Farewell Party and Animal Masks

Last night we had a farewell party for Virginia. She left to return to Canada. It felt a bit like Christmas b/c we had lots of food and candy, and even left over snacks...a rarity here. We had pilau (sp?) too, one of my favorite dishes. it's rice mixed with spices like ginger, garlic, salt, etc. and a bit of meat and then served with "salad"--tomatoes, carrots, parsley. It's always a huge goodbye party when someone leaves. We had about 20 people at the house, and then some people spent the night b/c it's cheaper than paying for transport to go back home. so they take a mattress and sleep on the living room floor.

speaking of transport, on the way home today our matatu passed an ambulance, one that had it's lights flashing and was on it's way to the hospital. isn't it strange that people don't pull over here and that we can out drive an emergency vehicle. Nice. the other different thing about the ambulance is that there are windows on the back, so you can basically see partly into the car and know how many people are inside.

we went to sara junior today and i made paper plate animal masks with the kids. again, very interesting with 65 kids who don't really understand english yet. but it worked. today i felt particularly drained being there though. i think of that worship song that says, "all who are thirsty, all who are weak, come to the fountain, dip your hand in the streams of life. let the pain and the sorrow be washed away. and we say come Lord Jesus Come." yeah, that's really speaking to me now. i know it's partially that i haven't slept. but also, the chaotic environment can be too much sometimes. they have lots of little recess breaks, but there is no where to play, so often they're running around inside. or sometimes they're outside, which is starting to turn my stomach a bit...i've seen so many kids lately just peeing right outside the school. there are bathrooms, but i think it's pretty common that people go wherever. yesterday we went by this river, not in a slum either, and lots of homeless people were washing their clothes there--some were completely naked. people always talk about flying toilets in kibera, and i don't want to get into this, but you get the idea of raw sewage out in the open being very common. i know maybe this makes you want to laugh, but it's crazy to me to think this is really how people live everyday. the other gross thing is that i sometimes see men raking the trash/nasty water mix (that probably has sewage in it), which runs all over the street here. discipline at the school, is a little lax too, and i feel like kids are always fighting and hitting each other. i do think the teachers are doing their best and they are so grateful for us coming. but it's so different from american schools. i know that a lot of these things are cultural and you can't come in and make people completely change things. mostly i'm just there as a helper.

about my health, b/c i never followed up after my hospital visit, praise God i am feeling better. i think my malaria medicine was irritating my stomach. i'm not sure that i'm 100%, but i can deal with this. so thank you for your prayers. i think a lot of it has to do with getting used to the food. most of you would freak out if you saw where, not what, i've been eating. all the MSTs were reminiscing about that crash course we got at the doctor on what not to eat. but if we followed all those things, we would never eat. i do try to be careful about the lettuce and fruits, but other things are difficult. like whenever we're at sara junior the teachers always want us to have tea. it's pretty rude not too, and i know that the water has been boiled, so eventually we all just broke down and started drinking it...while saying a prayer of course. most of the food we have at the house is fine but sometimes there are fresh tomatoes or other fruit, so yell at me if you want, but you'd do the same thing if it was you too.

patrick met up with the skateboarder today. it was funny b/c we all expected this guy to be about 25. nope, it's definitely a bunch of 17 year olds. it was hilarious b/c patrick was skateboarding around the city just a bit, and every person would turn and stare. they've never seen anything like it. while he was meeting the skateboarders, richard and i started working on these picture frames we're making at camp. we had to cut out cardboard with a utility knife. so here we are downtown nairobi, just at these random steps cutting stuff out. we also got a lot of stares as well--i felt a little ridiculous. and then this group of police officers walked by and gave richard a look that said, "um what the heck are you doing with a knife?" so he looked up and smiled and said, "we're making picture frames." and they just kept walking.

patrick just tells me there was a flood in our house. when the water comes on, eunice (the house keeper) runs a hose from the sink into these big black barrels--3 outside, 1 inside. apparently, eunice fell asleep and the water ran over the one in the house. it's right by where the chicken is kept. the chicken is actually tied to this bag of coal. so the chicken was standing in all this water and couldn't move, and was squawking i guess. kind of funny. patrick just said he wants us to cut his hair...this could be fun!! he has long hair, as long as mine, and wants it short. hmmm..we could really make this interesting!

A Weekend's Recap

Well, let's see, I was in another matatu incident today. We minorly side swiped a vehicle next to us. We were driving into the opposing lane of traffic to jump ahead in the line of cars, and then we tried to get back in the other lane. We were barely moving though, so no biggie. I think the lady driving the car was upset much more this time b/c she had a decent looking car. so we pulled over, and I'm not even sure what happened. I decided it was time to start reading "Velvet Elvis." That's the Rob Bell book, and I'm rather enjoying it...more on that later as i get farther into the book. Now I know you all are probably worrying as i tell you about all these car incidents but you should trust that God is taking care of me. It's funny b/c i'm in situations that should normally make me a little nervous, but it doesn't faze you once it's such a daily part of life. For instance, on Saturday, we traveled 2 hours to go to this girls' high school. the ride there was quite bumpy of course. the roads are terrible but on top of that they have speed bumps everywhere and close together. at one point we had 17 people in the matatu. we traveled down lots of dirt roads...very rural. one of the dorms at the school had been burned a few weeks ago during the school violence situation. honestly, when i heard this i got excited...not b/c i'm glad about the arson, but b/c wow, what an opportunity to minister to people that are really hurting. so i really felt like nothing was prepared. we had to talk for about 4 hours total about self esteem and abstinence. i've talked about self esteem some already, but this time there were 3 of us, Liz the MST, and Allen, a local. and we didn't even discuss really who was going to say what. i just prayed a lot on the way there, "Please God give us words; help us to say what should be said." and the discussion really just flowed. we shared lots of personal stories from our life and really stressed psalm 119 about being "fearfully and wonderfully made." i've never seen a group of 250 girls listening so well. we were all outside and the sun came out and you could hear us clearly. it was glorious, and so not us but God. the principal loved us and wants us to come back in september. on the way home, my mom called, and of course it was difficult to hear. but then the police came to pull us over for a routine check, and I said, "uh, i have to go now, we're being pulled over." we actually were pulled over twice, the second time apparently we did something wrong. who knows? i just no the driver paid a bit of bribe money and we left. this is so common...happens several times a week. police officers don't get paid much, so i guess this is a subsidy to their income.

jump back to friday afternoon. it's crazy the connections you can make through meeting various people. all the africans seem to know lots of people and always randomly meet them as they're walking through downtown...wierd, considering it's a big city. so i met up with my friend steve, who i randomly met in the security check line in the london airport. he is from chicago and here playing soccer for the Kenyan World Hope team and doing soccer ministry with youth in the slums. he was here last year and is staying for 3 years...yes a long time, and he just became the general manager for the team...that's a lot for only being 23. anyway, steve knows these skateboarder kids in nairobi, which is perfect b/c patrick has been looking for people to skateboard with around here. so hopefully that works out.

yesterday, sunday we went to church...again 3 hours, the norm. i'm starting to finally understand some of the swahili praise songs and can sing along. the songs last about 10 minutes so it's easy to start getting the drift after the phrase is constantly repeated. then it was camp meeting time. oh african meetings. it's bizarre b/c they've already held this camp for the last 4 years, but yet there are so many essential things that no one has thought about. this campsite has NOTHING hardly, so we have to bring everything...the tents, food, pots, pans, etc. someone intelligently asked what we were going to do about having water for 150 people. um, no one had really thought that through yet!!! the thing is that kenyans hardly drink any water...probably 1/2 of what we do. so really, we probably need most of the water for the americans :) did i mention that there are only 3 showers at the place--i see a long shower fast coming on :) same with the bathrooms...will we be going behind a bush or what? at home these things would be of huge concern, but i've learned that things fall into place here.

today we were at sara junior and blue house teaching. i brought a crank pencil sharpener to sara junior, b/c they'd been sharpening all these colored pencils with a hand sharpener. they were so grateful. i think being with the kids and singing is one of the most joyful times of my week. blue house is more challenging...i'm still processing this and how to make it better, so more on that later. this afternoon Po Po (he thinks it's hilarious that this nickname is a reference to the police in america) went with me to find supplies for art stuff at camp. we finally found some of the things...huge considering it's difficult to find art supplies here. and i finally found some brads!!! the first thing i said when i saw them on the shelf--Hallelujah, they have them in this country!

we just had another MST join us today...Richard from the U.K. This is his 3rd time here. last time he stayed for 9 months--the first person i've met who's like me.

Village Market

Today I tried to go to the U.S. Embassy to tell them I'm here. The place has pretty heavy security, of course with uniformed officers and machine guns (always the norm here). I was told however, that I have to come between 8-10 a.m. on Friday....um do these people work or what??! Anyway, Victor and I went to Village Market instead. It's totally muzungu land...super posh. lots of classy stores, a bowling alley, movie theater, etc. it's always wierd to see places like this here b/c they don't fit with everything else. but it was a good chance to get to hear about Victor's life. He was orphaned around age 6 when his mom committed suicide. and shortly after, every relative he's lived with has died or left. we was in many different cities and finally finished school in Kibera. It's crazy how strong his faith is and how focused he is on doing God's work in Kibera considering what he's been through.

A really cool thing happened yesterday that i forgot about until last night. Me, some MSTs and Peter were walking to catch a matatu into town yesterday. and this car pulls over and peter tells us to get in that we'll actually be on time to town. i assumed that peter knew the driver until he said, "Hi, I'm Peter." so this man, Garrett, just randomly picked up 3 white people and a Kenyan. he said it seemed silly to him that he drives an empty car to the city everyday. peter had a wonderful conversation with him. this man group in a family of 27 kids (from 3 wives, 1 dad) and managed to overcome all that when some canadians helped pay to train him for some computer job. in return, he spends a huge part of his time starting youth programs around the city, training workers to equip them with skills for employment. so peter ended up meeting with him again last night to discuss training people in kibera.. So Garrett is essentially going to come and do some sort of training with them for free. pretty sweet. such a wonderful example of kindness. i'm reading this max lucado book on love, and it goes through 1 Cor. 13, the passage on love. Love is kind...and I think this is really being lived out through what Garrett is doing.

Sidenote, another fun cultural thing are the people who sell all sorts of things on the drive home. people walk up to the matatus as they're stuck in traffic and try to sell the most random things like blow up spiderman figures, fruit, bandanas, kenyan flags, and my favorite--huge world maps. i wonder what would inspire someone to want a world map on their way home? you can't even make eye contact with these vendors or they think you want something and will come right up to the matatu window and try to make a deal.

One Month Anniversary

Well it has been 1 month since I have arrived...where has the time gone? I have forgotten to tell you about the school strike problems that have been happening in the last few weeks. Many students in the local boarding high schools have gone on strike...yes, i know this is a foreign concept b/c even teachers rarely strike at home. apparently they're upset about dumb things like the food and exams. it is currently the end of the semester and they are taking exams. but this problem is really getting out of hand. a boy was killed last week when the kids set off explosives in the building. there's been a lot of arson as well. we were discussing it last night with Peter, and i think a big part of the problem is that there is no way to reasonably voice complaints like there would be at home. but as each strike happens, it is spreading to other schools. please pray for this situation. that this violence would stop. in a way it reminds me of the school shooting problems that we have at home.

in positive news, i went with Milham, Peter's brother, on Monday to help select a sewing machine for a school in Siya. another MST donated money to buy a machine and material b/c the students' clothing is all ripped and tattered there. we will be going to siya in september. i think it's at least 5 hours from here, and it is where obama's grandmother lives. anyway, milham and i walked all over the city. he is the most humble and kind person you'll ever meet. very soft spoken. he has been living with peter since the election violence. wherever he was previously was unsafe for him. he was also supposed to go to america a few months ago, but somehow he lost his visa, which is difficult and expensive to replace. he never complains though and he helps all of us with our turn at doing the dishes. doing the dishes is so much work here b/c you have to heat up the water, and everyone doesn't finish dinner until about 10 p.m. so it makes for a late night. speaking of which, it's my turn tonight :)

we went to the juvenile home today, and i must say i feel very humbled after this experience. i was in charge of planning this , and of course it didn't go the least bit as expected. we only had this very small room to work in and we split into groups and no one could hear. and lots of kids couldn't read or write or speak English. so there are many adjustments we need to make before next week. but the worship music seemed very effective and they loved the games that Po Po (a Kenyan) did with them. i think today was good for me because it reminded me that i can't be in control of anything, ultimately it's up to God. i really feel overwhelmed though today by the needs of people here. i think for people that are here for a short time as an MST, it is easier for them to just go in, sing songs and do a skit, and know that they liked you being there. but b/c i'm here longer, there is more relationship building to do and thinking long term. it's hard to know how to get at the root of the problem. these boys need fed physically, mentally, and spiritually. i truly thank God that i am here with a Christian organization b/c i can't imagine just meeting the physical needs of people only. many of these kids will struggle their whole lives, so without looking at it from a Biblical perspective, I'm not sure how you survive. Adrian, Rodger, and I are going to try to pitch in to buy some shoes for these kids. lots of them didn't have shoes and it's only a $1 a pair, so very doable. Be grateful today that you have shoes. I think about my closet full at home. Imagine not having any. and about the shoes, sometimes they're made from the rubber of tires. i guess it's durable and lasts a long time and people even inherit these shoes. please pray for these kids and for what we should be doing with them. also pray that God gives me encouragement. sometimes i feel like i'm not a very effective tool. i keep reminding myself it's the little things. And James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

A Mango?

Last night when it was dark, I went to this little fruit stand around the corner from our house. I told the man I would like to buy a mango. There was a bit of communication problem about the cost, but I finally understood that he said 15 shillings. I gave him the money and he handed me the "fruit." Liz, another MST, and I were walking home, and we thought the "mango" seemed a bit funny. First it was the wrong color. It was green, but I knew there are 2 kinds of papaya, so I thought maybe the same was true of mangoes. Then she said it was pretty hard for a mango. I went home and asked Virginia about it, and she also thought it looked a bit funny. And then I thought, you know it's huge, but it almost looks like an avacado. It was super big though...3 times the size of our avacadoes. So I went to Amie, my mom, and told her I had a stupid question to ask. She said, "Oh know, it's not stupid." Then I held up the specimen and asked, "Is this a mango?" She cracked up laughing and said that no, it was actually an avacado. But then she told me the man at that fruit stand doesn't speak Swahili or English b/c he's actually Somali...so that made me feel better. All the Kenyans had a good laugh about this.

We went to New Life Orphanage again today and this time got a tour first. I'm so impressed by the work that is done there. About 25% of their intakes are HIV positive kids. and guess what???they have a drug that can change the kids to make them HIV negative...Yes, it's true. I guess this isn't approved in the U.S. yet, but it is working here, if they catch it early enough in the child. How incredible that there is actually a cure for small children!!! I learned too, that many of these kids are found in dumpsters and by toilets. I'm so thankful for this place that God has provided.

I'm also really grateful that God has given me a boldness and confidence with leading here. There's been a lot of situations lately where I have to plan out a teaching lesson or skit, and I feel comfortable leading the group of MSTs. I'm really thankful b/c i know it took a while for me to get out of the shy mode of being in a new place. I'm starting to understand where things are in the city and know my way around, thanks to great people like Juli, who is now gone, and Virginia. The Kenyans keep telling me I will be truly African by the time I leave.

A few stories about security here...first of all, security is funny, rather a joke here I think. Like we live in this "gated" community of townhouses. But that description sounds so so fancy. It's not at all. Quite the opposite....it looks very run down. But anyway, we have this guard by the gate. But he never asks anyone who they are. Except that one night it was me and another white girl and he tried to make us pay money to come in. We just walked right through. So basically these security people get paid to sit there all day. Funny. Then at our office building downtown, you have to get padded down with the metal detector before going in. But the security people love the muzungus, and sometimes they don't even check us. they just say hi and talk to us instead. and all security checks stop after about 5:00 even though the building is still open. and the police randomly stop matatus at night to look for drugs and weapons. it goes like this...they pull over the vehicle, and everyone gets out. then they have a male and female police that frisk down each respective gender. then everyone gets back in the car. it's totally normal and happens a lot. i'm so glad someone warned me about it before it happened to me a few weeks ago. otherwise i would have freaked out. but no, it's just normal.

our matatu today had a 24 inch t.v. screen in it. you know just in case the rap video wasn't blaring loud enough; that way you could clearly see what was going on.

tomorrow we're going to the juvenile boys home to do a lesson on self esteem and our identity in Christ and play games with them. Please pray that this is a positive experience. it's our first time at this place, and of course first impressions are so vital to the success of programs.

A Breathtaking View

I just returned from the campsite where we will be having the Abide Renewed Camp in a few weeks. I will be a counselor and in charge of make art with the youth and Dominic is apparently making me a coordinator, so I'll be walking around making sure everything is flowing smoothly. This camp is about 45 minutes from the city. It's totally rural with not much around. We climbed on top of these big rocks where we're going to have devotions every morning. From the rocks you overlook this whole valley and you could see giraffes and gazelle. It was quite amazing and made me think about how awesome our God is to create something so completely beautiful. They said that there could be hyenas lurking around the campsite occasionally. Isn't that cool that I'm out there with these wild animals?!! Don't worry, I feel safe and they're trusting us with 120 kids, so it will be great. To all of you who supported my trip financially, I want you to know that a chunk of that money is going to support 20 kids coming to camp. Many of them are from Kibera and you have given them an opportunity to make new friends and experience Jesus at the same time. Thank you thank you for your support.

On Sunday, we went to this church outside Nairobi, and we all got up and talked. I discussed witnessing through your actions. Afterwards, we went out to do street evangelism, basically just talking to people about Christ. I was with 3 Africans, and it's definitely less imposing of a thing here than it would be at home b/c people want to talk to a muzungu. Still this was very much a stretching thing for me. I think it's very hard to go up to someone you don't know and just start talking about your faith.

Someone told me before I left to do great things for Jesus, and I wanted to let you know a few sacrifices people have been making. A few weeks ago, Juli discovered a girl that sat on her lap had pooped on her b/c she wasn't wearing any underwear. And Virginia was bouncing a girl on her lap and the girl peed on her. :) Somehow I've managed to avoid these things, but I'm sure my time is coming.

In good news, I was able to switch beds in the room, and now I can easily use my mosquito net...it's really the small things that matter to me.
Other random things:
Patrick was reading Velvet Elvis, by Rob Bell, and I was like, Hey I went to his church during college. Yeah Mars Hill. Apparently Rob is popular in Britian.
I saw a matutu the other day that had a big pot leaf sticker on the back and it said "Say No to Drugs; Help them Lord." But the pot leaf wasn't crossed out. Also the matatu engines are underneath the middle front seat of the car b/c there's no front hood and the middle seat by the driver gets really hot. I wondered why my butt was burning one day.

Also, at this church last week this group did the "Bucket Skit." Other MSTs did this before I came so appartenly, it's popular here. It would never work in America b/c it's super gross. It goes like this: people come up to a bucket and pretend to throw up or go to the bathroom in it...complete with sound effects. Then someone comes at the end and stirs the whole thing and pretends to drink it. They talk about how this is like Jesus b/c he takes our messy gross lives and cleanses us from them by making the sacrifice and dying on the cross. I get the analogy, but seriously it's gross to watch.

In good news, I only have a few mosquito bites...they don't like me, which is really good!

Yesterday, I had a 7th grade class draw pictures of their gifts as part of the body of Christ and how they can use these for God. They drew really well and loved using markers. I'm so amazed at their ability and that none of them complained about having to draw the way American kids would that age.

Rainbows and Hospitals

I'm sitting here listening to Mariah Carey (You'll always be my baby). I love how old school music is popular here. Yesterday was a day of blessings and of testing my patience. Julie and I first went to Sarah Junior school where we had the kids color rainbows and put cotton on the ends for clouds and blue paper for rain hanging down. As we were doing this, and let me tell you it was a challenge with 65 kids; but i was so overcome with thankfulness. i started thanking God so much for this opportunity b/c i have been dreaming about coming to Africa for 2 years, and to finally have it happen and to be able to make art with kids is more than i could have hoped for. for most of these students, it was the first time to do anything like this. my host mom keeps telling me that i'm so creative, and i really haven't done anything. it's just that they've never seen anything like this here.

afterwards we met a friend of julie's who is kenyan. she took us to her house for lunch. it was amazing. her family is pretty well off i think and they were so shocked to hear that we are living without running water most of the time. honestly, it's so normal now, i don't even care. but i had wonderful food there, and i think this will be a good person to keep in touch with if i ever need anything.

then we went to the hospital b/c i have not been feeling well. please do pray for me guys. i'm having stomach pains, and it doesn't seem to be anything serious, but i would really like it to go away. here's what the hospital was like: first I waited in line to pay a consultation fee. the i waited in the waiting room. then i was called in to take my temperature and blood pressure. they take your temp under your armpit. then i go back to the waiting room. then i'm called back and the doctor looks at me for 2 minutes and orders some tests. then you go pay for the tests. then i go to the lab by going outside first. then you wait at the lab. then they call you and do the tests. then i waited an hour for the test. then i took the results back to the other building and waited. then the doctor looked at them and said, oh we should have done this too. so i had to go pay for another test then go back to the lab. i waited again and then got the results. i took results to the doctor. then he gave me some medicine. i then went to the pharmacy by the waiting room. i waited to pay for the medicine. then i waited and waited and finally they gave me medicine. all this took 4 1/2 hours. so long...T.I.A. (This is Africa...that's what we say all the time around here.) everyone goes to a hospital instead of a doctor's office b/c it's cheaper, hence the long lines.

i did mention we had a new MST, Patrick. I'm not sure if i said he was german and a skateboarder. it's funny to see new people's reactions to life here b/c it reminds you of how you first felt. he had to go to this meeting yesterday and it drove him crazy. he said, all of this could have been covered in about 20 minutes but it took 2 hours. we all laughed b/c we feel the same way. T.I.A. as much as we try to make things more efficient, you really can't completely change a culture. you just have to make the best of it and always have a book handy to fill the time.