I’m sitting here in Eldoret, Kenya at a cybercafe that doesn’t know what to do with Macs. So, as a result, I’m attempting to do something I don’t normally do–write the blog directly on here. No first draft. No praying about what God wants me to say. Just giving you all the low down on life here in Eldoret.
Now, I normally don’t write blogs that contain any sort of information about what I’m actually doing in them so, just cut me some slack as I give it a shot.
tea It’s definitely readily available. As in every meal. And sometimes when we’re lucky, we even get it during the day! It’s some of the best tea that I’ve had though and trust me when I say, I’ve had a lot of tea on the Race. It’s a bit rough on the stomach when you’re lactose intolerant, or as my sister likes to say lactose in-not-so-very-tolerant, as it has a very strong milk base. Nevertheless, it is quite tasty. Just ask Joe who has in fact had 8 cups in one sitting.
meat Unlike every other country we’ve been in, meat is not hard to come by here in Kenya. In fact, it’s a rare occurrence we don’t have meat at a meal. Meat and potatoes are the primary diet for us Racers here and, after months of pinching pennies and longing for the taste of something that moos, you won’t find many complaints here. If anything, the complaint would be the weight we’ll be gaining from eating too well!! I mean, I think the 18-19 pounds I’ve lost up until this point will probably be put right back on at the rate we’re eating here. Every meal Patrick, our contact, prays that everyone would have an appetite and those who don’t like meat would suddenly like it.
home Home this month consists of a mud house with no running water or indoor plumbing. Really, it’s kind of funny to say it like that because well, it’s not that bad. I mean, sure we use outhouses and well, I haven’t showered since we got here (in my defense I was going to take one at the waterfall today but it rained so we didn’t go), but really, it’s not that bad at all. It’s not much different than what we’ve had all along. I mean, we have food on our plates, beds to sleep in (most of us anyway), and even electricity to charge our random electronics. If anything, we’re actually being spoiled. We have a loving family caring for us and the most precious child amusing us so yea, I’m content. More than content really.
Aside from tea, meat, and our mud house, life pretty much consists of reading, music, and preaching. Reading is something I started to do a lot more of thanks to the technology ban last month and well, I love it. There’s not much that can beat a good book. Unless it’s reading Scripture. I know, I know. Cliche missionary stuff here. But no, really. In Israel I started waking up at about 6:30 most mornings to read the Bible and it was awesome. Here I haven’t been waking up as early but I’ve still been doing it daily and it really is food for the soul. Good stuff, I’m telling you. If you haven’t read yours lately, dust it off and give it a whirl. You may just find something worthwhile in there. Anyway, music. That’s another biggie lately. Fanatic and Sofia are two of the more musical teams on the Race in that, as of the current moment, every member of both teams can play at least some chords on the guitar. There are 3 guitars and a djembe between the two teams and well, there’s really not much time in the day you won’t find someone playing. I, myself, have started playing the guitar a lot lately and am determined to actually be good at it by the time I get back. Right now, I’ve just got some blisters to show for it, and some popped blood vessels on my thumb from banging on the djembe too hard, but yea, I am determined to make music my forte. The last thing I’d say our life has been consisting of is preaching. The last three days, we’ve gone to the market to do some worship and open air preaching in hopes of starting up a church here in Eldoret. Yesterday I got to preach. I must have done a half decent job because some pastor asked me to come preach at his church on Sunday. So there you have it, I’ll most likely be preaching at Church next Sunday. Gotta love it.
All in all though, I pretty much just find myself sitting back and taking this all in. I mean, I’m in Kenya right now. I would never have expected this. Day in and day out I thank God for the work He’s done in my life to even bring me to this place because, God only knows it’s only by His grace that I’m even alive and here. But anyway, I’ve spent enough time punching these half stuck keys and trying to give you an in into my life. Perhaps I’ll write another blog the next time we venture into town, whenever that may be. Don’t hold your breath though. Until then though, know that I love you all and am praying for you!
May God’s love, peace, and joy overwhelm you today 🙂
