Subways are not for caring luggage!!!

On the way home from our trip from Nairobi, Kenya we had the opportunity to spend 3 nights in Paris, France. We landed via London Heathrow around lunch time on Aug 13th. We were hoping that to hop the subway and zip right to our hotel similar to the way we did in London in June. After spending an hour trying to figure out the french and get on the right train we get all 11 of our 50lb bags drug onto the correct train. What we didn't realize when we decided to take the train was that we were going to have to make 3 interchanges and drag the bags 6 blocks to our hotel.

Luckily the interchanges we made had elevators, but the waiting at the airport put us on the downtown streets of Paris at 5 pm. So as the four of us walked with 11 suit cases down the street there were thousands of people walking past us packing the sidewalks. It was one of the most embarrassing and exhausting moments of our trip. Finally we made it to our hotel room after another day of 24 hour travel. We took a brief nap and headed out to the streets of Paris a little lighter and happier this time.

That evening we didn't want to go to a sit down restaurant for dinner, so we stopped in to a local Monoprix, a grocery store, and grabbed a baguette, a block of Parmesan cheese, and some ham, then headed on the subway to the Eiffel tower. We brought our African conga's to use as blankets to sit on and had our first meal at the base of the Eiffel tower. The Eiffel tower is one of the largest tourist attractions in the world. You could simply sit, watch, and listen and hear more languages in 10 minutes then any of us had heard in our entire lives. The tower was bustling and beautiful. Once the sun set the tower would like up with sparkling lights and you could feel the electricity in the air.

During the days we toured the city, visiting the Louvre, seeing the Mona Lisa, Notre Dame, Mon Marte, and Moulon Rouge. We visited local shop vendors and had numerous picnics all around the city. Our favorite food in Paris was the Croissants. They were melt in your mouth good, you couldn't help but eat another one.

Even though we didn't speak any French we managed to get around just fine. The French were very kind to us and would help in whatever English they knew.

My favorite memory of the trip came the last night we were in Paris. Jen and I left the other girls after dinner and bought a bottle of white wine. We took our wine down to the Seine river and walked. We walked nearly two miles on the brick walkways along the river, reflecting on our time in Paris and in Kenya. The evening's best sight was watching the sun set on the Eiffel Tower. That night was an excellent cap to our summer and made us wonder why we were heading home, back to busy work schedules and long days.

After traveling to 5 countries and 3 continents in a matter of 2 months we are so excited to do it again! Seeing the world and interacting with people different that yourself is a growing experience that can't be matched by staying in one place.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

I know, I know, it is nearly 2 months since our last post.....wow 2 months since we left Kenya! Time is definitely slower there......

2  months removed from our experience I would like to reflect on some of the things I miss most.

Time

Time has always been such a strange thing to me. Even growing up, as my parents can tell you, I have really been obsessed with the time. Keeping things running on schedule. Making sure I make it from point A to point B. I've noticed since we've gotten home that even though I can complete so much more in 24 hours in the US I get so much less of it. When we were in Kenya, Jen and I had what seemed like an infinite amount of time. We woke up together, ate together, experienced Kenya together. I found myself coming home and being frustrated that she didn't already know the back story of all of my experiences for that day. Quality time is definitely something that all Americans lack. I wonder what Americans would do if we had more time..... although I suppose I already know. Everything is on schedule, rain or shine. You can time your commute to the minute and baring some sort of alien attack or simultaneous accidents on every route to your place of work you will make it on time. For example, my days now are planned to the minute. Nothing ever changes so you can squeeze the "goody" out of every minute. Even if that "goody" isn't even what you want most. As anyone looking at my schedule can tell, I was an American when I left and an American when I returned, but America's obsession over time will always confuse me.

Friends

I think time and friends are directly related. Everyone you met in Africa could make time to build a friendship. There are genuine people in the US that I want to build a friendship with, but physically can't make the time to build it. Even if I made the time to build that friendship, chances are they wouldn't have the time to build it either. I don't necessarily think that the US is lacking genuine people, it's just the fact that all of the genuine people are doing genuine things and have a hard time running into each other.

Coca Cola and Sugar Cane

All of the soda in Kenya is made with locally grown sugar cane. I came home and tasted a soda and almost poured it out. I couldn't believe how awful it tasted. Sugar cane is sold on the side of the road in Kenya, so you just have the guy selling it chop it into bite sized pieces and you have a delicious snack for your walk home.

The Kids

You will never find a more loving person than someone in need. Even those kids just desperate for attention scream out for help. They changed my outlook on the world, and laid a burden on my heart that will never go away.


With all of those things I am still glad to be home. Our house, our routine, and our food are all American things that Americans love and I don't think any length of time away could change those. Our trip was the trip of a life time, but we have to assure you it won't be our last.

Korongocho

In the week leading up to our departure from Nairobi to Europe, we have had the opportunity to do a lot of things that we have been hearing about and wanting to do all summer. This included learning about Kenyan sign language and deaf education, eating at our favorite restaurants, visiting some friends for the last time, and seeing Korongocho.

Korongocho, literal translation from Swahili to English is trash. Korongocho is a slum area very close to where we have been working all summer. Some of our students even live in this slum that neighbors Dandora and Methare Valley. Korongocho isn’t as old as some of the slums that neighbor it. It began when Nairobi started a landfill in that area. When people came to Nairobi in seek of work and didn’t find any they saw the dump as a viable option for sustaining their family.

Today, 5,000 people live within the dump. They don’t have homes, the families simply burrow a hole in the trash and surround themselves with used plastic sacks for protection at night. During the day they spend the day scavenging for food and used plastics sacks without holes. Once they collect as many bags as they can hold they take them to the open sewage river and wash them. Then they dry them in the sun. They take these “recycled” bags to the fruit and vegetable market in the Korongocho slums and sell 10 bags to the vendors for 1 Kenyan Shilling. That is approximately $0.02 USD. Keep in mind the bare minimum to feed a family in the slums in Kenya for a day is 50 Shillings.

There is a man by the name of Pastor Joseph Kariuki who has made it his dream to educate the children of these families and give them an opportunity to leave the slums. He started a school named The Refuge. He raised money in his church to buy a small piece of land and is in the process of building a few classrooms, small dormitories, and a kitchen. He wants to be capable of housing 36 orphans and have at least 150 primary students. He has big hopes and dreams for the place, but we know that he is completeing the Lords will, and we ask for continued prayer towards his cause.

While we visited Korongocho we received a tour of the facilities and got to give some small toys away to the children. We played with balloons, beach balls, and noise makers. The light that those children bring into your life is something that I will never forget, and those smiles make it so much more difficult to travel home. 

Everybody Has a Story

We are quickly approaching our departure date. The past two weeks were very busy between closing our program at MCDC, visiting Kenya’s Kids for the second time, and speaking at Teen Challenge. The remainder of our stay will be less chaotic, but hopefully just as fulfilling.

A week ago last Friday, Ryan and I had the opportunity to speak at a men’s substance abuse recovery center, Teen Challenge. We were asked to share our testimony and how we have gotten to where we are today. The men in the recovery program were very welcoming and attentive to our stories. They seem surprised that American’s face similar struggles as they do and that being a “missionary” doesn’t mean that you were perfect all of your life. Before we left they wanted to present a song for us. The song they sang was titled “Everybody Has a Story”. As I sat there listening to the lyrics, I realized that everyone does have a story, making them who they are. This journey is our most recent chapter, but our stories would not be what they are without each preceding chapter.

The following day we made our second trip to Kenya’s Kids. We stayed one night instead of two this time, and it was much more manageable. We spent some time playing with the kids and catching up on the events over the past few weeks. Our main activity for the weekend was to split the kids into 4 groups: older girls, younger girls, older boys, and younger boys. Ryan worked with the boys and Chrissy and I worked with the girls. We gave each group paper and instructed them to write any questions they may have about relationships, sex, their bodies changing, marriage, family, etc.  After reviewing the questions and preparing what approach to take when answering them, we sat down and discussed each of the subjects with the kids. We realized that these kids don’t have mother or fathers to sit down and have “the talk” with them. They don’t have anyone to ask these difficult questions to. Chrissy and I felt like we became mother to about 23 young girls that day. It was wonderful getting to be a role model for these impressionable children that are so desperate for knowledge and understanding.

 Later that night we handed out the Bibles and Verse Books that were sent over by the Hollenbeck family. Before bringing the Bibles out, we asked each student to stand by their bunk bed. When they got the first glance at what we were about to give them, they became so excited. The whispers, giggles, and anxiousness spread throughout the room. Each Bible had their name in it and was presented to them one-by-one. There are no words to express how excited they were, but the photos show a glimpse.

Auntie, the woman that is the closest thing they have to a mother, was very interested in the Bibles. We had handed all of the Bibles out to the girls and did not have one to give her. Ryan had one extra so we brought it over and presented it to her. Tears came to her eyes as she opened it page by page and admired “her very own Bible.”

The night ended with my favorite part of the trip, lines of kids waiting for their good night hugs, “sleep good”, “see you in the morning”, and “don’t let the bed bugs bite”. It’s the little things like this that we remember so much as children that they don’t ever get to enjoy.

We are anxiously awaiting our third and final trip to visit the kids this Friday.  

Full Size Video Links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rlt-rqqEvoQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtTZFH9oBto

Our First Goodbyes

This week has been the best and most difficult week since we left home. MCDC closed school for August Holiday on Wednesday. We spent full days at MCDC Monday-Wednesday getting every last possible minute with our students. The relationships we have been able to build have been amazing, and the Lord has allowed a lot of healing to take place since we arrived in June.

On Monday a few of our students invited us to visit their homes and families. The first home we visited was Hillary’s home. He lives in his corrugated metal house with his Aunt and two younger sisters. We left MCDC and walked to his house. The walk was about 10 minutes and his home was directly next to a metal working factory that emits black pollution 24 hours a day.

          

As far as slums go, he had very nice living arrangements. He lived in a small fenced community with about 10 homes. This community houses roughly 30 people that all share one common toilet and shower. The home was split into two rooms about 8 foot square and was built with 2 x 4 and corrugated metal. It had two wooden benches and a small counter to prepare food. They cook all of their food on a small coal stove.

We were greeted by Hillary’s Aunt, Jane. As soon as we came into the home and sat down she handed Hillary 110 Ksh and told him to go and buy 2 L of soda. 110 Ksh is approximately 1.25 USD, but it is enough to feed a small family for one day in Kenya. When Hillary returned with the soda, Jane poured all of us a small glass while she was nursing her symptoms of Malaria. We had an opportunity to visit about where Jane was from and how she came to raising Hillary and his sisters. We were so thankful for the soda and the opportunity to visit with such a kind family.

After Hillary’s home we headed to Eric Ochieng’s home. His home is located directly across the street from MCDC and in a small apartment complex. It is a one room apartment that he shares with his two older brothers. The room was about 10’ x 6’. They had a bed and a little cabinet with some dishes and cooking utensils. As soon as we arrived Eric pulled out 2 L of soda from the cabinet and served us as well. In African culture they assume that you want a drink and never ask what you would like. It is also rude to refuse the offering, even if you really don’t want anything to drink.

Eric’s brothers were extremely kind and welcoming, and having an opportunity to walk in their shoes really opened our eyes to what their everyday life is like. After we had seen the students’ homes we wanted to see what mass slums looked like. On Tuesday we met up with Peter Njoki, he is one of the first students to ever graduate from MCDC. He started in the program in 1995 when Jane Nuthu started the program by bringing in street children and feeding them and preaching to them on Saturdays. He showed us the New Methare Kenya Assemblies of God church and the primary MCDC campus.

  

Following the tour of the church we headed from the church into the slums by foot. The slums in Nairobi began popping up in the 80’s and 90’s when there was mass urbanization in Kenya. Everyone was flooding the cities looking for work. When none was to be found people just started squatting on the outskirts of town and building shanty towns. Eventually, they became established with roads, bus stops, markets, and barren apartment complexes. Most of the occupants still live in 8’ square shanties that just butt up next to each other for miles. These shanties form little alley ways that double as a walking paths and sewage drains. The homes have no cooking or bathing facilities so all of that happens just outside the home, on top of or next to the sewage run off. When the homes were first built there was no electricity run to them. Since that time, people have tried to run electricity to the homes. They do this by stringing wire from house to house. Most of the times the wire isn’t even covered by any plastic or rubber insulation, simply bare wire feeding electricity.

 

The most surprising thing about this shanty town was the children. We saw children as young as 2-3 wandering around these alley ways alone. No parents, no shoes, some with barely any clothing. Peter took us to the home he grew up in. He said he was born in that home and stayed there until he went to the boarding high school at MCDC. He navigated the alley ways the way someone navigates any city they have known for years. He knew all of the neighbors and was happy to trade smiles and handshakes as we traveled through.

 

Having the opportunity to travel through the slums answered a lot of questions for us. We began to understand a lot of the cultural differences. We now see why cramming 15 people into a matatu is just a regular thing and the kitchens at MCDC are pristine and the cleanest food the students will eat. To them, there is nothing wrong with having to sit on a 5 gallon bucket all day at school because, at least, they have a seat. It also drastically changed my definition of poverty. “Poverty in America” is something my generation has never truly known.

The slums also left us with a lot of questions. Why don’t these people travel back to their homeland, where their parents were raised? Why haven’t these slums been cleaned up, they have been present for 30 years? How can the corruption of police and politicians be ended in Africa? How can this change? How is it that two children can be born on the same day, in two different locations, and their lives look so drastically different?

We left MCDC today with sad hearts and many hugs. Our time in Africa is quickly slipping away and it is the most bittersweet feeling Jen or I have ever felt. When you are here every day you are reminded of how fortunate we really are. This experience has changed us for the better, and we are left wondering if our normal lives in Springfield are going to bring us the same fulfillment and satisfaction we feel every day here in Kenya. 

Links to full size videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UgpNq-WAK8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtxYs1n_EPY

Daily Duties

The past two weeks have been amazing, but routine. I decided that since I don’t have many new experiences to share I would try to describe the day to day events in our Kenya house. We have all learned to do things that we didn’t anticipate doing:

Cooking- The grocery store that we shop at has a great variety of food. The one significant difference is that they have very few processed foods available. Meals in a box are not an option here. Everything you make starts with its original contents. For example, we were really craving Hamburger Helper. Well that is unheard of here so we created our own with noodles, minced meat, random spices, and fresh cheese. It turned out great but I guess I had just never considered doing that at home.

Baking- Baking has become my newest hobby. During my free time I try new recipes from scratch: chocolate cake, strawberry muffins, mango muffins, apple and brown sugar muffins, banana bread, snicker doodle cookies, peanut butter cookies, and anything else I can think of. Ryan has really been enjoying this new hobby but it is starting to but a kink in my summer diet.

Sleeping- This is something that I’m going to miss so much. In Nairobi there is exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. It gets dark around 6:30 here so our daily activities end early. Since we can’t drive and public transportation is unsafe at night, we are restricted to our small houses from 6:30 on. Preparing and eating dinner takes about an hour, so from about 7:30 on we are free to do whatever we please. With no TV, speratic internet connections, and unpredictable electricity we find ourselves going to bed early. For a couple of hours each night, the three of us usually spend time visiting, playing cards, or obsessing over the game “Super Jewel Quest” on our $15 phones.

Sewing-This is something that I wasn’t good at before coming here and won’t be good at after coming here, but it is something we are forced to do to get by. Chrissy and I both had the straps to our dressed rip. So instead of calling Mom or taking it back to the store, we found a needle and thread and fixed them as best as we could.

Walking-As mentioned in earlier posts we do a lot of walking each day, a total of about 5 miles. All I have to say is that my idea of “walking distance” has significantly changed. When we leave, we know we won’t be back for several house so we carry everything with us, like pack horses.

Reading-The Kindle was a purchase that has definitely paid off. Ryan and I have both read several books since we left the states. For me personally, I have leisurely read more in the last 2 months that I have in the past 2 years combined.

As much as these things feel like an inconvenience while we are experiencing them, they have really made this experience as memorable as it has been. We have spent so much more quality time together and gotten to hear stories that would not have otherwise been shared. Each time we start to complain about something we just look out and see what the majority of the population lives like in Nairobi and we immediately thank God for what he has blessed us with here and back at home.

Blessing or Curse…….That's All a Matter of Perspective

While it is still a full month before we arrive back in Springfield, Missouri, it feels as though things are on the downward slide here. MCDC closes for August Holiday on July 31^st so we only have two more weeks to work with those students. We are taking a long layover in Paris on the way home and travel eats two days. So we will be leaving Africa in 3 weeks. Our thoughts are starting to turn to how home plays into how we have grown here.

Today we made our journey to MCDC as usual. We walked 1.5 miles to the bus stop. We crammed in the bus as usual with 4 more people than seats. At the first stop we bought our morning chipati(African tortilla), fried right on the side of the road. Then we went to our next bus and arrived at MCDC no worse for wear and ready for the day to begin.

Shortly after arrival we made a realization. None of us had commented on the length of the walk, the herd of goats that impeded traffic, or the hogs and homeless men rummaging through the trash. We realized that our two hour journey has become normal. The things we see, the people we interact with, and riding in clown cars has become normal. Then we started to think about what it will be like when we go home; people obeying traffic laws, no one walking on the road, driving in our cars and traveling ALONE.

All of this made me think. Our biggest concern coming to Kenya was transportation. We didn’t know how to get anywhere or how long it would take. When we thought of riding matatus and walking we thought about how inconvenient it was to not have our own car. Then I thought about how lonely my car will be when I’m driving home from work down Chestnut expressway with no one to share the thoughts of my day with.

What we thought was going to be our biggest inconvenience has turned into our biggest blessing. Sure it would be easier and more “convenient” to jump in our car, pull out of our “garage” and drive to MCDC every day. It would take 25 minutes and we wouldn’t have to rub elbows with anyone. But the most exciting, enjoyable and cultural experiences on this trip have come while we were walking or riding matatus. This time allows us to share what happens with our interactions with kids, brain storm and give suggestions on possible strategies on how to approach those kids the next day. We get to discuss cultural differences with Kate and the other Kenyans that travel with us. We get to interact with the locals by buying their homemade goods. I wouldn't ever want to travel in Nairobi any other way!

We still don’t have the answer to the question, “How does this trip play into our everyday lives in Springfield, Missouri,” but we do know that part of our heart will always be In Kenya!

“The dust of Africa will never leave the soles of your feet.”

-Dusty Feet