Way past time to wrap it up!

Enough time has elapsed and I figured I’d better complete this before it all slipped away.

I left off right before heading to the Crusade in the Soweto slum.  After the Kids Camp in Bongai we loaded up on the bus.  The driver, Joshua, had backed the bus from the road where it was usually parked into the parking lot of the church.  Keep in mind this is not a large lot.  We all loaded onto the bus and Joshua started to pull out through the front gates.  But the bus wouldn’t fit through!  He made multiple, multiple attempts, but the bus just wouldn’t make the turn and fit through the gates!  He barely managed to turn the bus around inside the parking lot to attempt to back out.  Nope.  Not happening.  We had said our good-byes and waved good-bye, but then we didn’t leave!  It was almost comical.  Poor Joshua caused some damage to the gates in his attempts to get free of the parking lot!  Also keep in mind that the parking lot is just gravel – no paving.  After 1 ½ hours someone heard the suggestion many of us had that we all get OFF the bus and have Joshua try to pull out with an empty bus (which is how it was when it pulled into the parking lot).  BINGO!  It fit through on the first try.  We waved good-bye, AGAIN, and drove away.

We drove to the Soweto slum for the crusade.  There was a grandstand set up and the Crossroads church band was preparing to play.  Mike Rozell from Potter’s Field was there and prepared to give his lesson.  You would have thought that Justin Bieber’s tour bus had pulled in when we arrived.  The bus was mobbed and we were surrounded as we exited the bus.  Talk like feeling like a rock star!

The concert was awesome.  Most of the Crossroads team were sitting beside or behind the stage except for Danielle, our photographer, who decided to climb a nearby water tower which caused quite a stir.  I decided to go hang out in the crowd.  I wasn’t sure who or what was out there, but wanted to check it out.  The children were kind of reserved and leery, but I stood there among them and sang and danced like an idiot white woman.  Several other team members joined the crowd.  The crowd eventually loosened up!  Then Mike Rozell, and his wife Pam, took the stage.  If you’ve never heard of Mike and Pam Rozell you are missing out.  Mike is a professional potter.  He was a worldly potter until he met Pam.  The two of them have a fabulous story of their meeting, marriage, and eventual transition into ministry in Africa.  Mike tells his story and likens the Ultimate Potter as Jesus crafting and forming the clay vessels – us.  How the clay doesn’t know what it’s going to become.  Only the Potter knows.  The clay has to submit to the Potter’s hands.  How the Potter reaches inside the vessel and cleans out all the gunk so that it can be filled with the Potter’s hand.  SO COOL!  I failed to mention that while Mike is telling this story he is on stage with a 50 pound block of clay making a vase before your eyes.  Every once in a while Mike takes a break from talking and Pam tells part of their story and sings songs she has written.  Awesome!

Mike concludes by inviting the audience to give themselves in to the Potter’s hands, to submit their lives to Christ.  He starts a prayer inviting people who want to give their lives over to Christ to raise their hand.  I peek.  Hands are going up all over the audience (most of whom are standing in this dirt parking lot).   Mike keeps praying.  Hands continue to go up.  Eventually Mike invites those people to come down front and meet with a pastor.  I talked with Mike after the crusade was over and he said he was simply overwhelmed by the response.  He thinks approximately 50 people raised their hands and people came forward.  It was so exciting to see. 

The band played some more.  I starting rubbing shoulders with some of the kids.  A couple of us used our “paperless story” bracelets to tell the story of Jesus with the kids.  After you tell the story you give them the bracelet so they can go and tell the story to someone else.  The bracelets have 6 plastic beads on them.  The story goes like this:

The yellow bead represents heaven.  Heaven is a wonderful place where God lives and the                streets are paved with gold.  But we can’t get to heaven because of our sin (black bead).  So                Jesus died on the cross (red bead) and shed his blood taking on all of our sin so that we can   be washed clean (white bead) and grown in Jesus (green bead).  The bracelet is held on with blue      beads which represent baptism into Christ.

I talked with a bunch of kids and gave away my bracelet.  I let them run their hands through my “funny” straight, soft hair.  That was great fun.  We eventually loaded back on the bus for the drive “home.”  What an extraordinary Saturday evening! 

Sunday morning arrived very early.  The 16 of us headed off to safari hopped on the bus and headed to a small municipal airport outside of Nairobi for the 45 minute flight.  We were only allowed a backpack.  The planes were single-prop and only held about 12 passengers.  I sat behind the co-pilot and had a great view.  I’ve never flown on such a small airplane.  YIKES!

The flight was uneventful.  We touched down in the middle of nowhere!  No tarmac, no airstrip.  Nuttin!  Just trees and  brown grass!  There were 4 vehicles awaiting us.  They took our backpacks and we loaded, randomly, into the trucks.  The drive to the camp was only 5-10 minutes.  The camp was beautiful.  We were in a mobile camp – not at the main camp which was full.  I didn’t care.  I loved that we had a camp all to ourselves.  There was a main tent for meals, a large cleared meadow and a mostly dry riverbed.  There were chairs set up under trees and around the fire ring.  We were greeted with glasses of a tasty punch made from FRESH squeezed pineapple and orange juices with Sprite added in.  Oh my, it was soooo good.  Our group had to take 2 planes and the second plane was delayed about an hour.  The rest of us was shown to our tents and encouraged to relax.  We were told that we needed to stay on the short grass, not go in the tall grass and after dark NEVER go anywhere without a Masai warrior escort.  YIKES!  Here we were out on the Masai Mara surrounded by all things hazardous.  But it was so beautiful and peaceful.

Once the other group arrived they fed us a lunch of really tasty spaghetti and fresh fruit.  It was really, really good.  They wait on you hand and foot.  Once lunch was over we loaded up to go to the Masai village nearby to hold a free medical clinic for the members of the Masai Mara.  We rode over and set up in a small, rudimentary schoolhouse.  We were told that some of the people coming into the clinic had walked for 2 days just to get medical help.  They wore beautiful, colorful clothing.  The children didn’t know what to do with the jump ropes or coloring books we pulled out.  Most of the Masai have little to no hair.  One of our team members had also brought plastic hairbands and barrettes.  The fact that they didn’t have any hair didn’t stop them from wearing the hairbands on top of their heads!  Even the men!  It was pretty comical.  I worked inside the clinic with the line of people and keeping them moving when one of our medical staff finished with their last patient.  I believe we saw about 120 “patients” in less than 4 hours with 3 medical staff.  We had our own “pharmacy” set up so that after the patient saw the “doctor” they could get the proper medications.  There were lots of meds given out for worms, antibiotics, etc.  The village chief showed up, too. 

After we had seen every person that wandered in we closed up and rode back to camp.  Our camp was surrounded, as much as possible, by a fence of Acacia branches.  This is what the locals use to keep the wild animals away from their homes and livestock.  The huge thorns are great deterrents to the wild animals.  I don’t think it completely encompassed the compound because we had evidence of Zebra poo in our camp and we could hear hyenas roaming around at night. 

When we arrived back at camp we were treated to hot showers at our tents.  The staff had to heat the water and carry it to each tent.  There were 16 of us on safari.  2 tents with 3 single women in each.  3 tents with a married couple in each, and 2 tents with 3 single guys in each.  We were served dinner and they had made a fire for us.  Night fell.  Animal sounds surrounded us.  We sat around the fire and enjoyed the sounds of Africa.  We were introduced to our Masai warriors who would guard our camp all night.  It was so cool.  We eventually broke off into groups , and were escorted back to our tents by a warrior carrying a kerosene lamp and a long spear.  Gosh, did I feel safe!  A warrior with a spear vs. a hyena or lion.  My roommate Kathryn and I kept pace with him for fear of our lives!  The tents were really spacious and comfortable.  There were 3 single beds in our tent.  A sink area, a dressing table area, an actual flushing porcelain toilet, and a shower.  All the comforts of home!  The beds were super cozy.  It wasn’t very cold.  At least not to me.  I slept well except I kept Danielle awake with my sleep apnea breathing.  Since there was no electricity I didn’t bother dragging my machine out on safari.

Morning came quickly.  We were up at 6 for a protein filled breakfast.  Bacon, eggs, juice, toast, oatmeal.  Tasty!  We were loaded up in the trucks to head out at 7 a.m.  Being on safari is a very interesting experience.  We had the choice to ride in 1 of three different trucks.  Each of the trucks was a bit different.  One kind of reminded me of a VW Van.  The top lifted up and you could stand up and be in the shade to watch the wildlife.  It had doors and windows.  The truck I chose had a canvas tarp roof, no doors or windows, just lots of fresh Masai Mara air!  It was pretty high off the ground, thank goodness.  The third truck was lower to the ground, had no windows or doors, and had a bench seat on the roof.  I thought about taking a turn up there, but there was nothing to hold onto and I feared I would fall off!  I was very content in my truck.

We encountered antelope, wildebeest, zebra, and finally giraffe!  We were told that the “Big 5” to see on safari in Africa are Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, Water Buffalo, and Rhino.  We were on the “hunt” to see as many as possible.  The 3 trucks took off in separate directions and had radios to stay connected.  If 1 found a particular important animal they could radio the others to come see.  Each truck carried 2 spare tires which came in handy.  The VW Van truck was the first to get a flat.  We were told not to wander too far off while they fixed it.  Once it was fixed we were off again.  Our truck got a flat later in the day.  The other truck never did get a flat as far as I know.  The safari crew had packed a lunch for us and we stopped hear the Tanzania border, on a riverbed, to have lunch of sandwiches, fruit, soda and cookies.  We parked next to this really cool tree that I enjoyed photographing.  Some of us ventured, with permission, down to the riverbed and stuck our toes in a shallow bit of water.  Then we were off again!  Riding out in the open on the Masai Mara was such a stupendous experience.  Wind in my hair, sun shining.  It was so beautiful.  We saw so many different animals.  By the end of the day we had all seen 4 of the Big 5.  The only elusive animal was the Rhino.  The leopard gave us a run for our money.  At one point late in the afternoon we got a call on the radio that there was lioness sighted so we took off.  Matura, our driver and Masai guide, pulled around her from behind and pulled up within about 15-20 feet of her.  She just sat there.  I couldn’t decide if I was scared or what!  We were so close!  That was what it was like with our encounter with a mother cheetah and her 3 cubs, too.  So close!

The day started to fade out and it was time to head back to camp.  Only we were still in search of a better view of the leopard!  By the time we finally headed back the sun was setting and the driver of the VW Van truck was getting quite anxious to get back and NOT be stranded on the Mara in the dark!  Matura was unfazed.  He drove for an hour, in the dark, and got us back to camp by about 8 p.m.  It’s really strange to be riding along, in the dark, and have a herd of giraffe or zebra appear in the headlights!  Cuz when it’s dark on the Mara, IT’S DARK!  You can’t see squat!

After dinner several members of the Masai showed up to dance around our fire for us.  Talk about cool.  Oh, beyond cool!  They would “sing,” dance, and have the traditional jumping contests.  Some of those guys get some serious air!  At 1 point one of the female Masai invited my roomie Kathryn to dance with them.  Oh the joy on her face was priceless!  I took some video – which came out all dark – and lots of pictures for Kathryn to remind her of dancing with the Masai warriors on the Mara.  Now that’s an experience of a lifetime! 

Keith (our head safari guide), invited anyone who wanted to, to rise at 5:30 the next morning to leave camp at 6:00 for a 3-4 hour safari ride.  I was not initially interested because I was so beat.  But then Kathryn said “I’m game.  I may never get there again and I want to experience everything I can.”  Well shoot.  How could I go against such great logic!  I figured I could sleep when I got home.  So 4 of us arose in the dark the next morning – Kathryn, Juan, Andre, and me - and went off in a truck with a driver/guide and a spotter.  It’s beautiful beyond description watching the morning break on the Masai Mara.  So peaceful.  So wonderful.  We went a different direction than the day before.  The Mara is thousands and thousands of square miles of African plain.  Beyond comprehension.  But low and behold one of the first animals we encountered within the first hour was the elusive Rhino!  So in the end only 4 of the 16 on safari actually got to see the Big 5!  I couldn’t thank Kathryn enough for encouraging me to go out that last morning.  We returned to camp around 9:30 and had breakfast.  Then it was time to pack up for the long trip back home.

Tuesday morning we flew back to Nairobi in our little puddle-hopper planes.  We were given a souvenir shopping trip in downtown Nairobi before going back to the campus of ANU to gather the rest of our luggage and eventually back to the international airport in Nairobi.  Our flight left Nairobi at 11:00 p.m.  Keep in mind some of us have been up since 5:30 that morning – out on safari.  It was a 4 1/2 hour flight from Nairobi to Dubai.  We had a 3 hour layover in Dubai.  Some slept on the floor in the airport.  Some (like Kathryn and me) managed to score a “lounge” chair in the terminal and could at least lean back and sleep.  I think we got about an hour of sleep.  We left Dubai for Seattle around 7:30 a.m.  I was exhausted.  I think I ended up sleeping for about 5 hours on the plane.  We ate.  We watched movies.  We got up and walked around.  Anything to kill 14 hours on a plane!

We landed in Seattle around 1:00 Wednesday afternoon.  We had to go retrieve our luggage, go through customs, and then re-check our luggage for the flight to Portland.  We had about a 2 hour layover in Seattle and eventually landed in Portland around 5 pm on Wednesday. 

I’m telling you, leaving Africa on “Tuesday night,” flying through 10 hours of time-zone changes, and being in transit for 2 days really wipes you out!  But when I got off the plane in Seattle I couldn’t wait to see my husband and sons.  I was the first person, from our group, to get into the terminal and I ran to hug my family.

I'll wrap this up by saying that this was obviously the trip of a lifetime.  It had highs and lows, but it was so wonderful.  I am looking forward to going back now that I'm no longer a "wet behind the ears rookie."

For those of you who helped sponsor and prayed for me my thanks to you is endless.  I could not have done it without all of you!

Much love,

Kathy

My last day in the slums

Today was a busy day.  We started at 7:30 and went to the Kibera slum.  Kibera is the second largest slum in the world.  It took quite awhile to get our armed escorts arranged.  We hiked a mile into the church where our medical team set up for the free clinic for the day.
After they got set up the rest of us hiked back out to the bus.  It was almost overwhelming the conditions in Kibera.  Streams of black sewage run through the streets.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside of the slum.  You'll just have to take my word for how horrible it was.
We loaded back on the bus and went to Bondai to help out with a Kids Camp put on every saturday at the church there.  We sang and danced.  I was happy because I got to see Harrison 1 last time.  She came running when she saw me.  It was beyond cool.  We sat together during the afternoon.  I decided to leave my keychain Gumby that I've been carrying on my backpack all week.  She hooked it onto her belt loop and was all smiles.  It's amazing how quickly you become attached to these kids.
by 12:45 it was time to load the bus and head to Soweta where we were attending a crusade.
I'll complete this later!  Gotta run!

Catching up further.
Tuesday we went to another slum near Nairobi and continued our door to door distribution of food and offers to pray.  We were in much smaller groups.  It was me, another teammate, and our guide/interpreter.  Our guide, Martin (a local Keyan evangelist), told Brian and me that his wife had just had their 5th child.  His wife had required a C-Section last Friday.  On Tuesday the hospital was ready to discharge the wife and baby.  The only problem was that Martin owed the hospital 16,000 shillings (about $188 in US) in order to pay the bill.  The hospital won't release mother and baby until the bill is paid in full.  He had not seen the new baby yet.  He had 6,000 shillings saved and was expecting assistance from some family members, but was still way short of paying the bill.  Every day the wife and baby stay in the hospital they are charged an additional 950 shillings.  So every day the bill just gets bigger.  I heard today, Friday, that Martin still hasn't been able to raise the money and the wife and baby are still being held at the hospital.  Several of us are pitching together some shillings to see if we can't help.  It's so shocking and foreign that a hospital would hold the patient hostage till they get paid!
We are spending hours on the bus every day going to and from the slums.  By Wednesday night my emotions hit overload and I missed dinner because I was sitting in the chapel on campus crying.  Wednesday was an okay day.  Another day spent in the same slums we were in on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, however, we were in larger groups and were guided by some of the members of the local church.  I was with a different Brian from our team, another team member named Micah, and about 6 ladies from the church.  At 1 point as we left one alley I was the last one back on the street and 3 local gentlemen (in their 20's I'm guessing) said to me that they had been following us and wanted to know why we were there in the slum and what were we doing.  They did this in an extremely friendly, curious manner - not threatening at all.  The most outspoken one of them greeted me calling me his "sister" and all 3 of them shook my hand and were most interested in what we were doing.  As I started to talk with them I noticed that the rest of my group had continued walking up the street.  I called out for Brian and he and the rest of the group turned around and joined me.  The next thing I knew 3 other people showed up.  It was like the pied piper!  We're chatting up a storm with these people, they are all so friendly and considerate.  I'm not moving my focus from those directly in front of me so I didn't realize how large the group had grown.  The next thing I know Brian says to me "Kathy, we have to leave.  The guide says the crowd has grown too large and she doesn't think it's safe for us anymore.  We have to leave now!"  But I didn't want to leave!  I was having the best time!  I never, ever felt threatened or in fear.  I was just hangin out with my brothers in the street, hugging and talking.  But I left anyway.  It turns out that the crowd had grown to about 30 people while I was not paying attention!  No wonder the church ladies wanted to move on!  I think that was the best time and feeling I've had here, except for playing with the kids we encounter.  I was quite proud of my mob creation!
After learning of my emotional meltdown in the chapel on Wednesday night our fearless leader, Pastor Ralph, talked to my roommate (when he couldn't find me), and suggested that I take Thursday off and stay on campus.  Tuesday night I had come down with a scratchy throat and by Wednesday all this mucus had settled in my chest.  Ralph told me that everyone hits a wall eventually where there is simply not enough energy and emotion left.  I didn't really want to stay home on Thursday.  I didn't want to be thought of as weak or not a team player.  And I didn't come all the way over here to sit on campus.  Two of our team members have had similar bugs and stayed on campus Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.  I figured a good night's sleep on Wednesday would help and I'd be right as rain.  Nope.  Didn't get a good night's sleep but still thought I was capable of going out on Thursday.  That was until I saw Ralph from across campus and knew that he wanted to talk to me.  You need to realize that Ralph is this kind, gentle, caring Grandpa kind of guy.  There is nothing about him that is threatening or unkind.  But the moment I saw him I started to cry and I knew I was in no condition to try to go out in the slums again.  I must add a side note here.  We have a team of around 17 that are here to be going out in the public and handing out food and praying with people.  But after the first day many of them decided that "that wasn't for them" and they wanted to get out of going into the slums.  That left a few of us who were willing to go carrying the load.  That was part of the reason I think I was so emotionally shot by Wednesday.  And there were team members who were taking the easy route which got really hard for me to swallow.  I've never liked door to door knocking and such.  But I came here to Kenya to fulfill God's plan for whatever He wanted me to do, regardless of whether it was hard or outside of my comfort zone.  And I've really enjoyed most of that time in the slums talking with people.
So Thursday I 'stayed back' on campus.  It turned out that the team never did go into the slums so I didn't miss much.  However, I was so blessed by staying on campus and relaxing, doing laundry for myself and a couple of my teammates.  I had some fabulous conversations with the head of housekeeping named Simon.  We've decided to become facebook friends!  I also got to Skype with Kevin and the boys whom I hadn't seen or spoken to since I left town a week ago.  I also spent a few minutes Skyping with my Mom.  I had spent some time on Skype with her before, but without her being able to hear my side of the conversation.  Charades was the only form of communication.  I also grabbed a nap in the afternoon.  I was a completely different person by the time the team arrived back on campus.  I finally realized that I had experienced almost no down time for myself and that had created a problem.
Today is Friday.  I can't believe the week has moved so fast.  We went to an orphanage today and did crafts and played with the kids.  One woman runs this orphanage with 60 children in it.  We got there around lunch time and the only thing she had left to feed them was chopped up kale and carrots.  One of our guys ran to a local market and bought some rice and beans and flour so that the kids could have something more to eat.  These are children who have been abandoned and end up there.  The simple things like jumping rope, playing with balloons, and kicking a soccer ball lit up their little faces!
I didn't sleep too well last night.  I don't think I've mentioned that the campus we are staying on has a round the clock guard service and is complete chainlink fenced in with barbed wire across the top.  We were also told, on the first night, that we should not leave the dorm building after midnight because they release guard dogs to partrol the grounds all night.  They would attack if they saw us.  I know I've mentioned the nearby wild animals.  Soooooo, last night the hyenas were very close to our fence line making lots of noise and the dogs were barking up a storm at the hyenas!  This combination does not make for a restful night's sleep.  I'm hoping for better tonight. 
Today after we left the orphanage we went to a local mall for lunch.  We've done this every day.  Today there were some people with trinkets for sale set up at 1 end of the mall.  I went in with a teammate and we shopped around.  I eventually got sucked in by a very slick fellow and purchased a soapstone vase.  I found out later that he sold a soapstone plate to one of my teammates for 1/3rd of what he charged me.  I was really mad.  We eventually went back and several of us confronted him and although he wasn't willing to refund me any of my money he was willing to let me take more merchandise.  So I picked out this beautiful soapstone plate.  I was more satisfied.  Not completely mind you, but better.  I decided to cut my losses and move on.
When we returned back on campus Rachael, my new adopted daughter (and teammate), and I wanted to walk to the bookstore/giftshop to shop.  I had my backpack on.  I'm carrying my new plate and vase.  As we were walking down the path I wasn't paying close enough attention and didn't see a broken concrete slab in the walkway (which I've noticed a number of times before!).  The missing piece of slap created a hole about 2 feet deep.  So here I was "lalalalalalala ..." Whoops!  I stepped right in the hole.  Down I went.  I fell foward and fell flat on that plate I had just got.  CRACK!  I also smacked my head on the sidewalk.  I scratched up my right leg pretty good, turned my left hand knuckles into hamburger, and gave myself some good bruises.  I cried.  Not over the pain or embarassment of falling on my head.  I cried over the plate.  I got the crying out of my sytem and quickly started cracking jokes at my own expense.  I'm sore and will be more sore tomorrow, but I've emotionally moved on.  I can glue the plate back together and the crack (it broke nicely in 2 pieces) will hardly be noticable.  And I have a great story to go with it!
After Rachel and I finished visiting the giftshop we came back to the dorm and several of the team were up on the 3rd floor singing and playing guitar.  Rachael and I joined them for about an hour of impromptu jamming out.  It was a great time.
Tomorrow breakfast is at 6:30 and we leave at 7:30 for Kiebara - the second largest slum in the world.  We have been told that there are approximately 1 million people living in an area of approximately 1 square mile.  After spending a few hours in Kiebara we will go play with some more kids and end the evening with a concert event back in the slum where we spent Tuesday and Wednesday.  Sunday morning we leave at 7 to fly out to the safari.
This has been such an incredible experience.  I know that I will come back.  I've been told, by Simon of housekeeping, that now that I have been here I am his Kenyan sister and those of us who come always come back.  I've adopted or been adoptloving it.ed by several locals.  I'm
I'm sorry that I haven't posted any pictures.  I've been working so hard to get caught up that pictures have been last on the priority list.  Maybe tomorrow night.
For now it's late (10:45 pm) and I need to go to bed.  Lots of activity on the schedule for tomorrow.  I can hear the hyenas howling outside the window.  It's such a strange sound and sensation.  The safari will be even more amped up!  Oh Boy!
My love to you all,
Kathy

Alright, I found the electrician and he's coming shortly.  Whew! 
Tuesday, Wednesday and today there was a Pastor's Conference at a church that I'm sure really isn't very far away from here, but because of the horrible roads, road construction, and traffic it takes us about 1 1/2 hours by bus to get there.  I neglected to mention the toilet facilities here.  At the church we were at in Bondai they are called pit latrines.  Basically a slab of concrete with a oblong long about the size of a basketball cut in it.  The advice from the locals?  Aim straight.  Easier for the men than for the women.  I've squated in the great outdoors plenty of times, but I typically wasn't aiming for anything!  Some have good aim.  Some do not.  You are standing in the error or those who do not.  And the smell is delightful, I must say. 
The electrician is here and wants to turn off the breaker so I'm going to sign off on that last pleasant note.
Later!

Okay.  I left off on Monday night.  I should digress long enough to tell you that the door-to-door food distribution on Monday was a wonderful experience.  We met some very gracious Kenyans.  We had fun with a lot of kids who followed us around too.  A typical "home" for a poverty level resident is a room about 10x10 or so.  Some have concrete floors.  Some just have dirt.  Most have plywood or corragated sheet metal walls.  It is a single room typically divided by a sheet/curtain for the bedroom side.  There are typically a "couch" or 2 and/or stools.  Most of their belongings are kept in a cupboard that resembles the top half of a china hutch.  There is no bathroom.  There is no kitchen.  There is usually a small (smaller than a portable bbq) clay stove/ish thing or a single burner.  No running water.  Sometimes electricity.  But most of the homes we were invited into the room was neat, the dishes stacked, the floor clean and they were proud to have us in their home.  It sure does bring down my expectations of what it takes to have a happy home and what it takes to be content.  Many of them are without jobs.  The biggest prayer requests we got were for employment.  They pay the equivalent of about $40 US dollars a month for what most American's would see as a uselessly storage room. 
I sunburned the back of my neck on Monday.  Those of you who know me very well should not find that surprising!  I'm such a dork.  And I'm telling you I was FRIED!  I spent the next 2 days putting ice on my neck, taking asprin, and smearing aloe on it.  On Tuesday I applied the sunscreen I had packed and used my hat!  That'll teach me!  Everyone on the team was so concerned about my burn.  But being a veteran at sunburns I had it taken care of in a couple of days and now it's just fine.  Brian, 1 of my teammates, and I have become quite good at handing back and forth the aloe and sunscreen.  Brian got fried on Tuesday!
Tuesday took us to a slum outside of Nairobi.  Once again we were going door-to-door distributing food and offering prayers.  I'll try to post some pictures of the slum.  Words cannot begin to describe the stench and filth these souls live in.  The roads are a combination of dirt and trash.  The only "running" water you see is the sewage you see in on the road.  Due to the rains we encountered plenty of puddles that defy description.  Hocking your wares is the most common means of support in Nairobi.  Some walk down the side of the road or the middle of the road selling everything from stalks of sugar cane (very popular among our team members - especially pastor Daniel!), tomatoes, grains, plantains, oranges, limes, lemons, flags, roasted corn on the cob, etc.  We would be in our bus (the tall tour type but not very plush inside) and here would be people on the side of the road with their fruits and veggies laid on blankets spread out just a couple of feet away from raw sewage.  This is very typical.  Needless to say we limited our roadside purchases to sugarcane and plantains (bananas - but better!).
The dryer I am using just shorted out and is smoking so I'm going for assistance.  Get back to this later.

When last I typed

Last night I sat down and typed for about 45 minutes.  As I was trying to post my entry I lost the whole thing!  I was so disappointed.
So I shall do my best to recreate my thoughts from 10 pm last night.
The best part of last Sunday, for me, was the evening worship service.  The morning service ran 4 hours, due mostly to having our team in town and having local politicians and neighboring pastors come in to greet us and say a few words.  We eventually broke for lunch around 2.  The team went to a nearby mall and grabbed lunch at the food court heeding the warnings about not eating fresh fruits or veggies that we couldn't peel and don't get ice in your drinks!
A bizarre cheese burger later we were back at the church for the "evening service".  Our band played.  A Nairobi band played.  The lead singer of the Nairobi band was a wonderful young man who told the story of his childhood.  He was born with a studder.  He was teased for his speech by his brothers.  He prayed to God that if God would heal his speech he would commit his life to praising the Lord.  His speech was healed and now he travels with the church band.  By the end of the service the 2 bands had merged, an extra fellow had emerged with a large rectangular tamborine-looking instrument and was shaking it for all he was worth along with blowing the whistle he had.  The church was rockin!  Conga lines went around the inside of the church.  Dancing and singing!  It was amazing.  I told Pastor Daniel that we need to step it up at Crossroads like that! 
At some point in the evening a little boy crawled up in my lap.  He was about 2.  He was dirty and smelled like a barnyard.  We became fast friends.  Even though he didn't talk he loved the music and he had some impressive moves while sitting on my lap.  That boy had rythm!  Sometimes we sat and danced in the chair, and sometimes I stood holding him and we boogied!  Eventually he fell asleep in my arms, with the bands rockin the rafters.  It was so loud.  I was stunned that he slept through the noise.  When the service ended I started looking around for a parent to hand him off to.  Nobody approached.  I asked some of the kids.  Nobody knew him.  I asked the pastor.  He didn't know who this little boy was either.  So I claimed him as mine!  I wanted to bring a child back anyway!  Eventually his "big" brother came up.  His big brother was probably about 5 years old.  It seems that the older brother heard the church music and brought the 2 year old to check it out.  They had walked several blocks to the church.  As big brother brought little brother's "shoes" and put them on him I woke him up.  The big brother took the lil guy's hand and off they walked.
Monday we met back at the same church and split into teams to walk throughout the community and distribute food and offer to pray for the residents.  The culmination was include an outdoor concert by our church band.  Nairobi is right at the beginning of their rainy season.  I guess a week ago it was very hot and dry here.  The day we arrived it started to rain.  We prayed the gray clouds would blow on by and leave us to our outdoor concert.  The band was set up on a grandstand and ready to go.  Minutes before the concert was due to start the skies opened up and it poured.  The equipment was rushed inside and saved, but the concert was cancelled.  It was to have been an outreach for the church to have all the concert music to draw the neighbors in.  It was a little disappointing for many of us, but we managed.  I helped a couple of members of our team teach a few children's songs to the church.  That was a lot of fun, but boy was I sweating and tired when we were done.  Have I mentioned that its been in the low 80's here?  It rained a couple of times Sunday and Monday but have been clear and hot since.  I've learned that "hot" is relative term.  Many of the Kenyans I meet are wearing sweaters and parkas.  They are cold.  I guess when you are used to 120 degrees and it drops 40 degrees you get cold.  It makes sense.  When our temps drop from 80 to 40 we get cold!
This post has gotten long enough so I'm going to post it and start another one before I lose it all like last night.

Day 1

Well hello. It is Sunday night' 9:00 pm.  We arrived last night about 7. The flight from PDX/Seattle was uneventful. The flight from Seattle to Dubai was uneventful as well. I was ok on the flight until about 2am. I had taken a Benedryl around midnight in hopes it would put me to sleep. Nope! No dice. So I sat around trying to watch movies. I eventually fell asleep around 4am. I was awakened at 6 for breakfast! 2 hours sleep was actually ok. The food on Emirates airlines was unlike anything Ive ever experienced. Dinner was Salmon or Lamb or a dish called Bhindi Masala (curried okra). The appetiser was Asian noodle salad. Dessert was cheesecake. We also had cheese and crackers. THEN there was the middle of the night munchies. Pizza, fresh fruit, and candy bars! I've never experienced anything like it. Granted the cheesecake was the consistency of a sponge. But the rest was pretty good-especially when you consider it was airline food! Breakfast was fresh fruit, plain omelette or chive scrambled eggs, and a croissant.
We eventually landed in Dubai at 7pm local time to 96 degrees and gross humidity. we finally got to the hotel around 9 after the airline lost 1 piece of luggage. We ate dinner around 10:30 and Kathryn, my roomie, and colapsed. Some of the team went out and took a midnigjt city tour. Kathryn amd I declined! we were up at 6 to eat breakfast and be ready to check out by 8 am to catch our 10:30 flight to Nairobi. BTW, dinner and breakfast were buffet style in the hotel. It was a decent combination of American and local foods. I did find it quite funny that the pancake syrup was "American Garden" brand. Flew 7,000 miles to eat American syrup!
After the 14 hour flight from the day before spemding 4.5 hours on a plane was a snap! Lunch consisted of a shrimp cocktail appetizer and èither sweet and sour fish or mutton. Call me crazy but I went for the mutton! It was quite good. Ican hear my mother telling ,e how proud of me she os for trying somethomg new.
We landed in Nairobi aroumd 5. Kathryn and I were the first 2 to clear customs and walk out of the airport. Just about the time I spotted pastor Ralph Kathryn spotted pastor Daniel waving his arms frantically at us. It was great to be greeted by smiling familiar faces and hugs from Daniel. The university where we are staying sent a bus but with 24 of us plus luggage we didnt all fit. So Ralph rented a Matato (a local transportation in the form of a 10 passenger van). So 8 of us got on the van. The rest of the crew hopped on the bus. Our driver decided to take a "shortcut" to aboid traffic. OH MY! Ever been off roading in a van? Hold on for your life! I cant remember when I've bounced so much. After what sewmed like an eternity bit was actually more like an hoir we arrived at the campus of ANU. ANU is right outside of a little town called Rongai. Everything we saw on our ride screams poverty. ANU is completely fenced and has a guard gate.  We had just enough time to unpack in our dorm rooms and ot was time for dinner. We all ate together. I wish I could remember what we ate! it was barely 24 hours ago but seems so much longer-I believe we jad a beef dish' a chicken dish and veggies. The staff at ANU is feeding us very well.
I slept really well. I thought it would be harder to deal woth the jetlag. Not too bad so far.
ANU borders a wildlife preserve. The sounds of wildlife surrounded us all night. Hyenias, orangatang and more birds than Ive ever heard.
After breakfast we went to a churxh in Rongai. the members dress up in their best clothes for church, even moreso than I see in the states. The children love to hold your hands and feel your soft hair. Its pretty funny. I made friends with some 12 year old girls. One them is named Harrison and she stayed pretty close to me most of the day. She is a beautiful young lady but her hair is cut so short its almost nonexhistent.
I need to post this and go to bed. It was a long day and tomorrow is going to bring more of the same.