Swimming Fiasco: 10-17

This morning we drove over to Pangani to pick up Fred to go to church with him in Babandogo. It was sweet. There were only about 10 adults there (lots of kids though). It was truly humbling to experience how accommodating they Kenyans were for us Mzungus. They translated everything into English/explained the songs for us.

After the service finished I drove us over to Kosovo through the slum. It was sweet. As I was driving down a bumpy pot hole filled dirt road with herds of people and goats around me, I realized that driving here is much more fun. Something crazy always happens, but everyone is always alert and it seems like there are no crashes. It is amazing.

For lunch we decided to hit up Java. Afterwards we went over to Roselyn with the intention of working out. Leann ran and Julie and I took a nap under the gorgeous Kenyan sky. It was fantastic. After an hour passed, we realized that we wanted to swim in the Roselyn pool! So, we drove home to get our swimming suits and towels. We got back to the school at 3:00 thinking that we had an hour to swim before Faith returned (she went to a retreat and we were supposed to pick her up at 4:00). We rolled into the parking lot and there was Faith ready to roll out. We were all awkwardly in our sweet one-pieces completely dry. I’m sure Faith was mortified. It was hilarious. Karibu Kenya.

When we got home, we discovered a huge truck filled with dirt blocking our path into the Kamau’s gate. There were six men just sitting on top. We made Faith talk to them and figure out what was going on. We figured we could squeeze by the truck, but the men left 6 logs in the road and had no intention of moving them. Being the women’s libbers that we are, we decided to move the logs ourselves. Julie and Leann jumped out (in their sweet one-pieces, mind you) and began lifting the logs out of the way. The men just sat there for a while, but then insisted on moving them for us. Finally, with a clear path, we drove into the gate. Another great Kenyan day.

Overeating and Night Driving: 10-16

Today the Bondeni teachers came over for lunch at the Kamau’s. And by lunch I mean 3:00. Basically we were starving. Somehow we survived. I ate an excessive amount of food at 3:00. I mean EXCESSIVE. Tons of veggies, stew, and chapatis (the best tortilla bread things ever), followed by watermelon and pineapple, then chai. Things got a bit out of hand.

But in the mean time, we sang some worship songs, got a short devo from one of the teachers, then Mary gave us a 1.5 hour sermon. This was followed by some words of encouragement from Wallace. It was pretty fantastic.

When the festivities concluded, the three blind Mzungus decided to roll out to Java. We had coffee and a small dinner with our Bible study. Our server was named Victor and he was hilarious. He basically invited the three of us to hang out with him sometime. We graciously and cleverly got around the invitation. The night continued in an awesomely awkward fashion when Victon, the manager, came over to chat. He heard/saw us laughing and wanted in on the joke.  For dessert, the three of us split a piece of pumpkin pie. We also got our picture taken with the pie. (Victor took it for us.) At the end of the night, we prayed – I prayed that God would use us as missionaries all day, even at Java. Immediately after the prayer, one of the guards came up to us and started talking. He noticed that we were praying and asked us about it. We learned that he was Catholic and encouraged him.  

The drive home was absolutely hilarious. I am the night driver. We left Java at 9:15. As we were driving through Runda we spotted a sweet creeper van in front of us. It had the biggest antenna sticking out the back with three tennis balls skewered on it. There is a small overpass that cars have to pass under. As we approached it, the van slowed down, unsure about what to do. Finally, he just went for it and the antenna survived but was definitely rattled. Furthermore, once we turn off the main road, the road we take to get to the Kamau’s is terrifying. Especially at night. When I was driving, I turned on the brights for better light. Well, a man was walking towards us, so out of politeness I went to turn off the brights. I accidently turned off the lights completely and Leann screamed. We drove in the dark for a second or two as I readjusted the lights. It was pretty sweet.

EPA Fail: 10-15

I got to help with another sweet cleanup day today. This time we worked in Area 1 with Daniel and his group there. It was the first cleanup effort in Area 1, so it was totally gross. So gross, in fact that we had to wear face masks. Believe me when I saw that the smell was horrendous. We got the ditches cleaned out and continued clearing the trash down the ditch that flows into the Nairobi River. It was a waterfall of trash as we went. We cleared it all the way down to the river and I was a taken aback when I saw them just shovel the sick trash into the River. There clearly is a problem with garbage in Mathare. However, it is a big problem to tackle. I was just surprised that they just pushed it into the already nasty river. Oh, well. Karibu Kenya.

Furthermore, we discovered piles of literal poop on the river bank. Since there isn’t convenient access to toilets, people just make do. Or if someone is a bit tight on shillings, paying for a toilet may not be high on the priority list. But I must say that it was pretty alarming to discover poop all around me. I was very thankful that I didn’t step in any. (Although, I have no doubt in my mind that there are all sorts of atrocities on my shoes and if I were to take a sample of the bottom of my shoes and culture it I would be terrified beyond all reason.)

At the end of the project, Daniel asked me to pray for the group. I love how Kenyans keep me on my toes. I also love how the Holy Spirit gives me wisdom when I need it most. 

Reality: 10-13

We joined the medical team again today. I am beginning to feel quite comfortable in the clinic setting now that I have done it quite a few times. Today I worked in triage again. A woman came in and she looked like she was about to pass out. She was leaning against the wall looking kind of out of it. I offered her a chair while she waited. As it turns out, she has AIDS and recently stopped taking her meds. Now she has either TB or pneumonia. She received two antibiotic injections and about 5 other meds. The doctor told her that she needed to go to the hospital tomorrow. 

I was amazed at how sick she looked. It is one thing to sit in on a Post Test Club's meeting with HIV positive members. Most of the group looks fairly healthy - they are well enough to attend and start businesses together. It is another thing entirely to see someone literally dying because their immune system is shot due to AIDS. It was a sad reality check.

After work we swung by the Ham’s to drop something off. Kathy invited us in for dinner. I ate three plates full of taco salad, three servings of fruit salad, and two brownies. We got to hang out with an American team, Justine, Erin, Bethany, and the Hams. It was a great night.

Stones and Stomach Aches: 10-12

Today Leann and I joined the medical clinic at Babandogo to help out. In the morning we worked in the pharmacy with two American pharmacists. We counted, poured, and bagged meds. After lunch I got to work in triage.

Triage rocks my world. I love greeting people, taking their height, weight, temp, and blood pressure. I even got to take chief complaints today. It is always quite fascinating. Timothy translated for me. A father brought in his daughter because she had been having seizures. She also faints sometimes. One woman came in and told me that she has had a productive cough since 2006. Another lady was complaining of a stomach ache. I asked her more about it and she told me that she eats stones. I looked at Timothy inquisitively, but said nothing and just wrote it down.

I asked him about it later and he said that there are certain stones that contain calcium that women are taught to eat when they are pregnant. However, the calcium in the rocks cannot be used by the body and the rocks actually deplete the body of calcium. This makes the women crave the stones more because they are craving calcium.

Jam Session: 10-11

Today was great! This morning I helped organize the meds for the clinic in Babandogo. A medical team has just arrived and will be doing a clinic there. I typed a list of the meds available to the team.

In the afternoon Leann and I walked into the CHE office and saw that Timothy was watching a video on his laptop. We sat next to him to watch too. We quickly discovered that it was a health educational video about girls and their changing bodies as they grow up. It was really good, but super awkward because we were just sitting there watching it with Timothy. All three of us chuckled a few times throughout just because of how hilariously awkward it was.

Timothy wants to organize a way to teach the kids here about growing up/ sex ed since many of their parents don’t teach them anything at home. I think it is a great idea and I want to find a way to help him get this program going.

Tonight Erin and Bethany came over for Mexico Monday. Every Monday I tell myself, “Audrey, you are not going to eat as much guacamole this time.” And every Monday I just eat more and more. Basically I am becoming a Kenyan man. After dinner we all had a hymn jam session at the table with Mary. It was so hilarious.

Basically Mary was carrying the team, but she sings really high. Like an octave about the rest of us. So we ended up singing in unison, but in a three octave range. We sang the classic “How Great is Our God,” which is hard to do because it must be sung really low or really high. Naturally we chose the lower range and we all sounded like a bunch of men. We literally sat around that table singing a variety of Christian songs for an hour and a half.  It was a great night!

A Taste of America: 10-10

This morning I woke up at 8:30 and learned that Mary and Wallace had taken David to the hospital because he was sick. Apparently David has a bacterial infection that is causing him to throw up. Wallace is taking a stool sample from David to the hospital tomorrow. Poor David also had to get some blood work done today. But he came home this afternoon and has slept most of the day.

Faith wanted to check out church at Roselyn Academy. The International Christian Fellowship had a service there. We left the house at 9:15 and had no clue what time the service started or where exactly it was on campus.  We rolled in at 9:45 and just followed some people over to where the service was being held. I swiftly spotted coffee and indulged. It felt like I was at home. The service was totally American and it was like an oasis.

The worship was all familiar (and in English) and the sermon was very similar to the ones I hear back home. It was fantastic.

We got home and decided to make salads. It was delicious. We ate our salads while watching The Constant Gardener – parts of it were filmed in the Kibera slum, the biggest slum in Nairobi. They really hit those slum scenes on the head.

Mary and Wallace wanted us all to go out to eat at Java House for dinner. Naturally, we obliged and drove on over. After eating, the three blind Mzungus stayed later to talk, have a Bible study, and pray. We lost track of time discussing our lives, Mathare, our families, our thoughts on the churches we have visited, and our plans when we get home.

Upon reflection, it was extremely comfortable to go to the American worship service this morning. But did I come here for comfortable? No. We all resolved to spend most of our Sundays at Kenyan worship services in Mathare even though we can’t understand everything. Church in the slum is a beautiful thing. People don’t hold back. They totally rely on Jesus to sustain them daily. These people get it. They understand God’s grace, mercy, love, faithfulness, and hope.