Week 6 (A Hard Week)

Monday 6 July 2009
This week we were back in Kibera. Today I helped Teacher Josephine teach Grade 4 Math. Then it was time for lunch. In the afternoon, I graded English for Grade 5. It was a very good day. Teacher Josephine is just so much fun. She taught me more Swahili today.

Nina Furaha (I’m happy)
Mrembo (Beautiful)
Hapa (NO!)
Penda Mungu, Penda Watu (Love God, Love People)
Keti Chini (Sit Down)
Jina langu ni Grace. (My name is Grace.)
Tabasamu (Smile!)
Rudia (Repeat)
Ninakukosa ( I miss you)

Tuesday 7 July 2009
I realized today how funny it is going to be when I get back to the states and greet people in Kiswahili. As I was walking into Kibera, I noticed how the smell seems to be getting worse. I think it is because of the broken pipe. Honestly, I can’t imagine what is must be like to live in Kibera. My cough was worse today but at night and early morning is when it bothers me the most. I PTL for that because that allows me to spend time with my friends in Kibera and for that I am grateful. I taught Grade 4 math again today. They are learning Perimeter. I assisted Teacher Josephine with Grade 1 Science. (Sound) I continued with my Grade 1 Kiswahili lessons. (You have to start somewhere!) I’m getting better and Teacher Josephine said I am a good student. Haha. The past two days the teachers have been asking where my sweatshirt is but to me the weather isn’t too cold by that time of day. July is the coldest month is Kenya. Most people are bundled up. The temperature here is mid-50s in the early morning and at night and around 75 during the day. So it feels pretty good for the most part. I have almost finished reading The Bondage Breaker. I would recommend it for EVERYONE! It is a great book.

Heko! (Congrats!)
Ninakufurahia (I’m happy for you)
Mimi (I)
Ndiyo (Yes)
Mtu (Person)
Wacha mapenzi ya Mungu yatimizwe (Let God’s Will be Done)
Kazi nzuri (Good Job!)
Mama (Mother)
Baba (Father)
Dada (sister)
Ndugu (Brother)

**Note: In Kenya, within a family mothers are called Mama (insert Firstborn’s name). So my mother should be called by other family members and close friends… Mama Grace.

Wednesday 8 July 2009
Not too much happened in Kibera today. I hung out with Teacher Josephine. I had two cups of chai tea. Ugali was for lunch. I continued to learn more Kiswahili from Teacher Josephine. Opal arrives tomorrow. That was about it. It was just a fun day to hang out with my friends and teach some school.

Tuonane kesho (See you tomorrow)
Leo (Today)
Jumapili (Sunday)
Jumatatu (Monday)
Jumanne (Tuesday)
Jumatano (Wednesday)
Aihamisi (Thursday)
Ijumaa (Friday)
Jumamosi (Saturday)
U hali gani? (How are you feeling?)
Mwalimu (Teacher)
Samawati (Blue)
Kijani Kibichi (Green)
Hali ya anga ikoja? (How is the weather?)
Kuna baridi. (It’s cold.)
Kuna joto. (It’s hot.)

Thursday 9 July 2009
I’ve been in Kenya and working in the slums for 40 days now. God has continued to show me how He provides. He has taught me to rely on Him and not on my own strength. He has taught me that He is a big God. He takes cares of us and loves us just like He takes care of and loves the children and people in Kibera and Muthiga. For the past 5 weeks, I have seen the people not the poverty. However this week, I have seen the poverty. My heart has been broken this week. It really hit home when Teacher Josephine pointed out her house to me today. I didn’t realize she lived in Kibera until then. Then, later that night I realized that most of the teachers live in Kibera. My friends are living in a place that is so horrible, I can’t even describe it. However, I have learned how much you truly need to survive. (It isn’t much) Even though I came to a lot of realizations, today was probably one of my favorite days in Kibera. I spent a lot of time talking to Teacher Josephine. I taught and worked out more math problems about Perimeter for Grade 4. I love teaching Grade 4 Math. Then it was tea time! Then we hung out in the teachers lounge for a bit. Then I taught Grade 5 English. I taught Present Perfect Tense and how to write a good composition paper. Then Teacher Josephine told Grade 5 that they needed to write a paper for their homework. The topic? “Write a paper about your new teacher Grace.” Haha. I can’t wait to read them! Then it was lunch time. After lunch, I helped teacher Josephine teach CRE. CRE is Christian Religion Education. In Kenya, every student chooses what religion class they want to take (Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc.) CRE today was about not pretending. I have been taking pictures with each of my classes this week. (Grade 1, Grade 4, and Grade 5) After class, I took a picture of all the teachers. I am really going to miss Teacher Josephine. I am going to miss my Kiswahili lessons! We have shared so many stories, pictures, and laughs this week. Time has flown by.

Mbwa (dog)
Paka (cat)
1 Moja
2 Mbili
3 Tatu
4 Nne
5 Tano
6 Sita
7 Saba
8 Nane
9 Tisa
10 Kumi
Njoo Hapa (Come Here)
Rangi niipendayo ni samawati (My favorite color is Blue.
Nenda Kaoge (Go Bathe!)
Maua (Flowers)
Gari (Vehicle)
Nyanya (Grandmother or Tomato)
Nyoka (Snake)
Ishi. Cheka. Upenda. (Live. Laugh. Love.)

**Note: Teacher Josephine is from the Luhya tribe. Her Luhya name is Awinja which means Updenda (love.) She gave me the Luhya name Nelima. It means born when people are tilling land and preparing to plant. My nickname became Sarah (Sara in Kiswahili).

Friday 10 July 2009
Only 3 days until my baby sister turns 16. Only 16 days until I leave Kenya! Today is my day off. Bwana Ashiwe. (PTL!) So I will continue my story about how this week has been hard on my team. We started hearing personal stories from our friends. We found out that some of the youth boys actually live in the church. One of them lives there because when he parents found out he was a Christian, they kicked him out. Some of the members did home visits in Kibera yesterday. Their stories were even more heartbreaking. Even through all the sadness, I know the God I serve is good. I know He is a just God. I know He renews all things. I know one day all things will be made new. I know that God’s will is perfect and good. I have seen firsthand how God is working in Kibera. I have seen joy in the people there that is a joy that only God can give. Most of the time, the people that have the most joy are the people that have had some of the hardest lives. I pray that I will not feel guilty about the blessings that God has given me. Guilt is from the evil one. I pray that God will continue to show me how to love my Kenyan brothers and sisters better. I pray that He will show me how to encourage them. I remet a man from Sudan today. His name is John. He is one of the lost boys. He was a child solider. (around 10-12) His dad was a police officer who was murdered during an attack one day. A few years ago he was reunited with his mom after not seeing her for over 10 years. He is attending school in Kenya. He is 28. I don’t know much else about his life, but even that is horrifying to me. The team talked with Opal and Tom about how Africans don’t show much emotion and how they don’t complain when bad things happen. Opal thinks it is because Africans expect bad things to happen, so they aren’t phased much by them when they do. However, when good things happen they Praise God and are very thankful. Americans are the opposite. We expect good things to happen. When bad things happen to us, we try to figure out what went wrong or what we did wrong. My heart is broken. It has been a rough week. There are so many horrible situations that are affecting my friends: wives being raped and beaten, children starving, child soldiers, tribalism, extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, polio, sewage problems, unsafe drinking water, debt from getting an education, etc. The list goes on and on. It is no longer statistics to me. I have a face and a friendship to put to those numbers.

**So continue to pray for our team. And thanks for all the prayers you have already said.

Mungu Akubariki (God Bless You)
Ishi. Cheka. Upenda. (Live. Laugh. Love.)

Until Next Time,
Nelima