Each Friday, I share a memory from my mission trip to Kenya in 2009. I am raising money to go to Kenya again this summer with Christian Relief Fund. If you would like to help support me in this journey, you can donate HERE through the CRF website. Be sure to specify that your donation is for "Emily's Kenya Trip Fund."
Friday Kenya Memory: July 5, 2009
KipKaren Church of Christ is held in the same courtyard as the Milton Jones Eagle Academy. People were already gathering when we arrived, and the children ran to greet us.
During the service, I was swamped by little children. One was in my lap, three on each side of me... all were trying to hold my hands and pet my hair. I entertained them with my wristwatch. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I suppose that these children had never seen something like this digital watch before. I taught them how to push the button that makes the screen light up in a flash of fluorescent blue, and that was still entertaining them when I left to go back to my hotel this evening.
Lunch was the usual, and I mean that very literally. We eat the same thing for all three meals: greens, beans, rice, random (and I mean random) chicken parts, ugali, chipati or mandazi, and tea, of course. There must be tea with every meal.
Larry, one of our team, had been in charge of stirring the beans for the church lunch in a huge pot. He began stirring with a bandage on his finger... and he finished stirring without one. Needless to say, our team skipped over the beans today.
It is wonderful to see how the church community gathers together and feeds every single person who shows up.
The women showed me how to wash dishes properly, standing with my back bent rather than my knees bent. In Kenyan culture, to wash something with your knees bent is a sign of weakness. Everyone is quite joyful. The air here is filled with laughter and stories.
When we were driving back to our hotel in our matatus, I saw women washing their clothes and dishes in the puddles on the side of the road. This is poverty. This is what breaks my heart, as well as the heart of God. This is what must be changed.
Three years ago: Self Injury
Two years ago: Sleeping Alone
Emily, have you written about what the trips to Kenya mean to you, what they're all about for you? If so, can you point me to those posts? If you haven't written about that already, please do!
ReplyDeleteI have written multiple times about what Kenya and serving orphans means to be, but you're right. I should write a specific blog post about what this trip means to me. The most in-depth post about this particular trip is the one on March 13, but you made a good point. I'll share more about this soon, when I have the time to sit down and write.
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