It's been pretty sweet lately because I've had several opportunities to hang out with Kenyans or "almost" Kenyans. A few weeks ago I went to a graduation party in South Bend for a Kenyan who just graduated from college. I was 1 of 3 non-Kenyans there, which I rather liked. The day definitely ran on Kenyan time. We arrived in South Bend and had some leisure time sitting around chatting, eating nyoma choma, and drinking tea before going to the party. Dinner was about an hour behind schedule and people continued arriving two-three hours after everything had already started. TIA...wait...no, this is America. But all the same, it made me laugh and I felt super relaxed not having to adhere to any sort of schedule. I ate every Kenyan food imaginable: sakuma wiki, samosa, irio, chapati, rice, etc. It was a wonderful sneak peak at what's to come.
Additionally, I was able to meet up with an American family who lived for about 15 years in Kenya doing mission work before moving to Malawi for another 13 years where they are presently living. They were back in the States for a visit with their son, Chad, who grew up in Kenya but lives here now. There were about 12 of us that sat down around a huge table for dinner, passing around chapati, ugali, githeri, sakuma wiki, stew, chai, and other vegetables. Everyone spoke Swahili throughout the entire meal, except me and Sue (Chad's wife). I was able to pick up a word here or there but was reminded of the severe disadvanatge I have not knowing the language and realizing how much I miss out on. I know this is a huge frustration for Sue too. She likes that her husband gets to practice his Swahili so that he doesn't forget, but it's hard being the outsider that only knows part of what is going on. But in any case I liked that we were all huddled in this house together in Indiana but that it felt like we were somewhere completely different. After dinner I helped Sue with dishes, which was a wonderful opportunity to get to know her. One of the first things she said to me was, "I read your book, and I totally get it." That was really encouraging to hear because a lot of people tell me they really like what I wrote, but I don't think everyone can completely relate to it. Sue, on the other hand, had the opportunity to go to Malawi a few years ago, and she understands the culture shock I experienced and how difficult it is to merge these 2 different worlds together. She told me she read the book out loud to her husband during a road trip so that he could better understand an outsider's initial perceptions to Africa. It's comforting to know that other people truly understand me.
People have been asking me if I'm excited about going. I am definitely excited to see people. I miss Popo and Alex and Victor and Jane so much. I really care about my friends there. But I know that there are a lot of emotional struggles that will come with being there and questions that I will wrestle with concerning the poverty/corruption/lack of jobs, etc. But I'm staying positive and am truly grateful that my sister and Rachel will be there with me and we can process our experiences together. Please be praying for us as we're preparing to go. I'm a dork, and so I actually started a little packing today...just sorting through things and putting clothes in the suitcase. i know I'm jumping the gun a little hear, but there's lots of things coming up in the next few weeks, so I figure it's ok to be a little ahead of the game. Anyway, pray for our health...that we would not be sick and would have an easy adjustment to the food and water. Pray that our time there would be purposeful and we would be flexible and go where God leads us. Pray for unity and teamwork amongst the people we'll be working with, and pray for our safety. Asante sana
Lala salama (good night). I'm off to sleep.
