This is our fearless leader, Kevin, showing off some "takeout" the guys got on Saturday. While Lucy and I waited at the tailors, the guys were off swimming and having a grand time at the American school in Kinshasa. I hear it was lovely. Somehow the guys were all a lot cleaner after that! Kevin was a great leader, with just enough encouragement and just enough push to keep us on target. He had some great stories about other places he has been. In some ways, we had it pretty posh compared to some teams and in other ways, not as posh. This was an amazing team of people and I am sooooo glad I came!
This is Ric. There was nothing he wasn't willing to do. And get dirty? No problem. He's taking some soil samples in this pic with Akachi holding his feet and Tom looking at him. I should try to find some clearer pics of him to post. I promise there are some. He doesn't always take fuzzy pictures! He was our team lyricist and leader of silly songtime (an impromptu sing-along on the way to and from church). I will be writing some of these lyrics down in future postings. 
This is Austin. Yes, he is drawing on the face of the cliff. The thing about our site is that it is almost pure sand from the very bottom to 200+ meters above. The team stopped here to add some "good" graffitti to the mix. If I'm remembering correctly, Austin drew a heart and a cross, I think meaning that Jesus loves or that Jesus is love... not sure but that's my interpretation for now! He works for a Christian architecture firm and they do meaningful projects at a lower cost for organizations that may need architectural skills but may not have a lot of money. He always had great ideas on how to make the project more sustainable using natural processes, passive solar, etc.
I have to show two pictures for Bumjoo because two things really stood out. He couldn't sleep on the plane on the way over so he was VERY VERY tired for the first couple of days. Otherwise, he was always willing to help out. He tromped through bushed helping Dave with the survey, carried water up from the spring with Alvin, etc.
This is Lucy. She's always ready to chat someone up or teach them something. She would help some of the kids with math (she has taught university-level), or teach how to knit. She and Tom brought lots of toys, crayons, and other fun things for the kids. The kids living in the houses nearby knew who would always have time for them. She also did the powerpoint and is helping to assemble the report. She really acted as our team mom and helped everyone to stay a little bit more tidy and fed.
These two guys are Akachi and Dave. Akachi always had a great smile and hearty laugh. He also had wise and thoughtful things to say. A great singing voice and always willing to lead us in a song or encourage us in our camp songs. A great man for numbers, he is helping to figure the cost of the project. If only we had someone like him on every project I do.
This is Dave. He was our surveyor and always up for meeting new folks or trying new experiences. You could always count on Dave to have great shots of people. Don't let the strong Canadian accent fool you. He's always the first to leap out and get something started and get things done. He really pushed to get the survey of the site done after a rough start. The bag of survey equipment didn't arrive until Monday so he had to get things done in a much shorter time frame... but he pushed through and did it!
This is Alvin. He has gotten a reputation for always being hungry. This picture was taken at Carnivore, a restaurant at Nairobi. Bumjoo, Alvin, Austin, and I left the airport during our 7+ hour layover in Kenya and went here to dinner... and yes, we all ate meat. I am going to blame the boys for that one! :) Oh, and Alvin was also our resident electrical engineer. You could always count on him (or David) to try rewiring the house anytime our power went strange. He is also the quintessential firstborn, taking responsibility for our money and telling me to eat things I shouldn't... Long story... but suffice to say, I shouldn't be so gullible! My plight as a lastborn. I trust older siblings. They speak with such authority!
This is Colin. He's always up for an adventure, like this time when he climbed the mango tree. He was one of our architects. He's in the middle of getting his Master of Architecture degree. He's from England and I keep hearing his accent run through my brain over and over and over again. It's like when you get off a boat but the world still feels like it's moving. Colin and I would practice saying things in the other's accent and now his voice is stuck in my head!
These two guys are Kevin, our fearless leader and Ric, our water/sewer expert! I would notice no matter where we would go, the engineers couldn't help but wander off and investigate the infrastructure. I found these guys poking into generators, fuse boxes, water lines, and anything else they could. Curiousity, thy name is engineer!
This is me, Colin, Austin, and Tom talking over the site plan. All the ginga' ninjas, and Tom, talking together. Tom is our structural engineer, helping to ensure that our buildings stay up. He was a great person to bounce ideas off. I would do some preliminary work on the site plan and then ask him all sorts of questions about how to make the placement of certain buildings possible on this slope. He is a vast storehouse of knowledge and is always willing to share it in abundance.
This is a picture of Tom and the Ginga' Ninjas. See if you can spot all four of us among the mangos!
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