"Get off your substructure and feed yourself a steak!" ~ Bryce Taylor
How did another three weeks fly by so quickly?! Some days it feels like things are finally settling down, and others days it feels like things are speeding past faster than a freight train! I am reminded of the quote, shown above, every time I feel a little tired or don't feel like doing anything that day. It gives me the little push that I need to keep going.
Today was a strange day. In the US it is Labor Day. Today I would typically be at a summer party at my aunt and uncle's house celebrating and have a great time. Instead, I didn't even remember it was a holiday until lunch time! It was a weird experience to be somewhere that is not celebrating a holiday that you would typically have off of work for. It's these small day to day experiences that remind me that I am living in Africa. Believe it or not, I often forget I am on another continent until I use the wrong word for something or I need to figure out something I haven't had to do yet, like pay an internet bill with a cell phone. It's fairly easy to get by when everyone speaks English (even though it's British English, and many things have a different name). Some days it feels like we have been here for months and others it feels like we just arrived yesterday. Little by little we are getting adjusted.
In the past few weeks I have mostly just been going to work every day and relaxing in the evening with coworkers. We had a day off school last week for the end of Ramadan and a couple teachers got together for brunch. If you are wondering why a Christian school would have off for a Muslim holiday, it's because it is a national holiday here. We have had a few other girls nights where we watched movies and ate a ton of food :) My roommate, Jenn, and I love to cook. There is always something baking in the oven or cooking on the stove in our kitchen! The other girls often laugh when they come over and see what we are making. It is a relaxing activity for us.
In addition to having fun and relaxing the last few weeks, we also got to work some more with the people of Kenya doing outreach. There are 3 children at our school from a local orphanage that is run by Feed the Children. One of these students is in my class and so a group of us decided to go visit the orphanage and learn more about the kids in our classrooms. It was an amazing experience! Every Saturday a few of the students go to an art therapy class. The class is held at an old art museum called Ramoma. Two men run an art therapy program for children who are orphaned, and also children who are in the hospital. We got to go with the children from the orphanage to make masks and just have a great laughing and doing art. They loved every moment of it (And so did we :) ) After we left the museum, we went back to the orphanage and took a tour. We found out that there are about 90 children at the orphanage, 20 of which are infants under 10 months old. Many of the children are there because they have some sort of disability and their family cannot care for them. Others are there because they have no parents at all and the closest family member can't take them. It is sad to see so many kids without homes. Many of these kids will not be adopted because there are not many people who agree to adopt a child with a disability, no matter how minor it may be. If a couple is looking to adopt a child and they check the box that says they will not accept a child with a disability, all children with the most minor injuries or even children who were born with disfigurements that have since been taken care of, are taken off the list for that couple. Unfortunately, that means that almost 100% of the time, only healthy infants are adopted. The Feed the Children orphanage that we went to was called Dagoretti Children's Center. They also have a feeding program that they run through the center that feeds 270,000 children a day in the slums! I thought that was amazing! The center has asked us to come back at least once a month to feed and hold the infants because they just can't give them all the attention they need to thrive. This week, two of the children from Dagoretti showed up at our school with brand new Tom's shoes on. Tom's slogan is One for One. It means that for every pair of shoes purchased, they will donate one pair to a child who goes without shoes every day. We thought it was awesome to see this program in action!
I am continuing to look for a home church here. I have found many options, but none felt quite right. The church I attended this weekend was my favorite so far, and I am going to go back next weekend to see if I would like to continue going there. Please pray that I find somewhere soon so that I can feel more settled.
I currently have 21 students in my classroom. 21 very chatty students may I add :) They are a handful, but I love working with them. Two weeks ago we were reading a story in class and it mentioned something about biscuits. In Kenya, a biscuit is either a cookie or a cracker, so I had to explain to the students that I was talking about a roll. When they still didn't understand it, I decided that I would go home and bake them some American style biscuits. The surprised looks on their faces were awesome when I walked into school the next day with a big container of homemade biscuits just for them :) Like I said before...there is always something baking in our kitchen!
Although things are becoming more stable, there is still never a dull moment here, and I am always learning something. I had my first driving experience last week. It can't even describe how nerve racking it can be, but we made it to and from school safely. I pray that I continue to stay off my substructure and keep on moving and learning, because what kind of teacher would I be if I didn't continue to be a life-long learner :) Thank you all for your prayers and support! Love you all!
Prayer Requests-
- We have a staff retreat this weekend. Please pray that we can relax and build relationships this weekend while we worship God.
- Continue to pray for the financial situation here and that we would be able to budget properly.
- That I would find a home church soon so that I can get plugged in.
- That I would manage my time wisely so that I give God all the time He needs to work in my life and help me work in the lives of others.
Verse of Encouragement-
"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12:9-13
