nyumbani

We woke up today and got ready to go to Nyumbani which is a center for HIV/AIDS orphans. I honestly thought the experience at the orphanage would be the same as any other experience we have had so far... but it really wasn't. It was completely different. These kids didn't have the choice to get HIV/AIDS. The orphanage ranged from a 6 month old baby to a 24 year old man. They have no where to go. Some of them were abandoned at birth and some of them we disowned when the started to become sick. BUT... YOU CAN'T EVEN TELL IF THESE KIDS ARE SICK! They are always so happy! I was touched. I always find myself getting attached to a number of kids. Today it was Nicholas, Anne, Anthony (the baby), Justin, and Ken. I'm sure I'm forgetting more but those are the only ones I can remember off hand. The director was telling me that most babies that come to the orphanage are HIV/AIDS negative! Why? Because these babies are not breastfead by a HIV/AIDS positive mother. Unbelievable! Yet, there are so many HIV?AIDS positive people. There are a lot of cultural issues and economic issues that play into it as well, but the fact is that HIV/AIDS could be significantly decreased if mothers had enough money to buy baby formula and if they could get past the cultural norm of breastfeeding. When Nyumbani first opened, there was no antiviral drug and every two weeks a child was dying. If you think beyond the borders of Nyumbani, you will come up with some outrageous and unimagniable number. The whole this is crazy. When we left, I couldn't help but not want to leave. I wanted to hold Anthony longer, and I wanted to play hide and go seek with Nicholas. I got on the bus and automatically broke down in tears. I stopped talked about it with Dorothy because I was too emotional. It actually ended up being worse for me to play my ipod. I listened to Hear, You, Me. If I ever decide to stay in Kenya again,
I wish devote a huge chunk of my time and love to the Nyumbani Children.

There's no one in town I know
You gave us some place to go
I never said thank you for that
'thought I might get one more chance

What would you think of me now?
So lucky, so strong, so proud
I never said thank you for that
Now I'll never have a chance

May angels lead you in
Hear you me my friends
On sleepless roads, the sleepless go
May angels lead you in

So what would you think of me now?
So lucky, so strong, so proud
I never said thank you for that
Now I'll never have a chance

I'd sing to you just one more time
A song for a heart so big
God wouldn't let it live

first actual day of rest

Today we had some things planned, but everything fell through. There was some communication with who is using the bus and such. However, it all worked out, because today we did NOTHING and it felt so good. Actually, we went to the city market for an hour but that's about it! I finally got the chance to buy some cool African stuff! That is all...

lake nakuru

This morning I woke up early to get ready to leave for Lake Nakuru. The bus ride there was so long (3 hours) but also totally worth it. Not only did we see over a million flamingos but we saw the white rhinos, buffalo, giraffe, impala, stork, hyena, hylex, eagle, lion, baboons, water buck, etc. It was like a mini safari. It was sunny too, which is probably the third time we had sun here. The only thing is that we didn't eat lunch, but we definitely had enough beef jerky, goldfish crackers, and granola bars to sustain us for the whole day. The ride home was longer... (3 1/2 hours). It's okay though because Paul and I had a very interesting conversation about everything that has been going on. It was good... he's like a big brother. We then ate dinner at an Italian restaurant, which was not that great as I expected it to be. Dorothy and I split penne pasta in prawn sauce. We had an interesting time after that (just the students of course) talking and goofing around. Paul is always in our room and he never leaves. We call it... purpling. He probably never leaves because he love us.

back to kibera

Dorothy and I are going to make praying in the morning a habit. It really helps us focus in on our day ahead. Today we got to sleep in because we had a meeting with KISCODEP at 10:00A in Kibera. Victor and Neuton (our guides) were doing some video documentary stuff. We got some different reactions from the locals then we had the first time. Basically it was super uncomfortable to be there. We met up with the KISCODEP people and then we felt so much more comfortable. They took us back to the bone shop and to the chemist shops. I love Evelyn, this woman I met, and her smile. I also love Judith, Joyce, Gladis (a Kenyan missionary), Monica, Ruth, Jeffery, Joseph, and I can't remember the rest of their names. It was awesome! WE came back for lunch then went to Kivuli Centre which was again an awesome experience. Although my friend Mark forgot about me and refused to talk to me, I made a new friend Joesph, the littlest boy at Kivuli. He's three years old and he wouldn't leave my side. We took a matatu (taxi) back home, and I thought I was gonna die. After we ate dinner, Josh left for home. Saying goodbye to Josh was harder than I thought it was going to be. It was so sad to see him leave.

church church church

Dorothy and I woke up early today to pray. We both have been having a really hard time with different kinds of situations in our lives. One thing we share in common is the fact that we are both homesick. Yes, it's true. I miss my family so much, and I didn't think that was even possible for me. I even miss Joey. HA! Especially the ice cream that we were both consuming before I left. Anyways, the spontaneous devotional time was SO GOOD. We ate breakfast early and then headed to the church next door... called St. Vincent's something. We went to the Swahili service and it was awesome. I didn't know what they were saying, but it was so cool. next we went to the English service at the same church, however, I started to feel emotionally sick. If you've ever been emotionally sick it feels like someone is repeatedly punching you in the stomach. Plus... the day before I didn't eat any food because I wasn't in the mood to eat. So my heavy breakfast probably didn't help. After church we ate lunch and then went to Tone La Maji "Drop of water". Of course, I quickly got hooked to a group of boys: Fidalis, John, and Hussain. They were so cute. They slept on me, held my hand, and put their arms around me when we walked. It was so adorable. That is what I really needed because I have been feeling so down lately. I was reminded of how much I have fallen in love with these boys. It was GOOD. When we left, our crazy bus driver turned up the reggae music and we turned our bus into a party bus. It was so much to dance with the boys. They were so cute. We came back home and ate dinner and then watched another drum session from our faithful tour guides. They crack me up... they pulled me out of my chair to dance with them. THEN... sleep time.

another day in kenya

So we didn't go anywhere today, but at the same time I was so tired from every thing else. This is what we did: attended two classes for peace in Kenya, ate food (I didn't eat the whole entire day), went to David's (one of our guides) soccer game. The End.

last safari!

Safari AGAIN! I think I'm all safaried out. We tried to find some rhinos and cheetas, but we were unsuccessfu. Plus, we were all super tired from the night before and didn't really have motivation to look. Anyways, it was good. We headed back to camp to get our things and then started bak to Shalom House. 7 hour ride, but I was prepared and knocked myself out with dramamine. I'm smart. I didn't shower for 2 1/2 days so a shower sounds amazing! Dinner and now sleep.

safari again

We woke up super early again to go on safari. We basically saw the same things, but then another safari driver informed us about a pack of lions that just killed a zebra. We drove so fast to find the mounds of fellow safarians watching the same thing. It was awesome. At first we saw three lions, but then eleven got up out of the grass. They appeared from now where. That was so cool. Then a male lion came right up to our truck. It was like 2-3 feet away. Everything else after that was pretty much boring. We came back to camp, ate dinner, and watched real Masai people dance. That was sweet but CREEPY!!!!!! Then we had s'mores and it was GOOD. At night we heard the hyenas and Dorothy and I got scared so we slept in the same bed and cuddled ourselves to sleep. I only woke up twice so it was a good sleep.

masai mara

SAFARI!!!!! We woke up so early to drive seven hours to our safari destination, Masai Mara, which was unexpectedly terrible. Long story short, I discovered a long time ago that I get motion sickness while driving at high altitudes and doing sudoku at the same time. I also forgot this important piece of information while driving to Masai Mara. I quickly got motion sickness, and swallowed two Dramamine pills. The whole trip to Masai Mara was terrible, but the Dramamine knocked me out good. We started our safari as soon as we got there. We saw elephant, giraffe, impala, hatabeast, zebra, and so much more! It was an amazing site! We headed to our campsite, Mara Springs, to get situated in our tents which were AMAZING! We had a shower and bathroom and toilet AND sink inside our tent. I thought we were going to ruffing it, but we weren't. We were living with the indigenous people, Masai, and there was an awesome chef that cooked our food which was SO GOOD. Everything after the ride was awesome. Then came the creepy parts of our camping experience. We were warned about baboons, hyenas, and other small animals that could potentially ransack our tents. We were scared because we heard weird noises. It was weird but cool. It's late now and the lights just went out.

narap

Another busy day. We got up early today and prepared ourselves to be out the whole day. Today our plans were to visit NARAP and no I don't know what it stands for. I forgot. It was a good idea to go there because we only had one place to go and the whole day to do it. Father Eugene, the guy in charge of NARAP showed us around the facility and served us lunch. The facility was good because it brought in refugees and showed them how to live on their own. The center provides beauty and computer classes for the refugees. This is because beauty and computers is growing quickly in Kenya. We then went to see where the refugees stay. This other facility is located a mile away from the NARAP place. We saw where the adults and children stay which is called St. Monica. The adults and children go to school there as well as learn what they do to so that they can make a living for themselves. Many of them are tailors and make awesome clothing. We came back for lunch and I wasn't hungry, but the Food was so GOOD. The last center apart of NARAP we visited was the prosthetic center. Since so many people encounter landmines and gun shot wounds that result in amputations, prosthetics is necessary, but most people cannot afford it. IT was cool to see what NARAP does, but again I'm so TIRED.

na na na im not sick... yet

Today we got up early to go to church at the Nairobi Chapel. At first we thought it was going to be an amazing African church experience, but it turned out to be an American church experience. It wasn't exactly what I hoped for in Africa, but it was okay. We then took the "City Hoppa" to the city center in Nairobi and then took a matatu to Happy Life Children's Home (an orphanage for children ages 0-4). We found out that we were supposed to be at the local Nakumatt to meet the pastor at his restaurant Club Bananas. We were told they have burgers there, but they were all out. I think they just made that up though because we saw people eating burgers. OH well. Anyways, the pastor told us we could go to Happy Life after we went to their fundraiser. So we went to the fundraiser, but it was 250 shillings per person. I think the pastor coaxed us into it pretty easily. In the end, we didn't get to see the babies, and the day was quite boring. We came back and ate dinner, and then saw our guides Victor and Neutron perform a traditional African dance. Now I'm tired, and Paul won't leave our room. alskjdfl;skdajf. Goodnight.

burning rectum

Just about half of our team is sick with some kind of cold. Amy threw up last night so it even sounds like the flu. Today we went to Anita Homes, the center for girls ages 7-19. These girls are ex-prostitutes and victims of rape. Some are just so young they needed a place to go. The girls are so lovely and appreciate visitors so much. We then went to Tome Lamaji (A drop of water) which is in the most beautiful part of Kenya I've seen so far. We didn't get to hang out with the boys who stay there, but we did get a tour of the place. We left earlier than planned because we had to take another group back to the Shalom House. When we came back, we ate dinner and went to sleep. I'm getting so tired from all these busy days. Its hard to process it all so quickly. Thank God for devotionals.

friday the thirteenth

What an unlucky number for such and awesome day. Happy Life Children's Home didn't work out for us today, but we did get to go see the Mother Theresa Charity (a place Paul talks about everyday because he's reading her story). I knew i was going to be seeing many orphans and widows, but my heart just sank for all those people. We first say some handicapped children whose parents abandoned them at birth and either left them on the street or dropped them off at the orphanage. I fed a kid who though he was feeding himself, but really wasn't. It was very upsetting to see so many children like that. Next, we met the older women (some were widowers). Many of them were also disabled, either mentally or physically, but were eager to meet us. We then moved to the baby house where I couldn't keep my emotions inside any longer. These babies are thrown on the street or in garbage cans, and the sisters at the orphanage go and find them and bring them into the orphanage. These babies are malnourished or diseased. Some are healthy. One baby was thought to be the age of 2 months, but later the sisters found out the baby was 6 months old. What a difference for a growing baby. We played with the toddlers (ages 3-4)who were fun to play with. They just wanted to be held. I got pooped on and other people got peed on. We came back for lunch to the Shalom House, and then out again to Kivuli, the boys center for ages 7-16. These boys are on street boys. The projects that Kivuli has are AMAZING, and I hope those products that they make would bring in a decent income for those boys. One boy, Mark, wouldn't leave my side. He held my hand, and I quickly got attached to him as well. We ate dinner with them which consisted of rice and beans and cake for dessert. I gave my piece to Mark, but he refused to take it. I felt a really bonded as a team. The stuff we are learning is out of the ordinary. Life in Kivuli is definitely a safe haven for those boys, and I am glad its there. I only wish there were more rooms and more clothes, basketballs, money, etc. The bus ride home was bumpy, and now I'm showered and all clean and ready for bed! LATER!

tourist again

Today was a day of rest. We got to sleep in, and I took advantage of that. I woke up and ate lunch, and then became a tourist again. We went to Nairobi National Wild Life Park which was basically a zoo. We saw elephants, hippos, leopards, rhinos, etc. It was kind of boring but also fun to be an American Tourist again. It was an okay day. By the time we got back we ate dinner and had devotional time. Devo time was interesting again. A lot of it had to do with stuff going on in churches in America as well as churches in other parts of the world. It was a long conversation, and I quickly lost interest and started to think about SLEEP! I guess sleeping in makes me even more tired that waking up early. OH by the way... for those of you in America... I write down my thoughts in my journal and then type them out the next day, but since I have been so busy, I have days of journaling to write down. So sorry if there hasn't been a recent blog up!! Also, pictures take for ever to load so sorry for no pictures!

kibera slum

I don't know where to begin with what happened today. No matter how much you try to prepare yourself, you can never get to the point of being ready. As a team we were warned about Kibera, and the things that go on there. Kibera Slum consists of over a million people crammed into an area bout the size of Central Park. We were told not to carry ANYTHING, because we could risk our things getting stolen. BUT, we then met Joseph, a man in charge of KISCODEP (Kibera Slums Community Development Program). Right before we left he gave us a pep talk on what to expect. He told us the people are friendly and loving, and we had nothing to fear about Kibera. That is when God started working in my heart. This whole entire time every person we met was warning us about Kibera, but Joseph installed this comfort in us. When we finally got to Kibera, it wasn't the condition of the slum that shocked me, it was the contentness I saw in these people. They were ABSOLUTELY happy. That is something I personally have never seen or experienced before. If you can just imagine being absolutely happy plus accepting Jesus Christ as your savior, you would understand what I saw today. These pictures and videos do no justice to the actual and physical part of being there in Kibera. God is and has been present in Kibera for a very long time. The people at KISCODEP sang a few African-Christian songs, and I couldn't help but fall in love with their passion and humbleness. I could feel a common thread with people I didn't even know!
It felt weird to be connected to strangers, but all of a sudden I loved them and the people of Kibera. As soon as we started to walk around, a group of school children found us and overwhelmed us with their handshakes and the only phrase they knew in English... "How are you?" It's funny because they have no idea what they are saying so they keep asking it over and over again. We then met the school KISCODEP supports as well as a pharmacy and a few of the members' homes. The whole experience was overwhelming. I still am speechless and somewhat feeling guilty and shameless for who I am and where I come from. At devotional time, I was very emotional. No tears, but so many different thoughts. I felt the slightest tug of my heart feeling passionate about missionary work, but I don't know what God has planned for me. I know it's going to take a lot of prayer and me seeking God's will for my life in all humbleness and honesty.

the elephants and giraffes

I'm not suprised that God is already working in this trip. Today, we woke up early and ate breakfast and it was so good. A spanish omlette! Then we met Neutron, our new guide. So now we have four guides: Peter (obsessed with plants and animals), David (an excellent soccer player), Victor (into video photography), and Neutron (sound manager). Today we went to Karen, a upperclass suburb where both white/black Kenyans live. Our first stop was at the elephant orphange. It was awesome. We learned so much about elephants. Next, we went to the giraffe conservatory where we got to feed jiraffes by hand! Some of us (not me) even french kissed some of the animals. Then we went to Karen Blixen's home, the woman who wrote Out of Africa. It was too expensive to go inside, however, we got to walk around her home and it was awesome and beautiful. We came back to the Shalom House to meet the "Father", the Italian priest who started the Shalom House. He is sweet. We then had dinner and devotions, and we all wanted to worship so we sang six songs. I'm tired and am getting chubby. They stuff me with food. It's freezing here, and I don't have enough warm clothing. I just got bit by a mosquito, so I'm going to go to bed. PEACE.

first be a tourist

Today we arrived in Nairobi, Kenya at 7:00AM, but we didn't leave until 9:00AM. Paul's and Dan's bag got lost during our flying adventure. Kenya looks a lot like India. It even smells like India. We arrived at the Shalom House at 10:00AM. We got the chance to get situated, but most of us slept until we had to eat lunch. We ate at the local Kenyan Cafe with George Otieno, the man who manages the Shalom House. He is so kind and loves to relax. He kept telling us to enjoy Kenya and take it slow. So I haven't even looked at a clock yet. I don't even know what time it is now! We then took a short tour to Nairobi City. We went to the KICC (Kenyan International Conference Center) and to the markets. We are now back at the Shalom House, and I am looking forward to taking a shower (I haven't taken one in three days). At first we didn't' have cold water, but now we do! I'm going to take advantage of what I got.

i'm here

I've finally got the chance to sit down and write my thoughts. The flight to London was definitely better than expected. Even though our group of ten were split up on the plane, we managed to switch with some passengers to sit next to each other. I ended up getting two seats all to myself. I also was reminded of the last time I flew on United Airlines. The crew members are not friendly at all. I felt so bad for the passengers next to me who didn't know English. Anyways, we spent one and a half hours getting our boarding tickets in London, and we stopped to eat at a restaurant. What a way to spend a 9 hour layover. Now we are in a quiet room in the airport. This is a sweet place where no one is allowed to talk. I'm going to try to sleep, although I highly doubt I will get any.