Monkey Park

There was no school today, so I had the day off.  My mom and I went to the mall this morning and did a little souvenir shopping.  After we got back to the hotel, we had some time to rest before the men were done with their training.  During my nap I woke to what I thought to be firecrackers, but as I began to think clearly I realized that firecrackers are not a normal thing around here.  I jumped out of bed to look out the window and saw people running in their homes and closing the doors.  Later, we confirmed that this was gunfire – only blocks away – very scary!

This afternoon our entire group was able to relax and visit “Monkey Park”.  It was quite an experience.  The monkeys were very determined to get at the corn and peanuts we had any way they could.  Can’t say I’ve ever had a monkey on my shoulder, much less multiple monkeys climbing all over me!  All in all, we had a great time.  It was wonderful to enjoy some more of this beautiful country.  It is always refreshing to see that Kenya is not all slums and gunfire…there are so many beautiful things here too if you take the time to look.

Pangani

Whew…what a wonderfully exhausting day!  I spent the day at Pangani, the largest of the schools and the headquarters for all the other Missions of Hope schools.  Originally they had me scheduled to teach two sessions today, but things are never written in stone over here and I ended up teaching four sessions…920 students in total!  The Pangani children were great…many of them remembered the songs from last year, and even a couple of them from two years ago!  The fourth group I taught today was the school’s music club.  These students were especially great, trying to soak up every lyric and movement I gave them.  It was so much fun to worship and celebrate with these children.  People ask me how I have enough energy to dance and jump so much when it is so hot out.  My response: don’t hold back.  Use every ounce of energy for the moment and don’t worry about what is to come next.  Enjoy the moment you are in.  Worshipping with these kids, you will never run out of energy.

Bondeni

So, after all the preparations and planning, today I was finally able to start teaching!  Today I traveled to the Bondeni school.  This school has 491 students and they are expecting 300 more in the next 3 weeks.  I am not sure where they are going to put them all, but God always provides them with space when they need it.  With the exception of a very near fainting incident, it was a great and productive day.  I was able to teach all 491 students in three groups.  Halfway through the second group the school lost all electricity (a common occurrence in Kenya) and we lost the ability to use the cd player.  So, we made do without.  The children’s singing voices are so sweet…God probably shut off the power so He could hear them more clearly.

Me and Alice (Bondeni Head Teacher)

Planning

Today was a lot of logistical planning for the next couple weeks: figuring out drivers, sound systems, etc.  Not the most fun part of my trip, but something that needed to be done so that the rest can run smoothly.  After morning meetings, I was able to walk around the school and see some changes that have been made.  I am always surprised at the amount of progress that they are able to make in just one year.  They have demolished part of the building and are in the process of building 70 new classrooms.  It will be a great building when it is completed.  They have also moved and been able to expand their adult program (they teach the women of the community to sew so that they can have an income).  Later in the day, I was able to walk around the slum area with two of the school’s social workers.  All the slum children wanted to hold my hand…they don’t have many visitors and I stick out quite a bit =).  As usual there were chants of “mzungu” (white person) and “how are you” (the only English phrase many of the slum children know) as I walked by.  The slums were worse than I remembered.  It has rained for the past three days, so the trash on the street has mixed with the mud to make one big swamp.  There is no sewer system so the water on the streets does not drain anywhere.  Everything sits and stews in the hot Kenyan sun.  There is no way for me to describe the smell that garbage, urine, and rainwater make while boiling in the sun.  It’s funny how things like this make you appreciate the little thinks in life like a sewer system.

Relaxing Day

Not a very eventful day today.  We spent the majority of the day at the hotel.  I was able to finish up some last minute things to begin teaching in the next couple of days.  It was nice to be able to relax and catch up on a little sleep…I finally feel like I have adjusted to the time change.  I am excited and anxious to get working tomorrow and to see some of the people I haven’t seen in the last year.  And of course, I can't wait to see all the children tomorrow!

Safari Day 3

Today we got up for an early morning safari.  We were just late to see a lion hunting, but were able to see 4 adult lions and about 6 lion cubs going to eat their morning kill.

After the safari we headed back to Nairobi, stopping at a few shops on the way.  We spent a majority of the day in the bumper to bumper Nairobi traffic, and are all glad to be back in the city where there is a lot less traveling.

Safari Day 2

Another great day viewing God’s creation.  The variety of animals He created continues to astound me.  Each so unique and so beautiful in it’s own way. 

We also visited a Masi tribe.  The boys had a jumping competition (the high jumping is supposed to impress the girls so that they can "win many girlfriends"...boy do they know what I look for in a man!!!

They did a few dances for us then showed us around their camp.  They did a fire starting demonstration in which it took them less than a minute to start the fire.  All the boys at the camp were interested in my iphone.  They wanted to see how it could be both a camera and a phone…really funny coming from a culture that doesn’t have toilets.

Back at our lodge a man offered my parents 9 cows for me (this is the traditional dowry given to parents).  It was quite the self-esteem booster to know that I am only worth 9 dirty animals  =)

Right foot: Tanzania

Left foot:  Kenya