Last Full Day in Kenya

I don't know how it has happened but today is my last full day in Kenya. I leave for the airport tomorrow at 2PM and fly to Dubai at 4:40PM. I have so many mixed feelings right now. I'm excited to go home. I do truly miss my friends and family. But the last couple of days saying goodbye to people over and over again has been really rough.

This morning I finally relented and packed my suitcases. They are heavy and full. I've still got some stuff to fit in them as well. I'm not sure how it will work but I know it simply has to work.

I met with Rev. Esther and have done the final check out sort of thing. I simply need Buri to finish filling out my final review so she can sign it. Hopefully that gets done today.

In case you want to track my planes as I go here are the flight numbers. Emirates flight 720 Nairobi to Dubai. Emirates flight 203 Dubai to JFK. United 11 JFK to SFO. I land in SFO at 2:33 PM on September 12th. To me that will feel like 12:33 AM on September 13th. So I leave at 4:40PM on the 11th and arrive at 12:33 AM on the 13th. That is a very long day.

I'll see many of you soon! I'll try to write more en route. I have many hours in airports between here and there so I'll need something to do.

Time is Short

I can hardly believe that my three months here are almost over. I leave in 10 days. I have real mixed feelings. I miss my friends from home and I miss just being at home. I miss washing machines. I miss my car. I miss smooth roads. I miss my cat. I miss watching movies. I miss TV. I miss my bed. I miss having adult beverages. For all these reasons I'm feeling ready to go home.

I am going to miss all the friends I've made here. I'm going to miss chai. I'm going to miss matatus. I'm going to miss walking everywhere. I'm going to miss dinners like rice and cabbages or minced meat and chips. I'm going to miss trying to figure out if the people around me are talking in Kiswahili or in Kikuyu. I'm going to miss the youth speaking to me in Kikuyu and expecting me to respond. I'm going to miss seeing guards standing at gates. I'm going to miss either walking people to the gate to say goodbye or being walked to my own gate to make sure I get home safely. I'm going to miss people enjoying the idea that I come from a village in Kenya called California and not some place in the US. I'm going to miss complaining about the roads around here. I'm going to miss the stares I get from children who aren't too sure what to think about a real white person. I'm going to miss saying "good morning" to people and having them respond "fine." At that's just the list I can come up with now. I'm sure there will be other strange things I'll miss once I'm home.

I do honestly want to come back here. Kenya has gotten under my skin. I'm telling people here to start looking for me around May of 2010. So many people around here think I'll marry a Kenyan. Marriage is very important to people here so when I try to tell them I'm not worried about getting married I get all kinds of crazy looks. Then they ask how will I have children. Children are also very important to people around here so I get even stranger looks when I say I'm not worried about having children. I haven't become too Kenyan yet. Yesterday I preached my last sermon here. It went well by the way. In my sermon I mentioned that I leave in 2 weeks so after the service a few people came up to me and said they couldn't believe I was actually leaving. I said that had always been the plan. They responded, each a little differently but basically saying, I thought you would meet someone, get married and stay. I was given so many offers of places to stay when I come back. I have so many good friends here. I had no idea that would happen.

People here are starting to tease me that I have developed some Kenyan habits. I'm not totally sure what all of them are but I am aware of some. I'm not going to say what new things I do now. I want to see your reaction to them once I'm back. I have become a little Kenyan even if I haven't jumped on their marriage and children bandwagon. You know that the first questions I'm asked by children here is how old am I, am I married, and do I have any children. Talk about getting personal fast. I have gotten used to it though. That doesn't mean than when I get back you all get to ask me how old I am, am I married and do I have any kids. Those questions are still a bit forward in the American culture unless things have changed a whole lot since I've been gone.

Back from Safari

I’m in my room writing another blog entry (as opposed to a place where I have an internet connection) because I’m just so excited and can’t wait to tell of my adventures. I just got back (about 3 and half hours ago) from a safari to the Masai Mara. Oh my goodness is it the most amazing place! It is most definitely a wonder of the world. There are just so many animals, I mean so many animals. They live together so comfortably and everyone has a job in the eco-system. I’m going to try and remember the names of the animals I saw. I can tell you now that I’ve already forgotten many of the names of the birds. I saw a baboon, a jackal, 5 female lions and 6 male lions, many many elephants, countless zebra, a black rhino, several warthogs, several hippos, a lot of giraffe, a few bushbucks, a handful of elands, many buffalos (and even saw 4 male lions kill a buffalo), lots of waterbucks, lots of hartebeests, many many topi, insane numbers of wildebeests (I mean these guys where everywhere!!!), a dik-dik, many impalas, and lots of both the Thompson gazelles and the Grant gazelles, a few crocodiles, lots of vultures, black collar doves, some bird that eats bones, the beautiful lilac-breasted something or other, a couple of eagles, several varieties of weavers, a flock of guineafowl, geese, and other animals I can’t remember. Can you believe all these animals live in one place? They just sort of wander around doing their thing and the people drive around in either vans with a pop-up roof or in fancy Land-Cruisers with openings on the sides. I was in a pop-up top van. I was getting pretty good a balancing standing up while the driver (Joseph) did his best to make the bumpy road a smooth as possible. With me standing was my Maasai guide George. We bumped around and into each other many times but I did try my best not to bump into him. I have a pretty deep bruise on my right arm from hitting the side of the car so many times. The bruise is such a small price to pay for the experience I had. I can not recommend strongly enough that everyone needs to do this at some point in their lives. I so hated to leave this afternoon. I can’t wait to go back. Of the “Big Five,” the elephant, rhino, leopard, lion, and buffalo, I only missed the leopard. So when someone is ready to go let me know so I can go back and catch the leopard this time.

Other than the excitement of the game drives, I spent a lot of time resting a reading. I stayed in very comfortable tented cabins. There was some very heavy rains Tuesday afternoon and again in the evening. The cabins are so well designed and cared for that the rain was not a problem at all. I took a wonderful shower with the sounds of heavy rain pounding on the roof. This camp has 10 tented cabins and a few rooms. I had a whole tent to myself. Way more than I needed but it sure was nice. When I checked in the receptionist told not to worry for my safety as the camp had an electrified fence to keep the animals out and there were two night guards that wandered around as well. Silly me, I never thought about the animals getting into the camp. Tuesday morning I saw that elephants had crossed from the park to the other side of camp (with the fence somehow they must have gone around us) so then I believed that was something to consider. The food was all Western food and actually quite fancy. It had been a long time since I have eaten that nicely. Though honestly, I was starting to miss my simple Kenyan dishes from the YWCA. The staff were all so wonderful to me and were constantly checking to see if I was OK and enjoying myself. They’ve only been open for just over a year so I think they are looking for more word of mouth referrals so I’m happy to say Ngama Hills Tented Camp is worth looking into when considering your safari. I do honestly hope to go back there some day.

I don’t want you to think that all I’ve done is relax and have fun. Last week was an exhausting one. St. Andrews had Vacation Bible School and I was second in command for that. We had about 170 children per day and we went Monday through Saturday from 8:30-12:30 everyday. There were so many kids and we had a very tight schedule and Kenyans are not known for their time keeping so my job was mostly to run around to the six different areas every 20 minutes and tell the leaders and guides for the kids it was time to move to the next area. St. Andrews is on a hill so I was running up and down the hill I can’t tell you how many times. By Thursday people were mentioning how much weight I have lost since coming to Kenya. I was fighting a cold all week and on Wednesday I managed to develop a fever as well so they sent me to the nurse we had for the kids. A little cough syrup, a hot dog, some chips, and tea and I was back to running up and down the hill. I thought the volunteers would be annoyed to see me as I was constantly telling them to hurry up and move to somewhere but the kids and the volunteers did have a very nice week. It was exhausting for sure. I had to preach on Sunday and couldn’t muster up the energy to write my sermon until about 10 PM Saturday night. I was still writing on Sunday morning when I got to church. This time I wasn’t preaching in the sanctuary. It was District Sunday so people were supposed to have church with their elders in their districts. An elder asked me to preach for his district. It turns out that his district joined with two other districts and drove out to Hawa Children’s Home, something St. Andrews sponsors and supports. I was a bit worried that my sermon was aimed too closely at people who are members of a church too much that the boys from the home wouldn’t be interested but it seemed to work. Praise God for working in ways that I can not see, understand, or expect.

So now that I’m back in Nairobi feeling well rested and refreshed I’ll spend the next couple of days helping out with the high school version of Vacation Bible School. I also have a package to pick up from the Post Office (thank you Mom and Dad for sending goodies!!!!!!) I preach next on August 31st so I’ll spend next week working on another sermon, this time for the youth services. I meet with the Moderator tomorrow and we have some paperwork stuff to work on. (I’m loving my experience but I also want this to count for school.) Well as it seems the moderator is not in the office today so I'll drop off the paperwork for him and then head back out to Hawa Children's Home. The High Schoolers are out there with the boys right now.

Halfway Through VBS

So I'm exhausted. We have about 170 or so kids a day. There are divided up into 6 groups which are identified by colors. The kids have 6 stations to get through each day. At each station they do some sort of activity. We also have an opening meeting, a closing meeting, and a snack time. So to get this all done in 4 hours is just crazy. It feels like I get 5 minutes to breathe every hour. I make endless trips up and down the hill the church is on. The upside is that I simply have to be losing weight. People here are starting to comment on my shrinking size.

So the fatigue has caught up with me as I am sick once again. I have yet another cold. I seem to get sick once a month around here. They must have very different germs over here as I don't get this sick back in the US. Today I was fighting a small fever but I'm trying to not think about it and push on. I took some cough medicine from the nurse today so that has helped some. When I get home tonight I'll take some ibuprofen to hopefully kill this fever once and for all.

I'll be preaching again this Sunday. This Sunday is District Sunday which means instead of church being in the sanctuary it will be held in the homes of the elders. Each district has an elder assigned to it and one of the elders asked me to come preach at his district meeting. This district will be meeting in a home for children the church runs. So my audience will be from the very young to the very old. I haven't yet started writing my sermon. Hopefully tomorrow my head will feel better and I can start writing.

Well that's about it for now. I did receive some bad news today. My great-aunt Mary-Lou passed away on Sunday. There will be a service for her tomorrow in Denver, Colorado. Needless to say I won't be able to attend. Please pray for my family as we grieve.

August 11th

Ok, so I know that I have been terrible at posting on this thing. First off, I’m fairly private so there isn’t a whole lot that I want transmitted to the world. Secondly, I’m really forgetful. Together these two things keep me from becoming a regular blogger. Hopefully you can forgive me for that.

So to make up for the lack of posts for some time I am typing this up in my room and not waiting to have an internet connection to compose this post. The downside of that is I can’t check the blog to see what I have already said so I hope I don’t repeat myself. I’ll start with today and work backwards.

Today I went to a church in Karen. Karen has been the white area of Nairobi but that is now changing. The author Karen Blitzen had a place in Karen and when she became famous after writing Out of Africa they named the town after her. Many of the British settled in this area and that’s why it’s full of whites. The area is for the more upper class Kenyans and as the opportunities have increased for the black Kenyans more and more of them have moved into the area. The church I went to today is a black church. It was established 10 years ago and by Kenyan standards is a small congregation with about 200 members. I was at the church because my friend Esther, who I met in Kitui while on the mission trip, was invited to preach at this church and she asked me to come with her. I don’t go anywhere without singing for my supper so to speak so I gave the children’s message. I was asked to give the children’s message about 10 minutes before the service started. I used to hate being asked to say or something with so little notice but over the last two months I have gotten used to it. I just roll with the punches these days. After church she and I went out to lunch to catch up before she caught a matatu to Kitui. I also caught a matatu back to where I live to avoid the several block walk. I’ve been feeling so brave taking public transportation in a foreign city where the conversational language is one I don’t understand. The 20 Kenyan Shilling fare, which comes to 30 cents in US Dollars, seemed so worth it. It turns out I don’t know the public transportation as well as I thought. I couldn’t get out where I wanted to and ended up with a several block walk back to my home anyways. I have not done so much walking in my life. It’s no wonder why my clothes are all too big for me now. I feel a bit silly with my clothes so baggy but I can’t bring myself to buy new clothes. I’d rather go back to the US and buy the clothes off the rack than buy used clothes from the US on the street. The clothes off the rack here don’t last very long from what I hear so people buy used American and European clothes.

Ok so yesterday I went to a wedding in Kikuyu. David Wakogy was the groom and he is a friend of Evans who is a fellow student at SFTS. I received David’s contact information from Evans before I left the US and managed to meet David after arriving in Kenya. David runs a school in Kikuyu and went to visit the school one day in July. During that visit someone else at the school mentioned that David was getting married and that I should come to the wedding. It turns out that I was free yesterday and so I decided to go. I brought a translator with me; he also served as a traveling partner for the matatu ride from Nairobi to Kikuyu. (In town I’ll brave the matatus, traveling between towns I’m not too excited to do by myself yet.) I was not the only white person at this wedding, the best man and the best maid were an Irish couple. The wedding was at The Church of the Torch which is the first Presbyterian church the missionaries established in Kenya. There were beside the Irish couple, a couple of American missionaries who regularly bring teams from New Jersey to the Church of the Torch. So I was one of five whites. I was the only one not doing something in the service so in the middle of the service they asked if I wanted to come and sing a song for the newly wedded couple. I politely declined but did have to stand and wave to the congregation. Ahh the Kenyans and their surprises. At the reception I was seated in the tent with the bridal party. I do try to be one of the crowd but I seem to always be treated to some honor. My translator was a little uncomfortable with it but he just had to adjust, as did I.

Last week at work was pretty quiet. I haven’t been able to meet with the Moderator in three weeks because either his or mine schedule did not permit it. This means that I don’t have too much work to do. I’m starting to get a bit frustrated by that and so I hope that will change. The head of the Children’s Ministry has learned of my lack of work and has put me second in command of Vacation Bible School, which begins next week. I won’t be bored next week. We are expecting between 200 and 300 children to come. It will last from Monday to Saturday. VBS is even eating up my two days off, Mondays and Saturdays. I guess I’ll not complain about having nothing to do again. On a sad note, I did learn that my Great Aunt Mary Lou is very ill with cancer and has been given 1 to 2 months to live. I hope to see her again before she passes but it is possible that I won’t. That does make me feel far from home. Please pray for my family as we all prepare for her passing. The only excitement of last week was buying a new camera battery after my camera battery refused to hold a charge.

I learned that my camera was having trouble the week before when I was in Mombasa. I went with the Women’s Guild, which is similar to the Presbyterian Women in the US. The Women’s Guild had their retreat in Mombasa so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to see the coast. I’ve been hearing so much about the coast since arriving here and many people suggested that a trip to Kenya was not complete without a visit to the coast. The retreat was jam packed with things to do so there wasn’t much free time but I did manage to swim in the Indian Ocean. The water seemed very nice to me but the lifeguards told me the water was cold. The lifeguards were told to stand next to me while I was in the ocean because most of the ladies who went didn’t know how to swim and they were not that confident that I knew how to swim. Reverend Esther from St. Andrews would not learn the beach area until she saw me come in from the ocean. She told me later that she was worried that if I drowned in the ocean that she would have lots of questions to answer back in Nairobi. I tried to explain that I’ve been swimming since I was six but as the lifeguards explained to me, many of the people from up country don’t know how to swim and are terrified of the ocean. I’m just so happy that I was able to get into the water and relax some even if no one with me was relaxed. I also took a short trip to old city Mombasa with some of the women but the shopping was not that interesting to me as the ladies wanted to buy household items and I don’t need household items right now. I just walked around with the women while drunk men tried to impress me by shouting things at me, at first in English and then in Kiswahili. The women talked back in Kiswahili and took care of the problem for me. Don’t worry Mom, I was well protected by these women because most have children my age so I was with 50 second mothers.

The biggest surprise I’ve had in Kenya happened July 30th. A classmate of mine, Don, is also in Kenya. He has been in Kenya nearly the entire time I’ve been here. He and I were good friends but had a huge falling out during the Spring Semester. When we discovered we were both heading to Kenya we agreed not to see each other while in Kenya. I have not paid attention to where he has been in Kenya. He however was aware that I was working in St. Andrews and on July 30th came to St. Andrews and my co-workers at St. Andrews were very excited to bring us together. I almost fell out of my chair when he walked in the Youth Office. We had a nice visit. I think we were both trying to be polite as Don came with his supervisor from his internship and a Maasai friend. He invited me to visit him in Amboseli but I’d rather go to the Maasai Mara. Hopefully I’ll go next week.We’ll see though.

I don’t know if this now brings you all up to date or not. If I think of something important that happened that I haven’t mentioned I’ll try to get that into my next post.

Wednesday After

OK so clearly I've given my sermon. I was well prepared but yet very nervous. The church was full and I was standing on an elevated pulpit so I was looking down on everyone there. I told the congregation at both services that they were the largest crowds I have ever preached in front of. They did laugh at the jokes I made from time to time in the sermon so I knew they were listening. Giving a sermon on stewardship is never an easy task, you know how much people do not want to hear anything to make them feel guilty about what they do with their money.

In both services there was an awkward transition after the sermon. I wasn't supposed to do anything but the elder that was supposed to call for the tithes and offerings didn't get up to do that for what seemed to be too long. During both services there was a wedding. In the first service we dedicated the team that visits the hospitals and during the second we welcomed new members and even had a new member be baptized. With all that was happening in both services I think everyone was glad it was the American preaching because my sermons are much shorter than the typical African sermon. They told me to preach for 20-25 minutes. I think I ended up coming very close to 20 minutes, maybe 18-19 minutes.

At the end of each service I walked out the center aisle and waited to greet the congregation. Not that I totally trust what people say to the preacher as they leave but the feedback was positive. I had mentioned in both services how nervous I was and many people told me that the sermon was good and that I shouldn't be nervous. Other said they would not have know how nervous I was if I hadn't said anything. They said I spoke with authority and even if I am nervous don't mention it to people. I checked with the moderator of St. Andrew's between services if he was happy with the sermon because I was preaching to his congregation, and he said he was very happy with the sermon. Mondays I don't work so yesterday was the first day back to the church and still people were telling me they want to hear another sermon from me. So, all this to say, the sermon went well, I still get so nervous. I thought the message was good and it seemed to be well received. Praise God that it's over!

So with my Monday off I went to customs to get a package from my parents. The Kenyan postal system did not impress me much. It took me over an hour to get the package. I had my slip which said Cindy Harris and when I showed my passport it said Cynthia Harris. They didn't believe me that Cindy is the short name for Cynthia so I had to go see someone extra to plead my case. After that they did give me the package to open and they took an inventory of the contents of my package. Then they stamped my slip and said leave the package and go to the customs supervisor. She looked at my slip, signed and stamped it and said to go back to the last person. I go back, that person then starts typing all these things into a calculator and writing on the back of my slip. She said to go back to the customs supervisor. This time the customs supervisor prints out an invoice of the taxes and duty charges that I owe. She tells me to go to the bank to pay my fees. She had to give me directions to the bank as I didn't know which one she meant. So I walk to the bank. I go in the the front door and they tell me all banking transactions happen in the back on the building. So I walk around the building and look for the window that deals with taxes. I wait in line there. I pay my 1588 Kenyan shillings of taxes and they stamp the invoice and I go back to the post office. Once back I go to the customs fees window and they give me a new slip as the one I came with is covered in stamps. I take the new slip to where my package is and they say have to pay 70 shillings in postal fees. After I pay that finally give me my package. I take the package to someone else who asks me to open the package again so she can write down what is in there. After that I go see a man who tells me that I can go but why carry the box and why don't I empty the contents into my backpack. So I do, put the box in a recycling pile and go. All that took over an hour.

I am happy to have the package as my parents sent snacks, vitamins, EmergenC, Echanacia Tea, a word search book, and a scarf. They Kenyans asked why I would need tea in a country that is always serving tea so I tried to explain this tea helps keep a person from getting sick. I don't think they understand and/or really prefer their own tea. So now I will share some of my snacks with my coworkers as they are really curious what sort of food my parents would send me.

It looks as if I will have a quiet week at work. I am so glad. I can use the rest.

The Saturday Before

So tomorrow I give my first sermon in the big church here. They have 4 services here every Sunday. Two in the new hall oriented towards the youth and two in the main sanctuary. I'm preaching in the sanctuary to about 1000 people before the day is done. That is a much bigger audience than my classmates in Preaching class. I also get to preach on every one's favorite topic, Stewardship. People live hearing about giving more of their time and money to the church. I'm going to take the approach that we are supposed to be responsible with the resources God has entrusted to us.

I feel like a bit of a hypocrite however as within 4 days I had money stolen from me twice. First incident happened while I was on a mission trip with the college students in Kitui. Kitui is in Akamba area and the Akamba people are known for practicing witchcraft. They believe in curses and being possessed by demons. Now most everything happened in Kswahili so I rarely knew what was happening but I'm told we did exorcisms and many people gave their lives to Christ. While we were there I became the object of desire of a couple of the guys who went. As flattering as it is to have two guys fighting over you I can't be sure if it was my winning personality, my pale skin color, or my nationality that was the attracting factor. One did profess his deep love for me and said God told him in prayer that his job for the rest of his life is to take care of me and to be where ever I am. That is very sweet. One big hang up for me is this guy is 24 and I don't know how much we really have in common. So at the end of the week when my money was stolen out of my wallet, which was in my bag on the church bus, these two guys were the prime suspects. Everyone was searched and the money was not found. One of the trip leaders also had his cell phone stolen. So that was last Saturday.

One Wednesday I finally managed to get out to see the Compass School in Kikuyu. Evans, a classmate of mine at SFTS, worked in Kenya for a year and spent some time at this school. I have been trying to go see the school and meet the people there since I arrived in Kenya. So someone from the school came to Nairobi to ride back to Kikuyu on a matatu with me. Matatus are vans that work as public transportation around here. They manage to squeeze 14 people into them so it is a very tight fit. While riding the matatu I was pickpocketted and this time I lost my entire wallet. So they got cash, my atm card, a credit card, my driver's license, my school id, and my insurance cards. The guy who rode with my also had his cell phone stolen. So once we figured it out we went to a cyber cafe so I could cancel my cards. No purchases were made so really it was just a huge inconvenience to me. Now I've ordered new cards and my parents are going to send them to me so I can have access to money again. Thankfully I kept some American money in my room and I simply exchanged that so I can eat and such in the mean time.

So right now I don't feel like a good steward of my money. God is most definitely humbling me before this sermon. I have no written out a transcript for this sermon. I have my main points on a single sheet of paper. This sermon is supposed to be between 20 and 25 minutes. I have never preached for that long but I am a good talker so I hope that helps me take up the time. I will also have to speak slower than normal because of the language differences. Yes we all speak English but my accent is different and I want to be sure I am understood. Mostly I am just praying that God takes over and the words are all His anyways. I do not feel like I can say anything on stewardship based on my week so God will have to do the talking.

So that's about it for now. I'll write next about how the sermon went.

Wednesday Week Three

I'm still enjoying a quiet week at the church. Quiet is always relative. They do keep me rather busy around here. Dr. Mungiriria gave me two books to read (Concepts of God in Africa by John Mbiti and African Religions and Philosophy by the same author) and wanted me to finish one by this Thursday. I managed to finish Concepts of God in Africa but it was a very difficult read. The concepts are generally new to me and the tribes are almost all completely new to me. The few tribes I knew I had not spent much time thinking about their religion. I read every word in the book but I can't say I've retained every word in the book. I will definitely have to read t again if I want to speak with any authority on religion in Africa. I did get a better picture of traditional religions here and how God related to their daily lives. I hope this second book will help me understand more.

Tuesdays are turning into meeting days. There is staff worship in the morning from 8:15-9:30. Then the Youth Office Weekly Boardroom Meeting from 10:00 until about 2:00. After that I end up with one of the monthly Session Meetings in the Evenings. Yesterday was the Kirk Session. Other weeks there is Pastoral Session, Board Meeting of the Church, and the Finance Meeting.

I've already been to a 3 hour meeting this morning about the Swift Service for the high school kids. I missed a rehearsal (because no one told me about it) for the staff who are supposed to sing at the 8:15 Service this weekend. There is a bible study at 3 for kids out of high school but waiting to know if their scores are high enough to get into college.

Thankfully tonight I am going to have a little fun. Nkatha is coming by after 5 and we'll walk to town for coffee or something. We haven't seen each other in nearly a month and a look forward to catching up with her. I have also already asked where I should go for an American meal on Friday. I maybe in Kenya but I still want to celebrate the 4th of July. I asked but was said I would not be able to set off fireworks. I could get some but the noise would make the police think I was shooting off a gun or a bomb or something. I would rather not have an encounter with the police while I am in Kenya (or even in the US for that matter).

So there's not too much to report. But a small snapshot of my life here, I'm in meetings, reading emails, or reading about African Theology during the day, I get a little fun from time to time at night.

I hope you all are well. I am feeling much better. I have a bit of a husky voice, which apparently has been a bit appealing to some, but much better. I miss you you and think of you often.

Monday Week Three

Well I think I relaxed a bit too much. I got sick this week. I thought it was just a cold but Saturday night I spent most of the night throwing up. I did not enjoy that very much at all. I can not blame it on the food I ate. all I had for dinner was rice and steamed cabbages. I had gone to the pharmacist on Saturday and she gave me a decongestant and antibiotics. Antibiotics do not require a prescription here. It's possible the drugs didn't agree with me but I've taken them since and no ill affects. I'm not too sure what that was on Saturday but I did manage to get a lot of sleep on Sunday. I almost skipped church on Sunday but the Moderator asked me to attend the 9:30 service and I had also said I would go to the 12:00 service for high school/college aged kids. Services are about 2 hours long here so I was at church for a long time but it did seem important I be there.

They introduced me to the youth in the service and told them they could come talk to me if they felt they needed to talk to someone. I felt a bit like death warmed over but I hope I looked better than that so these kids won't be scared of me. I have actually already counseled a high school boy here. He went through a long list of things bothering him but in the end he wanted to know what God sounds like. He didn't think he'd ever heard God talk to him in prayer and was worried what that might mean for his Christian faith. I gave him something to try and he seemed so happy to try it. I've seen him a few times since then and he greats me quite warmly. We've always been in a big crowd so I haven't been able to ask him how things are going with listening to God but I do hope to ask him soon.

Other than that, I have managed to buy a couple of things at the Maasai market in town to put up in my room. I'll probably take some more pictures of my room so you can see how it's coming. I'm also planning on going to the Safari Walk which is in a park just outside Nairobi. I should see lots of different animals and I'll post those pictures as well. I hope all is well with you back home. I do miss you. I enjoying hearing from you on here, in emails, by text message (0721477339 if you want my cell phone number) or if you feel really adventurous you can write me at YWCA P.O. Box 40710, Nairobi, Kenya. Talk to you soon!

June 26th

Today has been a very lovely quiet day. I have had so many busy days that I am truly enjoying today. I meet with the Moderator in about 30 minutes. Dr. Mungriria has been a wonderful supervisor so far. I give him my first reflection paper when I see him today. I am a bit nervous because I have never written anything for him. He asked me to write about my first impressions of the worship services here at St. Andrew's. My school requires these be theological reflection papers so I tried to explain how the differences in our services show differences in our theological emphasis. I found it hard to write a paper for two very different audiences but hopefully this will work.

One of the key differences that I found was the absolute dedication to prayer here in Kenya. People pray before and after almost every activity. There is such an expectation that God will hear and answer prayer, I am humbled every time. It's not that I haven't expected God to answer my prayers but I don't think I have put as much faith in the answer as the people around here do. I am learning to pray because with as often as prayer is offered, I am frequently asked to pray for the group.

I hope to go shopping this weekend to buy some things to decorate my room. I thought I could live with a plain room but I've decided I can't. In the evenings when I come home I just want it to feel more like home than it does right now. My friend Nell will take me out to the Maasai market. She has commented on my love of the different kinds of birds here and says that I can find lots of artwork on birds. I would also like a lamp and maybe a small TV so I have something other than read to do at night. We'll see what happens.

These birds that spent time with us in Mashuru. Oh and I made several bricks like you see in the background. I carried even more bricks. The scratches on my arms are just now healing.

Week Two

Ok so I'm getting pretty terrible about posting on here. It's not so much that I forget to post but more like I am so dang busy I don't have time to. Mashuru went very well. I had to use a "toilet" that was a shed over a whole in the ground. That took some getting used to. Conveniently there was biodegradable toilet paper but it was still quite awkward and I was so happy to be home and to use a real toilet. I know, you probably didn't want to know all that but I lived so now you have to as well. It was very dusty and windy and so we were just covered in dirt. The Masaai people were so wonderful however. We went to three different schools and interacted with the children. In the first picture the class is singing to us. The culture has so much singing and dancing. When they ask us to sing for them I'm fairly embarrassed we don't have songs we can just sing for them.

After coming back from Mashuru and taking a very long hot shower I went to Alliance Girl's High School Friday night as part of a challenge weekend with them. I spoke to them about my challenges in high school and where I saw God working in my life in high school. Don't worry Mom, I was very honest and told them about me being pretty bad and they loved to hear that I might still be grounded. The girl's high school was up in Kikuyu a town in the mountains and for the first time I was cold in Kenya. I had to bring my warm sweater when I went back on Saturday. Though I didn't end up needing the sweater as they had I doing aerobics and playing games with the girls. It has been a looooong time since I have done aerobics and my legs are still sore 4 days later. Sunday I was back again at the girls school and one of the girls made me a card. I was so touched. I showed everyone who was with us. Three other girls gave me their address so I could write to them. It was a very nice and a very rewarding weekend. I know some people took pictures of us playing games with the girls and I'll see if I can get copies of the pictures. I'll be easy to spot.

I think this week will be a little more relaxed than last week. I can use the rest and I am coming down with a cold. The week after I'm going on a week long mission trip to a city I have forgotten the name of.

I can't believe I've only been here two weeks, it seems like I've been here forever. I am fitting in with people and having a lot of fun. Last night we took the team from Sterling College to the airport and so of course started talking about when it will be my turn to leave. I just don't want to think about that at this point. Don't get me wrong I do miss the US. I miss my cat, my friends and family, laundry machines, and smooth roads. Kenya just feels so comfortable. I could live here, well maybe after they work on the roads. There is just no way to explain how bad the roads are here. You need to come and take a ride and you'll understand.

This last picture is from the top of a hill near the church in Mashuru. I will confess I did not take the hike, I asked one of my friends to carry my camera and to take pictures for me. Enjoy the view.

First Week

It has been such a busy week I have hardly had time to breathe it seems. They sure have put me to work. I went to my first Boardroom meeting on Wednesday and they piled on the work. A team of American students from Sterling College in Kansas (I think) came to St Andrew's yesterday. I was put on the team to host the students. I will spend a lot of time over the next 10 days with the group.

On Thursday I met with the Moderator/Senior Pastor to talk about the details on my internship. We have set up weekly meetings and he is very focused on me seeing all aspects of how they do Church here in Kenya. I will preach three times to this congregation and they want me to go out to some of their mission areas and will possibly preach there as well. I guess getting thrown into the fire will help me get over my timidness in preaching. This Sunday I'll help this congregation accept new members into the church.

So Friday I had a minor moment of embarrassment. I helped the person over the Children's Ministry, her name is Mercy, sharpen it felt like thousands on pencils, probably actually only hundreds of pencils for the Sunday School classes. We used the type of sharpener that you hold with one hand and twist with the other hand. Well at the end of it I had three blisters on the hand that was twisting. I was teased like you could not imagine. Mercy was like, "You need to go up country and swing an axe for awhile until your hands get tough." I told her I'm from the City, we don't have much need for axe swinging. She asked if we sharpen pencils in the US and I told her yes we do, just not so many at one time. We laughed and it's OK, I just thought I should tell the story so you all can have a laugh at it as well.

Also on Friday the team from Sterling arrived. I was introduced as a local Kenyan who could help the team with some Swahili words. The running joke now is that I'm a local Kenyan. I know maybe 15 words in Swahili but I have taught the students some of the words that I know. Thankfully there will also be true Kenyan locals with me to help host so I can't screw up these American students too much.

So today I went on a quick driving tour of Kenya. We drove out to the Rift Valley to take pictures. Then we went to a pretty upscale mall for lunch. Later we drove to Karen, a rich white area in Nairobi and then drove to Kibera, the largest slum in East Africa. It was in the Rift Valley and Kibera that there was violent reactions to the elections in January and February. I took some pictures but did not bring a way of transferring the pictures to my computer with me today so I'll have to upload them later. The difference between the upper class and the lowest classes are simply immense. I could not bring myself to take pictures of the slums as I just felt wrong being a tourist of a slum so you'll just have to take my word for it.

I will be offline for a few days this week. I'm going to go with the American students to Mashuru which is Maasai land. We will be camping with the Massai and I'm told it is very dry, dusty, and hot there. I did not really expect to camp while I was here so I hope someone can lend me something to sleep on and that I have what I need to camp. Sunblock and bug spray I do have so I guess I won't suffer too much. I will have to start taking anti-malaria medicine tomorrow in preparation for the trip. I will be in Mashuru from Monday until Wednesday. Thursday I hope to upload pictures from my time with the Maasai. I'm told I will be offered cow's blood because that is something quite sacred to the Maasai so I'm already mentally preparing myself so I can smile when I taste it and thank them quite heartily for giving me some. Between you and me, I am very nervous about this but hope to have a good poker face when the time comes. Mom, please don't be scared, many Kenyans from other tribes have had the blood, which not normal for them, and have lived to tell the tale so I expect to as well. I doubt there will be pictures however.

I am having a great time here. I am making real friendships and have been given a Kikuyu name, Jenri. I'm not sure how to spell it but it means one who visits. The N is silent so it sounds basically like Jerry.

Ok it's getting late and I have to walk home by myself so I'm off.

First Day on the Job

So I'm currently in the Youth Office using my own laptop to connect to St. Andrew's wireless server. This is a very modern church with many amenities. But it does not lose its African context. The emphasis on community is so strong here. You can't walk five feet without someone coming up and starting a conversation about your family or the state of your life. They are not interested in the quick "I'm good." They want the long story. I spend so much time just talking with people about so many different topics. People seem in touch with what is happening in the world around them. I sometimes struggle to keep up.

This morning we started with the Youth Office Fellowship Service. We sang (well more them than me) songs in Swahili, Kikuyu, and English. They way they easily move between the three is so amazing to watch. Even though I did not understand many of the words I could feel the praise for God. The faith the people around me have humbles me over and over again. I'm sometimes embarrassed that I came to be with them. There is nothing that I can bring to them, they have so much and need for so little. I do remind myself that I came to learn, not to give them anything more than my service for the time that I am here. They will teach me so much, that is obvious.

So hanging out in the Youth Office one of the youth staff has been trying so diligently to teach me Swahili. I told him I have a three words per day quota so he counted that I'm on my 5th day and so should know 10 words. I'm learning as fast as I can but still forget plenty of what they have taught me. I do need a notebook that I can write the words down in so I can practice them at home at night. They do really respect my attempts and laugh with me at my mistakes. We really do laugh all the time.

Today we got into a conversation about the Jubilee Celebrations St. Andrew's is celebrating. September 14th they are having centennial weddings ceremonies and people can get married for the first time or renew vows as part of the celebrations. Some of the guys in the Youth Staff suggested they could find me a husband so I could participate in the celebrations. I reminded them that I go back to the US on September 11th and would miss the celebrations. They had all kinds of reasons I should stay and I'm sure as time passes they will have more and more reasons to stay. I told them I have to go back so I can finish my degree. After I've earned my degree I'll consider coming back.

They do need a lot of ministers here in Kenya. There is a shortage and I've been offered two or three different jobs already. I hope they were joking but I don't actually think they were. Dr. Mungriria already suggested I get ordained in PCEA. Apparently they don't have the same ordination exams so the offer is somewhat tempting.

So here are the long awaited photos of my room. I took these the first night and before I had done any real unpacking. I truly was half asleep at the time. But I don't have too much to decorate with yet so it doesn't look too different now.

Monday

Well today has been a pretty quiet day.  The youth office is closed on Mondays so I had a day with nothing to do.  

I called some more of the contacts I have made over here.  I set a time to meet with Evans' friend David next week.  I'll need to figure out a way to get to Kikuyu but I've got a whole week to do that.  I'll also try to call the Dykstras because I believe they live near Kikuyu as well so I can see both at the same time.

I met Joyce and her sister Ruth today.  We had a very nice lunch at the YWCA.  They weren't sure I could find my way around town so they came to me.  We said this next time I will come into town to met them.  We chatted for a long time and then I went with them into town and they dropped my off at the cyber cafe I'm now in.  I think I'll find my way home.  We didn't take many turns so I should be fine.  Joyce did say she'll call me later to make sure I got home OK.  

I'm feel more comfortable moving around.  I walked by myself to the church today.  It seems the key is to look like I know where I'm going, even if I don't.  Most people just seem to leave me alone.  I get some stares but I either say hello or just keep walking and it's no problem either way.  

I know, this post is kinda boring but like I said I had nothing to do today so I've just been making it up as I went along.  Tomorrow I should start work and have some more to say.

I'm Here

So is this day 4?  I'm not sure myself.  Friday I went to church and met with several people there.  I'll meet with Dr. Mungriria again on Thursday to go over what the school requires and try to match that with what the church needs.  I may be traveling around some.  They have several churches they have planted and want me to see.  I will likely spend much of my time with the youth.  

Everyone has been so nice to me.  I'm staying at the YWCA.  I have a nice room with a bed, a desk, and a closet.  The bathroom and showers are down the hall.  I feel like I'm back in the dorms from college.  The YWCA is across the street from Nairobi University so many of my neighbors are students.  There is a woman from St. Andrew's that lives there as well so I have someone to hang out with at night.  Her name is Nell and she is so nice to me.  She let me tag along with her to the cyber cafe I'm currently at.  She has been at the YWCA for 6 years and knows all the ins and outs of the place.  I have met so many people but she's one of the few who's name I remember.  

Friday I met with Mercy who is over the children's programs at the church.  She was putting together a retreat for the children's teachers and so I went out to Karen to check out retreat centers with her.  She has invited me to her house for dinner with her family sometime.  I hear she makes wonderful banana pancakes so I'm looking forward to it.  I may teach some of the primary kids on Sundays for her.  I don't have much experience with kids that young but I'll do what I can.  

Friday night I was invited over to Phyllis Byrd's house for dinner.  Phyllis is an American Minister who married a Kenyan.  She's an associate pastor at St. Andrew's and the PCUSA coordinator in Kenya.  She like to experiment on the American volunteers in Kenya so she may us a Middle Eastern meal.  It was so delicious.  She is big on people taking seconds but I did manage to sneak through with only one helping.  It was a good thing to as she had a wonderful cake and ice cream for us for dessert.  

Saturday I met Nkatha.  We went to a Java Something or other that had western food.  I was pleasantly surprised that I knew everything on the menu.  We had a wonderful time talking.  She is so outgoing and I hope I've made a long term friend.

Today I was introduced at church.  The service was very nice and long.  The service began at 8:15 and I think we got out around 10:30.  It was Women's Guild Sunday so it was interesting to hear what the Woman's Guild is and what they do.  One of the women preached and at the end called for people who wanted to make a commitment to Christ and one young man did accept the offer and we prayed with him as he accepted the Lord.  It was very touching to hear the man say why he wanted to come to Christ today.  After the service we took communion.  After that we had tea.  I was waiting in line and someone came up to me and said I should not wait in line as I was a first time visitor so he escorted me to the front of the line.  Special treatment still takes some getting used to.  So many people came up to talk to me after church.  Many said I'll see them in the church office while I'm working.  I hope they don't mind telling me their names again as I have forgotten most of their names already.  Everyone is just so nice and says my stay of three months is just too short.  I'm beginning to agree but I'll just have to come back.  

Well, I guess that's about it for now.  When I start work tomorrow I'll try to upload the pictures of my room.  I'll have Internet at work so I should be more regular in my posts but I hear there is a lot of work to be done so who knows....  I miss you and do think of you often.     

The Big Apple

Ok so I made it safely to New York. We left SFO about an hour late and arrived here about 40 minutes late. I have a four hour layover so it doesn't really matter. I'm tired and grumpy right now. I don't sleep very well on planes anyways and our ride was a fairly bumpy one so when I did fall asleep I woke up from the shaking. Right now I'm paying 5 bucks for an hour of Internet time. Really all I want to do is lay down and take a nap. This is when traveling with someone is a good thing. They can watch the stuff while you nap. Oh well, it's just me so I'll stay awake. At least this way I should be able to sleep on the next flight.

This next flight is the big, 13 hour one, and guess what? I'm lucky enough to have the center seat. When I win the lottery, I win big. I knew this was a chance when I couldn't check in online yesterday. I'll just have to try and relax and ignore my horrible seat. 13 hours won't feel too much better aisle or not.

I can see the flight attendants getting ready to board my plane. Their uniform is kinda cute. I probably like it because there is a fun hat with a drape that wraps around the neck. Man, I want a hat like theirs.

So other than writing a quick blog entry, I'm charging my ipod for the next leg. There's no way it'll last for the next flight but I want to give it as much juice as I can.

My poor, tired, little brain is out of ideas. Hopefully there will be free wireless in Dubai and I can throw something else on here. If not, then I'll chat next in Nairobi.

The Time is Near

So 24 hours from now I'll be on a plane to New York. I'll be leaving those I love to step into a world I can't really be sure of. I don't know where I'll be staying yet. I know someone from the church will pick me up at the airport and my adventure will really begin. Though with air travel as it is these days my adventure will begin when my father drops me off at the airport. He heads out tomorrow night for London. I will land and take off again in New York before he arrives in London. Though his trip will end there and mine will go on for many more hours and two more airports.

Many of my friends called me in the last couple of days to wish me well. I so appreciate the calls. I would love to chat with you all more but I have been a bit distracted at my parent's house. They are putting in tile so moving around the house has been interesting. Plus the "kitchen" is in pieces all over the house. On top of all that I'm trying to get my chicken of a cat comfortable over here. My leaving for Kenya is also an emotional roller coaster for my mother and a bit for me as well. I fear my emotions are keeping me a bit quieter than usual. (Hard to believe, I know.)

Well here is my itinerary for tomorrow and the next day, and the next day.

June 3rd - United flight 16 10:25 PM SFO-JFK arrive 6:57AM June 4th
June 4th - Emirates 204 11:20AM JFK-Dubai arrive 8:05AM June 5th
June 5th - Emirates 719 10:05AM Dubai-Nairobi arrive 2:15 PM

Let's hope for uneventful travel and that all my luggage makes it.

Leaving San Anselmo

Tomorrow my parents are driving over to San Anselmo to help me get my stuff over to their house. My wonderfully fun Miata has no space to take even my luggage over to their house and I have to get my cat over there as well. My parents are not cat people. They are dog people. My cat is skittish and will freak out over the change of surroundings. I'm going over early to help my parents and my cat get used to each other.

All this means that tonight I'm doing my final packing. I've packed and unpacked my suitcase 4 or 5 times now. I sure hope I have everything. I know I'm forgetting something important. I always do. Not 10 minutes ago I realized I had forgotten to pack my camera. What a dork.

This stage of traveling is always the hardest to get through. There's a panicked/annoyed feeling in the pit of my stomach. I should really just give up and go to bed. I'll think of something else obvious that I have forgotten to pack in the morning anyways.

Saying goodbye when you're the one leaving is much harder than saying good bye to someone else who's the one leaving. Does that make any sense? I doubt it. You just have to say good bye over and over again to different people when you're leaving. You say good bye once or twice when someone else leaves.

I'm still so happy and excited to go to Kenya. I know what an amazing opportunity this is. This is the gift of a lifetime. There is no way I come back from this the same. I will change in so many unexpected ways. God is so good to me. So good. Praise be to God.

It's Coming Together

All my finals and papers have been turned and now I get to devote all my energy to this trip to Kenya. I've created a packing list. Anyone who knows me knows how rarely I use lists. I've not traveled this far for this long before, so the list is a safety net. I ALWAYS forget something semi-important when traveling but this time I really don't want to. I just don't know how easy it will be to fix my mistake when I'm half-way around the world.

My passport is back in my hands and it has a multiple-entry 6 month visa for Kenya. How cool is that? My suitcases are out and there is even some stuff in each already. I never pack this early but then again, this is an unusual trip for me.

So there is more shopping for things for the trip, some gifts to buy to give to my hosts, some stuff to help me feel comfortable while I'm there. I also need to get working on turning off my cable, getting all the paperwork in for work so I can be paid when in Africa. (Oh it is so good to have a job with the State of California!)

The good news is I have raised more money than I was hoping to. I am only guessing (some of it educated, most probably naively) how much I need so it is good to have some wiggle room.

I am truly humbled and so appreciative by the support of my friends and family. My mother told me recently that even though I have done many things in my life that she would never have foreseen, I still manage to surprise her with what I want to try. Had you told me a year ago I would spend my summer in Africa, I would have told you that you have hit your head and should be checked. I have said for many. many years I don't feel the need to go to Africa. I've had two other chances to go and I turned them down. Now, I can't wait to go. God is surprising to me. I completely understand my mother's feelings. I thought God was nuts for sending me to seminary and now I'm going halfway around the world by myself and will rely heavily on people I've met only on email.

So I trust. I trust that God will protect and care for me. I trust that the support group I've already started building in Nairobi is exactly what I will need. I trust that I will be changed by this expereince. Truely, I just can't wait to go!

So Much to Do

As you imagine there is a ton of things to do before I go to Kenya.

Today St. Andrew's Presbyterian officially offered me an internship at their church. They are going to look for a place for me to stay. There are three boarding houses near the church and they say they are all affordable. It's nice to know I don't have to worry about that part.

I sent off my application for a visa today. The Kenyan Consulate is in Los Angeles so hopefully it won't take too long for my stuff to get there and come back.

I also have an appointment tomorrow to get my shots. I'm getting a typhoid booster, yellow fever, and a flu shot. Kaiser said there is a chance the yellow fever one will make me sick. I have one last paper to write for school so I really hope I don't get sick.

I still have figure out what I need to buy to take with me. I bought some books on Kenya today. It's seem Nairobi will be pretty comfortable with temperatures between 75-85. That sounds so great. The city is at nearly 6000 feet so that helps keep it cool. I really appreciate that. Sounds like it won't be humid either. The bad part is I'll be there in winter and so I may not have many sunny days so if all my pictures look overcast, that's why.

Well I've got to get back to my school work. I'll write more soon!

Things are Sill Progressing

One of my classmates, Ruth, called the senior pastor at St. Andrew's PCEA this morning. He will meet with the session tomorrow so they can officially vote on my internship. How cool is that? Hopefully the next communication I receive from Kenya will be the name of my supervisor so the seminary will purchase my ticket. Once I have a ticket I can apply for a visa. The Kenyan consulate in Los Angeles says it will take them 4 days to process the visa. Kaiser is mailing me the information about the shots I need. They said I need yellow fever and a typhoid booster. The will also give my anti-malaria medication and something in case I develop every traveler's worse fear, Montezuma's Revenge.

If you are of the praying persuasion I could use prayers to help me have the energy to finish my papers and study for my final on Thursday as well as all the preparations I have to do for this trip to Kenya. Ugh! It's so much when I think of it all at once. I feel better when I only think of my to do list one task at a time.

How Cool is That?

I just called Kenya! I dialed a few numbers and then someone in Kenya answered. So I called the church I will be working with. They want some info from my school so we can set up who will b my supervisor. Things are inching forward.

Is This Really Happening?

I'm so excited, scared, energetic, honored, dumbfounded, blessed, worried, etc, etc, etc. I'm feeling so many things right now. I've been calling and emailing people in the US and Kenya for months now trying to set this up but now that it's coming together I can't believe it.

A very wonderful woman named Nkatha Kobia has been visiting and talking with St. Andrew's P.C.E.A. Church for me. I can not thank her enough for her efforts. I can't wait to meet her. She is such a blessing to me.

So now, I am in the whirlwind stage of working out the details. I need to learn as much as I can about Kenya and what my life might be like there. Where will I live? How will I get around? What will I be doing? What's the food like? What do I need to bring with me? What expenses will I have over there? What expenses will I have here? Will my phone work over there? Where will I find internet access? Where will my cat live while I'm gone? How much will I miss my friends and family? Will I have someone to talk to when I feel I'm in over my head? What shots do I need? What happens if I get sick over there? Will my insurance work? Will my job keep me insured while I'm gone? So many questions to answer. So many more questions to ask.

So right not the very spare details I have are the church is St. Andrew's Presbyterian in Nairobi, Kenya. They have a website so I have read some about where I'll be. I need a visa and the Kenyan Consulate in Los Angeles says it takes 4 days to process visa applications. I can find airfare at just over $2,000. The dates the travel agent suggests are June 3 through September 19. Nkatha will be in Nairobi, she is the daughter of a classmate of mine. Another classmate of mine has a friend Purity who lives in Nairobi. There are two people I will know through other people. I will meet all kinds of people while I am there. I may even take a photo safarri while I'm there.

So, I am in there very early stages of this internship opportunity in Kenya. Please pray for me, the people I will work with in Kenya, my parents who are a bit nervous, my kitty Bouncer whom I will miss terribly, and the people who will support me while I'm away.

More info to come....