Thankful.

It has been a very slow yet the fastest 2 weeks of my life here in Africa!
I am enjoying it more and more each day and am finding that it will be a little bit hard to go home.
I am in love with the kids here. Today we taught at Gifted Hands, a school that EAC partners with, and I was privileged to teach the kindergartners the song "Jesus Loves Me".
The kids at Gifted Hands are very different from the other kids we do ministry with. All of the students at Gifted Hands are from the slum. I guess that's what makes them so distinct. They are much happier even though they come from a very rough background. As soon as I walked in through the metal door to the school ground a swarm of kids ran at me and literally attached themselves to me. Some took me by the hand, some held on to my purse, and of course there are always those girls who are fascinated with hair. Yes, they even clung to my hair! They are all adorable and seek only one thing: love. They want to be loved. They expect me to remember all of their names for next time. I don't know how that will go lol.
I am so thankful to God for this experience. It was really hard in the beginning, but each day gets better and better.
Yesterday I wrote in my journal a reminder that I kept hearing before this trip: You can't change Africa,  Africa will change you.
I'm finding that to be more true every day. Africa really has changed me. It is SO different from America. I will probably be saying this for the rest of my life, I never expected what I have seen, heard, and felt. It is at times unbearable and other times very exciting. I'm glad to be a part of God's plan for Kenya. He loves these people and is waiting for them to realize that.
I'm thankful that He didn't give up on me when I wanted to give up on His purpose.
I'm thankful that at the time that He chose me, He knew how I would react, and still chose me!
I'm thankful that He is good in every season.
I'm thankful that even though I feel powerless, He is able to pour His power into me.
I'm thankful that there is no one like our God.
No one else can satisfy me like He can. No one but God alone will ever know and feel every experience and struggle I've had to come through to realize what He is up to.
I'm thankful that He understands.
So thankful.

Zeek

How in the world did I think this was going to be easy?!

It is SO HARD. So heartbreaking.
I never really expected this. My heart is breaking for the people around me who, just down the street, live in shacks and mud houses. How most of them are unable to retrieve clean water for themselves and their children. How their little mud home is smaller than my room! How they have to work so hard all day to earn enough money to live in the slum. Which yes, they have bills to pay in a mud house! How insane is that? I would never pay the government jack if I lived in such conditions!

But these people inspire me. They are so grateful.
Today we were invited to Zeek's home. Zeek is the night guard for our house here. As I sat in this man's tiny home and listened to him talk about his dreams for his life and his family, my heart broke. Aside from guarding our house at night, Zeek runs a small business of repairing shoes on the side of the streets of Kibera. He makes just enough money to pay off his monthly bills, school bills for his four children, and buy some food for his family. Zeek wishes to become a bus driver in Nairobi. But that requires going to school and paying more money as well as giving up a job to make room for school. Zeek mentioned how thankful he is to God that he is still alive and able to support and care for his family. He says that without God's strength to live, his stay-at-home wife, four children, and ill mother, would not survive on their own.

I have met Zeek and many other believers from the slum who are more grateful than I would ever be in their position. It is seriously unbelievable what people have to live through in the slum. I never imagined it to be this tragic.

This is a general African food called Chapati. Very hard to get used to but probably the best African food I've tried so far.

Africa, finally!

Africa... huge culture shock.

But I love it. Everything is so different here, it is an adventure with every step I take.

Today was my first full day here. And I have learned so much already. The locals and the other girls here for missions (Ashley and Heather) are so welcoming and made me feel at home right away!

So where to begin...

This morning was a surprise. The neighbor's rooster woke me up at around 4am. And wouldn't shut up. Quite an experience. Hopefully, I will become immune to his crow soon.

Today we went to the Getathuru Rehabilitation Center for young street boys. Such an experience! This week I get to sit back and observe how everything is done around here.

Of course, this is not like America at all. The classroom the kids sit in is so uncomfortable and dirty. Broken windows, chipped walls, spider webs, wooden desks and chairs. Very different. Makes me really appreciate what I had when I was in school. 

But the boys are all so sweet! They definitely have big dreams and believe that God really loves them. Most of these boys are in the rehab center because they ran away from home, were found on the street, got kicked out of their homes, or disobeyed the law. They just want to be loved and it is so good to tell them that Jesus loves them and to let them know that we love and care for them as well.

After the morning lesson, which today was on first aid, we went and got some ice cream for lunch. After that we had about an hour to relax before going back to the rehab center to teach English to the boys. I fell asleep under a tree in the field. Welcome to Africa! Haha.

After English lessons were over (around 3pm) we went home. The transportation system here is nuts! I'm still in shock. Basically, I risk my life every time I get into a matatu (which is like a 15 passenger seat van) or a city bus. There are no speed limits here but there are speed bumps! How funny is that? No stop signs. No stoplights. And everybody jaywalks. Oh, and no lanes! And if there is a faint looking lane on the road, it's ignored. People drive fast here! I figured that whoever honks their car horn first gets the right of way. On the way to the rehab center today, I got to sit up next to the driver in the matatu. He almost ran over a man. It was scary.

On the bus ride home, some young looking dude hit on me! And when I was paying for the ride, the man that was collecting the money looked at me and said, "Oh you rich huh!" (In a thick accent). 

When I walk amongst the African people I hear the word 'mzungu' a lot, which means white. A lot of them know the missionaries here already so today when they saw me for the first time they said, "Oh look, another mzungu has come". Lol. It's definitely a little weird being the only white person sometimes. This whole day, I have only seen 2 other white people. And it brought great comfort to know that I'm not the only one haha.

Life here is so different. Definitely not what I expected. I live just a minute's walk from one of the largest slums in Africa-- Kibera. Today we went into the marketplace part of Kibera. People everywhere. Kids running around. Lot's of food being cooked and sold. Stray dogs. And chickens. As you go deeper into the slum (which I will experience tomorrow) it gets more crowded because of all the mud shacks being so close together. They tell me it's going to be an experience of a lifetime tomorrow. So I'm excited and a bit nervous.

Africa is beautiful. Kenyan people are very caring. The children love white people. And adults have much respect for white people. It has already changed me so much in just one day! 

I miss you all, my friends and family in America :)

Mungu awabariki! (God bless you!)