1864 Ireland.
That is where my team has deemed that we are located this month after we pulled up to a four bedroom stone cottage, surrounded by green hedges, were served hot tea made with warm, fresh milk from the cows for dinner and Shayna's "bath" was drawn from the hot water off the stove. For real though every single thing I have heard about Africa is inaccurate to where I am right now outside of Naivasha, Kenya. We drove to the middle of nowhere for two hours, and then we kept going for about an hour more. Here are some things I have been learning:
Lie: Africa is all Safari lands, super dry and barren.
Truth: I have never seen a place greener in my life: I am surrounding by rolling hills that lead to distant mountians, countless farmlands and it rains or hails every day.
Lie: All of Africa is very hot.
Truth: This is the coldest I have been then entire race, I have slept in socks every night (and if you know me well this NEVER happens), refused to take off my fleece after 5 pm, and the sweet little African babies run around with parka's and beanies.
Lie: The only animals in Africa are ones that you would see on Animal Planet.
Truth: I have never seen so many sheep, donkeys, and cows in my life and I have yet to see a giraffe, zebra, lion or cheetah.
Lie: I will be living in very stretching living conditions: sleeping on the ground and using the bathroom in a hole, being eaten alive by mosquitos.
Truth: This is the first time in 8 months that I have not used my sleeping pad. I have a super comfortable bed, western toilet, and I have seen maybe 1 mosquito a day.
I am very aware that this is not how most of Africa is and even as I write this I am sure that most of my squadmates, who are in the same country, are not experiencing the same luxuries and breathtaking views that I am. I am sharing this as a reminder that things are not always the way we think or the way we have been taught and to stress the importance of figuring out the truth for yourself.
Anyways, this month we are working with Neema Education Trust. We are living in Mama Catherine's house, the sweet founder who has already become a grandmother to us. Neema, which means Grace in Swahili, started out as a Children's home in 1994 when God gave a vision to Mama Catherine to give desperate children who were orphaned or abandoned a home. A school was started along with the home so that these children could experience faster restoration and rehabilitation from their traumatized past. There are now 133 children that live at the home ages 3-18 and 200 total that are enrolled in school.
My team is teaching the high school students Math, Chemistry, Biology, Religion, Geography, and English in the mornings (nothing more humbling than trying to teach a subject you haven't taken in 6 years to people who speak a different first language then you do.). We then have tea time with Mama and proceed to help plow the garden for planting, milk the cows, prepare lunch for the children, clean the living facilities and love on children. We also attend a daily fellowship led by the kids in the afternoon, play games outside,and finish the evening off by studying Matthew and drinking tea around the fire with Mama Catherine.
I am pretty sure that I am in my own personal paradise on earth and I have absolutely fallen in love with these smiling bald headed children, simple farm life, and escape from anything with a screen. Mom, you might want to start getting vaccinations for Africa…. because I would love for this to be my home in a few years :].
much love from "Kenya" aka 19th century Europe,
abby
