Orwas on Facebook

George started a Facebook page for our family. Before you faint - no I am not on Facebook. Stacie Larsen will never be on Facebook! However, I saw my husband's wisdom of starting a page for our family and work in Africa. It seems that most people get their information from Facebook first. So, now whenever a new blog is posted, there will be a notice on the Facebook page. We will also be able to post prayer requests and other announcements on there and get information out there sooner. If you are on Facebook and want to find our page - search for George and Stacie Orwa Ministry Page.

December Email Update and Vision 2012

Krismasi Njama! (Merry Christmas!)

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas. George and I had a really nice day with his family. We had traditional Kenyan foods and I provided mashed potatoes, cookies, pies and cake. Needless to say, we had plenty of food and great fellowship. Here, no one exchanges presents. Christmas is about celebrating Jesus' birth with family and friends. Although, I think that is great, I did miss Christmas shopping and wrapping gifts! George did wrap up one thing for me... a giant Ugali spoon. Now I am truly a Kenyan wife!

Speaking of being a Kenyan wife.... George and I got married! We got legally married at the attorney general's office on Friday December 2, but had our real wedding on the 4th. We had a wonderful day. Other than the absence of our US family and friends, the day was perfect. Abraham, a pastor from Uganda who we worked with in Sudan, came to officiate our ceremony. It was really special. After the ceremony, we took pictures, ate yummy food, cut the cake, threw the bouquet and had speeches. Two days later, George and I went to Kembu Farms near Nakuru for our honeymoon. We stayed for five nights and had a great time. We want to, again, thank everyone who donated and prayed for us to make this all possible.

We were blessed Pastor Herbert from Tanzania came to celebrate our wedding. His wife, Emily, made a wedding cake for us which he transported on a bus all the way from Tanzania. It was beautiful. Sadly, a few days after he returned home, his oldest son Frankie passed away. Frankie was married with two children and had a huge heart for God. While we find solace that he is with the Lord, we still grieve for his family's loss. George and I (along with George's mom) went to Tanzania two days after we got back from our honeymoon to spend time with Herbert and his family. They were still in shock and deeply grieving, but still praised God and continued to trust Him.

Once we got back from Tanzania, we were busy preparing for Christmas and now we look forward to New Years. Our month was incredibly busy so I had to post pone my Swahili lessons. Since schools are on break, George and I had the month off from Trinity Fellowship. We'll resume going to schools once they start up again in January.

So... what's next for us? We aren't sure! That's not easy to say. I love having a plan and knowing what my future holds. God doesn't always work that way, though. So, George and I are here, ready to go and now are waiting on God's timing. We still have Tanzania and Africa Harvest of Hope on our hearts. We are working with their leaders and praying about our future involvement with their ministry. There is so much to be done that we are excited about, but we are waiting for God's lead and for Him to work out all the details. We are eager to spread God's love through Africa Harvest of Hope and are prayfully looking forward to it.

While we wait, we'll still be working with Trinity Fellowship which reaches out to high school students. They teach them about God and train them in discipleship. It also encourages them to live Godly lives and reject cultural and social pressures to compromise their beliefs. This ministry is close to George's heart because it was through this ministry he came to know Christ and began walking with Him. We received feedback from the camp we spoke at in November that many kids dedicated their lives to Christ and appreciated our practical advise. We'll be going to a few different schools each week and meeting with the Christian Unions on campus. In addition, I'll be continuing with Swahili lessons. We also have several logistical items to work on that will allow us to live and serve in East Africa. That includes submitting my residency paperwork, changing my name, getting George's drivers license, getting vaccinations and seeing doctors, and working on additional certification for George's lab tech license. There is a lot to do in order to establish a life here.

As we embark on a New Year, we would love your prayers in the following areas:

1. For continued guidance as we wait on God's timing for our future. For Africa Harvest of Hope as they seek to meet many needs in Tanzania and reach others for Christ. For their leaders and us as we pray about our involvement.
2. For our marriage and George as he leads our family. We want God to be at the center and make sure we set aside time for daily prayer and study of the Bible together.
3. For our financial needs – God has been so great to call people to provide for our daily needs. There are other things we have not been able to afford such as health insurance that we are asking God to help us with. After the last bus 24+ hour bus journey to Tanzania and encountering some danger, we realized ` we need a car. That seems so far out of our reach at this point, but God knows our needs and is faithful, so we are trusting him. If you feel called to join our financial sending team, you can visit our blog's front page for more details. http://www.thisisstaciesblog.blogspot.com/

Our blog is the best place to follow us. We try to do frequent posts about life here and prayer requests. We appreciate your prayers, emails, encouragement and support. We wish you a Happy New Year and pray God blesses you and keeps you safe in 2012.

Love,
George and Stacie Orwa

Jeremiah 1: 7,8 The LORD replied, "Don't say, 'I'm too young,' for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don't be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken!"

MARGARET!!!!!

Yesterday I was SO excited because Margaret was coming to Kisumu to visit George and me. Margaret is a nurse from Sierra Leone who we worked with in Sudan. We became good friends and spent hours laughing together. She is currently on her Christmas break and will be returning to Sudan soon. While we have kept our friendship going through emails, I have really missed spending time with her. We had a really nice time visiting, catching up and of course laughing. I was sad to see her go today, but look forward to seeing her on her next break.

Feeling Better

Thank you all for praying. After being on the medicine for a few days, I am starting to feel better and we are holding off on additional testing for now. George is also feeling better too. We appreciate your prayers so much!

Stomach Bugs

For the last week, I have been having stomach issues (constant #3 for those who know my code language!). Finally today we went to the hospital to find out what is going on. Testing showed I have a colitis (a bacterial infection). So, I am taking medicine and will do more testing on Thursday. Now, George is not feeling well. Please pray we will heal quickly and feel back to normal soon.

Thanks!

Mr. President

Since President Obama has roots in Kenya, he is very popular here. His father comes from the Luo tribe which makes him extra popular in Kisumu. As a result, baby Obamas are becoming more common. Here is one such baby. He is 7 months old and one of the chubbiest babies I have ever seen. His mom is a family friend and we call him Mr. President... and salute him whenever possible!

Ugali Spoon

George gave me a cool gift today... a GIANT ugali spoon. As a wife of a Kenyan, knowing how to make ugali is a must. I can proudly say I have made several successful batches of ugali. Someone asked me if I got an ugali spoon as a wedding gift and I sadly said no. As a lover of all things excessively big or small, I was so excited to see a GIANT ugali spoon at Nakumatt. George remembered that I liked it and surprised me with it this morning. Here it is with a normal size one.

Christmas in Kibos

This morning, we went to George's parent's house in Kibos to celebrate Christmas. Here, Christmas is not about gifts at all, but about being together to celebrate Christ's birth. We had a great time. There were a lot of people there and lots of food! Our desserts were a hit. I also made garlic mashed potatoes that were so yummy.

There were games...



Dancing...



Walks in the wood...



A Christmas treee (branch, really)



Food (Chicken, rice, fish, beef, chipatti, mashed potatoes, ugali, sakuma wiki and more..



Scripture reading and a speech by my youngest brother in law, Ken





And a song...



It was a really nice day. I miss being with my family in the US, but the Okechs made me feel at home.

Merry Christmas!

George and I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas. We hope you are able to spend time with family and friends and find great joy in celebrating Jesus' birth.

Baking Day

Today I had an all day baking today at Suzy's house in preparation for our Christmas lunch at George's parent's house on Sunday. Suzy is out of town, but has an oven that I could use. I was joined by Sarah, an American exchange student who stayed with George's family for six weeks and returned for Christmas. We had a wonderful time. It really helped to make it feel more like Christmas. We baked four pumpkin pies, one pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting, 36 pumpkin cookies, 50 sugar cookies, (thanks Megan for the recipe!) and 16 sugar chocolate mint cookies.





(Since there are many things not available here, we have to improvise. We made the cookie shapes by hands. We also put icing in a plastic bag that used to hold sugar and cut the tip off an edge to do the writing.)

Home Sweet Home

George and I are living in a neighborhood in Kisumu called Ondiek. This house has been the home to George's brothers and sisters. It's kind of the transition house. The kids stay here after they graduate high school before they finish college, get married or move away. It's also been home to many friends of the family. They still come and stay whenever they are in need. We live here with George's brother, Dave. Our house is the one on the left. Mama Agu, our friendly neighbor and tailor, lives in the house on the right.

Pictures from Uganda

When George and I went on our pre-marital counseling road trip last month, after we left Charles and Emily's house in Kakamega, we went to Uganda to meet up with Abraham. Abraham is a pastor we met in Sudan while he was working on building the medical clinic. Poor Abraham roomed with three twenty-something Kenyan guys, including George, who stayed up late laughing and talking. They became good friends as a result. Because, George and I wanted a pastor who knew us both to perform the ceremony, Abraham was the perfect choice.

After we called and emailed him, he accepted our request, but wanted us to meet to go over the details. George and I visited his home in Mbale, Uganda for one night. When he met us in town, we were overjoyed to see him since it has been so long. It was great to be back with them. Then, we traveled to his village where we met his wife and kids and saw his home and church.










That evening, we had lots of time to talk. Abraham wanted to make sure we were ready for this commitment and also wanted to make sure our families were on board. We shared with him our full story and he saw that we have sought God's will in our relationship from the beginning. Then it was his turn to give us advice and then go over ceremony details.

We wanted a short ceremony and knew Abraham could talk and talk when he gets preaching! There was a time in Sudan when he was supposed to lead communion after the sermon. The sermon went long and then Abraham went long. His time was supposed to take 5 minutes, but took 45... at least! What he shared was great and we don't want to stop the spirit from leading. Poor Mike and Amy were doing Sunday School that morning and had no idea what was going on and what to do with the 75 kids for the extra time! We had a good laugh about that and came to a consensus of what the ceremony would be like.

The next morning we went back to Kisumu. We had a wonderful time with Abraham and were so blessed he performed our ceremony.

Crazy Bus Rides

Our journey to and from Tanzania were CRAZY!!!! I have to describe it to you. I hope it doesn't sound like I am complaining. It's typical bus travel for this area of the world, but it's so different than anything that would happen in the US that I have to share it.

There is no quick and easy way to get to Tanzania by road. Without a car and air travel being too expensive, taking buses and matatus are our only option. Last time we went to Tanzania, we went from Kisumu to Mombasa (on the coast of Kenya – 13 hour bus ride) where we spent a couple nights. Then we went to Korogwe (six hours away). On our way home, we went from Korogwe to Kisumu which took about 20 hours.

On Monday, George researched the best option based on cost and availability. The two major bus companies that travel to Tanzania are Kampala Coach and Akamba. Akamba is known to break down a lot so George opted for Kampala Coach, which was also cheaper. We would have to book a ticket to Arusha (six hours from Korogwe) or Dar es Salaam, which is six hours past Korogwe, but we could get off in Korogwe. The Dar es Salaam bus was booked until Wednesday so George picked the one that went to Arusha, leaving Tuesday night.

Unfortunately, the Kampala Coach bus that goes to Arusha, Tanzania doesn't go to Kisumu. So, the booking agent told us to come to the office at 3:00 and a car would take us to Bungoma where the bus would pick us up at 8:00pm. Bungoma is about two hours away. We arrived Tuesday at 1:30 (which is the only time we could get a ride) and expected to leave at 3:00. The van that was scheduled to take us didn't show up until 4:30. It waited until it was full of people before getting us.

We arrived in Bungoma around 6:30 thinking we had an hour and a half until the bus arrived. We were informed the bus actually arrives at 9:30, not 8:00. The lady in Kisumu gave us the wrong information. There was nothing we could do except go get dinner and wait. When we got back from dinner, we were told the bus is running late and will arrive at 11:30. More waiting.

When it arrived at 11:30, people were sitting in our assigned seats and wouldn't move so we had to sit in the back row which is extremely bumpy on the rough Kenyan roads. So, we reluctantly sat down and headed to Nairobi which is about seven hours away. Halfway through the night, we were able to move up to better seats.

We arrived in Nairobi at 6:30am at the Kampala office which is located in the worst part of Nairobi – River Road. It's very dangerous and there are many robberies. I felt safe on the bus, but I had to go to the bathroom so George's mom and I quickly ran to the bathrooms which were some rickety stairs. They were squatties that were not maintained at all. I just held my breath and went for it.

Once back in the bus, it filled up halfway and around 7:00, the bus left the Kampala office. I thought we were headed to the next stop – the Kenya-Tanzania border, but I was wrong. It left the office to go to a gas station where they had people and items waiting to load. These people had not purchased official tickets, but the conductors had some side business going – to fill their pockets and not the company's. Totally wrong. We sat there for an hour and a half. I was so frustrated. Finally we left around 9:00.

As we left, a preacher got on board. You might think, that's cool. No, it's not. These guys are scammers and thieves. They board buses and start preaching. At the end there is always a pitch for money and guilt trips galore. People give these guys money and it goes right into their pockets. I told George to let me know when the pitch came and sure enough, it did. After 30 minutes he left. Then, another scammer got on board. He was trying to sell miracle soap, pills and creams – guaranteed to cure all your problems for only 50 shillings. If it really worked, wouldn't these be used in hospitals? Sadly, people are desperate for an easy fix and so they are sucked in. Later in the bus ride, another one got on. You might wonder why the bus drivers let them on. Well, they get a share of whatever the scammers collect. George spoke up and challenged these scammers, but they kept going.

The border of Tanzania is about two hours from Nairobi. Once we were a mile from the border, they let certain people off the bus. These are people who didn't have a passport that they were going to sneak across the border – so illegal.

At the border, George, his mom and I easily made it through immigration. Our bus was stopped for an inspection so it took about an hour until the bus left. Then we were on our way to Arusha which is about an hour and a half away. The passengers without passports were let back onto the bus after we crossed the border. Several times to Arusha, our bus was stopped at police checkpoints. They were checking everyone's passports. I'm sure they bribed the police to overlook the people without one. At one check point, we were stuck for 30 minutes or so while one of the conductors who didn't get his passport stamped was interrogated. Somehow he was let go and we were on our way.

After all the delays, we reached Arusha quite a bit later than expected – 3:00. This meant we missed all the buses going to Korogwe for the day. We decided to get closer to Korogwe and took a shuttle to Moshi which is an hour away. There we had to spend the night at a hotel.

The next morning, we boarded a bus headed to Korogwe at 7:45. It was one of those that had two seats, an aisle and then three seats. It's so cramped and crowded that it's painful. On this leg, again, we had several police stops. Again, more bribes were given. Just when I thought my body couldn't take it anymore, we arrived in Korogwe around 2:30. Thank you Lord for getting us here safely.

On Friday, George and Herbert researched our trip home options. One option was Akamba, but they were full. That left us with Kampala Coach. I was hoping we would be able to book seats on the bus that leaves Dar es Salaam so we could leave from Korogwe, but we were not allowed. That meant we had to ride the super cramped bus six hours back to Arusha where we would board Kampala Coach. Again, they didn't go through Kisumu, so we had to book to Eldoret – two hours from Kisumu.

On Saturday morning, we left around 8:00 for Arusha. We did the best we could with the cramped space and I was praying a lot! We were really tight on time. It's six hours to Arusha from Korogwe which means we would arrive at 2:00. Check in time for Kampala Coach was 1:00 with a leave time of 2:00. I was nervous we would miss our bus.

The ride to Arusha was tough. Lots of police stops and a long delay at the weigh station. Here, our bus was overweight so we had to be weighed again. They only weigh the back of the vehicle so they made people from the back stand in the front so we would pass inspection. The delay really set us back. It was a race against the clock. Then it started raining. Great. More delays. I was begging God to get us to Arusha in time. We didn't know when the next booking would be available and we would lose a lot of money if we had to get new tickets. I was also praying for safety. The bus drivers go really fast and in the rain – it's scary. There are so many fatal bus crashes in Kenya.

Once the rain started, our bus began to leak. I was by the window and a stream of water came pouring down on me and others. At this point, George and I looked at each other and laughed. Could this get worse? Yes, our bus began to have mechanical problems and had to pull over for a while. By this time, I gave in. Whatever happens was ok. Maybe God wanted us to miss that bus for some reason. Fortunately, the bus got fixed and we kept going.

By the time we reached Arusha it was 3:00 – one hour past our scheduled departure. I was hoping the bus again was delayed. It was! Yipppeee! So, we sat and waited for the bus to come. It did – around 4:30. When the bus left Arusha, again it was a race against the clock. If we didn't reach the border before they closed, we would be forced to spend the night on the bus. We arrived in time and rushed through immigration without any problems.

Then we were off to Nairobi after more non official ticket holders boarded. This ride wasn't too bad except for a very loud group of friends at the back of the bus. When we got to Nairobi, we left fairly quickly and headed to Eldoret. The loud people in the back kept going despite our pleas to quiet down.

We arrived in Eldoret at 5:00am on Sunday. We had to wait until a matatu was full and heading to Kisumu before we could leave. Around 7:00am it left. Matatus are mini vans crammed full of people. They stop wherever people need to get on and off. This makes a two hour ride into a three or four hour ride. Add a flat tire and its even longer. Then, sometimes, a matatu driver tells you they are going to Kisumu, but they really aren't and you have to transfer to another matatu where there is a scramble to get seats.

At long last, we arrived in Kisumu Sunday around 11:00am. It was good to be home.

I hope you enjoyed reading about the crazy travel experiences in Kenya and Tanzania. There can be humor found looking back, but during the process, it's miserable. There is no way George and I could do this with children so we are praying God somehow provides a vehicle to help us get through this easier.

Oh yeah – one bright moment – while we were stopped with the breakdown on the way to Arusha – I swear I saw a mariachi band playing in the back of a moving pick up truck. I thought I lost my mind. And then I saw another... and another. It turns out when there is a wedding, the procession starts with a band! Ok, it's not a mariachi band – but all they needed were the big hats and they would have been. I told George I feel gypped. Our wedding procession did not have a band in a truck leading the way. It's ok, I told him to start planning for one for our first anniversary!

Catching Up

Now that we are done with the wedding, honeymoon and trip to Tanzania, George and I will continue working on things to get us ready for our life and ministry in East Africa. Things have been so crazy for the last six weeks, I am looking forward to having some rest and then getting back to work. Our work with Trinity Fellowship is on hold until schools are back in session in January. In the meantime, some of the things we are working on are:

Getting George's Drivers License
Getting Vaccinations
Starting up Swahili lessons again
Doctor Check Ups
Getting my Kenya residency
Figuring out what I need to do to change my last name

In addition to all that we will be spending Christmas and New Years in Kisumu with George's family.

Address

Some people have asked if George and I have an address in Kenya. The answer is yes. Here it is:

George Orwa and Stacie Larsen (I need to find out how to legally change my name still.)
PO Box 2186, 40100
Kisumu, Kenya

This address is good for cards and letters. Unfortunately, things sometimes disappear in the mail or take a long time to arrive (George's sister just received a package that was mailed eight months ago from the US.). Here are some tips when mailing something here (learned from experience!)

- Don't send anything of value like money or electronics
- If you send a package, it's best to use a small padded envelope and declare zero value for customs.
- Opt to get tracking when sending.
- USPS can take a while for packages. Letters are pretty quick. If it's really important, send it through Fed Ex or DHL

Remembering Frankie

Our trip to Tanzania was a quick one. It was difficult, but I am glad we went.

Herbert and his family are grieving as expected. I think they are still in shock over the loss of Frankie. Once we got there on Thursday afternoon, we went with the family to place a cross at his grave site. It was really sad. Although they are sad, they are still trusting God and praising Him which was touching and inspiring to see.

They showed us a video of the town boda bodas, tuk tuks and motorcycles escorting Frankie's body to Korogwe. The whole town was empty as most it's residents came to support the family. Frankie was well loved. The memorial service was packed and spoke of Frankie's love for God.

The rest of our time was spent hanging out with the family. We tried to encourage them as much as we could and pray with them. We hope by going there, they could feel our love and the love of those in the US and know we are mourning with them.

Although we insisted on no special treatment, Herbert and Emily were still amazing guests. They are incredibly kind and caring for others, even in the midst of their suffering.



(Here is Emily, George, George's mom and Herbert.)

Frankie's kids were doing fine. They don't really understand what happened. We spent a lot of time playing with them.



We left Korogwe on Saturday morning since the family was planning to go out of town to be with their daughter, Anna, who is ready to deliver a baby any day.

Please pray for this family as they deal with this devastating loss. Especially for Lulu, Frankie's wife, who has a lot of decisions to make.

Back from Tanzania

George and I (along with his mom) arrived back in Kisumu this morning after a 30+ hour bus journey. We are exhausted so I will write more tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know we are back safe and sound. Thank you for praying!

Visa Extended!

Thanks for your prayers concerning my visa. George and I went to the immigration office this morning and were able to extend my visa for another three months. The whole process took less than thirty minutes. I just had to apply for an alien card (foreigner, not Alf). They also gave us the application for me to become a dependent under George, allowing me to get resident status.

We are happy to have this taken care of before going to Tanzania. Please pray for our 24+ hour bus ride this afternoon and that God would give us the words to say to Herbert and his family.

Visa

My Kenya visa expires in six days. George and I are working on ways to extend it. We want to get a resident card for me since I am now married to George. Once I have that, visas won’t be an issue. For now, we have to get my three month visa extended. Tomorrow George and I are going to the immigration office in Kisumu before our bus leaves for Tanzania. We are hoping they will be able to extend my visa and start the application for my resident card. Kenya is known for having a corrupt government. Going through the correct channels can take months or years. Because of this, officials will demand money (a bribe) to get things done. We are not willing to do that. We planned on having all week to take care of this, but our emergency trip to Tanzania has cut our time short. Today was a holiday which means government offices were closed. That leaves us with tomorrow morning only. If I don’t get my visa issues resolved tomorrow, I may have problems at the boarder when we return from Tanzania. Please pray we meet up with an understanding immigration officer who is nice and willing to help us do things the right way.

Prayer Needed for Pastor Herbert and Family

We got some sad news a few days ago from Pastor Herbert, the pastor who brought us a wedding cake from Tanzania. A couple days after he got back to Korogwe, his son, Frank, unexpectedly passed away in a tragic car accident. Frank was married to Lulu and they have two kids, Emmy and Alan. You may remember from my blogs, Herbert’s daughter in law coming every day to help prepare amazing meals for us. That was Frank’s wife. Frank was out of town when we were there, so unfortunately, we didn’t get to meet him. We had heard from Alan and Shannon and others that he was a great guy – full of love for God with an infectious laugh and smile. We don’t know why things like this happen, but we find comfort knowing he is in the presence of God, who he loved so much.

George and I will be going to Korogwe , Tanzania Tuesday afternoon along with George’s mom. If there are no travel delays, we will arrive there on Wednesday night and plan to stay a couple days. The burial was today, but we are still going to go to offer our love and support to this family who is so devastated. Please pray for Herbert and Emily, Frank’s wife and kids and all the other friends and family who are grieving his loss.

Happy Birthday George!

Yesterday was George’s birthday. Since I wasn’t sure what time we would return from Nakuru, I hadn’t planned anything before we left. Once it was clear we would be back early evening, I called George’s brother and we arranged an impromptu dinner party. Immediately upon returning to Kisumu, we picked up chicken from our favorite place, grabbed some sodas and pulled out the leftover wedding cake. We had a nice time celebrating George’s big day with a few family and friends.

A Big Fat Thank You

George and I want to say thank you to you. We received a large gift from many people who donated to a wedding/honeymoon fund. Although weddings are much cheaper here and we kept things very simple, we wondered how we would pay for it. We didn't think we could afford a honeymoon either. God is so good and provided all we needed through our friends and family in the US. It means so much to us that you would sacrifice to make our day so special. Thank you to everyone who prayed for us. It really was a miracle it didn't rain and everything else went smoothly too. We feel so loved and supported. You have started our marriage off with many blessings. So, until we can send individual thank yous.... here is a big fat one for now. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,
George and Stacie Orwa

Games

There is lots to do here. You can go on walks, visit the knitter's project, see the cows being milked, feed the baby cows and play games. Near the campsite, they have a bar with a pool table, ping pong and darts. I won the first ping pong game against George, but he has beaten me every time since. We both are terrible at darts and he finally had to do this to end the game.

Pets for the Week

Another part of Kembu that makes it feel like home are the animals. They have lots of dogs, some who have become camp dogs. They make themselves at home with the guests. Here are a few of our favorite ones:

Tink greeted us right when we got here and is our most frequent visitor.



Obilyx is a Great Dane and is HUGE! He really is a gentle giant and George's favorite. George doesn't consider small dogs to be real dogs!




Buster is my favorite from previous visits. He is a little stinker and has a mind of his own. Before today, we hadn't seen him much because there was a family staying at another cottage that has kids. Apparently George and I aren't as exciting as the kids are! I think they must have left today because Buster came around and hung out quiet a bit. I was so happy!







In addition to the dogs, they have lots of cows and horses that they breed for racing (horses, not cows for racing!).

Mutati Cottage

Each cottage is special and different. We are staying in the Mutati cottage. It is adorable and is our dream house. We would love to build one just like it someday. Here is a tour of our home for the week:





(Here is the downstairs bedroom)



The kitchen...



The stairs leading to the loft



The upstairs loft/bedroom.



The bathroom

Self Catering at Kembu

Part of the charm of this place is it feels like home. When you rent a cottage, it feels like your own. We chose the self-catering option so we brought our own food and have been making meals.




(Breakfast on the upstairs veranda)



One night was particularly yummy. We made tortillas for me and chapatti for George, grilled beef, cooked chicken and made guacamole. It was so yummy... a little taste of home.

Honeymoon at Kembu Farms

For our honeymoon, George and I are spending six days at Kembu Farms. This is my third visit to Kembu Farms in a year. I was here last December for a women's retreat, then I was back here in March with Mike and Amy before we came home. There is something magical about this place. It's kind of like Disneyland for me. When you are here, all your troubles go away.

Kembu Farms is owned by the Nightingale family. It's a working dairy farm and they rent out cottages on their property. You can also go camping here. You might wonder why a dairy farm is a good place for a vacation. Well, the property where the cottages are is absolutely beautiful. It's private, quiet, peaceful and relaxing. Plus, the staff is so nice and helpful.











For a wedding gift, Zoe and Andrew, the owners, offered us a private dinner in our cottage or dinner at their gorgeous house with them. We opted for dinner with them Thursday night. They cooked us a wonderful meal and we had a great time visiting with them.