Full Day at Mattaw

On Day 4 of our trip, we woke up well rested after our first normal night's sleep in awhile, enjoyed a great breakfast at Karibuni, had morning devotional time with the team, and then headed to Mattaw for our first full day there.  Oh how excited we were to see the kiddos again and to learn more about the work we would be doing for the next week.

Our rides from Karibuni to Mattaw...

Most days, we had a van (like the one that broke down) and one of Bud's vehicles to transport our whole team to Mattaw. Of course, is it any surprise that the 4 kids on our team always fought for Bud's "cool" land rover or cruiser?!

Our guys chatting with Bud about the work we would be doing at Mattaw...

Our main goal for our time there was to work on building a security wall that extended out from the main front gate of Mattaw to protect the property from unwanted visitors. The wall had been started but there was still a ways to go before it was completed. The current barrier of protection on the front side of the property was barbed wire.

The wall was being built by the interlocking blocks that I mentioned earlier that were also used to construct the houses and other buildings on the property. Because the blocks have to "cure" after they are made before they can be used for construction, Bud and the other men who work at Mattaw had made a ton of blocks in advance of our arrival. Our main job was to get the blocks from the back of the property up to the front as the men continued to build the wall. We jumped right in on the first day and got those blocks moving!

We tried all different methods of moving the blocks...carrying one by one, assembly line, and throwing. Of course, the ladies were not involved in the throwing. When we were included, we had a very organized assembly line pictured below. 

The last folks on the line were responsible for stacking the trailer, which had to be done carefully like puzzle pieces and without breaking the blocks...

A trailer to transport the blocks makes the whole process so much easier...unless the trailer doesn't have a hitch! This combined with flat tires on the trailer made things interesting. Never a dull moment in Kenya! At least we had some guys who could come up with a solution...

Many of the kiddos were there as we loaded the trailer or moved the blocks towards the wall...just watching or even helping...

Once the blocks were moved up to the front gate on the trailer, we individually carried the blocks down the wall to the point where the guys were adding on...

The beginning part of the completed security wall is pictured below to the right of the red gate door

These kids put me to shame. It was all I could do to carry two blocks at a time. (Yes, I was very sore the next day!) Some of the kids carried two at a time in bare feet. Just when I would want to reduce my load and only carry one, I'd see one of them carrying two. If they could do it, I could, too, and that was enough to help me catch my second wind. 

This was harder than the smile made it look!

 We stacked the blocks neatly for the guys to grab as they added to the wall. When most of our team was working on this and some of the kids with super strength were lending some of their muscle as well, we could make quite a pile of blocks fairly quickly.

The men who worked at Mattaw were both ones that actually lived there in the houses with the children and also some that would just come to work during the day. You could find them working on various different projects around the property. Here they are mixing up concrete to lay as the foundation for the wall...

Arnold supervising the process...

Once we unloaded a full trailer, we'd all migrate back to where the blocks were piled up and start the process again. When we had a majority of our team helping plus some of the older Mattaw kids, we could move those blocks in no time! The only real time delays related to maneuvering the trailer.

Even our very capable driver, Caleb, had some issues with backing up the trailer connected only with chains. So...we improvised...

We took breaks from our work throughout the day for lunch, to facilitate organized activities for the children, and to just play with/love on the kids.

Lunch was one of my favorite times of the day because 1. it was a chance for us to sit down together with the house parents and children and share a meal, 2. I always enjoy eating, 3. I really liked the food!, and 4. it was nice for us to spend time in the houses where the families of Mattaw (more on this in another post) live and to observe how they run things so well. Each house (there were 4 complete at the point when we were at Mattaw) individually prepared meals for the children who lived in that particular house. Our team would divide up for lunch and eat at different houses each day. 

The older girls in the houses helped the Moms and Aunties prepare meals.  Even with 20+ mouths to feed in each house, these women worked and prepared the food so calmly and with joy. There was no hurried pace, frantic preparation, frustration with the kids underfoot, or discouragement related to their mundane tasks that they do day after day.

 Team love at lunch

The children lined up on a long bench by the table or sat on the floor to eat

 After all of the children were mostly done with lunch and back outside playing, the adults (our team and the house parents) would sit around, talk, and sip on yummy chai tea. It was very sweet and oh-so-good! I bought some tea at the local grocery store to try to replicate at home, but I'm sure that I will not be able to even come close.

 The House 3 lunch bunch this day enjoyed having some relaxed time with Bud to hear about life at Mattaw, their vision, and learn more about all that God is doing there to rescue His children and give them a wonderful home where they can heal and thrive.

After lunch, we broke the children up by age and facilitated craft time. We sang and colored pictures on the first day.

 Duck - Duck - Goose! 

Some other pictures taken around Mattaw...

A huge crate of clothing came for the children while we were there. We ended up congregating around the piles to watch and assist with the sorting process...

A picture of the area out behind the houses where most of the household chores are done...meal prep, cooking, dishes, and laundry.

We did not assist with this exterior work, but here's a photo showing more of the work the men were doing while we were there. These buildings were House #5 and House #6...well on their way to housing more children that would be rescued and brought to Mattaw.

Now that I look back on all the pictures from the beginning of our time at Mattaw, it is evident that we quickly settled in and felt at home with the families there. I suppose it's not hard to bond deeply with children who are thrilled for us to be there and ready and waiting for us to arrive each day with arms wide open.