happy autumnal equinox day!

Okay, so I know I have done a TERRIBLE job following through with my self-proclaimed blog extravaganza. I offer two excuses: 1) I am savoring every minute of this beautiful weather and eagerly anticipating the true arrival of fall, and 2) I spent 3 hours this evening with Mom and Bob and Joyce Burnett pouring over the new Mountain Park Academy class rosters to finalize new spellings, which students have withdrawn, which students have graduated, how many students and babies have joined us, and for which students we have been able to collect updated data (pictures, bios, letters, etc).

Phewwwwwwwwww!

It was a TASK (yes, that deserves capital letters) and the administrative team will have a TASK to complete on our upcoming trip! A horror to my mother in light of her role as multi-purpose data collector, we learned from Bob that name changing is quite common in Kenya: older students often change their own names on a frequent basis, some children change their names when their mothers remarry, and other prefer the mother's maiden name upon divorce. Despite the fact that the practice is a bit of an abomination to the ritual of record keeping here in the States, I am actually a bit envious. I've always wanted a name a bit more exotic-- Stella or Sofia, perhaps? : ) Nevertheless, the exciting news gathered from the Bob and Joyce's new compiled rosters is that we are growing every day at Mountain Park. Though some students may withdraw from school under various circumstances, many others eagerly fill that space and expand our mission. Joyce emphasized that some students had enrolled as few as three days before the first team arrived on September 1. Thank you Bob and Joyce for your time tonight...

I would like to take this time to share with you all a 'preview' of our upcoming trip. Lynn passed along a few photos of the daily life at Mountain Park and our very first children's home to be dedicated next week. I hope that this sneak peak will amplify the excitement for our first-time travelers and renew that same inspired spirit in our veterans. After listening to Carol's personal stories tonight, those even as simple as her listening to a mother's tuition concerns, I can only hope that we will all come away with such unique pieces and details that will undoubtedly enrich our lives for many, many years to come.

We also have an updated photograph of the staff and new headmaster-- education team, this is for you!

And now, for our Swahili lesson...short but very sweet.

We LOVE to love in this organization, hence our philosophies of "It's all about the love." and "Love the children. Feed the children. Teach the children." And, I think we will be discovering love in one of its purest forms in Kenya-- one without an ounce of materialism but with an immeasurable about of gratitude. Appropriately, the first of the eight planned homes for orphaned children in our village will be named upendo.

• Love - Upendo (oo-payn-doh)

I'll sign off on that note. : )

tnick