Wow. Long day! Or I guess you could say 2 days... (I left at 11:59 Jan. 7th and arrived to US on the 8th). I'm writing to you from Detroit because both Kenya and London airports didn't have free wifi! :(
Anyway, let me recap what has happened over the last 24 hours... (these time zones are really messin me up.. Haha)
We started our day with breakfast and devos as usual. And I gave the warthog to Nancy! (whoever receives it has to give it away to the next person.. Makes sense. :) hehe) We left for the village and arrived around 10am.
Once there we got everything set up for all of the older kids going into college or graduating to help them know how to make a resume, write a thank you letter, and how to act in an interview. I listened for a little while then found Ellen and asked if I could help her. She was going through Christmas cards and sorting the ones that were about Jesus vs. Christmas (like Santa and snowmen, etc.). After we had finished we went on 2 home visits and again, the scenery is just spectacular. I was trying to soak it all in cuz I would be leaving that night.
We returned back and found out that Bekah had been shocked by the speakers that were set up in the clinic (it was a pretty shady system, exposed wires and all) She was ok but it shook her up a bit. Shes just been havin a bit of a rough trip. :(
I ate some lunch and then I went outside and played with the little kids. :) they're so cute! I showed them pictures of home and of snow and fall leaves. They loved it! One girl asked me, "you survive there?!" haha! I said yes. And they couldn't believe it. Haha!! It started to rain and we all ran for cover near the clinic. I went inside and the older kids were taking a break so I went and showed Lazarus my pictures. (I promised him yesterday I would show them to him) As we were just finishing up Ellen taps me on the shoulder and told me I had 5min. to say goodbye, that we were leaving in 10min. so me and Nathan could get ready for coming home. I was kinda in shock and quickly went around and said bye to everyone there. It was so sad. I didn't want to leave. :( I then proceeded to run out the door through the rain and jump into the van. The whole ride back I couldn't stop thinking about the kids and how much I missed them already.
We arrived back at the guest house and I immediately started packing, well after a shower.. of course. Haha! After, I got pretty much packed up it was time for dinner and we got pizza! It was wonderful! I ate and then put a few last minute things together in my suitcase. I finished and then proceeded downstairs to say my final goodbyes. It was 7:30pm when we left for the airport, and everyone was waving us off. :) On the way to the airport I made sure and asked Bonnie, our driver, all of the kikuyu and Swahili words I wanted to remember and wrote them down. Haha. I took in the last of the smells and the sights as we drove through town.
Once in the airport, it was extremely hot but we weren't there for too long. We boarded the plane and took off at midnight Kenya time and arrived in London 8 and a half hours later. (longest plane ride I have ever been on.) (FUN FACT: Planes are not allowed to take off or land in London before 6am due to noise) So, before we landed in London we circled twice above the city and then finally landed at about 6:05am haha! The London airport is beautiful and there are soo many expensive shops! It was crazy! I had a wonderful breakfast there of a ham and cheese croissant and fresh orange juice. :) oh! I almost forgot! I had to go through security in London (Apparently you have to go through security alot when you go overseas..) and I got my face wash taken away :( sad day. It wasn't a problem anywhere else but apparently in London I had exceeded the amount of mL allowed. Oh the fun things you experience. Haha!
Our next flight was scheduled for 9am to travel to Detroit. Eight hours later I arrive in Detroit! So here I am back in the good ole U S of A. I cant wait to take a good long hot shower and eat a hamburger! Haha!! Its Bittersweet and sad though. I miss the friendliness of Kenya. Just a few moments ago, I waved at a guy passing by and he totally gave me the strangest look. I forgot I wasn't in Kenya anymore. They say hello and wave there a lot and if you don't.. you come off as rude! Such a different culture.
Well all that's left is one last flight to KY. I should get there around 5pm and get to school around 5:45-6pm. Then to eat, take a shower, unpack and get ready for school in the morning.
Wow. I cant stop saying it enough. Wow. God is so good. :) He has taught me so many things and showed me so much of his beautiful creation! I almost feel like I don't deserve it. I have been very blessed to grow up in a country where I can go so many places freely. I was thinking about that today... How; if I had been born anywhere else I may not have had this opportunity and not be the person I am today. It just proves to me over and over again how carefully God orchestrates and plans out our lives. :) Wow.
Thank you everyone soo much for your prayers and your support. I look forward to seeing all of you and telling you more of my grand adventures in Kenya! And OH! God revealed to me what He wants me to do... He wants me to be a missionary or "go" and build relationships with people and show them His love! And take pictures.. somehow incorporating that in. Maybe being the photographer of a mission organization.. I don't know yet. And then I have a passion for Spanish, so I wanna learn that too! Wow. It's crazy! God's got His hand on me, I know He does and I can't wait to see what all He is gonna do! I just have to listen, trust, and follow whenever and wherever He leads me. :)
Thanks again everyone!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Safari Day!!! :D
Early morning!!!! Goodness! I woke up around 5:30am this morning in order to be out to the van by 6am. :) We prayed before we left and I was awarded the warthog today! :)
We headed out about 6:15am to the park and may I say the drive there was absolutely beautiful!!! Wow. I took so many pictures and they're all gorgeous! We had to drive down this HUMONGOUS hill/mountain, meanwhile having a spectacular view of the Great Rift Valley. (FUN FACT: the great rift valley runs all the way from Kenya to the Red Sea in Israel. :) soo cool.) There were also plenty of beautiful scenery pictures on the way there. There are tons of acacia trees that are my favorite. They really make Africa look like Africa to me. Haha. When I see them I think Africa. :) (FUN FACT: there are over 40 different kinds of acacia trees. The most popular in Kenya is the yellow acacia.)
We arrived at the park around 9:15 am and to my surprise there were monkeys and baboons welcoming us at the entrance. I heard they get pretty aggressive if they know you have food. So we had to make sure and keep our food locked in the vans. Haha. Now a cool thing about these vans is that the tops raise up so you can stand in the van and look out and take pictures. It was really cool. :) Also, on the way there, Ellen and the others were saying how hard it was to spot a lion and especially close up. So I prayed and asked God if He would allow us to see a lion. Sure enough, as soon as we went through the gate about 500 ft. from the entrance were FIVE lions, just chillin on a fallen tree. :D It was so awesome how God answered my simple prayer! And they were much closer than anyone on the team had ever seen! God listened and provided us with that beautiful sight. :)
We then proceeded to the giant lake where we saw Zebra and storks, cranes, pelicans, flamingos and many other birds by the water. Here we got to get out of the vans and walk around the marshes. I got to get about 5 ft from a Zebra! It was awesome. We traveled on and saw 3 different kinds of gazelle, buffalo, water bucks, other kinds of birds, and white rhinos! :) we traveled through the park and made it to Baboon Cliff where ironically we didn't see any baboons haha, but the view was stunning. I could stay there for hours and just look at God's beautiful creation. What I saw is the world the way God had intended it. :) simply beautiful. We continued on and came upon some giraffe and more gazelles. It was finally lunch time and on our way we saw warthogs more birds and zebra and lots of buffalo. (FUN FACT: the buffalo are one of the meanest and most aggressive animals in the park. It would take 5 lions to bring one down.)
For lunch, it was a surprise! John, our driver, wouldn't tell us where or what we were going to be eating! We finally arrived at a place called Flamingo Hill Camp. It was absolutely beautiful! It was like a resort! And the food!! Omgoodness! It was the best meal I have had since I got here. Fresh fruit, fresh fish, pasta, curry, rice, fresh veggies, and this awesome bread called "Non" bread. It was an Indian dish. It cooked in this clay oven that was just like a big round block of clay with a hole at the top and she would roll the dough and then stick it to the side of the oven and it would stay and cook. It was soo good! Yumm! We then got a tour of this beautiful place! Wow. If you need a place to stay in Kenya, I suggest this place. Although, its about $300 US dollars a night... But I think it would be worth it for a few nights. You could come out of ur tent/hut and see wildlife, right there. (a fence in between of course, but still really close)
After lunch it was time to go back to the guest house. So we headed out and I took some more pictures of the scenery on the way back. It started to rain and when we got through it you could see in the mountains where it was coming down.
Wow. It was just beautiful and awe inspiring. Words cannot describe to you and sometimes my pictures can't either. I hope to have those up soon. :)
We ate dinner at the guest house and then had our meeting about what we're doing tomorrow. A lot of the adults are helping the older kids with resume and interview advice, while Bekah is doing crafts and a movie with the kids and then we will probably do more home visits. :)
Wake up call at 7:30am. Tomorrow is my last day. :(( I will be leaving Kenya around midnight Kenya time, back to the USA. I will stop in London half way there and then arrive home around 5pm Sunday evening. And then school starts the next day! Haha. (cuttin it close, aren't I? Haha)
It's bittersweet, but I have had a blast! I have learned so many things! Like today, I realized that there is nothing wrong with silence. Even when you are with someone and you can't think of anything to say... It's ok. Sometimes just being there is enough. A lot of the times I feel awkward during those random silences when neither of you can think of what to say.. But it's ok to have silence. :)
The thing I will probably miss most is the people in Kenya, then the scenery and then the beautiful weather. :) God has definitely blessed me and this trip and taught me many things about his people and about myself. I cant wait to see what more He has in store for me. :) I know He has been protecting me and it's because of all of the prayers. So thank you! :) God will bless you as well! :)
Have a great night/day! ( whatever time it is over there. Haha) Talk to you later. :)
We headed out about 6:15am to the park and may I say the drive there was absolutely beautiful!!! Wow. I took so many pictures and they're all gorgeous! We had to drive down this HUMONGOUS hill/mountain, meanwhile having a spectacular view of the Great Rift Valley. (FUN FACT: the great rift valley runs all the way from Kenya to the Red Sea in Israel. :) soo cool.) There were also plenty of beautiful scenery pictures on the way there. There are tons of acacia trees that are my favorite. They really make Africa look like Africa to me. Haha. When I see them I think Africa. :) (FUN FACT: there are over 40 different kinds of acacia trees. The most popular in Kenya is the yellow acacia.)
We arrived at the park around 9:15 am and to my surprise there were monkeys and baboons welcoming us at the entrance. I heard they get pretty aggressive if they know you have food. So we had to make sure and keep our food locked in the vans. Haha. Now a cool thing about these vans is that the tops raise up so you can stand in the van and look out and take pictures. It was really cool. :) Also, on the way there, Ellen and the others were saying how hard it was to spot a lion and especially close up. So I prayed and asked God if He would allow us to see a lion. Sure enough, as soon as we went through the gate about 500 ft. from the entrance were FIVE lions, just chillin on a fallen tree. :D It was so awesome how God answered my simple prayer! And they were much closer than anyone on the team had ever seen! God listened and provided us with that beautiful sight. :)
We then proceeded to the giant lake where we saw Zebra and storks, cranes, pelicans, flamingos and many other birds by the water. Here we got to get out of the vans and walk around the marshes. I got to get about 5 ft from a Zebra! It was awesome. We traveled on and saw 3 different kinds of gazelle, buffalo, water bucks, other kinds of birds, and white rhinos! :) we traveled through the park and made it to Baboon Cliff where ironically we didn't see any baboons haha, but the view was stunning. I could stay there for hours and just look at God's beautiful creation. What I saw is the world the way God had intended it. :) simply beautiful. We continued on and came upon some giraffe and more gazelles. It was finally lunch time and on our way we saw warthogs more birds and zebra and lots of buffalo. (FUN FACT: the buffalo are one of the meanest and most aggressive animals in the park. It would take 5 lions to bring one down.)
For lunch, it was a surprise! John, our driver, wouldn't tell us where or what we were going to be eating! We finally arrived at a place called Flamingo Hill Camp. It was absolutely beautiful! It was like a resort! And the food!! Omgoodness! It was the best meal I have had since I got here. Fresh fruit, fresh fish, pasta, curry, rice, fresh veggies, and this awesome bread called "Non" bread. It was an Indian dish. It cooked in this clay oven that was just like a big round block of clay with a hole at the top and she would roll the dough and then stick it to the side of the oven and it would stay and cook. It was soo good! Yumm! We then got a tour of this beautiful place! Wow. If you need a place to stay in Kenya, I suggest this place. Although, its about $300 US dollars a night... But I think it would be worth it for a few nights. You could come out of ur tent/hut and see wildlife, right there. (a fence in between of course, but still really close)
After lunch it was time to go back to the guest house. So we headed out and I took some more pictures of the scenery on the way back. It started to rain and when we got through it you could see in the mountains where it was coming down.
Wow. It was just beautiful and awe inspiring. Words cannot describe to you and sometimes my pictures can't either. I hope to have those up soon. :)
We ate dinner at the guest house and then had our meeting about what we're doing tomorrow. A lot of the adults are helping the older kids with resume and interview advice, while Bekah is doing crafts and a movie with the kids and then we will probably do more home visits. :)
Wake up call at 7:30am. Tomorrow is my last day. :(( I will be leaving Kenya around midnight Kenya time, back to the USA. I will stop in London half way there and then arrive home around 5pm Sunday evening. And then school starts the next day! Haha. (cuttin it close, aren't I? Haha)
It's bittersweet, but I have had a blast! I have learned so many things! Like today, I realized that there is nothing wrong with silence. Even when you are with someone and you can't think of anything to say... It's ok. Sometimes just being there is enough. A lot of the times I feel awkward during those random silences when neither of you can think of what to say.. But it's ok to have silence. :)
The thing I will probably miss most is the people in Kenya, then the scenery and then the beautiful weather. :) God has definitely blessed me and this trip and taught me many things about his people and about myself. I cant wait to see what more He has in store for me. :) I know He has been protecting me and it's because of all of the prayers. So thank you! :) God will bless you as well! :)
Have a great night/day! ( whatever time it is over there. Haha) Talk to you later. :)
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Beauty, Bible Verses, and Blessings
Hey! Sorry, I was really tired last night and didn't get around to finish my blog. So here is yesterday's, the 5th and I will post today's, the 6th, shortly. :)
Thursday, VBS day with the kids. Fun and exhausting day! hehe
Woke up, ate breakfast, had our daily devotions for today.. you know, the usual. hehe :) Btw, Tom won the warthog today. :)
Loaded up the vans and headed out to the Junction for some members to exchange more money while others went at got "Melindi's", really yummy coffee drink. :) We got to the village around 9:30am-10am and when we started to go to the school they told us not to come until noon... So we were kinda confused as what to do because our whole day was focused on the kids. Some of us just talked with the young adults that were there and visited. I brought my photo album and showed some pictures of the seasons (they have never seen snow or the changing of the leaves. :) It was great to see there reactions. hehe) and some pictures of family and friends. (Don't worry I didnt have any bad pictures of anyone! :) hehe)
After a little while, Doug asked me, Jamie, Elizabeth, and Denise if we wanted to go see the water tanks and see how water was distributed throughout the village. The first one we saw was the main tank that distributed water to the other tanks throughout the village. It was responsible for pumping the water UP to the tanks on the hills and then gravity would bring the water down to homes. Sounds pretty simple. :) We then proceeded to walk UP to one of the water tanks.
-OH. MY. GOODNESS. On my way up, I realized how out of shape I was and realized I need to work out a lot more. haha! I barely made it halfway up and I was already gasping for air! haha. However, in my defense, we were at least 7,000 feet above sea level and the air can get pretty thin up there. haha! It is just simply amazing to me that young and old women constantly walk up and down these hills! Most of the time carrying at least 50lbs on their backs or heads. Oh man did I feel out of shape! Haha. Something else I noticed was how hard Africans work. I feel soo lazy compared to how hard they work. I was talking with one of the guys about when he wakes up on the weekends and he said about 6am. He had to go find work when he wasn't in school during the week. When I told him that I sometimes sleep till noon he laughed and said, "wow!" They truly are hard workers and know what it means to support themselves, something I need to work on. Haha.
Anyway, once we arrived to the top there was a beautiful view of the valley. :) it was so worth all of the walking. Btw, these paths we were walking were NOT level or easy by any means which makes it ten times harder and ten times more impressive for those who walk it everyday. We then proceeded to walk a little further in order to get a Gorgeous view of mt. Walgamot. :) amazing, simply amazing. We took pictures and headed back down the massive hill. :)
When we arrived back at the clinic we took out supplies and headed to the school. Now what we had planned was a bible verse (John 15), that we acted out in a little skit. Then we did a song that had motions to it that went along with the verse. After that, we helped the kids do a craft, which was making a paper flower. And finally praying with them. We did this.. 8 times!! Haha! We did it for each grade. It was a lot of fun, especially bringing smiles and laughter to these kids faces while telling them about Jesus. :) We stopped halfway through to eat lunch and then finished up.
Once we finished it was time to go. We said goodbye and then headed for dinner. Sadly, we didn't end up eating Chinese food cuz Nathan, the doctor of the group, (haha) said it prolly wasn't a good idea because tomorrow is Safari day! And it would absolutely awful to be sick for that day. Haha (it was a restaurant that Brenda and Doug hadn't tried yet and didn't want to risk anything) Instead we went to the Java House. :) it was yummy.
We returned home and got ready for bed. :) The next day was safari day!! The day I was most looking forward too!! :D wake up call was 5:30am! Whoa. Haha. But so worth it. We would be traveling to Nakuru Game Park. It was about two and a half hours away. That's why we had to leave so early. But again, sooo worth it!! :)
Well, that's about all for today. I will talk to you soon! Thank you everyone for your prayers!! :))
Thursday, VBS day with the kids. Fun and exhausting day! hehe
Woke up, ate breakfast, had our daily devotions for today.. you know, the usual. hehe :) Btw, Tom won the warthog today. :)
Loaded up the vans and headed out to the Junction for some members to exchange more money while others went at got "Melindi's", really yummy coffee drink. :) We got to the village around 9:30am-10am and when we started to go to the school they told us not to come until noon... So we were kinda confused as what to do because our whole day was focused on the kids. Some of us just talked with the young adults that were there and visited. I brought my photo album and showed some pictures of the seasons (they have never seen snow or the changing of the leaves. :) It was great to see there reactions. hehe) and some pictures of family and friends. (Don't worry I didnt have any bad pictures of anyone! :) hehe)
After a little while, Doug asked me, Jamie, Elizabeth, and Denise if we wanted to go see the water tanks and see how water was distributed throughout the village. The first one we saw was the main tank that distributed water to the other tanks throughout the village. It was responsible for pumping the water UP to the tanks on the hills and then gravity would bring the water down to homes. Sounds pretty simple. :) We then proceeded to walk UP to one of the water tanks.
-OH. MY. GOODNESS. On my way up, I realized how out of shape I was and realized I need to work out a lot more. haha! I barely made it halfway up and I was already gasping for air! haha. However, in my defense, we were at least 7,000 feet above sea level and the air can get pretty thin up there. haha! It is just simply amazing to me that young and old women constantly walk up and down these hills! Most of the time carrying at least 50lbs on their backs or heads. Oh man did I feel out of shape! Haha. Something else I noticed was how hard Africans work. I feel soo lazy compared to how hard they work. I was talking with one of the guys about when he wakes up on the weekends and he said about 6am. He had to go find work when he wasn't in school during the week. When I told him that I sometimes sleep till noon he laughed and said, "wow!" They truly are hard workers and know what it means to support themselves, something I need to work on. Haha.
Anyway, once we arrived to the top there was a beautiful view of the valley. :) it was so worth all of the walking. Btw, these paths we were walking were NOT level or easy by any means which makes it ten times harder and ten times more impressive for those who walk it everyday. We then proceeded to walk a little further in order to get a Gorgeous view of mt. Walgamot. :) amazing, simply amazing. We took pictures and headed back down the massive hill. :)
When we arrived back at the clinic we took out supplies and headed to the school. Now what we had planned was a bible verse (John 15), that we acted out in a little skit. Then we did a song that had motions to it that went along with the verse. After that, we helped the kids do a craft, which was making a paper flower. And finally praying with them. We did this.. 8 times!! Haha! We did it for each grade. It was a lot of fun, especially bringing smiles and laughter to these kids faces while telling them about Jesus. :) We stopped halfway through to eat lunch and then finished up.
Once we finished it was time to go. We said goodbye and then headed for dinner. Sadly, we didn't end up eating Chinese food cuz Nathan, the doctor of the group, (haha) said it prolly wasn't a good idea because tomorrow is Safari day! And it would absolutely awful to be sick for that day. Haha (it was a restaurant that Brenda and Doug hadn't tried yet and didn't want to risk anything) Instead we went to the Java House. :) it was yummy.
We returned home and got ready for bed. :) The next day was safari day!! The day I was most looking forward too!! :D wake up call was 5:30am! Whoa. Haha. But so worth it. We would be traveling to Nakuru Game Park. It was about two and a half hours away. That's why we had to leave so early. But again, sooo worth it!! :)
Well, that's about all for today. I will talk to you soon! Thank you everyone for your prayers!! :))
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