Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

 As expected, these last few weeks have been a series of big transitions, with the one exception being that we thought we'd move and we're still in Durham for another week at least.

As we settled back in from our big trip, I spent the week looking through teammates' pictures, writing the blog from my journal, preparing a short talk to share at church, and attempting to make dawa and Kenyan food.  Of course, like when we went to China, it's just not the same when I make it!

That week was our last one with all 6 of us here...and who knows? Maybe our last summer together, since Joshua has a house now.  We had one last outing to play putt putt (though Julia was working) and had a game night on Joshua's last night.  The girls went with us to move in to his house.  It was not as nice in person as it was in the pictures...a little smoke-smelly, some rooms really small, some parts needing repairs/updates, but overall, it's a cute house and certainly fine for three college boys.  We moved Joshua's stuff in and quickly realized that he had nowhere to put most of his clothes, so we made a Walmart trip for some light furniture and food.  After putting it all together, it was time to say bye.  Thankfully, Joshua's roommates were around and they are really fun guys and welcomed Joshua well, so I think he was feeling ready to move on with college life.  Of course, I was super sad to say bye, but we did, and made the short trip home.  Oh yeah- this was our second annual trip to Fayetteville on our anniversary, in which we move Joshua in and I cry most of the way home and we do not celebrate.  :)

The next day, Matt and I were part of our team sharing about our trip at church, which was so sweet to be able to share how the Lord called us to this trip, equipped us, and gave us the most amazing time as we learned what it means to be a part of his global church.  The ladies all wore our Kenyan clothing/jewelry to celebrate.  Since coming back, we've been able to connect some with the friends we made there and even got some pictures today of new uniforms that our church left money for them to buy for the kids that most needed them.  So sweet to see pictures of the kids we spent time with and such a blessing to have this personal connection and ability to share what we have with them.  

Then I started back to work with teacher workdays.  It's always hard to transition out of summer and I was still feeling a bit jetlagged, but being back with my coworkers reminds me why I work where I do.  I was sure missing Jeanine, but happy to have a little time to get to know my new teacher.  It wasn't the smoothest week at home, as Matt had to work 3 of those weekdays and I had to figure out getting Julia to work and somewhere for Allie to go, but thankfully we have great support here!  We were also trying to get Gray to prepare for moving to Mars Hill and, in typical Gray fashion, he was putting off all the things I thought he should be doing, while embracing activities like 5:45am prayer meetings at his girlfriend's church, going to the movies, and cooking the family steak for his "last meal".  Friday at 4:45am dawned early and he wasn't exactly packed, though he'd thrown most of his clothes in piles in his laundry baskets the night before. 

 We managed to leave around 6 and the girls left for Emerald Isle with Pa soon after that.  It was a loooong day at Mars Hill, but a good one.  We checked in and met some of the staff and talked to Gray's coach.  When we headed to his dorm to unload, his older lacrosse teammates took all his stuff to his 3rd floor dorm room for us!  We helped him unpack, went to lunch in the dining hall, picked up a few more things at Dollar General, and met his roommate, roommate's mom and roommate's girlfriend, who had just arrived to unpack as well.  Gray's coach held a meeting for freshmen and their families and they all introduced themselves, took a photo, and began to go off together in groups.  I really liked what I saw of the coach.  He seems like he has strong expectations of the players and will hold them to it.  The assistant had a ton of energy and seemed fun. 

 Since Gray went off with a few guys, Matt and I wandered downtown to the bookstore to cool off.  Later all of us were in an auditorium for a meeting and then the students were taken to get ready for "March through the Arch", in which they come through downtown under an arch that says Mars Hill, in parade fashion with a band and parents ringing cow bells and shaking pom poms.  Gray clearly didn't love this part, but I think it's a fun tradition.  They'll march out the other way "into the world" when they graduate.  After that, we gathered to hear the President briefly speak, then had to say goodbye.  Of course I cried and Gray just kind of awkwardly patted me.  :) It was dinnertime and so Matt and I walked away to one of the downtown restaurants and I quickly dried my tears and focused on my pita bread with pimento cheese appetizer!  On our way back towards Gray's dorm, we ended up meeting a student who thought we were staff and needed to use our phone.  He also gave us a student id we had found, who we happened to recognize as a teammate of Gray's, so we ended up going back up to Gray's room, where he was laying on his bed alone eating snacks and feeling worn out, and encouraged him to go find his teammate with the lost id and maybe play cornhole with some other teammates we saw nearby, which he did.  We began the drive home and were super tired (I was trying everything to stay awake that last hour!), getting home after 11.  

In the days to come, we'd text and hope to talk with Gray a lot and not hear from him much, but eventually got a call and were happy to hear he'd been having a great time doing lots of stuff with his teammates, who we could even hear in the background asking him to go shoot on the field.  He has started classes and says it's easy so far.  Hoping he learns so much, academically and otherwise, and matures in the best way as he navigates college life!

We've talked to Joshua a little too and he seems to be enjoying life in his house, spending lots of time with his teammates too, and doing some of the same 'ol, same 'ol in year 2, like having the same kids in his classes and falling right back into old routines from last year.  What's new is that he's doing some cooking too, now that he's got a kitchen. Happy he feels at home at Methodist.

This week the girls started 5th and 10th grade and so far, so good for them.  They had a great time with Nanny and Pa at the beach and jumped right into early morning rush the next day.

Allie comes home every day with lots of fun stories from her eccentric, funny teacher, who makes them call her Queen Ducky (Ms Ducanis, the "duck" class).  Julia is loving being around friends, new and old, though feeling a little stretched to get it all done, with cheer practice every day.  The kids came this week at my school too and it sure is different being upstairs in a "foyer" kind of area for our classroom.  We hear everything as classes pass by in the hall since our wall is a thin divider, and the kids have to use the big bathroom outside the class.  They are so little, but so far they seem to be adapting pretty well.  They need a lot of interaction, reassurance, and reminders at the beginning of the year, so I'm pretty worn out/ready for quiet by the time I get home, but this "post-flood" situation with a new teacher hasn't been as difficult as I imagined, so I'm grateful for that.

And yes, we are still waiting for those wonderful rails to be installed in the new house.  Maybe next week, maybe not.  Anyone's guess is as good as ours!  We are ready to move on and be done with this last big transition of the year, but it's not up to us, so we wait.  

Goodbye Kenya :(

 Journal entries from Kenya...

8/8/25

This was a good day but also sad, as it was our last day in Shili Shili.  We started camp early because of needing to catch the bus to Nairobi.  We had a quick breakfast and got started.  Our group first played bowling pin knockdown vs. Twiga and the kids had a great time.  One time our team lost because Ruth accidentally rolled a ball to knock over our last pin.  Damaris was so mad and fussing at her.  I was about to say something, but then we were restarting, but I looked over and she shoved Ruth really hard in the back.  I ran over and grabbed her hand and took her to Paul.  I eventually came back over and had Paul translate and told her Ruth didn't mean to make us lose and she must remember to be kind and not push her friends and gave her a hug and it was ok.  Next we went to finish our beading.  Damaris had finished hers yesterday but was working on another and at the end, she came and put it around my wrist, which was so touching.  We did Bible Study after that, but Paul was busy so we let them keep decorating their frames with Polaroids and they had started re-writing the memory verse on pieces of paper, so diligently working.  I went out to check on some other groups and the staff was having such a good time with the Polaroids, getting photos of themselves and with us.  Then Paul returned to translate and Naserian taught the lesson.  The kids shared things that were hard about life and said drought, sickness, hatred, and more.  They were much more enthusiastic about answering questions by day 5 and also in leading the memory verse.  Deborah and Joseph were the most confident but others joined.  During closing assembly, we'd have the kids come up and lead the whole group and often we'd get 2 from each group, then more and more would come and want to join right before we started.  We had lunch this day- a brunch of avocado toast and omelets- then closing assembly.  When we told the kids it was time for lunch after our 3 activities, sweet little Silva said she didn't want to!  Headmaster James spoke for a bit, we did our usual Father Abraham song, review of lessons, and sang our favorite Kenyan song, "Who has the final say?", plus of course Malcolm's demonstrative "God's Word is Powerful" skit.  Before we dismissed, Tipaai and Samuel called up about 6 or 8 kids and had them recite a poem they had prepared as a surprise for us.  It was so sweet, as they'd perfectly memorized it, complete with some hand motions and pauses between stanzas.  They said we could have gone to any country in Africa and any school in Kenya but we chose them and they were thankful.  We gave out the bags, took group photos, and walked the kids to the gate, doing our chants and giving hugs and trying not to cry.  We finished packing and went out to the jeeps.  We shed many tears saying bye to Tiffany and the kids.  Poor Ita had been wailing all morning.  I had gotten close to Tiffany, Naserian, and Selah in particular over our time together and it was super sad to leave.  We loaded up and drove out to the main road to wait for the buses.  One of the translators Kavinda came with us.  In true Kenyan fashion, we waited awhile, then one van came, then waited more (the guys threw rocks at a target) and another van came that was way smaller than expected and it had people on it already too.  We waited awhile and didn't really know what happened, but eventually the people got off the van, we figured out an arrangement, and headed down the road.  In our vehicle was me, Matt, Shelby, Luceros, and Lance.  We ended up talking most of the trip.  Matt shared a lot of army stories and Shelby told a crazy Covid in Guatemala story.  Our driver was good and would get off on dirt side roads when traffic backed up.  At one point it was stopped for miles and eventually we saw that a shipping container was in the road and 2 cranes were attempting to move it.  We stopped once at a gas station and Matt got a coke and coconut chocolate bar while some of us went to the restroom.  We got to the Appletree Apartments and settle in while Lance got pizza.  Our apartment was me, Matt, the Novaks, and Shelby.  We had fun talking before dinner about online dating and proposal stories.  It's been a gift to get to know these fellow church members better on the trip.  We took showers but our white towels still turned brown from leftover dust on our bodies!  We went to the Pettigrew apartment where Noah was glad to have found his knife where he had hidden it, since he couldn't bring it on the train last week.  He had accidentally brought it to the airport in his backpack and had to check it to get on the plane.  We ate pizza then took quite awhile to figure out if we were going to the big supermarket this night because it was tough to get drivers on a busy night and it was getting late.  We ended up deciding to go for it but it was 9:00 by the time we left, and a 30 minute ride to the market.  We bought some snacks and spices and headed home at 10:30, pretty worn out.  

8/9/25-8/10/25

We woke and repacked and went to Lance's apartment to eat and take our luggage.  We had a debriefing and it was sweet to remember God's faithfulness to us on the trip and hear each other affirm each team member's efforts and encouraging memories from the trip.  It really surpassed my expectations in terms of getting used to the living conditions, the delicious food, the amazing hospitality, the warmth and friendship of the staff, the gift of teaching the kids and seeing their smiles, and the way God equipped me to do what he called me to do.  I felt very nervous and inadequate before we left and he was so faithful and kind to make this a wonderful experience.  Afterwards, we went back to the Galleria we had gone to when we first got to Nairobi and most spent their time at the Maasai market.  It was a little less intimidating this time, though still awkward with all the pressure each shop owner puts on you to buy something from them.  I got a bird and wrangled a shop owner into giving me a Karibu sign for 700 shillings because it's all I had.  We went back to the apartments and quickly loaded up for the airport.  After a long line of security, we had a good lunch at the airport- I got quesadillas and a dawa- and headed to board the plane.  On the way to the restaurant we stopped at a shop and got tea and lavender gin.  Our flight began to board and then suddenly stopped and they told the line to sit back down.  They said there were technical issues and they'd get back to us with an update.  We finally left almost 2 hours late and we worried that we'd not make our next flight.  We all said we'd stay awake for the first (5 hr) flight and sleep on the 14 hour one, but most of us cave and slept on the first one.  When we landed, it was just a few minutes before our flight was to take off so we grabbed our bags and rushed out, Matt and I running up the stairs to skip the escalator line.  A the top, thankfully there was an airport employee calling for those going to DC to gather behind her.  she walked us through the airport and we did a series of paperwork checks and security.  Matt ended up having to use his carry on bag to check his and the Pettigrews' gin from Doha.  Finally we boarded and headed for DC.  Matt and I again sat in a middle row with Shelby and did some sleeping and some movie watching and a lot of eating.  We landed in DC, had an easy customs check and loaded up for the 4 hour drive home in which it was a struggle to stay awake!  It was sweet to see Allie run out the door to greet us when we arrived and get hugs from all the kids.  Matt's parents were kind to leave us dinner in the oven and Allie had made a cake and a banner.  I was getting sick and by the end of the night after trying to show pictures and update the kids, I had no voice.  Boy did we sleep well!!

It's Time for the Main Event!!

 Journal entries from Kenya...

8/4/25

Today was Day 1 of Camp, the main reason we came to Kenya!  We ate a quick breakfast and got things ready and met the kids.  There were about 55-60 kids and they were so happy to see us.  Maybe they had heard about camp from the Grade 3 group.  These were one grade older, though hard to tell ages.  The Fergusons said sometimes kids can't afford the fees and start late.  We definitely had some older girls who seemed more like 12 or 13.  It was a great day.  They did well with the bookmarks, were so excited doing the parachute (and Paul was so much help with leading that!), and were attentive for the Bible Study.  Because Kate and Connor were very sick this day and stayed in bed, I was given Paul as my interpreter to make up for being the only adult leader.  He was so helpful in keeping the kids engaged and leading some parts too.  There was one girl Deborah (I later found out she is Paul's daughter) who would speak to me in English.  Most of the kids are reluctant to speak in English but apparently understand some of it, though really everything we said was translated.  We were doing trust falls during the Bible Study and Matt popped his head in to see how it was going, so I made him do one off the bench of the desk, which the kids thought was so funny.  We played soccer versus Matt's team and ended up doing two games- boys on one field, girls on another.  Some of the girls got a little feisty, so we changed to "see who can make a goal from far off" and they liked that.  Then we had lunch (SO good- homemade fries with homemade ketchup, plantain chips with guacamole and pico de gallo with the main dish being "rolex"- Ugandan street food- a rollup of chapati and eggs), cultural exchange (they loved seeing the pics of our families and said "wow!" to the cheer pic of Julia), and assembly.  The LORD was very gracious to give us many good ideas on the fly (or in the middle of the night sometimes for me) as we adjusted things to make it better.  Doing a final assembly to wrap up what we learned and do singing was one of those ideas and it went so well.  It was so sweet to have a couple of the girls lead praise songs that they knew and we had the most fun doing our team chants.  The kids got really into it and it was great to see their smiles.  This day felt so much more like camp than Friday and we were really pleased with the result.  The only downer was Connor and Kate having a fever and bad cough.  They slept all day and moved to a different room to try to contain the illness.  After camp we had tea (chai- Kenyan tea with milk and sugar and spices) and dawas to try to ward off the sickness and we had some free time before dinner, which was so good- rice, lentils, cabbage, and dawas.  After dinner we chatted awhile with the adults and had some laughs with Matt Novak's insect bite burning device, which Shelby and others wanted to try.  We played one Round of Dutch Blitz and headed for bed. This day we learned that Barnette had talked with Bill's Iron Shop and our rails still could not be installed and in fact he'd need 2 1/2 more weeks.  But being here it doesn't even seem important and I think I'm getting more used to this "Kenya time" that actually is seeming pretty similar to "house construction time". Also the people here have so little and we're living with pretty little too while we are here, but they are happy and we are happy and I think that is due to life lived simply and in community.  

Our Group:

Deborah, Jackline, Pauline, Damaris, Silva, Ruth, Vivian (add Lucy on Tuesday)

Daniel, Joseph, Sakimba, Meshack, Sonkoi Tiplit, Nina, Leyan, Melau/Moses (add Sonkale Tuesday)

8/5/25

Today I am very tired, but it was a great day.  The kids were so happy to see us.  We added two more kids to make 17.  We started with the game Nuke 'Em and they loved it!  The best part was when we played students vs. teachers and when they won, they gathered up chanting their two names "Twiga and Simba!!" and did a big huddle cheer to celebrate.  We also played Capture the Flag.  The sun is so hot when it's out and we are covered in dust constantly, plus I spilled tea on myself...a messy day by the end!  We made bracelets and had extra time, so I let them use construction paper and markers, then I offered scissors and glue, but they didn't much seem interested until I showed them how to cut out a tree shape and glue it on paper.  Then they were climbing over desks to claim their scissors and glue and ended up making lots of trees just like mine.  A few kids were using the scissors upside down so I showed them how to use them.  One little boy was hovering his scissors over his paper and looking at me and back to his paper like he wasn't sure he was allowed to cut, until I reassured him.  Before lunch, I was cleaning up their paper mess and someone stopped in to chat- a friend of the Fergusons, a former camper with Tipaai at the old Sky Ranch camps in Imbirikani that Lance helped with, named Sakimu (I think), who is now a missionary in northern Kenya.  He was so encouraging, wanting us to know how happy he was to have us here and to urge us to keep spreading the word- seeds that we are planting, just like the seed that was planted 15/20 years ago when he went to camp.  He talked about how restarting these camps was such a blessing and answer to prayer.  I felt like it was a blessing to get to speak with and thank this Kenyan missionary doing difficult work to help people know Jesus.  We had lunch and then did cultural exchange, where Matt shared about being in the army and being a nurse, and I shared about being a teacher, and the kids went around and shared what they want to be.  Many of the boys said doctor or nurse or army and some kids said teacher.  Deborah was the first to answer and said, "pilot!" Matt asked their favorite sport and team and they said various sports (mostly "fōōtabōl" but said various soccer teams- mostly Liverpool and Arsenal.  It was so cute.  We finished with Rock, Paper, Scissors where you get behind the person who won and make a big "conga line".  The girl behind me (I think it was Ruth) was playing with my hair instead of putting her hands on my shoulders.  Someone pinched the side of my waist on the way around and someone smacked Selah on the rear.  We've learned they are a pretty touchy group!  We did the closing assembly and Samuel led a sweet song all the kids knew- Who has the final say?- that we loved so much and kept singing for days around camp.  We did our chants and the kids seem to really like them.  I thought up ours last minute yesterday.  We had been saying, "Simba, Simba, Simbasimbasimba" but I added arms for a dance where you do it facing forward once, jump and do it facing backwards, jump and turn forward with a bag roar.  Today lots of the kids would say the chants on their own- even for different teams- and at the farm right by our dorm some kids came to the fence and started doing some of the chants.  Some of these were too young to have been at camp, so it's clearly spreading at home!  At closing ceremony, Tiffany was crying with joy at how above and beyond our camp has been than her expectations/hopes.  We ate dinner in the dark due to electricity issues and Lanced surprised us, bringing in delicious fried plantains and bananas for dessert.  We ended the night (last night also) in Tiffany and Kelly's room, listening to funny family stories (the more embarrassing the better, according to the little girls) and laughing so much.  

8/6/25

Today on the way to breakfast, we heard the kids starting to gather and lot of shouted "THERE-FORE!" (the call that starts our memory verse).  They were out leading each other in reciting 2 Corinthians 5:17.  We had originally just repeated it plain and simple, but- another thanks to God for inspiration that worked!- we ended up changing it to a call and response chant and it made it so much more fun and memorable to them.  At morning assembly, one of the girls led a call and response song of theirs too.  We had tag with Kelly's team, then cultural exchange, which was fun to talk about the seasons and weather.  They were very interested in tornadoes and snow.  We played pin the decoration on the snowman, which they thought was so fun.  During Bible Study, I was teaching and it was the day we talked about Jesus' sacrifice for us.  In the middle of the night the night before, the idea had come to me to have the kids come out of their desks onto the floor to sit close and hear my testimony when I got to that part.  I followed through with that idea and it really made that part of the lesson more personal.  They were so attentive as I told about how I would try to fill my heart with many things- pretty things, the approval of others, friends- and it was never enough and how once I understood that following Jesus meant living for him and having a relationship with him, it was okay that those other things let me down or didn't fill me up, because Jesus was enough to give me joy.  It was a special moment for me to get to share with them, even though I may never know if they truly understood or thought much about it.  I had noticed that Damaris was often pushing others to get the seat she wanted or if she was mad and when she pushed during the Survivor Relay, Paul had to take her aside and tell her if she did it again, she'd be done with camp.  The kids often cheated or bent the rules during games, but for the most part, this was the only behavior issue and I was so glad Paul could help with it.  For dinner, we went to Jonathan's for a goat roast.  First, 16 of us crammed in the vehicle and road a ways towards Imbirikani to take a walk out to a ridge where they often see wild life.  We didn't see many big animals, but it was a cool walk.  Shelby's skirt got covered with burrs, so we paused outside Jonathan's to de-burr her on the walk back.  They had been waiting to slaughter the goat so we could see it, so it was a bit later dinner than planned, but many helped skin it, ate raw kidney, and learned about all the organs, which people enjoyed.  I did look at the uterus where they said there were 3 week old twins inside, but mostly sat in the hut and enjoyed the snacks Paul had made- roasted coconut strips and popcorn.  Later, I enjoyed sitting by the fire and chatting with Jonathan and Lance and Matt.  I asked Jonathan if he wanted his son who is in med school to get a job far away or at home.  He said it's good for him to meet people, get to know other cultures, and learn new things, but ultimately, he'd like him to come home and that other kids would admire him and also want to come back home to work.  We had a delicious meal and Jonathan thanked us all for coming to Kenya and hoped we'd meet again, if not here then he'd see us in heaven.  We didn't get home till 10:30 or so and went to bed.  

8/7/25

It was a great day at camp!  A little more laid back, with lots more crafting than games.  In the morning, we had a surprise when Sonkoi from Twiga brought a wild hedgehog in a bag that he had caught the night before after their group talked about Piper and Lucy's pet hedgehog.  The kids went crazy over it! The kids got to make a bead bracelet that tells the story of what we've been learning.  They loved the charades with wrong tool to do a job game, which we did during Bible study to show how we were made for a purpose.  They loved yarn art.  We did a funny 5 item skit where a bus dropped off wild animals and the predators started eating the prey.  They were really into the eating part and stayed in character for quite awhile!  We ended with rockets and the kids were amazed.  They are getting more vocal, more bold, and today some would say my name if they needed something. At closing assembly, we did a "Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky" hand clap game tournament which they loved.  Right after camp, we started walking to a manyatta- family homestead with animal pens made of thorn brush and mud and stick huts for families to live in (bomas).  It was one family's home, with the leader names Luca who had 3 wives and 16 kids, which he introduced one by one in a line.  We did not meet or see the wives.  He dressed very traditionally and spoke to us thanking us for coming.  Paul shared about their life- how they care for their livestock, how the women make their homes, how if any family is in need, they ask a neighbor for food and the neighbor always says yes, they will share what they have and see how they can feed both families.  We went inside a boma, where it was very dark and had a small entry, a room where they cook, and mom/kids sleep, if they are staying with that wife, or kids sleep there otherwise.  The kids asked us our favorite (soccer) team, and I started to say I didn't know but Matt said maybe Arsenal so I said that too and they were pleased.  I met an older boy who said he was in 9th and would go off to secondary school next.  I saw Jackline from my group and Sonkale.  I tried to tell Jackline's dad how sweet she was.  I think he understood.  We gave them 5 Bibles and 5 hymnbooks and they were thankful.  We walked back and had a little bit of time before the evening activities, which Tiffany said was a surprise.  It was basically a "Maasai Life"night that Tipaai had helped coordinate.  It began with spear throwing, which the Maasai guys were crazy good at.  There were the guards, kitchen staff, and Tipaai- maybe one other friend- who were showing us all the stuff.  Matt was frustrated with not being able to throw as far as he wanted.  But he could do the rungu throwing (a Maasai club) pretty far, which was the next activity.  They also started a fire using wood, a little zebra dung, and grass.  They had to take turns spinning the stick and eventually got a spark and smoke.  Somewhere in there, I went back to the dorm to continue to work on packing the kids' take home bags.  The Maasai guys did some jumping while I was inside.  Matt and Kate and Connor joined me making the bags, which wasn't easy with little light, until we were summoned out to receive gifts from the Fergusons- bracelets made by Tipaai's family I think.  Around the fire, there were a few people- Paul, Tipaai, Malcolm- who spoke thanking each other for this experience.  Paul or Tipaai said again how we had come so far to see them and that was only because of God's love.  We all felt very emotional and there were tears thinking about our time together ending.  Also Tipaai had been telling me all week he wanted to give me something his mom made and he gave me a bracelet like some of those from the Fergusons. And then I stopped by the kitchen and they were talking to me about having a nickname (they had given a few teammates a Kenyan name) and before I knew it, Dan was bringing out two arm cuffs and they were trying to put them on me over my sweatshirt.  I joked that they were going to pull my arm off and that I was going to have to wear my sweatshirt forever!  Later I took off my sweatshirt and got them on better, but still when I saw Dan and then Tipaai, they both kept pointing out that they needed to go higher over my elbows.  I ended up having to use soap and water to get one of the off at the end of the night!  We finished the night getting the rest of the bags stuffed for the next day.  

Shili Shili Y'all!

 Journal entries from Kenya...

7/31/25

Today we woke a little later and went to a breakfast of sausage, pancake with honey, and fruit.  They set up our tables in a different part of the beautiful grounds and we enjoyed eating and chatting about what is behind and what lies ahead.  We talked about how, after Matt and I had gone to bed, the Pettigrew boys had fed a bush baby, with the help of one of Benjamin's sons, who is trying to get them more used to people.  We did some shopping at the tables Benjamin's wives had set up and then laoded up for Shili Shili.  In my car was Matt, Leo, Malcolm, Kate, and Connor.  We stopped off at the shop where we bought shukas a few days ago and many bought more shukas.  Lance also had to buy supplies for camp, which took awhile, as things do.  We waited in the vehicles and a man came up and talked to Leo and Matt, asking for money.  He kept touching Leo's face too, which was awkward.  Paul came and shooed him away.  Joseph, our driver, told me he really liked my watch and said, "Maybe you surprise me?"  I didn't give it to him because it's not very nice but I do use it constantly.  Lance and Tiffany say it's not considered rude in their culture to take advantage of perceived opportunities from a connection with someone who is better off than you.  We saw zebras on the roadside, which is always a reality check to me of "You are actually in Kenya!  Where there are safari animals on the side of the road!" So crazy.  Finally we pulled into the school and were greeting so warmly by the Fergusons, who were super excited to show us our temporary home.  We set up our rooms, which are Kelly and Tiffany with the little girls, the rest of us females, Malcolm and Lance with their sons, and the rest of the males.  There is a big bathroom with 8 stalls- some with a short spigot for bucket baths, one squatty potty, one regular toilet, two showers, and some changing stalls.  The plumbing was all new from the money we sent them.  There is also a "choo" (they say chō) outside, which we are supposed to use during the day so as not to overwork the indoor plumbing.  The school setting is beautiful.  Dry and red dusty, but you can see for miles and see Mt Kilimanjaro today.  There are beautiful little birds and it was a blue sky gorgeous day...the sun here at the equator making it pretty hot compared to the cooler days we have had.  We met the staff, Matt and I took a walk, we ate lunch, we prepared for camp, then the whole team took a long walk.  We saw children carrying water, pretty birds, and a gorgeous sunset.  We took pictures together by a cool tree.  Then we had dinner, a quick meeting, and got ready for bed.  I was happy to unexpectedly have wifi here.  We hadn't had it in Kili Springs and so I hadn't talked to the kids (or warned them I might not be able to contact them) for 3 days.  I was fighting the tears getting their messages.  

8/1/25

Today we woke at 6am after a very restless first night here.  Between people coughing, snoring, and tossing and turning, it was so loud.  And it was so dark that I spent a good 30 minutes in the middle of the night just trying to decide if getting up to go to the bathroom would wake everyone with my phone flashlight.  Then I decided I absolutely must go or I'd never be able to sleep, but I still had to sit on my bed a few minutes psyching myself up for it. It was almost a relief when the Ferguson girls' alarms went off just to be done with the night!  We had a devotion and breakfast and prepared for the grade 3 kids who were coming for a one day camp.  They arrived early and gathered in a classroom, where we had a brief assembly with introductions of the teachers and welcome messages from Headmaster James and Lance.  We had 8 kids in our group with Connor and Naserian Ferguson as my co-leaders and a teacher from the school named Faith as the translator.  The kids didn't seem to understand much English but were pretty easy to corral and very cute.  Some were really shy, but warmed up more by the end of the day.  The girls especially would get very embarrassed and turn away and cover their faces.  We are told that being meek/shy is a valued quality for Maasai females.  We started by making and launching paper rockets, then did the parachute, which they loved, and the Bible Study, which was hard because we wrtoe it for middle school, and with the language barrier, it was tough to tell what they grasped.  We had a great time playing soccer and they really opened up more and showed their personalities then.  That was probably my favorite part of the day.  They loved hand clapping games that I think the twins showed them after lunch and after doing "Avocado" a bazillion times with them, I was exhausted!  We ended with the cultural exchange slot, where we shared things about ourselves and that was sweet, as each child got to tell their favorite food, what animals they have at home, etc.  We walked to the gate to tell them goodbye and then had a meeting and took a long walk with Tipaai, who was having his 30th birthday today.  We hoped to see some kind of wildlife and kept asking any people we saw if they had seen any elephants or giraffes and they'd say "just a little farther", but Tipaii said "We are nomads so we don't really know what they mean by 'a little'.  Eventually it was becoming too close to dark and we had to return.  I enjoyed talking with Tiffany about life in Rwanda and later talking with Tipaai about where he'd like to travel and his wedding a month ago.  He was excited to show photos and shocked we don't do dowries, which are such a big part of their culture.  He said, "So an African man can marry an American woman for very cheap?!?" when we told him the bride's family even pays for the wedding.  We ended with a delicious curry meal and the kids and Lance did a pot-banging parade and song/conga line with a birthday cake for Tipaai, who was very moved and gave a speech, saying how happy he was.  I took a freezing spigot "shower" and went to bed.

8/2/25

I slept so much better, thankfully.  Woke @ 6 for breakfast, then a trek out to Chyulu Hills and Kopje Rocks for rock scrambling.  We were packed into 2 vehicles- ours had our team, minus Pettigrew females, plus Ezra Ferguson.  The young boys were in the back and kept up a pleasant stream of conversation the entire day.  Three of us had to be standing up at all times, which grew tiring by 4 pm.  We had a lovely time climbing up to the top of the rocks and eating a picnic pb&j lunch after the 2 1/2 hour drive to get there (pretty sure Paul said it was 30-45 minutes and we did stop to see animals a few times- giraffes, zebra, hartebeest, gazelle, gerenuks, bustards, but still...I think Kenyan time is different than our time!).  Kelly came around and took our order for kind of jelly, peanut butter, and bread, and the Fergusons made our sandwiches.  We also got to try more new Kenyan snacks.  Up on the rocks we could see for miles and miles and there was not a person in sight- only some animals in the distance. There was a lot of piles of baboon poop and puddles of strong smelling baboon pee on the top.  Tipaai asked me to take a picture of him and Matt, one close and one far.  He loved the result when I showed him on my phone and gave me his number so I could send it to him.  After lunch, we climbed down and walked a little ways to do more climbing on other rocks.  The kids were loving it.  We had to stay in groups for safety from the lions that could be around.  I was nervous when we peed behind a bush because it was so quiet and beside lots of big boulders where something could hide.   I had fun hanging out with Shelby and Liz, chatting, being silly, and enjoying our experience together.  Shelby found the skull of a cow and couldn't stop laughing when she picked it up.  We paused just to enjoy listening to the wind in the tall grass.  After we left the rocks, we went on a lion search.  There had been talk of lion tracking, but we knew by that point that it wasn't going to work out.  We did find lion tracks on our route, which Paul identified, but never saw lions.  We saw other animals- baboons running on a ridge, oryx (Noah said "Eat my horns!" should be our team slogan because these animals kneel down and aim their long sharp horns to impale pouncing lions, which we found so cool.), and a group of 3 hyenas.  We got to watch a baby hyena go into its den, which many thought was the highlight of the day.  We stopped for a snack near the hyena den and immediately several of us go ticks crawling on our pants.  Then the boys found a huge scorpion.  I was thinking, "Hyenas, ticks, and scorpions?! This place is paradise!"  But it was so cool to be able to roam the savanna in our vehicle, not sticking to any road and just looking for cool wildlife. We were all pretty worn out by the end of the day and a little nervous about getting ready for camp Monday.  The one day camp had been really good for helping us see what we'd do different from our plan.  One big thing was to adapt the Bible Study lessons and we knew that would take time, but we only had one more day and it was going to be a full one with church taking most of it.   I did my calisthenics and chatted with Liz, Shelby, and Kelly about the day and other things.  We had dinner, Bible Study, and went back to the dorm for bed.  It's very dark there with just a couple single lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling to light the whole place, and the sun goes down about 6:30 year round, so it makes evenings a little challenging (especially since I didn't bring a headlamp!).  I find it takes me twice as long to do the easy logistical things of getting out clothes, taking a shower, brushing teeth.  I often can't find things or forget to bring my clean water to rinse my toothpaste or bring the wrong bag of toiletries to the bathroom. But it's kinda fun at night when many of us are in the big bathroom together using wifi, brushing teeth, showering, and talking.  It's very communal.  This night in the girls' room, Liz mentioned wanting to put her legs up against the wall to let the fluid drain from her feet.  We were all still swollen from our travels and the long day in the car.  She and Shelby do this a lot at home.  So we figured out how to find a spot on the wall, put down laundry to lay on the cement floor, and put our legs up.  Eventually most of the ladies joined and we got very silly and had many laughs, which the guys probably didn't appreciate, as we were so loud and you hear everything anyway.  It was a fun night.  Other things about camp- outside the dorm, you can walk a a little and get a building that has a big kitchen and beside that, a classroom with desks arranged in a big U where we do all our meals and Bible Study.  Beyond that are more classrooms where we do camp.  Around the yard are trees where beautiful green, parrot-looking lovebirds roost, and other little black and white birds that like to sing.  Some birds roost in our building and you can hear them at night.  I think they are pigeons.  Sometimes they sound like they are bowling.  In the big bathroom there are two doors that have open gates at the top and the wind (it's always windy) blows throw there all day.  We hear all sorts of noises- dogs outside the dorm, bats and mice inside- and people always talk about mysterious lights at night, which Malcolm eventually determined were some kind of spotlights from the farms adjacent to the school I think.  There are huts by the watermelon patches there where people guard the fruit from elephants at night.  One more thing this night- Kate found an embedded tick on the back of her knee and Malcolm, then Matt, had to try to get it out.  The head came off and they couldn't get the rest.  We all gathered in the hall to see.  It was big and hard shelled.  

8-3-25

Today we got to sleep a little later and have breakfast at 8.  I took a cold shower before and we all enjoyed getting ready for church in our new Maasai wrap skirts, jewelry, etc.  We had some time before we had to leave for church and Matt and I talked to the new cook Dan, especially about how he got his branded circles on his face (a Maasai tradition) at age 4 and ran away in between cheeks.  He said he was not having his kids receive the brands and it's not as common anymore, though a good many of the camp kids had them.  We rode in the same cars as yesterday and went to Imbirikani, to Tipaai's church.  It was so nice to hear from their pastor lots of thankfulness that we came not just ot see the animals, but to see them and even flew 19 hours to get there.  He emphasized that- black or white- we are all family in Christ and if we don't see them again, we will see them in heaven.  Seeing Paul's joy and tears during the service as we worshiped together was so precious.  At first they said the sound system wouldn't work and we'd just use our voices and hands to worship, which would be good enough, but sometime after a couple of songs, the sound system came back and there was a Caribbean sounding tune and lots of beats coming from the keyboard as they played the next worship song.  People came down the aisles to dance up front and Paul came over to dance with us.  Malcolm preached a short sermon, then Pastor Gideon gave some commentary, then there were choir performances, Lance preached, more comments, more music and at the end, our group was called up to be introduced by name to the congregation.  Then someone- Paul or maybe Tipaai's brother Jonathon, said, "Now, you dance!".  We didn't have a dance but we did sing "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus" (which, by the way, had been sung nonstop for the last few days, particularly by the little girls) and tried to make it as peppy as we could! I saw a clock on the wall with no hands, which is funny because "Kenya time" isn't on time as we think of it.  We socialized a little after church, then walked to Tipaai's family home for tea.  We met his mom and older brother Jonathon.  Their home was beautiful, with a courtyard and several huts.  They had tea and mandazi set up for us in one hut with a beautiful view and we sat and talked to Tipaai and Jonathon about Jonathon's role as the community leader, how they met their wives, how age sets (with labels) work for Maasai men, how dowries work, etc.  It was so cool.  He asked if we would come for dinner another day and said we could have goat (though at first he said Americans don't like meat but we corrected that notion!).  We met Tipaai's wife and she was very quiet but said she is teacher and she misses her family, as she isn not from nearby.  Tipaai's mom came out and gave Kate a beautiful necklace and hug.  By the time we made it back for lunch it was 3:30.  We ate and then spent the rest of the afternoon adjusting our camp plan.  We had some good laughs planning a chant for our Bible verse.  We worked till dinner, ate, and got ready for bed.