Merciful Redeemer

Saturday:

Getting to Naivasha today was a little more difficult than usual. When I got to the Matatu Station they didn’t have any available so they said I would have to take the bus. In the Matatu’s you can only cram so many people and when your crammed to the max they won’t pick any more people up. But in the Bus (I soon found out) there is no maximum occupancy. So we made a lot of stops and took a very long time. Then when we were about a 10 minute drive from Naivasha the bus broke down. So I walked for 15 minutes before finally getting a Matatu. The usual hour and a half trip took about 3 hours. It’s cool though. Something fun to look back on. Oh yeah I hope none of you looked up pictures of Ringworm. Hah. Mine doesn’t look half as bad as the pictures I saw today. In fact none of the kids with it here look close to that bad. Nice day of relaxing with no little girls putting spit on me. Has Obama hooked me up w/ some healthcare yet? I’ve been healthcare free for too long now.

Sunday:

Slept in a little then walked to church. I found out it takes 36 minutes to get there. I timed it so I got there right when it started which was a bad idea because the first half hour you stand. And after the walk it’s hard. So next time I’ll give myself 45 minutes. Also I moved into my new room which is up stairs in the boy’s dorm. I like it better so far cause I can hang out late with the kids. Tonight James and Benson came over to look at past Africa photos. I’m not gonna lie it is a little difficult thinking that I’ll be leaving these kids in less than a month. I’ll miss them more than anything. In the hard times I try to think about them. How for me leaving Africa is so easy, but for them it’s not an option. Not yet at least. They are what keep me going on this journey. One more day till Merciful Redeemer. Another unknown adventure lies ahead, and I’m excited. GNight World.

Monday:

Well the first night in my new room was FREEEEZING. I’m not sure if it was just colder outside or if this room is colder but when I get back I’ll have to find another blanket. Today we (me and Ann) baked bread again. Ann is a mom from the community who comes two days a week to bake. She told me today that she makes 100 Shillings a day. That’s about $1.30. And she works from 8AM to about 2PM. That’s just under 22 cents an hour. Holy Cow! We truly are blessed. Its hard to figure our ratio though. Cause like I said a loaf of bread costs 40 cents, and a coke costs 30 cents. And I know a house is nowhere near what you’d pay in San Diego. I still know that if you figured out ratio’s we’d be living way better off than them. Well Merciful Redeemer tomorrow. Lookin forward to seeing the tree’s we planted. Check Ya Later.

Tuesday:

Didn’t get to Merciful Redeemer till about 5 today. We had to run around Nairobi to get some errands done. I got to go into this store called Uchumi’s and it felt like I was in America. Well I cant take too long writing these blog’s cause there is no electricity here and I only have so much battery. But so far I love it here. I wrote in my journal beside a lantern! Also before dinner during fellowship time the kids sang and it was wonderful. This place is SOO much different from Tumaini. Tumaini has tons of mountains and is very green, here it’s very flat and the only green is in the few gardens. Also I woke up at 3AM to the sound of singing! It turns out 5 girls here wake up at 3AM every morning to pray for an hour and worship! Amazing. That’s all for now. Lay-Trow.

Wednesday:

Today was awesome. I love this place. The weather is way different then Tumaini as well. Most of the day I helped out with Physical Education… that means playing soccer. Scored a goal too! Oh yeah I forgot to tell you that yesterday I went to a Chemist to get tablets for my ringworm and it was the shadiest thing I’ve ever done. I felt like I was doing a drug deal. The guy just took out an unmarked container and dumped some in my hand. Hah. They are probably just Sugar Pills. And today I met a woman who is 128 years old! Or at least that’s what her daughter claims. The generator for the Bore Hole broke so the kids have to go fetch water (about 2 miles away) every day after school. That was an adventure in itself! A guy who lives by the well, who claims he owns it, was drunk and was trying to stop us from getting water after walking 2 miles! Well tomorrow I’m taking a motorcycle into the closest town to update my blog and hopefully find some hot sauce. Oh one more thing. Today one of the guys who works here boiled me some hot water so I could take a shower! It was amazing. Also my first shower from a bucket. I don’t know why but I seriously love this place.

Thursday:

Woke up this morning to a cup of tea w/ milk that I had milked from the Cow last night!

Another update on Saturday.

Yet Another.

Saturday:
Well it was another good Saturday. I told David its my Sabbath day cause on Sunday I have to go to church and give Guitar Lessons. Sadly church here is Kind of a chore. Never thought I’d say it but it’s too loud. I know I sound like an old man. I think the problem is Africans got used to preaching w/o a microphone. So they preach LOUD. Although now they have a microphone and they still scream. But it is better than nothing. I bought stuff to make Kezzia and David an American dinner. Tomorrow night is Cheese Burgers, Corn, and Green beans. Just like my dad likes. Also I ate meat today for the first time in 3 weeks. I found a place that has Samosas. They were actually REALLY good. So far since I’ve been here one of Kezzia’s uncles has died and one of David’s cousins has died. It’s sad. I wonder if it’s always like that. Next Saturday I’ll be over the peak of my stay. GNight.

Sunday:
Got to sleep in a little today. Pretty slow day. I went to church and then came back and watched a movie with Kezzia. Also tonight I made dinner for her and David. I cooked burgers in a skillet and some Sweet Baby Corn and some green beans(Chinese style with Soy Sauce). I learned that one from Brandon. Turned out pretty good but David said the burgers were to spicy. I thought they were good. Well that's it for today. Till Tomorrow....Stay Classy San Diego (and wherever you are)

Monday:
I think my favorite part of these days are the computer class. It's nice to know a lot about something. Any question the kids ask I can usually give a good answer. Maybe I'll take some Jr College class's. In High School I never wanted to learn but lately its been so appealing. After I travel in my RV of coarse. Also I got invited to go to Nairobi with the kids on Friday! I think were going to some Animal place. I'm excited to get away. I got some kind of spider bite on my hand and its lookin weird. It left a mark the size of a dime with white dots all around it. Maybe I should get it checked out. Lets see if it clears up this week. GNight.

Tuesday:
Today was tough. Walked to the Shamba and harvested more Potatoes and prepared some soil to be planted. I got to walk alone this time which was actually really cool. Being able to take my time and admire Gods creation. Got some pretty cool pictures. These days really are flying by. Tomorrows already Wednesday. Also I got some good news today! Mama Jon wants me to spend a week at Merciful Redeemer. Which is a Children's Home in Nairobi we worked at in July. It will be good to see those kids again. So I'll be going there some time next week. Tonight I got to teach the kids another song. Your Grace Is Enough. I LOVE hearing these kids sing. That's it. PeacEasy.

Wednesday:
mmmmm I just got done eating Chicken Peri-Peri Pizza! It was good. Not like Pizza Port or BJ's Good. But good nonetheless. Today was good. Mostly helping in Computer Class and a little in the Kitchen. Kezzia went to stay in Nairobi for a little while. So I told her we have to meet up when I'm there before my flight. Crazy to think that in a month I'll be on my way to Swaziland. Thats All Folks. Night.

Thursday:
Baked bread and taught the kids in Computer Class. Today the teacher had to leave so he left me hangin! But it worked out. The kids are pretty good when your teaching but as soon as you set them free to work it gets out of hand. Oh yeah and I forgot to tell you that the other day a Cow actually let me pet her! Most cows are scared of me. I think its cause I'm white. But anyone else will walk us and pat it on the back then as soon as I approach it runs. But the other day one little naive White and Brown one didnt know to be scared of white people. It was so funny cause I was slowly approaching it head on and she kind of looked at me and froze. Then as soon as I was about to scratch her head another older black cow from the other side of the fence who was looking right at us went "MOOOOOOOOOOO." It was funny cause it sounded like someone in slow motion saying "NOOOOOOO!!!" But the little cow didnt listen. I scratched her head and she loved it. I swear i saw her back leg come up to scratch like a Dog. I've pet her twice since then. Were friends. But she wont tell the other Cows not to be scared of me. Ok thats all. I'm stoked for tomorrow. Field Trip to Nairobi!!!

Friday:
Today I woke up at 4:30 and got on a school bus with a bunch of kids for a field trip to Nairobi. Overall it was a good day. We went to a Museum and got to see a lot of history about Kenya, to the Parliament building (but couldn't go in cause it was too crowded), to a place where they did Kenyan performances like Dance and music, and to an animal orphanage. The best part was a toss up between the music and the orphanage. At the orphanage they had tons of animals that had stuff wrong so they couldn't be released into the wild. I saw tons of Lions, and monkeys up close! The worst part of the day was the little girl who sat next to be on the bus. At first I thought a made a good choice with my seat partner. She was 6, her name was Nelly, she endless amounts of food in her backpack. But that good choice turned bad about halfway through the day. She was nice and shy at first but as soon as she got to know me she turned evil. Started stealing my camera and pinching my arm and blowing
REALLY hard in my ear. At one point i saw her spitting something into her hand and I thought it was sunflower seeds or something. Nope. Turned out it was just spit and she wiped it on my head. I KNOW! I was soooo mad. She doesn't live at Tumaini she just goes to the school. But I changed buses after the spit incident. Like I said overall it was a good day.

Wrap it Up:
Well this next week will be different. I will be going to Merciful Redeemer on Tuesday for a week. They dont have electricity or clean water.... soooo Cold showers it is. I'm excited for something different though. Also please pray that I am safe from sickness. As you know I didnt bring Malaria pills and Merciful redeemer is in a Malaria prone area. God will protect me. Oh yeah and that spider bite... turns out its not a spider bite. I think its ringworm. GROSSSS. it itches like CRAZY. And I think I got it from that freakin cow I pet! No More Touching Cows. Well looking forward to hearing from you next Saturday.

Peace&Love...SPREAD IT!!

Hellllooo

Well I’ve decided I’m going to be adding a little to my BLOG each night then I will post it all over the weekend.

Saturday:

So I woke up at 6:00 today to catch the school bus to the Matatu station. The Matatu I caught was actually REALLLY nice. It had a flat screen in it and they were playing Kenyan worship songs. I took it into Navasha where I used the internet then bought some groceries for lunch. Thank you for all of your encouraging E-mails. I spent a couple of hours on line then went to the store. It’s pretty crazy how cheap everything is here. A liter of water is about 70cents and a loaf of bread is about 80cents. I bought 2 loafs of bread, a bag of carrots, 5 apples, and a bottle of water for $4. I also was able to write out a sheet of Guitar Chords and find a page online explaining how to read chords and make copies of them to give the kids for lessons. At least now I feel prepared…some what. I start Lessons tomorrow at 3:30. So the Matatu home was hilarious. I counted the amount of seats…13. Then at I counted the amount of people…27. Hah. We doubled occupancy. I wish I could have reached my camera to take a picture. Other than that I relaxed. It was a good day.

Sunday:

I woke up and walked to church. I’m not sure how far it is but its far. They have a storm coming in called El Nino. Sound familiar? Well it started today. During the church service it started to come down hard. After church it was still coming down and everyone was waiting for it to slow before they started the trek home, but I got impatient after about 15 minutes and got back to Tumaini dripping wet. After that I got the guitars tuned up and got the class started. It was hard. First of all I didn’t realize usually when you give lessons you teach something small and say “Ok go home and practice and I’ll see you next week.” But I can’t do that cause they only have 4 working guitars. Also like I thought when I tried to talk to one kid about form or pressure the other kids would start strumming away so I couldn’t hear anything. I have to talk to David about changing some stuff around. Bit of a difficult day. Tomorrow I bake bread, help in the kitchen and teach another Guitar Lesson.

Monday:

Well today was pretty slow. After baking bread I just hung out with the kids and helped out a little in the kitchen. I had some down time today and I just finished a book so I went to look at David’s collection. Not much. I ended up settling on “The Five Love Languages, How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate” hah. So far it’s pretty good. Tomorrow I walk to Kwambekenya, the shamba that’s about an hour and a half walk from here. I’m ready. Busy hard days go by faster than days like today.

Tuesday:

Today did go faster. We went to the shamba and sprayed more insecticide. I was surprised they use it here. When I stopped to eat lunch one of the schools got out and I started hearing all this little kids wisper “MAZUNGU MAZUNGU!!” hah. Then one would be bold enough to come shake my hand and run off laughing. I haven’t shaved since I’ve been here so you can imagine how HUGE my beard is. Tomorrow I’m gonna help out teaching Computer Class then another Guitar lesson.

Wednesday:

Good Day. I got to sleep in a little then help with Computer Class. It’s fun but a little crazy. Like most stuff around here. We had a class of about 33 and 4 computers. In a tiny room. FUNNNN hah. Also I’ve decided that when I’m here for lunch I’ll eat lunch with the kids instead of dinner. Lunch changes. So today I got Potatoes, Cabbage, and beans!! Then I made my Sandwich for dinner with some carrots and crackers. I think this is the first night I’m going to sleep full. Very Nice. Oh and I shaved today. GNight World.

Thursday:

Baked Bread then helped more with computer class. I enjoy baking bread. Well tomorrow I go to the Shamba again then eat dinner with the kids. David told me he is going to Nairobi on Sat and they have a really good Pizza place. Not sure what “really good pizza” is here but I think I’m gonna have him pick one up for me. Well that’s it TTYL.

Friday:

Did a lot of harvesting today but God blessed us with amazing Work Weather. It was overcast but dry. It sprinkled for about 10 minutes. Perfect. Its easier to work when the sun isn’t beating on me. Also tonight the electricity went out so we had to serve dinner in the dark. It was actually really fun. Also we had Gidethi for dinner which is Maze, Potatoes, Cabbage, and Beans. It was good. And I think it even tasted better than normal cause I couldn’t see it. Well tomorrow I go to Navasha to Post this and hopefully have more exciting e-mails from all of you.

Overall this week went very fast. I feel like yesterday I was at church thinking “ok another week!!” Its sad but I always buy something that reminds me of home on Saturdays. Last week it was a Red Bull. Hah. I wrote a pretty sweet song about my Grandpa. Also I’m in the midst of writing a song about a girl. She’s not real. Just in my head. I’lllll beeeee Hommmmeeee for Chriiiiisssssttttmaaaaasssssss…… If only in my dreams. But actually in the flesh.

Ha I’m at the Internet Café replying to e-mails when suddenly the power cuts. So now I’m hoping it will come on later so I can post this.

Another Update.

Hellllloooooo

Well another week gone by. Really fast actually. I’ve realized that if I focus on the distance from now until I come home it goes by slow. But if I look at it one week at a time it goes by very fast.

I’m writing this on Friday Night and I’m waking up tomorrow morning at 6:00 to catch the bus into town where I can use the internet to post it on my Blog. But what’s weird is my Saturday Morning is your Friday Night. So I’m kinda writing this the same time you’ll be reading it. Does that Blow Your Mind?!

I have a pretty steady schedule now. I work in the kitchen on Mon and Thur and I work in the shamba (farm) Tue Thur and Fri. I’m also starting Guitar Lessons with the kids on 4 days a week. My first group will be Sunday, and I’m kind of scared. I remember when we brought the guitars in 2007 me and Brandon tried to give lessons and it was out of control. Kids wouldn’t focus and kept strumming like it was going out of style. It would be easier if I got to work one on one but that’s not working out. So I got about 4 kids to a class.

Also they want me to teach all of the kids some worship songs, which has been amazing. Probably the best part of my whole trip so far. One worship song every week. This week it was “Lord I Give You My Heart” and the kids loved it. It’s crazy how much I miss worship. Leading it and just being a part of it. Most of the songs we sing here are in Kikewu so I don’t understand any of it.

I bought my ticket home. I’ll be landing in LA on Thursday December 3rd at 4:45PM. Mom you down to pick me up? We could go to dinner on our way home! Ohhhh mannnnn. The hardest part about being here is missing my family but coming in close second is the food. I haven’t had meat since I’ve been here. I talked them into letting me make my own lunch so that’s been nice. Every day this is my food: Breakfast- One slice of bread with peanut butter, Lunch- PB&Honey sandwich with 2 carrots and 5 crackers, Dinner- Cabbage and Ugali. I usually take about 4 bites of the dinner then pass it on to the kids to split. Because of this I’ve lost a lot of weight in the past week. I’m sure I’ll gain it all back as soon as I get home. I’d give my left arm for a Double Double. So Mom let me know about pickin me up. We can spend a couple nights at the cabin then go to the Family Christmas party on Saturday.

Well I guess that’s it. Sorry that I havent been able to put up any pictures. I will when I get back to Swaziland. Well I Love and Miss you all.

P.S. My mom has a prayer Garden and she looks out her kitchen window every morning and prays. This is what she put up for Anton.



I seriously have the greatest mom ever.

Peace&Love…SPREAD IT!!