Another Awesome Week! Been battling some stomach sickness this week, but I finally think I'm on the tail end of it. We head for the coast this next week. Yep, our host missionaries invited us to join them on CMF's Spiritual Retreat to Melindi until next Thursday! And Abraham keeps telling me about All You Can Eat Steak & Fries! This internship keeps getting better & better!
Day 31: Market & Lake Turkana
…We went to the market tthis morning with Sammy until lunch. It was pretty cool to actually hang out in town for a little while. When you’re in the bush or in the market, it all becomes real—we’re in Africa!
…We went to the market tthis morning with Sammy until lunch. It was pretty cool to actually hang out in town for a little while. When you’re in the bush or in the market, it all becomes real—we’re in Africa!
I got some cool stuff in the market. I bought some sandals that are made from used tires. It’s a pretty cool idea, but they’re not as comfortable as I had hoped. They’ll probably be something I keep on my bookshelf back home and not on my feet. And I finally got a backpack. I thought my Wal-Mart pack was a joke, but let’s just say Turkana backpacks are a whole new level of cheap. Luckily everything over here is really inexpensive. I got my backpack and a pair of sandals for 550 ksh, which is around $7 or $8. The exchange rate is something around 85 ksh to the $1. You bargain for everything too, & it’s really easy to drive the price down. Basically everyone sells the same things, so you just start walking away & they almost always agree on the price. But we tried to remember that these people need the money more than we do, so we tried to stay reasonable. Everyone was pretty friendly during the process, except for one lady. I told her “Mam” (No) about the wooden spoons she was putting in my face, and she popped her hand at my face & just about hit me. Mike swears contact was made with my sunglasses, but I think she just got really close. Another funny moment was seeing a guy wearing a confederate flag t-shirt that said, “If this shirt offends you, you need a history lesson.”
I thought the irony was pretty hilarious, considering I’m guessing he had no idea what that shirt was talking about and probably needed a history lesson himself. Not the shirt I would have expected to see on a Kenyan. Sadly, it reminded me of Alabama. It might not be the best representation of our state, but it reminded me of home nonetheless & all the Dixie Outfitter shirts people wear…After lunch, we headed to the lake. We passed a bunch of camels and donkeys on the way. Every time I see camels, which is pretty regularly, it still catches me off guard & reminds me I’m in the African desert. Most everything else has become pretty normal, but the camels still get me every time…The lake is huge! Gene said it’s something like the 7th largest salt water lake in the world.
If it weren’t for the mountains you could barely see across the way, I would have thought we were on the island from Lost. And the water felt incredible! There was a moment—very brief—that I actually felt cold. Probably the first time my body has felt cold since we passed through London on the way to Kenya…Sylvester & John had bet us a few weeks ago that they could beat us in a swimming race at the lake. That’s kind of what prompted the whole trip. That & Mike’s begging—which was well worth the trip, so thanks Mike! The bet was that they had to start calling us men b/c they keep calling us boys. Mike’s 27, I’m 24, & Kyle’s 19 (so yeah I guess Kyle’s still a boy!), but in Kenya you’re not considered a man until you’re married. So this was our way of earning our Mancard. And if we lost, they got to shave us from the neck up—hair, eyebrows, & yes, including my beard. But of course the excuses started when we got there so we didn’t actually race. John changed the rules & told us that in order to be a man we had to have big bellies, so we couldn’t be men b/c our bellies weren’t big enough. I appreciate the compliment, & I can respect these standards ;) There might be skeptics in the states, but John seems to think my abs are in in top shape!...Abe wanted to play tackle football, & like most washed-up guys we said told him that was too tiring, but also like most washed-up guys we somehow ended up tackling each other anyways…A bunch of the women from the village there brought out a ton of stuff & basically set-up their own market for us.
It was really cool, but tough to decide who to buy from b/c they all basically had the same stuff. One lady even got mad at me b/c I told her I might buy from her but ended up buying from another lady. I told her, “I…well…” & then just turned & walked away. I was a little scared she might get up & swat at me like the crazy lady in the market;)
Day 33: Back to Work
It felt good to be back with the drilling team today. We started a new well which is apparently the 4th spot they’ve tried in this area. They hit clay on the other 3 & had to start over. Like in the other spot, we’re trying to drill a 2nd well to irrigate a 2nd garden. It’s weird drilling wells where they already have one. It’s more difficult to see that God’s really using us. These people have access to clean water, but they need a bigger supply to irrigate their gardens. And their gardens provide them with healthier food to eat. I’ve had mixed feelings as to whether my heart’s really broken for the Turkana people. I feel guilty writing this, but I envy them sometimes. They’re lives seem so simple-few deadlines, lots of free time. It really it me driving out here that I was starting to normalize their way of life. Their mud huts, half-naked people, poverty—I feel like I’ve been blinded to the poverty all around me. These people seem so happy to have so little. I know so many people in America w/ so much more that are miserable. Is ignorance bliss? If these people don’t know about fast food, running water, air conditioning, golf, pizza, are they really missing out? Are they happier living their simple lives?
Like I said, I feel guilty even thinking these things. I came over here expecting to see broken people, physically & emotionally. But I see peace in these people’s lives & I hear them praising God constantly—singing songs to Him, praying, reading scripture, talking about the blessings He has brought into their lives. Almost every day I hear Sammy singing a song that says “What A Joyful Day.” Blessed are the poor—Jesus says that they will inherit the kingdom of God. I believe it, & I think they already are in their hearts. They’re seeking God, they’re loving one another, & I think they’re putting into practice, “On Earth as it is in Heaven.” They may not have much, but they have God & they have each other, & I think they’d say it’s a little taste of the Kingdom…It’s really windy here, & I was actually a little cold last night (never thought I’d say that after sweating my butt off the past few weeks). We’re sleeping in mosquito nets, so I kind of have my own little mini tent to block out the mosquitos & the dust.
Like I said, I feel guilty even thinking these things. I came over here expecting to see broken people, physically & emotionally. But I see peace in these people’s lives & I hear them praising God constantly—singing songs to Him, praying, reading scripture, talking about the blessings He has brought into their lives. Almost every day I hear Sammy singing a song that says “What A Joyful Day.” Blessed are the poor—Jesus says that they will inherit the kingdom of God. I believe it, & I think they already are in their hearts. They’re seeking God, they’re loving one another, & I think they’re putting into practice, “On Earth as it is in Heaven.” They may not have much, but they have God & they have each other, & I think they’d say it’s a little taste of the Kingdom…It’s really windy here, & I was actually a little cold last night (never thought I’d say that after sweating my butt off the past few weeks). We’re sleeping in mosquito nets, so I kind of have my own little mini tent to block out the mosquitos & the dust.
It’s a little weird b/c you feel trapped in, but I think I’ll sleep well once I get used to it…At one point today Sammy told me in English that he needed to “go squirt urine!” I got a good laugh & told him that wasn’t quite how we referred to urinating in English.
Day 34:
Slept pretty good last night, considering I woke up with my feet outside my mosquito net. Sammy started talking about all the termites under his mat, so I jumped up to check mine, & sure enough, there were a good bit under mine too. We’d found some the previous morning, so we were hoping moving our mats would fix the problem. It looks like the termites seem to be everywhere around our camp, but luckily they haven’t gotten into any of our stuff…Started having some stomach issues this morning. I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say I wasn’t regular!...We ran into some difficulties today digging. We hit some thick clay & by the end of the day we’d dug 30 ft. & only hit 10 ft. of water. So Akai told us that tomorrow we would try a new spot, spot #5. It’s got to be tough for these guys to keep starting over, knowing that their previous work was pointless. It’s pretty awesome to see these guys’ faith through it all. They continue to praise God & pray that he will bless their work. My teammate posted an awesome blog update about these guys perseverence if you want to check it out
http://kyle-whereyougoillgo.blogspot.com/2011/07/humbling-call-to-persevere.html
…I was talking with Sammy today & was reminded again of all my blessings in America. I have so many things, much more than I need to get by. Yet so many times, I feel like I’m just a “poor seminary student.” I’ll kid with these guys and tell them, “Arai ayong ekebotonit (I am a poor man)” when they ask us for money, & they always tell me that I am not poor. My new belt I got in town doesn't help my argument either.
http://kyle-whereyougoillgo.blogspot.com/2011/07/humbling-call-to-persevere.html
…I was talking with Sammy today & was reminded again of all my blessings in America. I have so many things, much more than I need to get by. Yet so many times, I feel like I’m just a “poor seminary student.” I’ll kid with these guys and tell them, “Arai ayong ekebotonit (I am a poor man)” when they ask us for money, & they always tell me that I am not poor. My new belt I got in town doesn't help my argument either.
Surprisingly, these ridiculous belt buckles are actually popular over here! Anyways, they say it is bad to call yourself poor. And they say that they are not poor either; they are rich with the blessings God has poured into their lives. I’m realizing that I’m anything but a “poor seminary student.”…They slaughtered a goat for us tonight, & Sammy gave us another anatomy lesson; this time including the female reproductive system, which was hilarious to hear him talk about. We also discovered that the goat had been pregnant as one kid cut open the placenta & removed the dead baby goat. It was almost fully developed & I felt a little bad that it had been killed along with its mother. It was a little disturbing & seemed unnecessary if we weren’t eating it.
Day 35:
Woke up this morning a little freaked out. At about 5:30 AM, when it was still dark, I noticed there was a light glowing at the end of our camp. I didn’t have my contacts or glasses on, so I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. It looked like one guy hunched over cutting something & some other people with hoods over their heads around the light. I thought I must be having some crazy dream—the malaria medicine we take sometimes messes with your dreams. But then, I had this crazy thought that it was a diviner doing some sacrifice over our camp. We just finished teaching on spiritual warfare last week, so it was on my mind. So I decided to get out of my mosquito net & check it out. I creeped over by the light to discover Danger up very early to make us chipote (like tortillas) for breakfast. We’d brought stuff to make them hoping they would make them instead of cornmeal for dinner. They take a while to cook, so that’s why Danger was up so early. I was relieved to discover Danger wasn’t a diviner (& I’m not sure what I thought the hooded figures were), but I felt bad that he was getting up so early just for us…We followed Gene’s advice & moved closer to the river today for well #5. Everything started great. We were hitting sand & hit water pretty soon thereafter. And I was really hoping this one would be the one. I think the whole crew was hoping so, & we were enjoying the progress we were making. And then, we hit clay. Once again. Onto well #6.
Regardless, I feel like it’s the best my attitude has been thus far. I decided to be less concerned about my shoulder & more concerned about helping these people get water. And my shoulder actually didn’t feel too bad…After Bible Study, we tried to find the spot for the new well & then played soccer. It’s been fun to play with these guys after work each day, but it’s also a reminder of how out of shape I am. I really can’t figure out where these guys get their energy…Danger taught me some new dance moves, so I’ve been trying them on the Turkana ladies. And by ladies I mean the teenage girls that come to check out Akai & the rest of the drilling crew when we play soccer. You basically just jump around on a 3-count towards people & go “Huah!” And whenever I jump towards them, they just take off running, which Danger thinks is hilarious. And they usually think it’s pretty funny to see some white, crazy-bearded American jumping around too. But today, I had a few of them tell me they were going to hit me if I jumped at them again, which of course made Danger want me to do it even more. So I’d jump pretty close to them & then run away once I saw their hands raise up to slapping position. And I don’t doubt they’d do it’; I’ve seen them slap around their animals, & I’ve got no interest being on the other side of that hand!...Kyle started “story time” last night & may have created a monster. They wanted us to tell them a story from America, so Kyle made up a story about his bicycle being stolen & him trying to get it back. Let’s just say it was a straight to DVD story. But after hearing 1st Peter’s 20 minute story about going to school & living in a cave of porcupines, it made Kyle’s bike story seem Oscar worthy! Sammy was translating, so I want to give 1st Peter the benefit of the doubt that maybe the point of the story was lost in translation ;)
Got into Nairobi yesterday & leave for Melindi in a couple of hours. Should be pretty sweet! Looking forward to seeing what life's like on the coast...And All You Can Eat Steak & Fries!
Peace,
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