Week 3

Saturday 13 June 2009
So today was a good day. I woke up to a monkey eating an avocado in the tree outside my room. The team went down to the Nakumatt. I got pizza from a place called Tangerine. Then I got a chocolate milkshake. They were both AWESOME! After being there for a few hours, we went to the Shuname Shelter. I helped a girl named Susan get the greens ready. In Kenya the girls make doing all the cooking… and preparing greens includes washing them and then cutting them using your left hand as a cutting board as you shred the greens with your right hand. It is very difficult to do without cutting your finger/hand. However, the girls have been very patient with me and I am trying to learn how to do this before the end of the summer. So instead of cutting, I was in charge of pulling all the leaves off the stems and washing them. It took probably 30 minutes to an hour. Then it was time for songs and prayers. My health is so much better now and I praise the Lord for that! Dinner was chapati and I have discovered that putting sugar and butter on a hot chapati is one of my new favorite Kenyan desserts. It was REALLY awesome. Chapati days are the best! The Lord has allowed our team to only grow closer and I praise Him for that. The night ended with amazing rain on tin roofs and beautiful HUGE Kenyan rainbows. It was overall one of my best days in Kenya.

Sunday 14 June 2009
Today instead of going to Kibera for church, the team went to an English speaking church. The name of the church is Nairobi chapel. It was so very different from Kibera. (and not just because the service was in English) There were lots of upbeat songs, skits that the children did about how awesome Sunday school is, and an interview session with one of the church members about how she works with the poor. Almost 2 hours later, the sermon started. Later, Martha told us that a lot of middle class and wealthy Kenyans attend that church. It helped us all understand the importance of the interview session during church because that left a lot of us really confused. The church was like this HUGE permanent white tent. It had a projection screen and sold the sermon on CD/DVD after the service… it was VERY different from Kibera. After church, we walked to the Nakumatt Junction (a different Nakumatt) to eat lunch. I ate at Wimpys, which is a hamburger joint. Then we took a bus back to Nakumatt Karen and we walked home. The rest of the day was spent in the Word, prayer, and lots of fellowship.

Monday 15 June 2009
There is a short term team here from MTW, so we (the interns) will not be working in Kibera this week. So we spent the day in a different slum, Muthiga. The slum is in the country. It is by far the smallest and “tamest” slum that MTW works in. The area is very rural and there are hills and fields in every direction. The church is actually on the top part of the hill and the slope/bottom holds the slum. The slum is very different from Kibera because most of the houses here in Muthiga are made entirely out of tin. (instead of mud, waste, and garbage) The homes are mostly freestanding one-room shacks with a fence around it and a little piece of land. The church there is the African Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The main focus in Muthiga is door to door evangelism which we haven’t done yet. The morning was spent on another piece of property that the Church has recently bought in Muthiga to build a school on. We spent the morning digging holes for trees and hedges around the fence. We also started clearing out the land using our bare hands to pull weeds and such. At one point, a huge rat came out from a plant (we had been hearing it make noises). Its back looked like that of a chipmunk. It was once of the craziest creatures I have seen so far. All the new flowers, trees, plants, and animals continue to amaze me. I get to see the Southern cross every night and I know that is something I will miss once I am back in Alabama. The stars shine so bright here and you can see so many of them here. It is truly beautiful, like Pastor Makuku would say, “It is a little piece of heaven for you.” After digging, we walked down the hill into the slum and ran a short Bible club for the younger kids. We told the story of David and the Giant. We even acted it out. Then we sang songs with them and played games. It was tons of fun! Today I got my first mosquito bite. I guess that about sums up the day.

Tuesday 16 June 2009
Another day in Muthiga. We worked on the property. Today was another day of pulling weeds, grasses, and thorns with no gloves. I’m going to have some rough hand when I get home from all the manual labor. Haha. Today was a shorter day. We didn’t do a bible club and we arrived back around 3pm. Day 2 of peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. I tried Mango for the first time today. It has intense flavor but was overall very tasty.

Wednesday 17 June 2009
Today was filled with insects. I found a praying mantis. It was so beautiful. It was green but also had stripes that held colors of the rainbow. Then I found the darkest toad I have ever seen in my life. There were tons of bright blue and neon green beetles in the dirt I was working in. There were different kinds and colors of ants and spiders as well. I am slowly becoming one with the earth. These are the things you learn when you pull up grass and such for hours… well that and mud fights. It rained last night so everything was VERY muddy today. Everyone was pretty much covered in mud by the end of the day. After working the property, we walked down the hill and ran Bible club again for the kids. The story today was Daniel and the Lions Den. We had chapati again for dinner so it was another good day.

Thursday 18 June 2009
I don’t think I have mentioned the fact that George has been reading Lord of the Rings out loud to the team every day. It has been a bonding experience for the team and a great read! I made French toast again this morning. (I have had French toast for breakfast for about 7-9 days now but I am still loving it!) Then we left to go to Muthiga again. Today we planted trees and cleared more land. I am getting to be a pro at using the machete. I found a stick bug today which was AWESOME! I also formed and popped my first blister. *sigh* Lunch for the 4th day in a room was a peanut butter sandwich. Haha. O I forgot! This morning some women stopped by the property when we first arrived and told us they were giving us some food to eat with our tea. Tea time is an every day thing in Kenya. (Hot Tea) So at tea time, we discovered what the food was. It was arrowroot. It was grayish purple in color. The best way I can think to describe it is a cold soggy French fry without salt or a cold baked potato with NOTHING on it. It really could have used some salt. Haha. We did another Bible club with the kids in Muthiga, which meant another long but fun day. I got my hair braided by I think 4-5 girls. It was intense.

Friday 19 June 2009
Have I mentioned that there are fences and gates EVERYWHERE in Kenya? Well if I haven’t there are fences and gates EVERYWHERE in Kenya. Every place has a fence… businesses, houses, churches, etc. Today was my day off again. Around lunch I went to the Nakumatt Karen. I had pineapple pizza at Tangerine that was AMAZING. Pineapple is my FAVORITE thing to eat here so far. It is just so fresh and juicy and amazing. Then later on in the afternoon around 3pm, Carol, Purity, and Wycliffe came and we walked to the Shuname Shelter. I love going there. It is just such a relaxed setting and just a time to talk, laugh, play, and learn. I practiced my cutting using my hand as a cutting board again today. Then I talked to Susan again. It is such a joy getting to know the girls there. Wycliffe has decided that I am Kalenjin, which is one of the 50 tribes in Kenya. When I asked him why Kalenjin, he told me because they are all tall and thin like me. Haha. Then he told me that tomorrow he will figure out what my new name will be. So I will post that next week. Well it is time for me to ruminate with my team and have a short bible study so I must end this.

I pray that each of you are doing well. God Bless!

Until Next Time,
LG