Updates From Kenya.

Hello Friends and Family.

Before I get into the deep stuff I’ll tell you a good story. Last weekend I met Wilfred. He lives on the other side of the road and kind of works for Tumaini. He invited me to eat dinner with him and I had a BLAST. By far the best night of my trip so far. So I went into his kitchen (wood shack about the size of your bathroom) and he had a fire on the dirt floor cooking a Kenyan dish. As soon as I opened the door the smoke poured out. It was like he was hot boxin. (Mom that’s when people smoke inside of a small area so they get really high). I was like “Wooooow lets leave the door open” and he said “noooo too cold outside” so I stepped into the smoke filled kitchen and for some reason the next thing I know I was laughing and having a great time. He is SOOO funny. He told me about how he is living here and sending money back to his family. He went on to tell me house much he loved Michael Jackson. I had to break the bad news about Michael passing away. Then we talked about how he wanted to be a preacher and make all of Kenya into Christians. He has one of those laughs that just makes you laugh. When I stumbled out of the kitchen on my way to bed he said “Hey I’d really like it if you could find a way to bring down your Michael Jackson music so we can just listen” That’s my plan for this weekend.

Lets see…. A few more quick updates… No one believes me that Dogs come in the houses in America, David ran over a dog, Wilfred told me the cat couldn’t come in the Kitchen cause it would “SH**” in the corner, I tried to sneak up behind some girls tonight and fell in a hole full of mud, David watches Jerry Springer all the time, and the kids all make fun of Michael Welsh’s walk.

Well this last week has been very interesting. It all started on Monday. I ate a banana for breakfast and then at about 10 I took some porridge with the kids. The porridge actually isn’t that bad. It tastes a lot like Malt-O-Meal which is what we had a lot growing up. But about an hour after I drank it I started feeling sick. And it got worse…. And worse. I’m just starting to feel better now (Fri Night). I’m not sure if the porridge made me sick or something else but until Monday I was pretty much eating w/e they gave me and drank water straight from the tap. Part of the reason is cause FREAKIN Travis Robinson, who stayed here for a month in July, is a Mountain Man. Everyone always says “Travis used to do it” or “Travis drank the tap water” Tough shoes to fill. I’ve given up on that. Now I’m boiling water and am to scared to drink Porridge or Milk. The milk comes from the cows nipple in the morning and then is boiled and served….Not my usual Non-Fat.

Here’s a story that was horrible at the time but funny now. On Tuesday I had to go with a couple people to the store (about an hour and a half away) to pick out some groceries. When we were done shopping we pulled up to this butchery. I was already about to puke because of the roads. And I’m like “What are we pickin up here?” and they said “No, this is whats for lunch”. It was horrible. Two skinned cows and 3 skinned sheep hanging from hooks in the window. I didn’t eat but they ordered something in Swahili and the butcher went over and cut off part of the Cow (which by the way had flies ALL OVER it) and slapped it on the grill. This was my second day of sickness. I told everyone I’d go to the clinic if I didn’t get better by today but I’m feeling better.

But yes its been a difficult week. A couple nights I’ve been up till 2AM. While I was hurting in Bed I was praying a lot, and thinking a lot. You see so far these 2 weeks have been… hard. The hardest part is how much I miss home. And by home I mean being able to call a friend late and night just to talk, and walking through town and seeing 15 people I know, and being a 5 minute drive from getting a Six Pack of Corona, AND Jammin with my friends. I’ve always known deep inside that I’m a homebody. But I’ve always been attracted to adventure and old school living. But I’m starting to realize by being out here that I can have adventure ANYWHERE. Everyone keeps asking me “is this something you can see yourself doing full time in the future” and I usually say “Maybe if I brought a family with me.” So last night I was also up till 2AM but this time is was because I was wrestling with a decision. And today I decided on an answer… I’m coming home early. I’m cutting my trip short. COP OUT I know. It’s just at first I thought Swaziland would be a good stepping stone to Kenya because Swaziland is a lot further advanced. But it ended up being the other way around. In Swaziland at least I had a little contact with my home town. I could Skype my Bro’s, or E-mail my mom, or even chat with friends. But here I got NONE of that. This was a very hard decision for me to make because people donated to this trip and I said “I’ll be here till I run out of money.” Now two weeks into my supposed to be 5 months is Kenya I’m depressed and alone. I just can’t handle 5 months here. I’m sorry. I even thought about making up a lie. Something like “OMG someone mugged me and I had just taken out $1000 from my bank account”, but I need to be honest. That’s about how much I’ll have left. I am going to put it into an account for my, hopeful, trip next year with my bro’s. If anybody wants any money refunded that they donated I might be able to work that out. So I’ve decided I’m going to come home in December. Yes Alissa…December!! You called it. I figure what better time to be home with family and friends than Christmas.

So I’m not sure what else to say. It looks like I have about 2 months here and then a couple weeks in Swaziland then Home SWEEEEET Home.

You guys are amazing. Pray for the rest of my time here.

Peace&Love…SPREAD IT!!!