Yep, you guessed it: Mural Mayhem--Part 4, the Homestretch :)

I'm feeling a wave of relief because although I still have some painting left to do, one major project is complete, and the other is looking good and finally feels under control. I think everything's going to come out looking really great in the end which is always a relief when you're working in a rather permanent medium like paint on someone else's property!

For full disclosure's sake, I've posted a picture of the paint-flecked face I've talked about so much. Yes, I'll admit I'm looking more than a bit rough, but it's all for a good cause!

We finished the boys room, and have made great strides on the living room of the orphanage, which is a huge weight of our shoulders because half the problem is just coming up with a good idea that we can accomplish in a relatively short period of time with a bunch of kids running around our paint cans. The boys room is a boat and airplane theme (by my brother's childhood room served as inspiration in fact!), and the living room, which is quite a large room, has three different colors on the 6 wall panels: light blue, bright orange, and yellow. You would not believe how much we debated the colors between the three of us. We were SUCH girls. Anyways, we finally agreed and it really looks great. Some pineapple borders went up today and there's ongoing work on Lion King decorations of Simba, etc. with the Akuna Matata theme to go up on Monday. Then we will also tackle some minimal painting in the girls' room because it is full of so many beds that we can only really paint up near the ceiling, but they are envious of the boys' room so we must do something!

But the most exciting accomplishment was the completion--in just two days--of the outside concrete walls at the Learning Center. On Wednesday, the teachers helped us roller and paint the four large concrete walls (no easy task--new found respect for painters!), although some helped more than others for sure. Some of the teachers took a break after a bit of painting and sat there watching us strain and sweat to complete the four humongous walls with just four small cans of paint--a Hanukkah miracle :)

Then on Thursday morning, we took the children from each classroom and had them line up and painted a hand with the color of their choice and had them handprint the middle two panels. Paint everywhere of course! But it was fun and not too disastrous in the end. Then in the afternoon we painted the school emblem and the MPK emblem on either side of the handprints. Now the school has a proper sign that makes you take notice! One of the staff, Joelia, upon seeing the mural remark that she would never forget us because every time she looked at it she would be reminded of us. Very sweet, and it's nice to know that we really will have a lasting impact. So just a day or two more of painting and then my time at MPK is done! Crazy how it flew by.

But I have a lot to look forward to with my parent's imminent arrival! I have this weekend in Kampala to organize myself (and run that half-marathon on Sunday!) and then comes a travel whirlwind for which I'm very excited!