Week 5

Monday 29 June 2009
We are back in Muthiga this week. When we got to the property, we pulled some more weeds. Then we combined a bunch of the piles so there were only 3 piles. Then we started burning all the piles… which was hard because it had rained the day before so a lot of the stuff was wet. That was pretty much the whole morning. I did my best to avoid the smoke because I am still coughing. Then in the afternoon we did a bible club for the little kids. Today was the first time I took pictures of the Kenyan kids. I don’t remember if I have written this already but photography is a BIG deal in Kenya so Pastor has asked us to limit it. So no I don’t have a lot of pictures. You have to be careful when taking pictures. You always must ask permission first. Some of the older generations still think if you take a picture of them… you are stealing their soul. Some think you are only taking pictures to sell to magazines when you go home. So it is very important that you make relationships with the people you are taking pictures of BEFORE you take their picture. Not too much happened other than that.

Tuesday 30 June 2009
I can’t believe today is the last day of June! That is so crazy to me. Time has flown by lately. Even if I could write down every single thing I have seen and every person I have met since I have been in Kenya… it still wouldn’t be accurate or good enough. I don’t find Kenya to be good or bad, just different. I mean yes some things in Kenya are bad: living conditions, tribalism, rape, lack of food, etc. However, some things are good. Every child in Kenya knows how important and valuable a school education is. Nothing is taken for granted. Kenyan Christians that I have met has been some of the most bold, straight-forward Christians I have ever met in my life. Most people are so full of joy and are so hospitable to complete strangers. (us) Almost everything is shared… clothes, food, tools. Today we prayed for our friends and family who have lost their way in sin or just haven’t been following Christ to begin with. I think so many times we forget to pray for them. One of the things that I have taken for granted in the past that I had never thought about before I came to Kenya is the fact that in America there is SO much food variety. Let me just let you in on a secret… in Kenya most families eat the same meals every week if not every day. So food variety is definitely something I won’t take for granted anymore. We were in Muthiga again today. I lifted buckets of dirt out of the pit latrine hole that the guys (and Lydia) have been digging. It has to be 25 feet deep. It is probably one of our biggest tasks. Then I got to help Alice (a friend) go and pick fruit. I started sharing my Peanut M&Ms yesterday with my Kenyan brothers and sisters… and they LOVE them. So I shared again today. Nancy (one of our translators and Alice’s mom) showed me her home today. It was the first “slum” Kenyan home I have been in. It was so incredible. The outside of the house is made completely out of tin. (including the roof) It has a wooden fence around in. I walked into the main room. There were two benches with blankets on them (like couches). There was a small table in the middle of the room. There were a few calendars and posters on the walls. It felt like a home. After I visited at her house, we walked to meet up with the rest of the group. Then we led another Bible club for the little kids. We told the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. We gave out hard candy to the kids today and they LOVED it. That was pretty much my Tuesday.

Wednesday 1 July 2009
I can’t believe I only have 25 more days in Kenya! I miss being at home… BUT I will also admit that I love the spiritual growth I’ve experienced since I have arrived in Kenya. God has shown me so many things. God has emptied me this summer and every day He fills me with His spirit. I have learned that all things work out for the good. I have learned to completely rely on God’s strength not my own. In Muthiga, we just worked the land. I got to be the one who climbed the fruit tree with Alice. It was so much fun! So yesterday Josh sprained his ankle playing football(soccer)with the kids after Bible club so he didn’t join us today. Our team so was worried about Josh that we ended up forgetting a ton of stuff that we usually bring into Muthiga. We forgot Peanut Butter (so we ate plain bread), the buckets and rope we use to pull out the dirt, and work gloves today. However, the Lord showed us how to be flexible. Our translators ended finding some more rope and buckets… so we still got a lot of work done. It was a short day.

Thursday 2 July 2009
Today we did home visits in Muthiga. We split into 3 groups and each group had a translator. My group was Jacob, Joanna, and me. Our translators were Nancy and John. One of the first houses we visited was a mother who had 2 children… a 3 year old and a boy who was 10 days old. While we were sharing with the mom, I got to hold the little boy. He was so adorable and had a head full of curly black hair! When we go on home visits, we introduce ourselves… we asked how we are pray for them… we share an encouraging verse from the Bible… and then we pray. I had 2 and ½ cups of chai tea and I had my first cup for chocolate tea? It was just hot water with grounded up coco. So it was kind of like hot chocolate. Kenyans only drink it in July because July is when it is the coldest in Kenya. I can already tell the difference in the weather from when we arrived to now. It has definitely gotten colder. In the morning, I am usually in a sweatshirt. I wonder if it is that cold in Alabama! Haha. After all the home visits, we came back to the convent. Around 530pm we walked to Denny’s house. Denny is a missionary from OK who has been living in Kenya since 2005. It was the first time I have had REAL American food in Kenya. I had carrot sticks, RANCH, grapes, chicken pizza (that was AMAZING), and COOKIES! Denny has a 4 year old girl who is adorable. We watched Open Season with them and then we came home. It was SUCH a fun night! Then it was “Grace Time”. The team has been taking turns sharing their testimonies and struggles… one person every week. So tonight was my turn. I probably talked for an hour. It was nice to be able to share. I felt more understood afterwards. My team is getting closer every day and I LOVE IT! I am the youngest by at least a year from everyone else… so I am the “little sister”, which is weird for me since I am the oldest child. However, I now understand a little bit about being the youngest. (I like being the oldest better!)

Friday 3 July 2009
Hooray for days off. We went to the Village Market again. So I did some more shopping. My cough got worst in the evening. I thought my head was going to explode with every cough. Joshua bought Kenyan bracelets for the whole team… so now we all match kind of on a daily basis. Nothing too exciting happened. It was just a day of relaxing and having fun.

Saturday 4 July 2009
HAPPY 4th OF JULY! So the team kind of had the day off today because in the states it is a holiday. Around 2pm, we went to the Shuname Shelter to celebrate the 4th with the girls. It was basically a huge party. It was so much fun. That is where my new Facebook profile picture comes from. Today marks 5 weeks of being in Kenya. Only 3 weeks left to go! Susan (one of the girls… and also Nancy’s daughter) showed me (well started to) how to clean cow stomach so you can eat it! It was fun getting to take group pictures. The day was filled with fellowship, American songs, American food, Balloons (closest we had to fireworks… popping them), and a time of prayer IN ENGLISH! Lauri cooked a lot of the food. We made BBQ chicken sandwiches, potato salad, baked beans, jello, cookies and pineapple. (well we didn’t make the pineapple but we brought it) Once we got there… Joanna helped Purity make Red, White, and Blue Chapati. All the girls said something good about America. When we got home… Joshua led us in a time of prayer. We prayed for our country, its leaders, the Church, etc. I learned a lot of new Swahili words and phrases today from Martha.

Mungu Anakupenda (God loves you)
Bwana Ashiwe (Praise the Lord!)
Asante (Thanks)
Karibu (Welcome)
Habari (Hello! How are you?) Mzuri (Fine)
Lalasalama (Good Night)
Mzungu (one who goes around… aka a white person)
Wazungu (Plural of Mzungu… aka many white people)
Pole (I’m sorry that happened to you)
Baba (Father)
Mama (Mother)
Sawa Sawa (okay)

Sunday 5 July 2009
So today we went to church in Kibera. We walked in through a different route because of Joshua. The route we usually take is flooded at the moment because of a busted pipe. So we would have had to jump across on rocks… which with Joshua’s ankle wasn’t possible. So we walked on another route. In Sunday School, Lauri shared her testimony with the older youth. It was very encouraging. Lauri has become kind of my older sister because she is the oldest and we share the same birthday. Yes the oldest and the youngest on the team share the same birthday… we are that cool. She is 5 years older than me. Anyways… we sang Mighty to Save during church service. Pastor Wycliffe preached today. It was mostly in Swahili so I didn’t understand a lot of it. I know he preached on Matthew 5: 43-48. I can’t believe we have 3 more Sundays in Kenya and that is it. The last Sunday will be the Sunday I fly home. That is so crazy to me. It doesn’t seem like almost half of my summer is over. Well until next week… leave some comments!

Here is a word of Encouragement for you.
Naweza mambo yote katika yeye anitiaye nguvu.
( I can do everything through Him who gives me strength) Philippians 4:13

God Bless,
LG