Digging the Well

Day 10: Taking It Up A Notch

…Got dropped off in Nakur to join the drilling team for the next 6 days.  It was a 3 hour drive and the roads are like dirt paths. 

It’s more like going off-roading and kind of feels like you're on a rollercoaster…Had to cross the river to get to the well project and gardens.  It got about mid-thigh deep and was pretty slick mud, really comforting when you have everything you need for the week in the pack on your back.  

Had to roll our shorts into basically a manthong (I’ll spare you from having to see the picture!) to try and keep dry!...The drilling crew reminds me some of the Lost Boys from Sudan in how they are all young guys making it through life together.  We think we’ve got it rough b/c we’re gonna be out here a week; they’re out here a whole month before returning to town!...I’m an emusugut, a “white man,” & I’m rich in their eyes.  I feel like it’s unfair for them to stereotype me as wealthy, but they are just going by the facts.  I traveled by plane across continents, have contact lenses—I even have a headlamp that allows me to write at night.  I have so many things.  God has blessed me in so many ways.  I have no reason to complain.  

Day 11: Trying to Survive

Sleeping last night was a nightmare.  It seemed like things would be perfect.  We got sleeping pads, there were no roosters, & the breeze felt really good.  Little did I know the wind would be my nemesis.  I should have known when Akai told me to put my pack above my pillow for protection that it was going to be a long night.  The wind just blew up all the dirt to where it was miserable to try and sleep.  You had to cover your face with the sheet or else it would get in your mouth.  And the sheet was too small to tuck around your whole body, so the wind would almost blow it off your body.  Even Sammy said, “Last night was bad!” the next morning, & he’s Turkana!  I asked if he’d ever slept through something like that & he said, “No! Worst night ever!”  But we trekked back across the river after lunch and got a tent from Gene’s old house, so that should help (it did!)  The tent’s a little too small for 3 people (it was!) but we’re going to try and fit Sammy, especially if last night was the worst night of sleep of his life!

 

...We went to church this morning…They meet under a large tree by the gardens

…Akai asked if one of us would do the second reading, so I said yes, assuming I would just read whatever the scripture was for the week.  Wrong again!  Right before I was supposed to read, they sang a song to welcome me, & I asked Sammy what verse I was supposed to read, & he gave me a look of panic.  I wasn’t just reading; I was preaching!  Yep, that's my name on the church board!

No prep, just stand up & preach.  I gave them the give me a minute finger (index) & scrambled to find Jesus’ reduction of the law to the two greatest commandments.  I had just written a sermon for class, so I just tried to remember what I had written.  I read & spoke, & Sammy translated for me.  Afterwards, a few people told me they really liked my preaching, mainly b/c it was short (usually hear people complaining for me being too long!). It was definitely one of those moments when God was speaking through me b/c I was definitely unprepared!...They slaughtered a sheep for dinner & we got it all on video, including Sammy’s anatomy lessons!  I wasn’t as disturbed as I thought I’d be watching it.  Once they throw it all on the grill, it all just looks like meat.  I tried the liver & the tail & they weren’t too bad.  One guy even drank the blood--Twighlight Fans, eat your heart out!  Here's the before & after:

…Jesus washing his disciples feet has taken on a whole new meaning.   

My feet are nasty at the end of the day, covered in dirt and mud.  The thought of washing someone else’s that look like mine (yes, I know I need to clip my toenails…and I did today!) is pretty gross.  But that’s what it means to love, to lead by serving.  

Day 12: Digging the Well

…We actually started doing some work today which felt good.  It’s tough work, much tougher than I expected.  You basically push press & spin the handle, then upright row it up while balancing on a ladder & the well casing. 

 

The bottom piece is slippery since it’s hitting water, which makes lifting it up even more difficult…Lunch tasted a lot better after actually working today…We do Bible Study everyday at 3 PM.  They have a reading plan they go through where they do an Old Testament & New Testament reading each day.  We read 2 Corinthians 3:1-11, & I asked them what Paul meant when he talked about the greater glory.  I asked which holds greater glory: the law or the cross.  Initially, they said the law, which shows how they view Christianity.  Everything operates under a system of right & wrong.  They seem to believe that God’s love for us is conditional, they can’t quite understand grace.  None of us really understand God’s grace, but it definitely appears to be a barrier for spiritual growth here.  We tried to discuss with them that the law reveals our sin, but the cross reveals God’s love & mercy.  Jesus fulfilled the law, so we could stop trying to earn God’s love.  We follow the law by following Christ, by embracing His love.  The law no longer defines us, love does.  I don’t know if it all clicked for them, but it was a good discussion.  

Day 13:

…We learned more about Turkana marriages.  Apparently marriage defines when a boy becomes a man.  Akai keeps calling us boys, & we say “Mam (No!)” & make him call us men, just to give him a hard time.  We learned that the educated marry later, closer to age 30, which surprised me.  Uneducated people; however, marry young…I told Sammy not all Americans marry, and he said that was “very bad.”  He said it must be lonely to sleep alone, wash utensils alone, and not be able to, well you know.  He said even the animals get to, and said they have it better than the unmarried!...We also learned some more about men and women.  Akai & Sammy both said you have to make sure women cannot beat you physically.  It would be very shameful, so you have to be smart.  So if it seems like your wife could, you should divorce her & get another wife.  I asked them how that’s biblical, & they tried to justify it.  It’s funny to hear them say, but I really hope they don’t physically abuse their wives; just feel confident they are physically stronger & not feel the need to demonstrate.  And they are adamant that there are jobs for men & jobs for women.  Feminists would flip out over here!...Been doing some bartering over here.  Currently trying to trade my flashlight for a walking stick & ichalong (chair).  Also hoping to get a spear to bring back to the States.  

Day 14:

Had some more funny conversations last night.  They couldn’t believe the man doesn’t have to pay anything to the family of his wife when he marries her.  Over here, it cost like 5 camels, or 200 goats to marry a girl.  Apparently it all depends on the amount of men in her family b/c each of them get something.  Sammy once again said this was “very bad!”…Carrying the water jugs this morning was a good reminder of just how much these women do for their families.  They are heavy to carry, got to be around 50 lbs, & they carry them on their head!

 

...We went fishing Turkana style this afternoon.  It was awesome!  Basically, you run around with a basket & randomly push it in the water hoping to trap a fish.  My Turkana fishing was about as good as my American fishing—so pretty bad!  They somehow have a strategy though.  They fish as a group & move together & funnel the fish towards one another.  It’s pretty crazy to watch them actually run down a fish & trap it.  Some even just catch it with their bard hands!  It’s a whole different league of fishing!  Kyle caught one & a kid pulled it out of his basket & just bit the sharp fins off the fish with his teeth, cut up his gums.  Pretty wild!

Day 15:

Can’t believe I’ve been in Kenya more than 2 weeks now.  Last night I noticed a hole in the top of my pack.  Beginning to understand why it only costs $30.  I really hope it can last, or there’s some way to fix it.  I really don’t need that much out here.  I could probably survive with a plastic bag and my water bottle.  But there’s a sense of security with that pack…I’m ready to be back in town, but I also realize how short my time is in Kenya this summer.  I don’t want to spend each week just waiting to get out of here.  I didn’t come over here to count down the days until I go back home…We got a soccer ball tonight and played with the crew and some of the people from the village.  It was basically Emusugut’s (White People-so me & Kyle) vs. the Turkana people.  And we should have beat them.  They are really athletic.  Me and Kyle tried to race them today, & they killed us.  Racing Kenyans—what were we thinking!  But they’re not that great at soccer.  You can tell they just haven’t played very much.  We just played in dirt area between the gardens where there aren’t too many thorns.  We lost 10-6, and that’s only because our goalie had to leave halfway through the game.  I had 4 goals—yeah, they’re that bad ;)  But this week, Mike’s joining us & Sammy’s bringing his soccer shoes, so I think we can take him.  I’ve been telling Akai, “Mimi ni baba Akai.”  Swahili for, “I’m Akai’s daddy!”  Should be fun to keep playing after work this week.

 

Heading back to Nakur for another week with the drilling crew tomorrow afternoon!  Thanks for the prayers & support! 

Peace

Emwono Ayong...

Emwono Ayong…It means “I’m satisfied” in Turkana.  Generally, this is the phrase you say when you are finished eating to let people know that you are full.  Before leaving for the bush last weekend, I would say I was anything but satisfied.  We had come back into town on Thursday, and I spent most of Friday shoveling sand and gravel expecting to have the weekend to relax.  I wasn’t exactly thrilled when I heard we would be going back out on Saturday until the following Friday.  So I spent most of Friday night griping and frustrated.  Why aren’t we getting to rest this weekend?  Why won’t the Internet work?  This did not fit into MY plan!  But God reminded me that it’s not about me!  It’s not about my crazy summer in Kenya.  It’s not about my blog.  It’s not about my class.  It’s not about what’s next in my life.  It’s about God!  And it’s about doing HIS work this summer—for HIS glory, not MINE!

Gene & Melba (my host missionaries) have a picture in their house that I keep thinking about when I get frustrated or anxious over here: 

“It’s not about having what you want, it’s about wanting what you have.”  I didn’t really understand that sign until reading it before leaving for the bush last weekend.  I was frustrated thinking about how things could be so much easier over here.  I wished we had a more laid out schedule, a day off, fast internet, cold drinks, air conditioning, etc.  And that sign reminded me that I was so concerned with what I didn’t have that I was forgetting about all the blessings I did have.  I had forgotten how blessed I was to have great teammates, great host missionaries, a supporting family, food, clean water, and a God who loves me unconditionally.  So this past week, when things started to get difficult, I kept trying to think about that sign.  I cut up my hands the first day working, and was worried how I was going to be able to grip the slippery drill pieces.  That worry was soon forgotten when I didn’t put on sunscreen (dumb, I know!) and got these bumps on the back of my arms.  Then, I noticed mid-week the hole in my pack and started worrying about how I would survive if my pack broke.  And now my shoulder has been irritating me, and I’ve been a little concerned about it slowing me down working.  But I realized through all of my anxiety that there always seems to be some nagging thing preventing me from being happy.  If only I didn’t have these cuts on my hands, this hole in my pack, this pain in my shoulder—life would be so much better.  But when I look back on my life, I can see that God has always been there to help me through any difficulties.  So what if my bodies a little beat up?  These Turkana guys work six days a week—no gloves, no ibuprofen, no anti-inflammatories.  So what if my pack breaks? These Turkana guys don’t have more than two sets of clothes, if that! I could probably survive out in the bush with just a plastic baggie if it came down to it (still hope my pack holds up though!).

God is so much bigger than me and my problems.  And he’s doing great things in the Turkana people’s lives.  Many of these people are meeting daily for Bible studies—discussing the Word, praying together, sharing life together.  He’s working through missionaries like Gene & Melba & the drilling crew to provide proper nutrition, clean water, and education to so many people over here.  And He’s working in my life, and I just want to say thank you so much for supporting me and allowing me to be a part of HIS work in Kenya.  I hope that this next week I can go to bed exhausted and dirty, with my “old man” wounds and smile, knowing that I am blessed to be a child of God.

“Emwono Ayong”—may we all sleep peacefully knowing that WE ARE SATISFIED because we serve a loving and merciful God who is actively moving in the world today!

Peace,

Men Who Stare At Goats

 That basically sums up the men in the bush.  Threw this together pretty fast so sorry for mispelling or confusion.

Day 6: Into the Wild

This morning we loaded up the trucks and headed into the bush.  I thought we had left civilization when we stayed in the village, but this is a whole new level of roughin’ it.  I got dropped off at the school where my new host dad Daniel teaches and lets just say I didn’t make the first impression I was hoping to make.  When I got out of the truck, the kids started crying and took off running.  A few even hid behind the chalkboard on the ground!  Daniel told me the kids were afraid of my beard.  I mean, I know the beard might not be the biggest draw for the ladies, but geez- I never thought my face would actually bring people to tears!  I guess, beauty can sometimes scare people ;)  But I made some goofy faces and did some dance moves & it didn’t take long for them to start laughing & wanting to pet my hair like the kids in the village…I am staying with the Ekisokiria people of Kakamat.  These people remind me a lot  of the people from the video we watched during PDO.  Their huts are made of palm trees and leaves & are awesome. Below is where I stayed…

The flies here are insane.  They are like suicide bombers for chai- I had to fish some of the extremists out of my chai.  Really gives you a peaceful feeling about germs and diseases…For lunch we had uji which is like oatmeal only you drink it.  It’s not bad but let’s just say I wouldn’t be too excited if I heard it’s on the menu for tomorrow (which it was!)…Daniel is pretty cool.  His English is great and he’s very talkative.  He even knew about Osama being killed.  I forgot about the bombings on the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi and the effects terrorism had on Kenya…The place is Ekisokiria, which means donkey and I learned why.  They were everywhere by the “river.”  I say “river” because there was no water in it and I don’t think there has been for a long time.  There were probably 50 donkeys and I saw a group of camels too…

I finally got to see one of CMF’s farm irrigation plots and it’s pretty impressive.  They have a solar panel that pumps water, so they can keep the different crops crowing.  The garden is pretty incredible.  I mean in the middle of the African desert sits about half a football field of sorghum, cow peas, and a few other crops. 

  And the people are really proud of the their garden…It’s funny how cultural differences seem to fade when people look at their pictures.  Some teenage mothers kept wanting to get their picture taken again & again & they would point & giggle just like American teenage girls.  They even asked Kyle to get a picture with him.  Apparently the African ladies love them some cat daddy (Kyle’s signature dance)…Definitely had some funny Sammy moments today.  

 
Sammy is great for translating but he always thinks we’re trying to get him to translate.  So sometimes we’ll ask him a question & just want the answer, & he’ll respond back with how to ask in Turkana.  We joke that we need an intermediary between us & Sammy to make sure we understand each other!  For example, we’re in the middle of nowhere & I wanted to know if we can just urinate wherever.  But if you say you need to go to the bathroom, people generally assume “number two” & tell you to go way out in the bush.  So I was trying to ask Sammy and told him “I need to pee right now!  Where do I go?”  And of course, he told me how to ask in Turkana.  We all started laughing, but eventually we got it figured out.  Here's Sammy

 
We each took a bath later in the afternoon near one of the wells.  Not sure why because there’s a bath at Daniel’s.  But he just told me I could pee in there so I’m glad we bathed elsewhere.  I guess peeing in the shower is not only normal here, but also encouraged!  The bathing rooms are basically roofless huts of palm leaves.  It’s a pretty interesting experience to be butt naked in the middle of Kenya under the shade of palm tree bathing yourself

 …I don’t think I’ve ever been somewhere so silent.  If no one is speaking, you can hear the wind the stir up the dirt.  There’s no animal noises, no vehicles, just pure stillness.  It’s almost eery.

Day 7:

Romantic stage is starting to wear on me.  It’s definitely more primitive here.  My host mom just walks around topless & most of the boys don’t wear pants.  In Lodwar, there were breasts everywhere.  Now, it’s that plus an abundance of penis.  What ever happened to wearing clothes?...I woke up to the fury of “Little Jerry Seinfeld” this morning.  He started crowing around 3:30 AM.  He crows again every hour until about 6 AM when he just goes insane for about an hour or so.  I thought he was right by my head, so I was getting prepared to strangle him.  But it ended up that he’s in an elevated cage in the middle of camp.  I thought this was to avoid snoozing, like when I put my alarm clock on the other side of the room on the day of a big test, but I discovered it was because a dog ate many of Daniel’s other chickens.  If I could find the dog, I’d probably pay him off to take this one out too!...Daniel’s wife found my morning routine to be really funny.  She keeps laughing at me and all my luggage (my one pack!).  I woke up this morning & saw their baby covered in flies. 

 It’s disturbing to see it not even phase him.  I can say he because he’s never wearing pants and almost always naked.  I thought Daniel’s two boys were the cutest boys I’d ever seen but discovered the next day that they were girls when they’re mom put dresses on them.  Otherwise, they are very confused boys!  Regardless, they’re adorable.  I gave them Auburn keychains & Toto added it to her necklace.  

So now I’ve got Sammy repping an Auburn hat & kids in Kakamat & Lodwar repping Auburn keychains-Gotta keep spreading the good news!...The African girls are definitely after Kyle.  One even told me to greet Emoru (his Turkana name) for her!...…A few of the girls wanted to braid my hair & we talked them into braiding my beard.  They were afraid at first and said the hair was rough but eventually they braided a strand and eventually almost the whole thing.  It looked ridiculous.  I looked like I needed to be smoking weed or eating shrooms or something.  It was pretty uncomfortable, so I eventually unbraided all of it

 
…More good Sammy moments today.  Some of his responses remind me of Borat.  We tried to get Sammy to admit that the women are mistreated.  Sammy (& most Turkana men) will tell you that the women like to work all the time & carry heavy things.  We asked Sammy if the women were stronger than men, and he said yes.  We were a little surprised and asked who would win in a fight, and he said men.  This didn’t make sense but he explained that all the carrying & working made the women tired, which gave the men a chance!  We couldn’t stop laughing!  I asked Sammy which ranked higher in Turkana, goats or women, & he thought about it and said, “I don’t know.”  It’s funny to hear him say but it’s really sad.  Women do everything.  They even build the houses.  The men seriously just chill and walk with their animals.  We joke with Sammy saying the Turkana men are living the good life, but it’s really pretty boring.  I would feel worthless…Sleeping on the ground with no sleeping pad is tough to get comfortable…Kyle pooped in the “shower hut” this afternoon.  They call it the bathroom but it’s only for bathing, & surprisingly, urinating!  But Kyle pooped in there, & even left toilet paper.  Imagine if the tables were turned and some African visitor came and pooped in your shower.  It would be a little strange…Hopefully I can get some sleep before Little Jerry starts screaming in a few hours.

Day 8:

We made it back to civilization!  Our trip got cut a little short due to some stomach sickness by Kyle & Mike (not saying I was disappointed it got cut short!)  Life in the bush is difficult.  It’s definitely more primitive, but it’s also really boring.  There’s just not a lot going on.  Yesterday & today we seriously sat in the same spot under a tree for like 5 hours.  We joked and said we felt like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day—what do we need to do to get things right?

I feel like I grew a lot over the past few days.  I used to joke with people that food was only a meal if it included meat.  I went most of the past 3 days without meat, & now I realize what a blessing proper nutrition really is…I think I expected to see death and poverty up close and personal in the bush, people unable to walk or stand.  But instead I saw something else.  I saw people dieing more slowly, unknowingly.  These people are unaware that there food intake contains almost no nutritional value.  Most of their food is from maize & does nothing for them other than fill them up.  I ask Gene about the bloated looking children & he said it’s from a continuous malnourished diet.  

 
These children are being served uji, thinking it’s providing them some substinence.  But uji has nothing in it, no nutrients, pure starch.  It will fill you up; it definitely filled me up.  And it taste so bland, there’s nothing to it.  I could understand if it was really good for you & tasted bad like protein bars, but it’s not even good for you.  But these people are unaware.  Both Kole & Toto have bloated stomachs & Sammy said it’s from malnutrition.   Daniel keeps pointing to their stomachs saying “Emwonit,” which means satisfied.  I think he thinks they are full and doesn’t understand the harm that’s being done by their improper diet.  So they eat the same things over & over again not knowing the damage it’s doing to their bodies….I don’t know how these people make it through life.  It wasn’t bad for a couple of days, but it would be depressing if it was your whole life.  And if you’re a guy, life seems pretty lame.  You just sit around all day, maybe go to look for your goats.  But most of the time, just sit around…Sammy changed his answer yesterday & said Turkana men were stronger than women.  But he said the women were stronger for carrying things.  How did these guys possibly convince the women to believe this.  Geniuses—teach me!  Completely kidding!...I got to meet the elder of the Kisiriak people.  His name is David but everyone calls him “the old man.”  Supposedly almost all of the land of Kakamat is his, at least he says it is.  The Kakamat people would agree, but Gene says the government would say otherwise…We went back to Daniel’s school today.  We learned some things along with the 3-8 year olds like colors and animals in Turkana.  It’s encouraging to know we’re on about the same level as them!  I taught the kids how to say War Eagle.  It was pretty awesome to see a ton of African kids yelling, “Waaaaar Eagle! Hey!”  Now whenever I start to wave my hand in the air they’ll start to do the cheer—just spreading the good news!  

Heading back to the bush tomorrow…at least this time we will be working on wells and doing more than “goat watching!”

Peace

It just got real!

Here’s some post from my journal this past week.  Tomorrow we leave for the bush until Friday, so things are about to go up a notch!  Please continue to pray for our team & the Turkana people.  There’s a ton in my journal, so I just posted the highlights (sorry if it’s a little scattered).  It’s a lot, so I bolded the funniest stuff if you only have time to skim.  

I think this from my journal best describes my first day:

When Eric drove me to Peter’s today, I had this feeling of manliness.  The sun was setting and I was embarking into the unknown.  But after waking the whole camp in search of a trash can for my tissues from my prescription nasal sprays to only discover they don’t have trash cans or toilets or even tissues, I was reminded that I grew up on a golf course!

Day 1:

As I sit here sweating my butt off after going to try and poop to discover a hole in the ground in an aluminum shed with no toilet paper, I can’t help but wonder, “What have I gotten myself into?”  It finally hit me as we were pulling into Lodwar airport that this summer was going to be a little different than life in suburbia.  I don’t know what put off that vibe.  Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the rural setting, or maybe it was the fact that the airport was a strip of asphalt in the middle of the desert!  For real our driver picked us up right off the plane

…I will say there’s nothing like eating goat as they chop it up behind you with a machete…First night, I’m thinking they’re probably taking us to stay with American missionaries that live right beside each other. Not even close!  I get dropped off with a Turkana family around 5 and haven’t seen Kyle or Michael (other interns) since about 2 PM.  The family barely speaks English…Me and Peter (who I’m staying with) took a walk into the market, & I’ve never felt like such a celebrity.  Little kids kept coming up wanting to touch my hand or pet my arm & leg hair.  I even let a few pet my beard which was pretty funny…It’s definitely true the Turkana women do all the work.  Peter’s wife cooked, cleaned, brought water to me to wash my hands, & even still managed to find time to throw her shoes at the kids and goats when they misbehaved.  Kenyan women seem to have something about throwing their shoes.  It’s pretty funny!  But the whole time Peter just sat there chilling right next to me.  He wouldn’t even let me get up; instead, he’d have his wife bring me anything I needed from inside…Oh yeah, we slept on mats on the ground outside!

Day 2:

Bathing consists of going into what looks like a port-a-potty shed with a small bucket of water, bar of soap, & their community shower shoes (didn’t expect them to have those!)  It wasn’t too bad, but it’s a little strange to squat down & splash your butt & legs.  Speaking of squatting, I attempted to poop today but got stage fright on the way down & postponed it for another day.  After bathing I did like every other Turkana & hung my toiletry bag on the latrine door & brushed my teeth, sprayed my nasal sprays, & put on sunscreen & bug spray.  Just kidding—not on my part—but their hygiene is a little different, so they all stare at me as I go through my morning routine.  They don’t need sunscreen or bugspray because their skin is so dark & tough, and they just brush their teeth with a stick that soaks up fluoride from their water supply.  The sunscreen/bugspray thing is working out for them, but not so much on the teeth brushing.  Most people’s teeth are really orange or brown (found out it’s actually from too much fluoride)…One of the goats this morning got into a bag of brown sugar & ate the plastic bag.  Paulinna (Peter’s wife) grabbed its hind leg & beat the crap out of it with a stick.  Peter even backhanded one at dinner for getting near the food…Sammy (our language teacher) came by and quizzed me on my Turkana & told me I would be “Turkana Master” in one week.  People must usually be pretty bad because I’m nowhere close to being good…I’m not really sure what people do for work.  I ask a man at Bible Study his job, & he said he didn’t have a job anymore.  That baffled me until he ask me my job & I told him I didn’t have one.  Touche my friend, touché…I saw Kyle and Michael at Bible Study and it seemed like we were all at the same point—completely lost & in over our heads!  I’m pretty sure Gene’s (our host missionary) teaching method is the old “throw em’ in the deep end & they’ll figure out how to swim” philosophy…We got Turkana names too—Mountain (Kyle), Tree (Michael), & Cold (Me).  Not really sure what that means…Michael cowboyed up and took the first poop out of the three of us, a success I might add…Somehow at the church I’m staying at they get cable for television.  I really have no idea how but I got to watch Kenya Broadcasting Channel (KBC).  And of course I got to watch what every American in Kenya misses the most—WWE Raw!  And apparently, some people are pretty ticked that John Cena’s the champ!  I wasn’t too interested, but it’s pretty cool they can watch wrestling in the middle of the African desert.

Day 3: Rain is a Good Thing!

About midway through the night I woke up thinking a goat was drooling on my face.  I was surprised to learn that it was raining because it hardly ever rains.  We eventually had to move inside…Today was a really awesome day.  I broke the poop barrier & squatted & did my business before bathing this morning—great success!  The blue toilet paper was surprisingly soft & left no mess…Sammy came to visit this morning.  He reminds me of the naked Indian guide from Wayne’s World 2.  Not because he’s naked or Indian but because he always appears out of nowhere.  Yesterday he was sitting behind when I was talking to the kid’s at Peter’s, this morning he was there when I got out of the bath, & this afternoon he was sitting next to me when I woke up from a nap—very, very sneaky

 …A little more about Gene.  Could be the name but he reminds me of Gene Hackman meets Crocodile Dundee.  When we got to his house the first day he didn’t say where we were going; he just told us to pack for 3 days & laughed & said we would probably be sleeping on the ground.  He got pretty ticked at a guy at the “Lodwar Airport” who tried to sell his son Abraham a Turkana-English Bible.  Direct quote from Gene: “If you ever pick on my son again, I’ll make sure no one I know ever buys from you!”  And the guys looked pretty terrified…After language class today, we got to play with the kids Michael is staying with.  They were crazy & kept wanting to climb all over us.  They were pretty fun to mess with & kept wanting to wear my hat & sunglasses.  When we got back to Peter’s, it was good to see all of the kids.  They always make me smile.  It’s funny to hear a ton of little African kids yelling, “How are you?”  Probably about as funny as hearing me say “itemokono,” which means yes…The kids love to see their pictures on my camera or “recording device” as one guy called it…

I told Sammy about them hitting their goats and he thought it was hilarious, so he told me how to say “beat the goat” which has been my catchphrase so far.  All the Turkana think its really funny whenever I say it & wave my shoe at the goats…My purpose here is to love these people as God loves them & receive their love & learn their way of life.  It’s pretty awesome!  I’m constantly hot, dirty, confused; but I know that I’m loved and God wants me here.  And even though I’m excited to go back to Gene’s tomorrow, I’m sad that I will be leaving my new friends.  I hope to see them later this summer!  They have welcomed me like family…It’s raining tonight, so I have to sleep inside.  Never thought I say this, but I think I’d rather sleep outside!

Day 4: We found our home!

After breakfast we went to church which lasted 3 hours!   It’s basically a lot singing clapping & dancing & even one lady going “ayeeyeeyeee!”  I got it all on video!  

 Gene came & we gave him a hard time for abandoning us the past few days…Even at church women are breastfeeding.  It’s like wherever I go, some lady has her breast out with a kid’s mouth on the end of it.  I kid you not, the one girl at Peter’s had a kid feeding on there more than not feeding—how much do kids eat?  We gave a quick intro of ourselves at church & I’m realizing how quickly I’m learning the language…Morris got up to do the offering which was awkward because they put the bucket up front, so you have to walk up to tithe.  They also give basically a second sermon on tithing & even count the money there & write it on the board.  Even still Gene said the were way below 10%.  One guy joked that they are probably low-balling to get people to give more money…Our actual home looks like a mansion compared to what we’ve been living in.  3 bedrooms, 2 ½ bathrooms, kitchen, living room—my world just got turned upside down.  Yesterday I was pooping in a hole in a shed and sleeping on the ground & now this!  I would probably still sleep outside because it’s cooler but Gene said the mosquitos are too bad…We discussed after dinner how the Turkana are manipulatively generous.  Their generosity is due to pride in that they can give.  They carry themselves with some sense of arrogance based on the fact that they helped someone, & they generally only help people that they know can help them in return.  They may not have much money, but they have animals and they have status levels based on the number of animals they own.  We talked about how they don’t completely understand what love is.  But I’m not sure we do either.  And I don’t think they were manipulating me the past few days; I feel like they really took me in & loved me.  But I can see the sense of pride involved too so I don’t know.  

Can't wait to post about these next few days!

Peace

Nunnin' It Up

Getting off the plane in Indianapolis, I really didn’t have any idea as to what to expect.  I was supposed to find four people at the airport that I had never seen before and  head to the Benedict Inn.  In my mind I had pictured something similar to a Holiday Inn or Days Inn near the airport.  Fitness center, pool, hot tub—it seemed like a pretty good way to spend my last few days in the states before heading to Kenya.  Let’s just say I was a little off!

Little did I know that the Benedict Inn was actually the “Retreat and Conference Center” for the Sisters of St. Benedict Monastery.  That’s right…monastery!  And as we were pulling up the only thing I could think was, “What in the world am I getting into?”  It’s funny because I sometimes refer to seminary as the monastery or “the compound.”  I love Emmanuel, but let’s just say it’s just a tad bit different than Auburn!  But the past few days—no joke—I’ve been “nunnin’ it up” at the monastery, and surprisingly, it’s been a blast!

Our pre-departure training orientation (PDO), has been similar to a campus ministry retreat.  There’s been lots of sessions, times of worship and prayer, crazy games.  We’ve played ultimate and stayed up singing karaoke to California Girls and Party in the USA…typical nun stuff! 

But what’s been so amazing has been all the people I’ve gotten to meet the past few days.  There’s about 35 of us getting ready to go all over the world this summer—Thailand, Kenya, Spain, England, Mexico, Indonesia, just to name a few—and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many people on fire about being God’s hands and feet in the world.  We each shared our testimonies this week, and it has been powerful to hear the work that God has done in each of our lives.  Stories of people growing up in the church, out of the church; stories of redemption, of healing, of transformation...real, raw stories.  I could not be more thankful of everyone’s honesty and boldness.

The monastery has been pretty cool (never thought I’d say that) in that I’ve gotten to experience some of the things I learned in my spiritual formation class.  The Benedict has a Stations of the Cross and a Labyrinth.

No not that Labrynth…but I do love me some Bowie!  I’m no expert on the Labyrinth, but it’s pretty cool.  If you’re not sure what a Labyrinth is, then definitely google it.  Basically a Labyrinth is like a maze that you walk with Christ in the center.  

 I had expected it to look something like a Halloween corn maze, and was surprised to find a concrete slab with lines on it and a bench in the center.  The first time I walked it I was anxious about doing it the right way, but I feel like God really spoke to me while I was walking yesterday morning.  I kept wanting to look around and see how far I was from the center, but then it hit me…I didn’t have to worry about getting there.  If I followed the path laid out before me, then God would lead me to Christ, to Him…to life.  I was reminded of my own life and my own faith journey and just how sovereign God truly is.  

It’s sad that each of us up here are going our separate ways today, and I think each of us aren’t quite sure what we’re really getting ourselves into.  But we can find comfort in knowing that God has a plan for us; and like the Labyrinth, there’s lots of twists and turns along the way.  But if we follow His path, God promises to always lead us into His loving embrace.

Peace