They Say It Takes a Village...: Finding My Way

The last month in Kenya has been colorful, beautifully unpredictable and eye opening to the shattered infrastructure of this country. But with the heartbreak that comes from seeing some of the darkest and most desperate parts of Kenya, the Lord has opened my eyes to a fuller understanding of my purpose here which goes far beyond what my narrow mind could have ever conceived when I first decided to go.

Pictures are at the bottom and there are links to videos throughout the post.

1. There is something amazing about having a friend who is Kenyan, who I met in the States but now lives in Nairobi. Needless to say, my good friend and former coworker, Robby, is finally here and I couldn’t be more excited!

2. After only a month of Robby being back in Nairobi, it feels like nothing has changed. We have started working together on a video for Wells of Joy Ministries, an NV supported church and school in the Lunga Lunga Slums. We have already had a meeting with the pastor and are planning to start working on the video next week. I will post it as soon as it is finished.

3. A few Sundays ago I visited a Maasai church located at a Compassion International site about an hour away from Naomi’s Village. The church service was 4 hours long, complete with swarming flies and stagnant air, but was truly one of the most fascinating church services I have ever been to. The Maasai tribe dress in beautifully bright fabrics, intricate beaded jewelry and they sing most of their songs while jumping in unison throwing their heads forward and backward. The service was a surreal experience deep in the African bush and in that moment, I couldn't be happier.

Video of Maasai Church Service

4. A month ago I took one of our babies with a severe rash to Kijabe Hospital. We waited to be seen for about 4 hours and in that time I met a woman, Agnes, and her 2-year-old little girl, Lucy, who has epilepsy. After talking to Agnes for quite some time, I asked her if she minded telling me how much a typical hospital visit costs. She told me the doctor fee, blood work and a 2-month supply of medication is about 2200 KES, which is only $27 US dollars. I couldn’t believe that was all it took to give Lucy a normal life but for her mother, that is 4 times the amount she spends on rent every month and it literally sucks up every shilling she makes. Agnes asked me to sit in on her visit with her doctor and before the day was over, we had become friends and my heart was broken for this precious family. I helped Agnes pay for her doctor visit and told her I would meet her at the next appointment.

Just this week I met Agnes and Lucy for their follow up and found out after each visit, they sleep overnight in the hospital waiting room because the 7 hour commute home is too dangerous by the time their appointments are over. Agnes told me their plan was to take the 6 AM bus the following day. I couldn’t stand the idea of the two of them in that cold lobby sleeping on wooden benches so I checked them into a local guesthouse and took them to dinner, as they hadn’t eaten in almost 10 hours. Their situation is painful but it is so amazing to be a part of helping a family with such a need. As I said goodbye to them the following day, Agnes recited a verse from Matthew 25. She said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

5. For those of you that knew me in 2010, you may remember that when I came to Kenya the first time, the son of one of the leaders of the IDP Camp was murdered while I was here. It was heart wrenching at the time but nothing compared to coming back two years later and actually becoming a friend to that man.

Joseph is the head of the Poultry and Greenhouse Project in the camp and a mutual friend suggested that I teach Joseph how to use Excel so that he can create budgets to track supply costs for his US counterparts. After trying to get together for weeks we finally arranged a time to meet at his house in the camp. We spent 8 hours as I helped him learn how to use his new camera, take pictures of the projects, download/email those pictures and build budgets in excel. It’s a surreal experience to spend a day teaching a man who survived unbelievable post-election violence, who then fled his home for safety, moved to a camp where he lived for 4 years in a tent with no electricity or running water and then lost his son in a brutal murder just 100 yards from his home. He told me not a day goes by that he doesn’t remember what happened to his son. And it still hurts… every single day.

6. Just before my friend, Lindsey Castilleja, left Kenya she showed me how to take a matatu from the stop by NV into the center of Maai Mahiu and as I had been warned, we were 2 of about 15 people inside a vehicle meant for 9. In addition, another truck gave ours a friendly tap while the door was wide open to make us move. Gotta love those Kenyan moments! At least now I am mobile and can get into town whenever I need to!

7. Lindsey is connected to Comfort the Children so I invited myself to lunch with her and the founder a few days before she left town. CTC is the largest employer in Maai Mahiu and is a self sustaining community project that supports a school for disabled children, workshop for the moms of those disabled children, HIV testing and educational clinic as well as numerous environmental and youth projects.

After lunch I helped Lindsey with a video that she was making for CTC to help raise money for a handicap van. CTC currently has 70 disabled children on their waiting list; many of which can’t commute because their disability limits their ability to get to CTC. After a few hours of holding the mic, asking the interviewee probing questions and helping with some of the camera technical issues, I told Lindsey to hire me as a producer for the documentary she is working on about children with disabilities in third world countries. I think she is considering it! I will post the fundraising video for the CTC vehicle as soon as it is done.

Video about Comfort the Children

8. In a past post I mentioned the tradition of bathdays (pouring water on someone on their birthday), but the July NV bathday took the cake. Rikki Tai’s birthday is in July so like clockwork, we had a July NV birthday party and I of course, was one of the people responsible for coordinating the bathday portion of the party. An hour before the waterworks, I walked into the kitchenette to make a cup of coffee and found Rikki Tai and another volunteer stuffing something suspect into 2 drawstring bags. I ignored them until out of the corner of my eye I saw a water balloon drop out of one of their shirts and break on the floor. Against my better judgment I told them I wouldn’t tell anyone about their plan to throw water balloons when they were in the bathday circle. I figured a few water balloons were nothing compared to the 25 buckets of water waiting for them behind the building. When it came time, everyone circled the July birthdays and as expected, they started throwing water balloons into the crowd. As soon as they started I yelled for everyone to grab the buckets of water on the other side of the building. The kids took off running but as they returned I quickly realized the plan had gone awry as they were heading straight for me instead of Rikki. Within a matter of seconds, I was soaked from head to toe. With each torrential downpour I screamed, “It’s not my birthday. It’s not my birthday!” Later I found out Rikki had bribed all the kids with candy bars to throw water on me instead of her. Needless to say, I got hosed.

9. The best part of Kenya is that no day looks alike and nearly every single day is full of unexpected surprises that you couldn’t have conjured up on your own. Last week, Rikki Tai, Amy and I met a friend in Maai Mahiu for lunch. After lunch, we went to CTC so that Amy could take a quick tour since she had never been. As we were touring someone invited us to watch their youth dance team practice. We figured we’d stop in quickly on our way out and then head on home. The minute we got there I knew we’d be staying for a while. The dance team is made up of about 10 teenagers who can breakdance like I’ve never seen in person. After about 30 minutes of performing they talked first Rikki, and then Amy and I, into getting up and dancing with them. Before I knew it I was on the ground attempting some breakdance move where you’re halfway between a headstand and a handstand with both legs in the air. I woke up the following day feeling like someone had punched me in the back of the neck but it was well worth the applause!

Video of Me Attempting to Breakdance

10. I finally carried a baby on my back… enough said.

Robby is Finally Here