I write to you today on my 20th birthday! :) It has been a relaxing day for myself, but my friends, Rachel and Julie, are very sick! We are unaware what Rachel has - not sure if it is from all the traveling or what. Julie tested positive for malaria this morning. The children at R.O.C.K. have also had some sort of stomach sickness. Please keep everyone in your prayers! Also, pray that I continue to keep from sickness. I am very thankful to be feeling well. :) As many of you know, I have a very irritable stomach - and I have yet to have any stomach aches since we left for Kenya. THIS IS AMAZING!!! I am SO thankful! This is a total God thing, because I had stomach aches just a few days before we left. Please continue to pray that I feel well over the next several weeks. :) I have never felt the coverage of prayer as strongly as I have the last week! THANK YOU!
Now that I have been in Kisumu for a few days, I am starting to become settled and familiar with my surroundings. Julie leaves for a student convention next week, so she hopes to have Rachel and I comfortable enough to be on our own for a few days. As far as safety, we are staying in a very secure and safe place. We are in a compound with a few other missionaries. The compound is secured with a tall wall with sharp wire on top and a locked gate. I feel very safe and comfortable here. There is a main house and a few guest houses. We are staying in one of the guest houses. A couple from the U.S. normally lives here, but they are back home visiting for awhile. Julie is house sitting for the couple, and she is letting us stay with her while we are here. She is so gracious! :)
The last few days have been some of the best days of my life! I can already tell leaving here is going to be so hard! Although life in Kisumu is MUCH different than what I am used to, I am loving it. Friday was the first day we spent at R.O.C.K. and it gave me soo much joy to be with the children there. It was their last day of school for the term so when we arrived they had a closing celebration where the children sang songs, danced, and stated bible verses they had memorized. I had to hold back tears while listening to these sweet children lift their voices to worship. They have the most beautiful voices I have ever heard. Many of them LOVE to sing. After they all presented, we sat down to have snack. Snack consisted of two pieces of bread, a few crackers, a small bag of crunchy chips, and a small hard candy. This was very exciting for the kids. They ate it all with joy!
Later on that day we walked to the pool that is "near" by. Haha, I soon found out that "near" by in Kenya, is much different than in the U.S. It wasn't THAT far, but when I heard near by, I thought it was much closer! :) Same was true when we walked to the soccer field. That was even further! :) All the walking will be good for me though! :) I also enjoy walking because I see life in Kisumu outside of the compound and at R.O.C.K. I can't help but smile at every one I pass, because being here gives me joy and happiness unlike in the U.S. Although many, many, MANY people struggle here, they are all so beautiful to me. I will never look at life the same way after spending time here. I can't explain the things I have seen, because no one can truly comprehend until they have seen it themselves. Hopefully pictures I post will give you a glimpse of what it is like here.
I could go on and on, but I will have so many things to share during the time I am here. AND I can't imagine most of you want to read much more than this! ;) I will add a few photos below... ENJOY! :)
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| Transportation in Kenya is MUCH different than in the U.S. There are very few cars and LOTS of people walking! There are also a few other ways of transportation like the picture above. :) This is called a pike! There is also a tuk tuk (three wheeled vehicle) and a boda boda (bicycle with an extra seat). The man in this picture is Mark. Such a sweet person! When he arrived to pick us up we thought there was some mistake. We didn't think we could both fit on there! As far as transportation goes, you can get a pike, tuk tuk, and a boda boda just about anywhere. We have been advised to only accept rides from a select few that Julie knows and trusts. Not that others are not friendly, but as Americans we are thought to have money, so they may take advantage of that and hike up their prices. Also, some will act as though they are legit, but really not licensed. OH, and driving here is MUCH MUCH MUCH different! Rachel and I looked at each other, eyes wide, the first day when we drove in a car from the airport to the compound. There are no speed limits, many speed bumps, and soo many people walking in and out of traffic. It is definitely quite the experience! |
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Saturday we walked to the field and played soccer! The older boys love to play and a couple of the girls as well. It was so fun to watch them interact and play the game together. Also, it amazed me the number of other children that gathered to watch them play. Children from every direction came and gathered. It was fun to interact with those that watched. Many didn't understand much english, but they put their hands out and smiled the most beautiful smiles. SOO precious. I wanted to tell each of them how much I just loved them! :) |
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| After playing some soccer, I went over to a group of kids chasing after a football! I thought, "FOOTBALL, now that's more my game!" I gathered the kids and asked them if I could teach them how to play American Football. One of the R.O.C.K. boys began translating my words into Swahili. The kids knew a little bit of english, but not enough to fully understand. Within a few minutes I had the kids playing football. I was lucky enough to be their quarterback and play along. I LOVED every minute of it. After a couple throws the littlest boy in the picture starting clinging to my leg. I bent down and gave him a hug and he grinned from ear to ear. I fell in love with the little guy, of course! :) The last pictures are of the kids at R.O.C.K. Enjoy! They have hearts of gold! Also, be thankful for what you have today. These kids have such joy and kindness after going through some of the worst circumstances. They are changing my life!! Much LOVE! -Lauren      |
For more pictures, check out Courtney Potter's blog. She is a photographer and was at R.O.C.K just recently. She took some amazing pictures! http://courtney-potter.com/2011/07/perspective/
