Jambo from Kenya!

Hello everyone back in America! I am sorry it has taken me a while to post my first blog from Kenya. I only get internet access every so often, and then it is dial-up. There is so much to say about my first week here. I will try and give you a basic understanding of what life is like and what God has begun to teach me. I have so many stories already, but those may have to wait until I get back.

First of all, at Tumaini, there are about 150 students and 16 orphans.  I am living right behind the school so I wake up to singing children every day.  I am staying with the director of the orphanage, Rose Bugusu.  She actually has a Facebook if you are interested in looking her up. She has been like a second mother to me here.  From the first moment I met her, it was evident that she had a caring and compassionate heart to the millionth degree.  Her life is all about service and loving these children.  The other very significant person in my life here is Hesbon. He is 21 years old, and he has given his life to this orphanage and school.  He does whatever Rose requires of him.  Hesbon lives with us, and he has easily been my best Kenyan friend here. I love both of them, and I am so grateful they are here.  I experienced some homesickness and loneliness my first couple of days here, but because of the two of them, my friend Emily from North Carolina (who leaves Thursday), and the Lord, I have been able to settle into this place as if it is beginning to become another home.

I want to share with you a couple of things that have happened during my time here and what I am about to start doing.  This past week, we were able to help build and finish the children's basketball hoops.  Basically, they are two hoops with wood posts and backboards with a metal rim attached, and they are placed about 50 feet from each other on a grass patch on the property.  It is so cool to see them start to learn the game of basketball which has been so foreign to them.  Part of my job will include holding basketball camps, lessons, and practices for the children.  Also during the week here, I have started to build relationships with the students.  I have spent time playing soccer with them, sung songs with them in their classrooms, and spent a lot of time just talking to them, hugging them, and giving them high fives.  The children love having white people around which they call "mzungus".  They want to touch us, talk to us, and especially take pictures with us (they are amazed by cameras).

The other day, Emily, Rose, Hesbon, and I played UNO around the lantern that we usually light at nights.  It was so fun seeing how much they loved to play this game.  We played 3 games, and Hesbon easily had the most cards each time by almost double the amount of cards we had. Before I go on, try and imagine Hesbon for me.  He is the sweetest and silliest Kenyan who has the best attitude of anyone I know.  He is such a good sport.  He speaks fairly good English with a heavy Swahili accent.  Hesbon is also a skinny and lanky Kenyan.  At the end of the night, Hesbon tried to explain how he had won.  "You see, at Tumaini, we try and get the most cards. So, I actually was the weena (winner) every time.  Hesbon wins!  Well done, well done, me!!" He cracked up with the highest pitched laughter and had such a huge smile on his face.  This story will clearly not be as funny to you as it is to me, but it helps to show the joy and love that everyone I have come across here possesses.

God has taught me so many lessons here already: (1) that happiness in this world has nothing to do with material possessions. I know that as Christians we understand that, but it has really smacked me in the face here in Kenya. These people have very few possessions, but they are so joyful with what God has given them. They all work hard for very little, while in America there are many people that work little but have very much. Emily and I noted how hard they work just to live every day. But they always do it without complaining. (2) God and His Word are more than enough for me, and I cannot lean on people for my contentment and satisfaction. During spells of loneliness, I have had to turn to the Lord for my satisfaction and friendship. I am truly learning to lean on Him first since I do not have my family or most of my friends here to turn to. I can look back on this first week and already see where God has brought me and continues to bring me. I have already grown a lot and am simply spending much more time talking to my God.

I am sorry this was so long. It is just hard to make it brief since I am only writing every ten days or so. Thank you so much for praying for me. I need your prayers more than ever as we start this week. This week, the children are off of school so we will be doing a type of Vacation Bible School at the orphanage. I am excited about one-on-one time with the orphans.

I want to close by saying that Kenya is gorgeous, and God has shown me how huge He is through this place. Hesbon took us on a hike the other day up a hill that overlooks miles of villages amidst the vast, green landscape. We sat up there and just were in awe that Africa was this beautiful. Kenya is nothing close to the desert land that most of us have imagined Africa looks like. This truly is a breathtaking place.

I love all of you guys! Here are a couple verses that got me through some of the tougher times...

1. The entire chapters of Psalm 13 and 91 have been my go-to passages.

2. Psalm 61:1-2

3. Psalm 4:1-2,8

4. James 1:2-4

God is so good to all of us. I am learning that more and more as I spend time here. I will talk to all of you soon...