Before we move into the Christmas season, I need to share a few fall photos! It may not have felt like fall in Kenya, but that didn’t stop us from decorating and celebrating one of my very favorite seasons. I remember missing the changing leaves when I lived in Honduras, so I was sure to purchase a package of artificial leaves before leaving Minnesota. They were a fun addition to our harvest festival!
All the kids, and many of the adults, dressed up for the Harvest Festival theme of storybook ideas or characters. I’ve learned that lots of sharing happens between missionary families, so costumes get passed from one kid to the next and back again. It’s fantastic!
After showing off costumes, families gathered for hot dogs around the fire and yummy desserts.
Ella girl dressed as Tauriel from The Hobbit. She insisted on being a character who uses a bow and arrow. I completely failed to get a full shot of her costume, but you can see a little more of it in her trick-or-treating picture further down.
Sam, Pete, and I dressed as characters from the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Isn’t Sam the cutest little mouse in the world? It would have been fun for him to wear little mouse ears, but I knew he wouldn’t go for it, so I didn’t even make them. This mama is learning and making things simpler!
I’m so thankful a friend snapped this one of the three of us, or we wouldn’t have one at all!
All the families also participated in a pumpkin carving contest. I was amazed with the skill and creativity! Ours is the tall one in the back with the cat and holes. We taught Ella how to use a drill so she could make all the holes herself.
Winners of the individual costume and pumpkin carving contests had the hilarious privilege of tossing cream pies at these two dads. Note, these two were selected weeks before the actual event. The contest winners? Their wives!
After the fun with pies, we set out to trick-or-treat. Adults without little kids sat on the doorsteps all over our compound and passed out little bits of candy. The candy had been collected from visitors in the months prior to the festival, so it was all American candy! Pete and I may or may not have helped ourselves to a few pieces of the kids stash after they were in bed. We would have done the same in the States!
We all had such a fun and memorable night! The kids didn’t miss trick-or-treating, which they love doing in the States, and they got to dress up with lots of their missionary friends. We are so happy to have such an incredible community here at Tenwek!
(That’s Krista’s pumpkin next to ours. Characters from The Wizard of Oz, to match how they dressed as a family. No wonder she won!)
Coming soon…pictures from our Thanksgiving and a video with Sammy!
