Update...again.

Saturday:
I woke up early to take the Moto into town. After updating my BLOG I went to a photo store and printed out some pictures of the kids here who I have bonded with. I’m going to write a little message on the back of each picture and give them the pictures on Tuesday before I leave. I asked Mama Jon what the kids would want as a treat on the night before I leave. I expected her to say chocolate or a Lolly Pop but she said “Bread and Juice!” hah. So I’m going with her on Monday to pick it up from the store. Today I found out that I’ve been calling a girl (whom I bonded with a lot in July and this week) the wrong name. And she NEVER corrected me. I thought her name was Jean and I even said stuff like “I had a Grandma Jean! She made the best Gravy!!” Then today she took me to her class and we were looking at names on the wall and I said “I don’t see your name anywhere” and she said “Yeah, look right here!” and I was like “JANE?!” haha. And tonight I must have killed 15 Mosquitoes in my room. The problem is on two opposite walls there are missing windows. And the wind blows really hard here. Its like a wind tunnel through my room in the middle of the night. And I realized today that if a mosquito was just cruzin my by room it would get sucked in. And that’s why I’ve been waking up with tons of bites. Hah WOW God is funny. My 50 cent mosquito candle that I bought in town just burned out. Turns out the wick only goes about halfway down the wax. SWEEET. Better get under my net. GNIGHT

Sunday:
Wow. Don’t ever complain about a hour and a half church service. Try 4 HOURS!!! And halfway through they decided to switch buildings. It was good though. I got to teach the kids a chorus and they sung with me. I love little kids voices. So after church it was dinner time. Just kidding. We had some rise mixture for a late lunch that was great (after the chili sauce). Then I walked with Patrick down to a little store. Patrick is the guy who cooks and he is 27 and pretty much the coolest guy I’ve met. After the walk I played a little football (soccer) and danced for the kids. For some reason they wanted me to dance. And for some reason they thought it was hilarious. Then before dinner during fellowship two of the children shared their testimony. WOW. Sometimes you forget that these kids have been through so much. One girl who is 16 said that she was kicked out of her home after her father died when she was 9 years old. So she went on the streets and from the help of a older lady got hired as a maid in a mans house. After being abused many times she ran away from this house. Then when back to the streets and was going to try to go back home but didn’t know the way. So she met another young girl who said “I’ll show you the way in the morning you can stay with me tonight” Then later that night she said she was walking with the girl and the girl went into a bar and brought out two older men with her…. She couldn’t finish the story. She started crying and covered her face. She is 16! I really need to pray hard tonight. One more day here then back to Tumaini. I’m gonna miss these kids so much. I don’t want to say goodbye. :-(

Monday:
I went to town today to get bread and juice for the kids. So since I was in town I decided to find a good place to get some food. The first place I went looked good. I went inside and ordered a Coke (in the glass bottle…only way to drink Coke) and when the server brought it I said “do you have samosas?” and he said “no… just meat” and I said “OK… So do you have Chicken?” and he said “…JUST MEAT” to which I replied “Do you have a menu?” and he walked away. I assumed to get the menu. 15 minutes later I saw him chatting with some local. So then I went to another place and before ordering a drink said “Do you have a menu?” and they did. And it looked good. So when he came to take my order I saw a sign on the wall that said “Fresh Passion Juice.” So I asked for some but he said they didn’t have any today. Water it is. Then for food I pointed to Samosa” on the menu and said “I’ll take two” “ohhhh sorry no Samosa’s today” Then I said “Ok… what is on the ‘Kebab’” and he said “ahhh no Kebab’s today either…But we do have chicen” SCORE. Chicken it is. The price said “170 sh.” But he said “also the price is different today… 200 sh” I said “Is that because its Monday or because I’m a Mazungu?” but he ignored my question. Anyways after lunch I bought the 35 loafs of bread and 5 liters of juice concentrate. Then my motorcycle driver shows up with 3 bags of produce for himself. I thought there was no way to get all of this and both of us on this motorcycle, but we did. We must have looked so funny. Then we came to the hard part in the journey home. The part that where I always pray for safe passage. The running water with no bridge…on a motorcycle. Two grown men, 3 giant bags of bread, 1 (5 Liter) juice container, and 3 bags of produce are about to cross a river. We had crossed before but not with so much stuff. As we reached the middle of the river we hit a hole and tipped. All of it… right in the water. Hah. PSYCH!!! No tipping. We made it across. Thank God! AND FOR YOUR INFORMATION it POURED rain today! And God even kept it off until I got back from town. Although it only lasted about an hour (a hour?). I felt all the crops and trees taking in the food. The kids LOVED their bread. Some of the younger children had never eaten bread before. They don’t have a bread oven and can’t afford buying it. What an amazing day. The kids know I’m leaving tomorrow and some of them wont look at me in the eyes. :-( NOT looking forward to tomorrow.

Tuesday:
I woke up early today so I could see the kids before school. David was picking me up at 9AM so I knew I wouldn’t be around for their 10AM break. Compared to past experience this goodbye wasn’t that hard. The kids are very disciplined so as soon as the bell rang they started walking to their class’. Last night I wrote on the pictures that I had gotten developed. I gave a picture (with a personal message on the back) to Amina, Jane, Ndanu, Moses, Jackson, Leaky, Brian, Ann, and Patrick. A few of them gave me hugs before going to class. Since the generator was still broken the water truck came to deliver 5000 Liters of water, which costs 2500 Shillings. I gave them 5000 Shillings to stay there for the week and Mama Jon said that would all go towards water. That was cool to find out. So since the road was bad I caught a ride with the water truck back to town to meet David. But just before we left I though “man I have to say bye one more time” So I ran to each class and stuck my head in to say bye. And I’m sooo glad I did. three of the children gave me letters! Jane, Ndanu and Amina. I’m going to wait to get home to read them. Man I already miss those kids so much. One thing that made the day a little better was the girl who has been scared of me this whole time. Right before going to class I saw her from about 15 feet away and said “Sa Sa?! (How are you)” and she VERY quietly said “Poa (Good).” It was amazing. I’ve been trying and week and she usually just cries. So David picked me up and we went to through Nairobi for pizza. I was waiting line and I hear “Cory Way?!” It was Abby. I met her in Uganda but she lives In Nairobi. It was funny and random to see someone I knew. Now I’m back at Tumaini with electricity so I can charge my computer and phone. What a great week. Only a couple more then back to Swaziland. GNight everybody.

Wednesday:
I just realized how much I’m writing… Sorrrrry. But I hope you don’t get bored. Anyways today at Tumaini was great. When I was going to Merciful Redeemer I prayed “ok God I’m here for another few weeks so I mine as well stop counting days and enjoy it.” I think that prayer played a part in my wonderful time at M.R. and I think it is carrying over to Tumaini as well. It was soo good to see all the kids again and laugh and play. And guitar lessons were a lot better too. I told the kids “ok well really I’m not that good at Guitar…I just know the basics very well…that’s all. So at this point I’ve taught you all I can and our practice will consist of jamming and practicing…Deal?” They agreed and practice turned into a funny worship session with random sounds coming from all directions. But it was the best lesson yet. Also I have a new roommate. George who used to help out Merciful Redeemer is staying at Tumaini and he plays guitar so we are having fun sharing songs w/ eachother. Well I’ll keep it Short and Sweet. See you tomorrow.

Thursday:
It was good to be back in the kitchen today. Baking bread and cutting cabbages and peeling potatoes. Also one of the computers crashed so I spend some time trying to fix it. So as of now instead of 4 computers for 32 kids they have 3. It rained sooo hard today! I love the rain and especially when it rains hard. I told my roommate George that I was hoping to go to the Kenyan Coast sometime this year but it didn’t look like it was going to happen. But he told me that he’s been there a few times and its very cheap to take public transportation. He also told me he would accompany me to Mombasa if I would like to go there on my last weekend here. So I’m gonna check some prices online on Saturday and see if its reasonable. Although I think when he says “accompany” he means to have me pay for him. At first I thought NO WAY! But he is going through some hard times and I feel like it would be a good gift for him. And don’t worry I wouldn’t spend my Missions Money. I’d use my savings. And thats IF it works out. I’ll keep you up to date. Although if I end up going my next BLOG post will be the day I’m going. For lunch today we had Rice and for dinner we had Githedi, which are my two favorites. So I am going to sleep VERY full tonight. Till Next Time…

Friday:
Today I went to the Shamba. It’s been raining like crazy here so the ground was super muddy. I got back to Tumaini at about 3 to do some more guitar lessons but the guitars got locked in Davids office. Bummer. Other than that it was a pretty good day. It was good getting to work on the Shamba again. The older ladies I work with (who work way harder than me) are always fun to laugh with. I’ll post tomorrow.

Thursday:
Today I went into town to reply to some e-mails and update the BLOG. I also got to go to the place we stayed in July and eat Chicken and Chips…. SOOOOO good. The problem with most food here is that it lacks Spices. For dinner at Merciful Redeemer we usually have some mixture of Beans, Cow Peas (IDK what these are), Rice, and greens. Last night when I was eating it I realized it would taste real good with some spicy sauce, so I bought some in town to day and I was right. So far I’ve counted about 8 Skeeter Bites. It keeps me praying. Tonight the sky was so clear. Lake Havasu clear. And I was marveling at how amazing God is. I mean the fact that when I’m looking at the moon, I’m looking at the reflection of the sun, the same sun that’s up above all of you right now. CRAZY. Well tomorrow I help dig trenches for a green house. I’m actually excited. I haven’t don’t any hard labor for a couple days. Love U All.

Friday:
Today I spent most of my time digging in some harrrrd soil. Merciful Redeemer is in the middle of one of the drought areas. Usually at Tumaini we would get rain at least once a day. And so far while I’ve been here it hasn’t rained once. On my way to town on Thursday we drove by 3 dead cows that died because of the drought. And now that the generator to get water out of the bore hole is busted they are really praying for a miracle here. Although it didn’t rain today God did bless us with great work weather…once again. It was cloudy and started to sprinkle like 4 times. The kind of sprinkle that usually leads to a downpour but it never came. The first day I got here there was a little girl who was walking around the water tank and when she saw me she turned to go the other way. Since most girls here are just shy around me (but like when I chase them) I decided to go around the tank and meet her face on. When I met her I said “AHHHH” and she screamed and started crying really loud. I felt bad. Ever since then she is the only one who is scared of me. Whenever I walk into a room she just starts to ball. Hah. Poor girl. So we are digging for another green house where they are going to grow strawberries! MMMMM. Oh and today I saw them cut a chickens head off!!! It was awesome and I got it on video so I’ll post it for you later. Juuuuust kiddddding. Today someone told me that Obama bought the President of Kenya a Hummer. Doubt it. Well another post coming next week! Aren’t you proud of my Coffee Fast? Although the other day at Bishop David’s house his wife said “would you like some coffee?” And I said “heck yes!” After all I just did this Fast to make it so I’m not depending on coffee to wake up. Then she brought it and it was weak. I could see through it to the bottom of my mug. More like coffee flavored tea. GNight.

Today the driver took a shortcut through the trash dump. It’s crazy how much trash there was and how man people were digging through it trying to find anything to salvage. At one point as far as I could see was littered with trash. And there are these HUGE birds that are all over digging through the trash as well! My battery is gonna die soon on my computer so I’ll ttyl.

Peace&Love...SPREAD IT!

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!!