FKM: I Choose You

Every Friday for nearly two months now, I have been sharing memories from my journal that I kept when I traveled to Kenya, Africa in 2009.  I'm currently raising money to go back this summer.

I can only make this trip with the help of the Lord and those who He has laid on their hearts to help me journey back to Africa.  If you are able to even donate a dollar to this cause, I would be so thankful.  To donate, you can go straight here, to the Christian Relief Fund website, and specify that your donation is for "Emily's Kenya Trip Fund." 

Friday Kenya Memory: Journal Entry from July 7, 2009

We prepared to board our Eldoret matatus for the final time.  The drivers always pick two people to sit in the passenger seat with them so they can show them the sights.  Today our driver picked Barbie and me, and we started off on the four hour drive from Eldoret to Kisumu.

It was very beautiful.  There were poinsettia trees, papaya trees, sugar cane, tea plants, coffee plants, acacia trees, and every color and variety of plant and flower that you could possibly imagine.  The landscape of Africa is so diverse, distinctive, and striking.  I don't think any place is like it in the world.  There is so much beauty, surreal images that wash through my mind every time I open my eyes.

I saw the tea farmers picking tea and throwing it into great baskets that rested on their backs.  It made me think of the slave plantations back in early America.  There were also tall, tall termite hills.  When it rains, the termites come out in swarms of thousands.  This happened at our hotel in Eldoret.  It rained and termites swarmed everywhere.  After they died, they were lying in massive piles all over the ground, wherever we walked.

We had to drive through the worst slums I have ever seen to get to the school.  Houses and businesses made of tarp, piles of trash blanketing the streets, practically nonexistent roads, children playing in ankle-deep mud and feces.  My heart reached out to every soul we passed.

I could hear the children shrieking with excitement before I even saw the school.  They were so eager to see us.  As we climbed out of the matatu, the five hundred children began to sing worship songs.  I told my name to one child, and by the time I stood up to introduce myself to the school, at least eighty children shouted out, "Emily!" before I even said my name.  They were so excited to meet us all and introduce themselves.

We took a tour of the AIDS clinic and VCT.  It is very small and undeveloped, but they are proud of it and for good reason.  They are helping save a few more people each day from the terrible HIV/AIDS pandemic.  I was told, although I am not certain this is accurate, that the tiny clinic services over a million people in the Nyalenda slums area.

We went outside to visit with the children and they lined up to wash their hands.  Because of the cholera outbreak here, everyone must work hard to stay clean and healthy.  The CRF school provides some of the cleanest water in the area, which is a huge blessing to these kids.

After they washed, they received a plateful of beans and maize for dinner; the only food they receive comes from the CRF school.  A girl of thirteen walked up to me and said, "I want to make a friendship with you."  Her name is Dorine, and she is the sweetest little girl.  After we had a short conversation, I told Dorine that I sponsor a girl named Lavin and that I wanted to meet her.  "Yes, yes, Lavin is in class three," Dorine replied, and then suddenly children everywhere were calling out, "Lavin!  Lavin!  Where is Lavin?"

Lavin emerged from the crowd, smiling shyly, and her face lit up with recognition when she saw me.  "Do you know who I am?" I asked her.

"Yes, Emily," she whispered.

I pulled the green bracelet that says "I CHOOSE YOU" off of my wrist and tied it around Lavin's.  "I brought this for you from America," I explained.

Lavin did not speak much.  Her shyness seemed to nearly overwhelm her, but she smiled brightly.  All of her friends crowded around her to admire her new bracelet.  As Lavin left the school at the end of the day to return to her shack in the slums, I saw her staring and touching the bracelet with an expression of amazement on her young face.

Two years ago: Greater Things Than These and Blogging: Themes and Writing Topics