I'M IN KENYA!!! And if that's not enough change, I also have been given the honor to step into a new position as team leader this month. I have a brand new, amazing team that I am just thrilled to serve with this month (and hopefully the months to come)!
Coming from Eastern Europe to Eastern Africa was a culture shock in the best way possible. We went from the land of stern faces to quite possibly the smiliest place I have ever been! We were immediately greeted with happy shouts and smiles from a school bus on our way to our hostel in Nairobi.
After a few days in Nairobi with the squad, Team #ohana was off to Nakuru! When waiting for our host to pick us up from the bus stop, we were quite intrigued when a tiny tuktuk came to fit all 6 of us with our bags! Needless to say, we got another tuktuk! And now, that is our main mode of transportation. We are staying with Pastor Ayub and his wife, Ruth, and their two children Tiffy and Timmy. I am SO very thankful to report that we have running water, a hot shower, and a TOILET! (I may have specifically prayed for a toilet this month,haha)
We quickly learned that we do not exactly blend in here (duh). Wherever we go, people follow and say "Mzungus! Mzungus! How are you??"Mzungu is Swahili for Westerners (basically white people), but it is not in the derogatory sense. The Kenyans are so welcoming and they want so badly just to talk to us…merely because the color of our skin.
When walking through the village to invite people to church services, we literally had a trail of children shouting "How are you?! How are you?!"(I think they think we say this more often then Hello, haha.) When visiting the orphanages, the children latch on to us, Mzungus, so tightly that we have to pry them off when it is time to go. I have cherished the times at the schools and orphanages (which is where most of our ministry is done). It is so apparent that these children want so desperately just to be loved, and it is an absolute honor for me to give them that.
My favorite thing about this Mzungu mania is the way it has affected us in town. There is one coffee shop that we go to–Sisima coffee. It has great cake, great coffee, and wifi! It's a little piece of normalcy in our otherwise crazy worldrace lives. We go there some days after our ministry is over, or on our off days. On our very first visit, we met Charles…and Charles…and Charles…and Dennis. They own a little t-shirt "stand" on the street, just outside the cafe. They immediately approached us, assuming we were missionaries. They were so genuinely friendly. When I first spoke with Charles he was quick to tell me, "I love God, but I do not believe in Jesus." It was almost as if he was begging me to talk about Jesus. So we did. For about an hour on the streets of Nakuru, Charles and I had a very long, very intense conversation about God, Jesus, and Christians.
These conversations have been a great foundation for friendship with these guys. We see them every time we go to town, and we are now able to share God's love with them freely. It is so evident that these men are just searching for something more. That there is something more to life than just living and dying. I am so excited for this opportunity that God just placed in front of us and cannot wait to see how it progresses throughout the month!
(Charles, me, and his brother Dennis)
