singing in kibera

after a long afternoon, i feel a bit better because ash, rachel, and i just walked out of kibera singing disney songs obnoxiously at the top of our lungs.  people were turning around staring at us, some smiling, some puzzled.  it felt good.  we went to church this morning and then went to nakumatt supermarket to get groceries for our 4th of july party tomorrow.  alex and popo invited about everyone they know, which is a lot of people and i'm not sure if we're going to all fit in our very small house.  this afternoon we went to action group, which is a group of young people that meet in kibera to discuss various issues.  today's talk was about relationships and working hard to make them work.  like most meetings here, this really drug on and on, and us 3 girls were getting a little edgy sitting there for several hours.  i had an afternoon like this yesterday where i sat at a youth for christ meeting in kibera with popo for almost 4 hours.  we were supposed to participate in a dance practice but there was no electricity so they couldn't practice.  instead i sat and listened to them practice skits and discuss things in swahili.   i got really frustrated and exhausted b/c i didn't know i was going to be sitting there all that time.  ash and rachel wisely decided not to go.  but there really wasn't a way for me to leave b/c it was deep in kibera and i don't know my way out.  i often feel powerless...i never know the time b/c i have no clock or watch (last week i thought it was 3:00 but it was actually 7:00), someone has to wake us up every morning, and i don't have my own key to the house, so i hav to go there with someone.  but since i'm never alone i feel safer.  people in kibera were commenting in swahili today about how we were wise mzungus b/c we weren't carrying any bags for people to steal.  some of andrew's friends from the u.s were robbed at gun point a few weeks ago and they were carrying all sorts of electronics and computers through kibera.  andrew felt bad b/c he didn't know they had all that expensive stuff with them.  about the only thing i'm carrying through there is water and puppets, and i can't imagine why someone would want that.

anyway, things got better yesterday after being in kibera forever b/c we came back and played spoons and had a huge dance party.  we are learning this dance from popo and his friend rodgers and ash and i are teaching them our dance and putting the 2 together.

yesterday we were at the juvenile.  we talked about acceptance, friendship, and how to be a friend to others.  perhaps a simple concept but not so much for them b/c they are all from diferent tribes and places.  we also helped them with their chores and they thought it was crazy that i was ok with geting dirty, hoeing, and moving rocks.

friday we were with the street boys.  they are so happy to see us, perhaps because we provide the only hugs and handshakes they get for the week.  we talked to them about the effects of using drugs and helped them set some goals for how they'd like to get off the street and progress.  it is encouraging b/c several of them have stopped using drugs.  francis is one boy that i'm particularly fond of.  he really wants to go to school.  so alex and the rest of us are working on finding a place for the to live and a way to make this happen.  this is very difficult b/c alex has to go find their families and get them to agree.  most of them are on bad terms at home and cannot go back..  i have many thoughts about how great this could be for a few of them, but there's a lot that has to fall into place to make this work.  please pray for god's favor and hand upon this situation.  i do not think we can change everything but i hope that perhaps we can help give a chance at survival for a few boys.  we gave them soap too, and alex promised that we'd take them swimming next week on 2 conditions: 1 they must be clean (and they're really dirty), and 2 they can't be on drugs.  we'll see what happens.  2 dutch guys have been helping us out with this ministry too.

something funny: last week i put a knife in my backpack so that  i could cut my mango at lunch.  we had to go through the metal detectors at this building where we were eating ethiopian food, and the guards pat you down with wands.  but it didn't even go off with my knife.  alex coulnd't believe it and thought i was lying.  he said, it's all about formalities with the security guards, because clearly they're not finding anything.

i'm off to decorate for our party.  alex wants us to make american flags for the walls...yes, cheesy :)