Our Trip in Pictures

These beautiful faces greeted us at Bondeni School on Monday morning.  They were singing, dancing, smiling and laughing.  And our hearts were bursting!



We spent Monday and Tuesday taking pictures of over 700 students at both Bondeni School campuses.  Here are some of the younger students eagerly waiting for Tim to take their picture.



One of the students at the upper Bondeni campus was in Kenya's Boy Scouts.  Doesn't he look official??

Cheka is the Swahili word for smile.  We would constantly be saying "Checka, Checka" to the students.  As you can see this student is trying really hard not to crack a smile.

One of the classes at the upper Bondeni campus.  They are getting their class photo taken with Alice, the Head Teacher.



This little guy melts my heart.  I could look at this photo all day long.  Never fails to make me smile.



This is Phillip. He drove us all around Nairobi.  He is an awesome guy with a fantastic story. I loved sitting up front with him in the van and chatting with him.  I'm pretty sure there is nothing I haven't asked him about Nairobi.  He used to drive one the crazy matatus, but stopped doing that so he could be part of the ministry at Missions of Hope.  Did I mention how awesome he is?! He was so tired every night because we went everywhere and then he went home to help his wife take care of their new twins!

We had the photos developed and helped the students decorate picture frames.  They LOVED them!  They don't often get updated photos of themselves so this was a treat for them.  And of course for us! We loved being in the classroom with the students.

The Jr. High Students at West Side are raising money this summer for the students at Bondeni.  They sent small beach balls with special messages written on them with us along with a photo of themselves.  We taught the kids how to inflate and deflate the beach balls.  They were so much fun.  When we were out in the community we would see the kids holding tightly to their beach balls and photos.

So excited with their new treasures.  Photos and beach balls.  What could be better?!

We brought a few larger beach balls out into the school yard to play with all the students.  We had a blast! The school yard is just dirt and it was really warm that day so after playing we filthy and super sweaty, but we all had the best time. I seriously could spend all day hanging out with the students in the school yard.

This is our sponsored kid, Ian. He attends school at Bondeni and his teacher tells us he is a great student.  This pic was at the end of the week and he was a little less afraid of us. The first day when we saw him he was a bit shy, but totally warmed up after spending time with us all week.  He is such a sweet kid and we love being a part of his life!

This is the newly built upper Bondeni campus.  It is the school for the older Bondeni students.  It is such a shiny beacon of hope amidst the dark, dirty background of Mathare Valley.  The students just started school there this year and have almost outgrown it already.  What an awesome issue to deal with! 

The slums

The slums. The shiny building in the back is Bondeni school.  See how it shines :)

All the students at the new building.  They beach ball says HOPE.  That sums it all up!