Glass Coca-Cola Bottles

So it has been two week, four days, and give or take a couple hours since I arrived in Kenya. The weeks have blurred by, and now it the expierence has turned into travelers bliss, that disconnected feeling of not feeling at home, but not feeling like home is home either.

Tomorrow I will leave on a plane from Kisumu and fly back with Caroline. (Yes, all by ourselves, I'm sure we will get lost or abducted or something that has sitcom potential.) As I write I'm trying to reflect back on my expierences and it is priving to be a little difficult. I want to remember the trip in movie sequence, day by day, moment by moment, but it is just coming up in spots, patches of images rattling around. Glass Coca-cola bottles, red dirt roads, the smell of fish and rice, squishing ugali in my hands, shaking hands-so many hands, chapati, and riding in vans-bumping and hitting my head on the cieling. Laughing and new friends. The smell of burning trash. Thumping African rap coming from the market.

In 24 hours I will be leaving. Getting ready for yet another culture shock.

-Lydia

mondays in kakamega

At home, Monday's during the school year seem to be everyone's least favorite day of the week -- the first day of school after the weekend and the promise of 5 whole days in school before friday night rolls around again. In Kenya, some of the feelings are the same and some are different. For students, it is different here -- school is a priviledge, not a dreaded task. However, the same chaos as in America also insues as the first alarm rings (4:30 for Lucy who is in form 1). The schedule for the 3 of us was a little more relaxed as we woke up at a ghastly late time of 8:00 and headed over to the Okuya house at around 10:00. We spent the day with Yvonne, who does a part-time tailor training program.
She asked us if we knew how to walk distances, and we said yes, we did. She seemed sceptical and made the walk seem very scary. The walk to Chesil's school was very long, but we enjoyed it despite Yvonne's worries. It is very interesting to travel the same long distance that Ches and Lucy go every day to get to school (they usually take a Boda Boda but sometimes end up walking the whole way). We made it to Ches' school and got to see him in his cute little uniform. He was so proud to have us there and we knew he would be the popular guy for the rest of the day after we handed out sweets to all the class 1 students.
Next stop on our journey was Lucy's secondary school which was even further away than Chesil's primary school. We spent time with the Deputy Principal and then went in to Lucy's english class and spent some time answering questions from the students. Then, we caused a riot. It was an accident, but it was still a disaster. We went to give out sweets to the students but we didn't realize that class 1 students are more well-behaved than form 1 students. At first everything was fine and then all hell broke loose and we were mobbed. Somehow in the process the class ended up getting around 300 pieces of candy. There was some tension with the teachers after we managed to escape the classroom. This is not to turn people off of Kenyan schools or to make them sound like hooligans, but more to show the immense excitement they got from some simple lifesavors. Later, we tried to think of what would make American students act in such a way, and couldn't think of anything. It shows the great unequal distribution of wealth that still exists in the world.
The rest of the day was spent seeing Yvonne's tailoring school and hanging out around the house with Tansy.
Today, Caroline and Lydia's last night, we are seeing where Anneh teaches preschool and preparing dinner for the Okuya family.
It has been an interesting few days that have raised many questions and thoughts about the differences between cultures.

Just Kidding -- We're still here!

As it turns out, Lydia and Caroline also stayed in Kenya with Ellen and Callie at Joseph's home. After we said our goodbyes to the group Friday morning, we journeyed to Kakamega, Kenya where Joseph lives. We were greeted by his family (His wife, Anneh, his two sons, Chesil (6) and Tanzy (2), and his two nieces, Lucy and Yvonne) and were immediately immersed in daily Kenyan life. It turns out that a very large part of Kenya culture is food, food, and more food. We are gaining pounds by the hour.



On Saturday we accompanied Joseph and his family to his Seventh Day Adventist church. Afterwards we were given a tour of the nearby medical hospital. We began the tour by waltzing into the Phych Ward with the entire gang including the two small children. We shook the hands of all the patients who seemed to be very drugged.



Back home again to eat and eat some more. We played with the little ones and then headed to bed. Sunday brought a trip to the childhood home of Joseph. It was a forty five minute drive into the country, and when we arrived we were met by Joseph's mother (Shosho Florence). She was an adorible little old biddy who welcomed us to her home. Lucy showed us around the compound and surrounding farmland, and we watched the harvesting of the sugarcane. Then we moseyed down to the riverside to collect water to prepare the midday meal with.



As you can guess soon came more food, lots of chapati of course. The skys began to darken with rainclouds as we said our goodbyes to Shosho, and we pulled away as it began to drizzle. It is a very different experience to see the day-to -day life of a Kenyan family than an American family. However, there are many similarities as well. We look forward to visiting the kids' schools tommorow and exploring around Kakamega with the Okuya's. We will hopefully be blogging more throughout the week as we have more computer opportunity at our guest house.

From Anne

Well, as I suspected we had very little internet access this week. Here are a few blogs from the youth over the past few days.

We're heading for Nairobi in a few minutes... an all day drive prior to an all night and day plane ride.

But I think we're ready to see our friends and family, so we're willing to push through! See you back in Indy tomorrow! :)

When Taylor Gets Home

Well it's almost time to go home.

Speaking of home, there are a few things I need to have when I arrive.

I want quesadilla's (a bunch of them) (corn)I want pork and chicken tacos (both in the same taco) (flour)
I want to have all the supplies necessary to make my burgers.
I want a sausage and pepperoni pizza (not on a tortilla) (I want the homemade dough)
I want Arizona Green TeaI want a milkshake (Lindsey agrees) (strawberry banana)
I want Yatz

And last but not least, I want a hug from my sister!

Thoughts from Callie

I am not quite sure how, but after 2 weeks this is my first time writing in the blog. I have attempted many times to start apost but have failed every time. Though some of these times were because of distractions, others were because I was simply at a loss for words. But now, as I sit in Lindsey's and my room with friends, listening to Simon and Garfunkel, I find myself wanting to type for forever.
Fortunately, I will not be leaving Kenya tommorow with the rest of the group but will be staying with Joseph (Umoja project director) and his family in Kakamega, Kenya for another week. Last night at dinner, Richard asked me if I was excited to be staying or was ready to go home. Immediately, without much thought, I said I was excited to be staying and definitely wasn't ready to leave this gorgeous country. However later as my roomie, Lindsey, ran off somewhere (she disappears often), I began journaling and thinking about my feelings toward staying behind as the rest of my group would be heading home. I realized that I can't possibly go home tommorow. Though if I didn't have the opportunity to stay longer, I wouldn't revolt and refuse to board the plane, I know I would be very upset about our departure. I cannot leave Kenya yet. This is partly because I have fallen in love with the country and also because I have not been able to comprehend any part of the trip thus far. I have loved every minute being here, even through the heartbreaking moments, but I haven't processed anything I've seen or learned.

The last night in Eldoret, Richard told us all that we shouldn't be worried or pressured about how we individually reacted to the trip because everyone has their own processing schedule. That was something we all needed to hear as we had all been having very different experiences and all express ourselves very differently. I have kept that in mind since then, especially this past week, as I have been so overwhelmed that I haven't comprehended anything fully since we have arrived. But last night, as I was thinking about my excitement and whether or not I wanted to be at home, I realized that I need to do some of my processing while in Kenya. I think it is important for me to relay the events of these weeks and truly think about them while I am still in the country. One can only be here to truly know what Africa and its culture are like. One can only be here to truly understand the overwhelming hospitality and graciousness of Kenyan people. One can only be here to feel more humbled than it seems possible in a lifetime.

So, though I will be sad to say goodbye to the group who have become my family tommorow, I need to stay in Kenya. I need to be here and take more in and continue to be around the awesomeness of Kenya, Kenyans, and Kenyan culture. Otherwise, if I am not here, I worry that I will forget. And I can't forget, for that thought scares me more than anything else (including when I am fed an entire fish, including the head, eyes, and fins, and it is turned so it is staring at me).

I hope that as the group goes home tommorow and begins to feel the affects of all that we have seen they remember the names and faces of those in Kenya. It's important to remember them, because they matter. We, as representatives taking in as much as we can to bring home, must never forget the people -- we can't forget Vicdes, Monica, Calvin, Charles, Moses, Katherine, Steven, Joan, Judith, Faith or countless others who have graciously shared a part or moment of their lives with us. As most leave and I start my 3rd week tommorow, we must prepare our memories to never forget the faces, names, stories, and indescribable moments that we have experienced in these two weeks in Kenya.

Thoughts from Allison

In the past 2 weeks I've experienced the amazing and life-changing. When reflecting over the ups and downs of the trip, I realized the similar ebb and flow of perspective I received.
I don't mean to sound naive or sheltered, but my view of the world before last week may have been just that. I knew what a map of the world looked like and I had an idea of how many people lived in that world, though now that seems insignificant. Previously I had never been outside of the U.S. and that definitely defined my view of the world. I knew about other cultures from school, the media, stories, etc. however, having a picture of a map in your head and knowing bits and pieces of random cultures is so miniscule that writing this is almost embarassing. The first week of this trip expanded
how I thought of the world to a point that was almost unimaginable. I saw extreme (and I mean extreme!) poverty, I heard HIV positive patients moaning with pain in hospital beds, I spent time in a land and culture different from anything else I knew. Suddenly, instead of picturing a globe I saw millions of tiny villages struggling for survival.

This idea of the world was a bit overwheming and hard to handle, but the experience didn't end there...
Yesterday, we attended a celebration of the launching of a school lunch program through the UMOJA project; also in attendance were teachers, community leaders, students, and parents/guardians. During this ceremony my view of the world shrank, but not back to what it was before, in fact it reached its most mature point yet. I was then able to see the unity (what UMOJA means) across the cultures and I could see how people are the same across the world. I saw the little kids getting restless and throwing leaves at the kid in front of them, just like kids throwing spitwads in school. I saw a parent attempting to be subtle (but failing) as he texted, and I could only picture an American dad whipping out his blackberry at a PTA meeting. And once I started noticing these examples, they just kept appearing.

I now understand that the world is more than maps and statistics, and more than each tiny community struggling to survive but truly the world is a place of unity where we are all truly just like one another once we manage to see past the divisions and barriers we ourselves create.

The Past Few Days (Taylor)

We've been in Kisumu for a few days, and frankly the reason I haven't been writing anything is because, everything we've done hasn't been all that funny. I will give a brief overview of what we have done though.

The first day we were here we went to a school and had a church service. Unlike with most church services that I attend, I did not get to sleep. Also, it was basically an all day service. And by all day, I'm talking all day. Like 11 until 6. And I had to participate. It was a very strange new experience for me.

I also found out that if I sit in a seat with no backrest, my back will die.

Monday morning we went to visit Mama Sarah, President Obama's grandmother. I'm not sure how we got there because we drove on all back roads and got our directions from random pedestrians. But we eventually found her and we got to spend some time sitting and talking in a nice little circle.

After that we went to a school and played some football (not the touchdown, quarterback, John Madden's idiot commentary football. The football that is named correctly, where you actually use your foot to kick the ball.) It was Me, Dariel, Lindsey, Leah, Caroline, Lydia, Spencer and Mary Jo plus 2 boys from the school versus their girls team. I feel like they might have been going easy on us because we won. But maybe we're actually amazing...naw, they must have been not trying
at all. I ran more than I have in a long time. I ended up being out of breath for 30 minutes after we finished playing. That's not even an exaggeration. I really couldn't breathe. It's fine though, I need to exercise at least once a month or so.

So that's basically what we did.

Directions from Anne

We haven’t had much internet the past few days and that may continue for our time in Chulaimbo. I’m using Ellen’s outlook to send this back home for all the posts to be uploaded. Emily’s was the last, so start from there and work your way up!

We’ll be in Chulaimbo until Friday and then make our way back to Nairobi! I hope to upload some more posts at some internet cafes as they are available. Unfortunately, no more pictures until we get home!

Taylor's Friday

What time is it? ...Shut up Taylor, you already made that joke.

No seriously, what time is it?

6 30

What?!?! Why am I awake?

This morning we went on a safari at 6 30 in the morning.  I haven't woken up that early since school got out one month ago.
How did I wake up that early?  Well, last night Callie and Lindsey agreed to wake Spencer and I up.  Problem: They didn't
remember which room we were in.  Solution: Yell out our names while wandering in the general area of where they thought our
room was.  Solution Part 2:  Knock on the wrong door and get some dude pissed off.  Solution Part 3:  Find the right door
and finally wake us up.

The safari was ok.  We didn't really see much that we didn't see yesterday except for the flamingos.  I spent most of the
ride in a daze, thinking "Why am I awake?", "What animals are awake right now?", "When will we eat breakfast?"

Breakfast was...delightful (surprise!)  After that I went back to bed.  Then something wonderful happened.

I woke up.  Spencer wasn't in the room.  I had no idea what time it was.  I left the room and went to find people.
It was lunch time.  That's right, I woke up because I sensed that there was food to be eaten.

After lunch I went with Lydia and Lindsey to Lydia's room to get some water for my water bottle.  So we were chillin, maxin,
relaxin all cool. (Fresh Prince of Bel Air reference)  The door was open because it's nice out.  Suddenly, a baboon comes into
the door.  It looked at us for a second (we were frozen, staring back) then it stole the coffee and sugar packets and left.
We ran out to see where it went and it had run up a hill leaving all but the sugar behind.  Lydia was completely freaked out. 
Lindsey went to get the sugar container because she's crazy like that.  I just laughed at the whole situation.

Another safari later, it was dinner.  Dinner was even better than the first lunch.  They had chicken and lamb.  I have never
been able to have good lamb before tonight.  I ate 8 pieces of lamb and 6 drumsticks.  I also found yet another use of mango
sauce.  That's right I dipped lamb and chicken into the mango sauce.  The awesomeness almost killed me.  I didn't even bother
with desert because it wouldn't compare.

After dinner we had devotions and then I spent the rest of my night hanging wit my wodies (wodies means homies)
(homies means buddies) (buddies means friends).

What time is it? ...Taylor, this joke is not at all funny anymore.  Seriously.  If you make this again, then you won't get
any more mango sauce.

Ok, Sorry!  I just want to know.

It's 2 am.

Oh man! I need to sleep! Goodnight!

taylor's devotion remix

Tonight (Friday) I said a devotion for the group.  I made it up as I said it.  Except for the one sentence that
it was based on: If you don't take a break from all the suffering that you see, you will destroy yourself.

I said that yesterday to Lindsey because she was upset that we were being pampered beyond belief while just 2
days before she had almost given her shoes to a boy on the street and broke down because she couldn't.
Seeing Lindsey cry is one of the hardest things to see in the world because...well it's Lindsey.  She is
the happiest, nicest person I know.  She feels like she doesn't deserve to be in this situation while others aren't.

I agree with her. Completely.

However, I know that if I went 2 weeks non-stop trying to help all these people when I'm used to only helping out my sister
(which doesn't really count because all I have to do for that is tickle her and give her some sparkling cranberry juice)
I would not be able to do it.  I would break just as bad as her.  Well, not as bad, she feels other peoples feelings stronger
than I do.  What people don't realize is that we are weaker than the people we want to help.  We think that we can just jump
into it but we can't, we have to ease into it.  They have dealt with their suffering forever.  We haven't dealt with our own
suffering, let alone theirs. 

I actually did break earlier in the week.  We were supposed to document families so that they could be helped later.  We were
given papers that had instructions of what to ask.  It was so official that I felt sick as soon as I saw it.  Not only that,
but the way that the lady talked to us just rubbed me the wrong way.  She was so pretentious that I couldn't stand it. 

So I didn't do it.  I couldn't.  Despite the fact that I know it is a good cause.  It's a great cause.  I couldn't do it
because we weren't actually doing anything.  We were going to meet with strangers, find out TONS of personal information
and then leave.  If I was one of the people working for that cause full time I could, because I would get to actually help
but without that I can't deal with it.  I would feel awful.  I would feel like I was deceiving those people while invading
their privacy.  And they are already in poverty.  I just can't do that to anyone.

I was up almost the entire night trying to figure out what to do.  The next day I explained that I couldn't go.  I went with
the adults instead.

Turns out that everyone said it was a meaningful experience and that they really liked doing it.  But it really stayed with
them, as the idea did with me. 

That is why I'm so glad that we came to this resort of gluttany.  This place has saved my mind.  It has saved everyone's.
I am completely relaxed.  This may sound bad, but I haven't even thought about any of things that we have done before this.
This one time, I am thinking only in the present.

Because of this, next week I will be able to put myself completely into what we will be doing. 


  

Spencer

Having now been in Kenya for 6 days I feel that some reflection is in order. Most of the things
that the group has done has been recorded, but not how these activities have impacted some of us.
As I write this in Taylor and I's hotel room in Nakuru some of us are feeling guilty. We arrived here,
and were treated with cool towels and juice as soon as we got out of our vans. The opulance of this resort
is staggering next to what memories we carry of just a few days ago.

Monday morning we all went to the IU hospitol in Eldoret. We thought that we were just going to go to
the sally test center and see children and maybe look around a bit. However, we were given a full tour of
the hospitol compound by Sara ellen. We did start and end in the sally test center, which was just as fun
as we had hoped, but between however was what we had not prepared for. The Hospitol itself is not what is
important, the people are. The look of fear, worry, pain, and somehow hope in those we saw shook me. Anne
read a passage that morning that said 'To meet people as you are' (I am paraphrasing quite a bit). That,
combined with the Idea of the Inner Light from Quaker teachings and a passage from 'Sidhartha' about the
enternal truth of Atman being within us all, had me looking at people, not just those in the hospitol, in a
different way. I didn't see a face, or eyes, or a body, but instead started seeing a history. Friends, Family,
Teachers, Laughs, Smiles, Pain, Fear, Hopes, Dreams, Worry, and Love. All of this seen in everyone. I was
Broken, and angery at the world that could cause such pain.

The next day we went with Social workers to see families of orphans and speek to their guardians to record
their story and take notes on how they lived. We were not in the Eldoret a white person goes to alone, or at
night,But an Eldoret, and a Kenya, that thousands if not millions live in.
I spent a lot of time talking with my Heath worker Aisiai about
politics, religion, Kenya, and America. I answered many of his questions, including 'Why do Americans complain
about the economy so much? We see them and think they have much, while we have so little.' I thought about it
and they only answer I could come up with was Ignorance.

We have been sent here to see and record and remember, so that when we return we might say to the world what
good is being done here and how much more is possible. Whether or not we understand that now, we have much to wrestle
with and contemplate. It is hard for us now in this hotel, not even being home with our friends and family. As we
try to have a good time, and we are, it is still difficult. There is much to think about. Our ignorace is gone.

Safari time! Taylor's most fun day yet!

What time is it? Adventure time!

This morning we left the IU house and drove to...well I don't know how to spell it but I'll just call it Olympus because it is
clearly a place where gods go to eat delicious food and go on a safari.  When we first got here they greeted us with towels that smell
like good cough drops. You know, pleasantly minty with a hint of something that reminds you of what being sick is like.  They also gave us
Passion Juice.  It tastes like pineapple juice mixed with clementine juice.  I didn't know you could do that.  It's too good. Then we went to lunch.

...I...I...I..can't describe how wonderful it was.  First things first, Mango Sauce.  If I could drink it constantly for the
rest of my life, I would.  If I could swim in of a pool of it, I would.  If I could drown in said pool, I would without hesitation.
And that was just the desert.  The lunch itself was almost as good.  The potatoes were magical.  Seriously.  They can breath fire.  The beef strogonoff
was also fantastic. (I don't even have a joke for that, it was just really good).  I had 2 servings of each.

When lunch was over, we went to our room. On our way to the room we saw monkeys.  Just chillin like it was no big deal for them to be around.
The room is clearly for a married couple.  It's two dudes.  It is two twin beds put together along with a seat of some kind by the window.
The mosquito net is also around the beds like a veil.  I don't know why they put us in here.  It is romantic though.

What time is it? Safari time!

That's right, we went on a Safari.  It was so fun.  Our vans have roofs that pop up so we can stand and look out.  It's amazing.
We saw: Water Buffalo, Impala, Antelope, Monkeys, Water Buffalo, Rhinos, a Giraffe, Water Buffalo, Zebra, a Fish Eagle, Dragons and of course,
W-a Lion.  The scenery is beautiful, the animals are beautiful, the people I'm with are ug- just kidding!  There were 2 part that were especially
awesome.

**WARNING: THIS SECTION HAS GRAPHIC CONTENT**

We saw monkeys mating.  Lindsey took A LOT of pictures.

**GRAPHIC CONTENT ENDS**

The even more awesome part was the lion.  It looked like Simba's mom.  Coincidentely, we saw 2 cubs that I assume were Simba and Naala.
We spent 15 minutes there.  You already know Lindsey took A LOT, A LOT of pictures.

After the safari, we had dinner.  Sadly it wasn't quite as good.  Except the apple crisp which had the correct ratio of crisp to
apple (50-50 by the way).

That was the end of my day.

What time is it?  Bed time!

Return of the Taylor

Hey guys, I'm back.  Don't worry, this will be lighthearted again.  I'll leave the serious business to everyone else on the trip
for a while.

This is what happened throughout the rest of yesterday.

In the morning we went to the Imani Workshop.  We got to buy a bunch of stuff.  I got gifts for a couple people in my family and for
some people who I really wish could have come to Kenya with me.  They make some cool stuff there.  AFter we bought stuff we all went and took
pictures with the women who made the various things we bought.  It was kind of odd to have us all doing that.  Especially Lindsey who took a picture
with a woman not because that woman made one of her items.  No, that wasn't at all what she  did.  She wanted a picture because they both had red
bandannas on.  Oh Lindsey, what a ridiculous person.

After we left we went to a little shopping strip.  It was about 5 little shops that were basically made to scam tourists.  So of course we swarmed
on it like teenage girls on babies (Callie DH comes to mind haha).  I had already spent 50 dollars on stuff so I wasn't planning on getting anything.
But then I saw that drum.  I thought I heard God telling me to buy it, then I realized that it was just the owner of the shop asking me how much I would
pay for it.  They told me some ridiculous price so I Said I would think about it.  I wandered around and listened to their baby Moses giggle but all the while
I just wanted to be the owner of that drum.  Finally Mary Jo came up to me and asked if I would pay a price that was about a third of what it orginally was.
That time  I was certain it was God telling me to buy it.  It was more likely Moses giggling and being cute but I didn't care.  I bought the drum.

The drum is about 2 feet tall, and has 2 sides with which to drum on.  It is white and sounds like God would if he were a cowhide drum that I bought for 20 bucks.
I am in love.  I have been playing it for the majority of the time since then.  I played it while I ate lunch. (By the way, that lunch was DELICIOUS, probably
because of the drum)  I haven't named it yet but if you would like to give me suggestions I am open.

After that we went back to the IU house and I played the drum for a few hours.  Then we went to Neema House (see my serious post).  For dinner we ate Indian
food.  Why haven't I had this before?  Everything was delightful.  Naan is the best bread possible.  I dipped it in EVERYTHING.  Naan+soda=awesome! (Just kidding
that would probably be gross, maybe. Actually it would probably be good.)  Naan is even better than Yats bread.  I couldn't even comprehend such a thought
until now.

At the restaurant I noticed a bar.  I am at the legal age here.  So I asked (for about the millionth time!) if I could get a Tusker to taste.  Anne said no
before I even asked the question.  She gave me look that would make Christine Rembert jealous.  It was a look that would make David RJ stop dancing for like 5 minutes
(what? that's crazy!)  It's that look that every youth leader who works with me has to learn.  So I finally gave up trying, because I mostly do it to see Anne's reaction.
After that, Caroline, who is also the legal age, showed me where the restroom was.  The restroom happens to be near the bar.  Apparently the adults freaked out thinking
that we were going to get a drink.  Mary Jo's reason for freaking out is because "If I can't have a glass of wine, they can't have a beer!"

So anyways, that completes my Wednesday. 

Serious Thoughts from Taylor (gasp!)

``Alright everyone, get ready, I'm about to be serious for once.  Don't worry, I'll get back to silliness with the next
post.

On Wednesday June 17 2009, I met possibly the greatest person since Ghandi.  Coming from me, that is an amazing compliment.
Ghandi is a personal hero of mine.  His ideas of nonviolence in order to achieve your goals is amazing.  Because of him, India
achieved its independance from Great Britain.  And all he did was tell his people "Don't fight back, no matter what they do.
Let them beat you, imprison you, insult you, even kill you.  Just don't fight back and we will win."  And it worked.  That blows my
mind.  Ghandi took his anger at the injustices that were occuring in British India and instead of doing what normal people would do,
he refocused it on making a real change.  He also made permenant changes to the Hindu religion, one of the oldest religion on earth.
He basically got rid of the caste system, which is pretty much a form of slavery for the lower castes.

Anyways, the point is, Ghandi is the greatest person in history.

Joshua Mbithi is now, in my opinion, #2.  Actually, it's a fact.

Joshua is the founder of the Neema House, which is basically an orphanage for children who are HIV exposed or positive.
4 years ago when the youth went to Kenya the first time, Ellen DH donated the money that was raised at a garage sale to him.
That money paid for him to get started.  Now he has farming areas, a temporary school (he his getting ready to build the real school),
and a house for them to stay.  We went to the school and met the children before we saw Joshua because he was running errands.

They are some of the happiest children I have ever met.  Many of them would run up to us and jump into our arms.  At one point 7
kids climbed on me at once.  Playing with the kids was inspirational but comparing it to talking to Joshua is like comparing a 5$ cheeseburger
with a 40$ steak.

Joshua returned from his errands and we went into his house and he told us his story.  Joshua is a very religious man.  He has more faith
than anyone else that I have ever heard of.  He used to live with a group of teenagers.  They were pretty rebelious so when he
would try to get them together as a family to pray, they said no.  He tried many times, until finally he said that they could have
all there time to themselves except for half an hour a day that they had to spend together as a family.  This transformed them
and they all grew together into the family he wanted.  Joshua is big on family.  He told us that he really makes a point  to have
the kids he works with feel like a family.  They call each other brothers and sisters.

After those teens moved on.  He set his sights on children who had HIV.  The problem was money.  Joshua was never worried because he said
that if he was supposed to help these kids that God would provide.   He has never asked for any sort of help.  Good things just happen.
He had no money to start and our church paid for it.  He was able to buy property and build a house.  Another time they ran out of everything.
A truck came and gave them plenty of supplies for an entire month.  They said that it had every possible thing they could have needed.  That just happened.
A 5 year old boy who came with his family to Africa visited Neema House.  When he went home he saw all of his toys and said "I have toys, they don't have toys,
I want to give them my toys."  So they gave them all of his toys.  Then he said, "They don't  have a slide"  So they sent his slide.  All that was amazing.  I mean the kid was 5.
But after all of that, he said "I have a play set, they don't have a play set.  I want to give them my play set."  So he sent an entire playground over to Neema House.
they sent the set, cement and men to put it in.  And now they have a fantastic playground.  That just happened.

When one of the kids is sick, Joshua will stay up the entire night with them.  Or if they are in the hospital he will call every hour to check on how they
are doing.  To him these kids are everything.

Going to see Joshua has made me decide many things.  That I have to return to Kenya to help him out in everyway I can.  That I want to be as much like him as
I can.  And most importantly, anything is possible as long as you believe that what you are doing is right.  That may sound corny, and normally I would get angry
at something corny, but this is the one time that that wasn't corny.  That was completely genuine.  I have never felt this strongly about anything in my entire
life.

Joshua Mbithi made Taylor Archibald write something that was not basically a joke.  That just happened.    

Emily has something to say...

Yesterday was maybe the most meaningful day of jour journey so far, for me at least. The youth (no adults) split into groups of two and were each placed with a social worker. The groups separated and went to various poverty-stricken areas of Eldoret. Erik (a boy not from the church but who is here with his dad for five weeks) and I went with our social worker Katherine to Munyaka, a small village that was the poorest of the places visited by us. There, we went to the homes of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), children who are particularly at risk of starvation, lack of schooling and health problems.

Riding in the vans to our locations, every single youth looked absolutely terrified. It was a new experience for all of us to have people shouting and whistling at our vans, and to come up to the windows and shake our hands and say hello and shout “Muzungu!” (Swahili for “white person”). Then, to have to get out of the van in small groups and enter the chaos was maybe the most intimidating thing I have ever done.

Katherine, Erik’s and my social worker, was such a loving and caring person! As we walked through Munyaka, she took great pains to stop and say hello to people on the street, and to introduce us. Many had not spoken to white people before, and encouraged us to come back and visit their homes if we had time. The most significant part of my trip, however, was meeting Shosho. “Shosho” is Swahili for “grandmother,” and that fit her perfectly. The moment she saw us, this seventy-year-old woman came over to grasp my hand and insisted that I was now her grandchild. Shosho took care of four orphans in her one room mud hut, the oldest child being 17 and the youngest being 2. She had no job, and scrounged every day to find food for her family. Hearing Shosho’s story really brought the poverty in Kenya to life for me. It is truly a different experience shaking the hands of people afflicted by this situation

Everyone here runs on ‘Kenyan time,” which means things move slower here. Time is not really a big priority, which is one of my favorite things about this place! Our van was 20 minutes late to pick us up. Later on, I was glad for this, because it gave us an opportunity to visit with the children coming home from school. They were so excited to talk to us and show off the English they were learning! We were surrounded by children saying “How are you? How are you?” They would burst into giggles whenever we tried to speak Swahili, especially when I showed that I could count to ten!

In spite of the good times we are having here, it is difficult to see all the poverty that is simply accepted. We KNOW how good life could be here, but things are simply not changing fast enough. This trip is inspiring me to make my voice heard about the poverty when I get home.

Caroline & Lydia's Thoughts

Today we saw a picture of Caroline’s father… aka Bruce Lee. He was painted onto the side of a video store in the rural city slums of Eldoret Kenya. Fortunately Lydia wasn’t in charge of guiding us (Otherwise, we probably would’ve ended up in Uganda.) We were sent there by OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) to accompany a social worker making home visits. We were expected to converse and evaluate the family’s situation for the OVC’s records. Frankly, this was a surprise to the whole group, as we weren’t expecting to be responsible for serious field work. Also, we were a bit nervous because the evaluations completed would eventually be used for official record. However, we believed that the overall experience would be memorable and worthwhile.

We drove through the urban slums of Eldoret, and then were dropped off in the street to meet the social worker we would be shadowing. We met Margret and her daughter on a busy intersection surrounded by stalls selling everything from brightly colored produce and leather shoes to rainbow bicycle tires. There was loud music playing and we could barely hear Margret introduce herself and her daughter, Jane. In the coming hours we would really end up bonding with Jane, because coincidentally she was our age.

The first house visit of four began with a long walk through the slums. There was trash everywhere, in the gutters and ground into the dirt road. However, the colorful shops and many colored plastic bags created a juxtaposition of beauty rarely found in America. We arrived to a small one room hut, owned by a elderly grandmother of four orphans. The entire house was the size of a small bathroom, the only furniture was comprised of one chair and two stools. We sat and talked to the grandmother through Margret who had to translate to Swahili.

As the day went on we ended up bonding more with Jane than the families we visited. It was fascinating to talk to a Kenyan our age, and learn about their perception of us and our country. The only glitch came when we were invited to have porridge with them. Kenyan porridge resembles the consistency of mucus, and tastes even worse. It’s made with fermented grains mixed with boiled water… We were expected to drink an entire mug full before we continued on our journey. At the first sip it was apparent we would be in Kenya forever. In addition to that, the fermented barley gave us a bit of a buzz on. Luckily, we somehow managed to escape by diverting the diverting attention to exchanging emails to staying in contact. We took pictures with Margret and Jane and then strolled back to our pick up location.

Needless to say, it was a meaningful and unforgettable experience, and we were glad we decided to go. And hopefully next time we get a buzz in Kenya it will be from a sip of the Tusker beer… not from porridge.

Taylor's Tuesday Thoughts

As I sit here watching possibly the worst show I have ever seen, I think about the great day I had today. By the way, the show I'm watching is some sort of Christian show where some idiot talks about how flying in a F-16 fighter jet is a holy experience...what? Apparently bombing people is holy, who knew? That show makes me glad I don't have cable. And that I am not an idiot.

Anyways, this morning the kids were supposed to go around interviewing people and basically documenting them and then leaving. I wasn't ok with that so I went with the adults and we went to the Mosoriot school. I spent the van ride entertaining them with my hilarious jokes. (surprise surprise!) We got to the school and I felt like a celebrity. About 200 kids shook my hand within a minute or so. We met all the teachers and then they wanted us to speak to the children. They assembled them in a central area and we each got up and said one or two things and then they cheered for the visiters. I don't think they even listened at all. As we were leaving the older kids asked about Obama a lot. I forgot to mention that I was at the inauguration. I probably would not have been able to leave the area and I could have potentially been named a hero of the area.

After that we went back to the Sally Test childrens hospital. I continued my search for a place that sells Zebra, I have not had any luck so far. I also want to try Tusker which is a Kenyan b...drink. Its called Tusker because one of the creators was killed byan elephant so the other guy called it Tusker. Anyways, we went to the hospital and while the adults did boring stuff like cleaning, I taught the kids to make paper airplanes. It was a lot of fun. Then I played a game called Let My People Go. Yes, it is a game about Moses and the Israelites escaping from Egypt. I will give you a break so you can try and fathom how stupid of a game that is. It has 100 spaces and most cards move you 2-5 spaces at a time. Its a long and annoying game. Each turn you draw a card and move the amount of spaces it says. Thats it. One card said the pharoah is trying to trick you, but you'll win in the end so move forward however many spaces. How unintelligent of them. Also, every card rhymes. Hopefully the kids like the game, because I would feel like a bad person for playing a bad game that kids don't even like.

We went to lunch at Cool Stream which is a cafe run at the hospital. After that we went into town for a couple of hours. My group was Me, Lindsey, Callie, Anne and Richard. Lindsey and Callie together make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Needless to say, I was entertained. We walked around being tourists looking for things to buy that say "Look, I'm an American tourist." For some reason we failed to do so. The only thing that was purchased was a mango and some mystery fruit. We asked for passion fruit and the guy said ok and pointed to a fruit. It tasted like sour orange. I'm pretty sure that isn't how it is supposed to taste. We spent a lot of time passing places where you could buy b..everages and trying to convince Anne to let us get some. She said no, don't worry. But she could say yes because I am 18 and that is legal...I'm just sayin.
I just finished my dinner of fish, with PLENTY of bone. I didn't choke on any somehow but I ended up just throwing away so I wouldn't die. I think that's enough for today so you'll have to Let My Taylor Go.

Tuesday: Big Morning for All (Anne)

We met with Elizabeth Chester last night who is the Associate Director of OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) with AMPATH. She set up the morning with the 9 youth: two youth went with a Community Health Worker to make home visits. I wasn't sure at first since us adults were going to stay behind. Although I trust the AMPATH program and I trust our youth, I felt a bit like a parent letting my children go off on their own. I think all the adults felt that way! But we knew it was going to be a transformational experience for them, so we sent them off this morning with Elizabeth.

While they were gone, we went to Mosorit to see the clinic and women's shelter. The shelter was built by the North Youth group 4 years ago. The trees that they planted were quite large - Mary Jo was so pleased to be back there! :) While we were checking out the place, we noticed children surrounding us on all sides. They were from Mosorit Junior Academy: a boarding school up to class 8. They grabbed our hands and took us into their class rooms. (I met another Anne Marie and she was quite pleased to know we shared names!) Then the main teacher called an assembly - all the children circled up with the shortest in the front. They asked us to speak, so several of us stepped up and spoke to them. Anything we said brought a round of applause! :) Eventually they had to get back to class, and as we walked away we were each swarmed with children wanting to shake our hands. We got back to the shelter and then the children were back in the yard doing "gym class." With singing and dancing they exercised and entertained us all at once.

We met up with the rest of the group at Cool Stream cafe for lunch (it is on the AMPATH campus). The youth were exhausted physically and emotionally from their morning. They interviewed guardians of the OVC which will go into the records to keep track of the families they serve. Elizabeth then informed us that this was the first time they had taken youth on home visits and because they did such a great job, this will become part of other group visits. In fact, I think Brebeuf's group (with Annie Garau) will do the same thing next week thanks to the precedent our group set. What else would you expect? They're North Youth! :)

Now we're all taking a break for a bit. Later this afternoon we'll go into town. Sarah Ellen is looking for a scavenger hunt that we can use - otherwise, we'll just explore and check out the town.

More pictures from yesterday at STPC (Sally Test Pedatric Center) below...








This picture taken by Michael - he asked for my camera, mastered it and took wonderful photos of all of us.















Helping Moses on the tricycle.

Playing jump rope with Esther (in purple dress).

And now Taylor...

First things first, Eric DH knows how to fix the Starship Enterprise. He knows how to fix a FICTIONAL spaceship. I learned this from Callie in the Airport. This knowledge has made my life so much better. Second, Spencer is learning to censor himself. This is a major development because he has never censored himself before. These have been the 2 most important events on the trip so far for me. But in all seriousness I am very excited to be in Kenya. The most noticable difference between America and Kenya is the silence. We are in a city and the only noise I heard at night was Spencer snoring. Other than that it was completely silent. Oh and I also have to wear non-jammy pants for the first time in quite some time. I know, its crazy.

The second day in Kenya we drove for most of the day. Ellen DH told us that we would be disappointed about the bumpiness of the roads. She tricked us. There was a part where I was thrown into the ceiling of the van. Of course, not everyonewas bothered by bumps. Brian is a sleeping master that would rival Dan Archibald. He slept through the worst part of it. His head was like a bobblehead toy. Don't worry, there's a picture taken by Anne.

We stopped for lunch midway through the day. The food was cheap and tasty. I got a T bone steak just so I could prove that I was an American tourist. In my defense though,the only thing that was really something that we wouldn't have was mbuzi and that is goat. I don't think I want to be eating an animal that eats everything. But that's just me.

During the last couple hours of the ride Callie started to play music out of my extra loud headphones.That in itself is not a big deal but then she started singing along. And for a couple songs I did too. I am pretty sure that everyone was VERY entertained by it. (We sang The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything).

We got to the IU house and introduced ourselves to new people and found out where we were staying. Nothing particularly humorous happened after that. So day 2 is done.

Day 3
Spencer wakes me up at 8 15. We were supposed to leave at 9. I still had to eat breakfast. Luckily we're on Kenya time so I was fine. We went to the hospital and basically did rounds. Not a fun time for me.

After that though we got to play with little kids for about an hour. There was one kid named Charles. I want, no, I need my kids to be like this kid. He spent the majority of the time just looking aloof on his tricycle. But then, Anne let him put on her sunglasses. There was a complete transformation. I don't really know how to describe the smile on his face, but I'll try. It was the look that you give to people who you KNOW you're better than but you still want to impress them. He gave the look a king gives to his subjects. He gave the look that you make when you just aced a test without studying at all. He gave the look that I wish I could give all the time. He only had the look while the glasses were on which made it so much better.

After that we had wonderous chicken for lunch. Then we went to a women's shelter. There were a lot of cute kids that we played with there. There was a kid named Brian who was just fantastic. He jumped into every single picture that anyone would take. A man after my own heart. We came to the house to do some work on it. We cleaned the walls with turpintine and painted them. Turpintine has strong fumes, as does paint. I cleaned the walls and then spent a while painting the top parts of the wall. Oh look, there's a dragon. He's talking to me. I think I should go lay down. He agrees.

Thoughts from Spencer

We are currently in the IU compound. Sunday night we got in right when the sun began to go down. We all got our stuff in and into our rooms and saw the different houses with the kitchen, computer room, pool table, 'soccer' TV, and office in different houses. After getting set up we met with Joe and Sarah Ellen and heard about why Indiana is in the middle of Kenya (it was because of Russia invading Afghanistan). Hearing of how the program began just to set up a Medical school and then evolving into an HIV center and then further and further into carefor families and jobs, going out into the villages, women's health, and now becoming comprehensive care is staggering. What good is getting done and seeing how these people have affected Joe and Sarah Ellen is truly moving.

It is Monday morning and we are getting ready to move out and see the Riley Mother Baby hospital in Eldoret. I am very exited about getting out into the city and seeing the work being done. I have had enough talk and now want to DO. Brian asked last night how we might be able to take this experience with us. We only have a few days here, but hopefully we will be able to make relationships with the people we meet and become their friend and learn something of their life to take back with us and change us forever. Through all my years of service this is exactly what I found to be true. Through ASP meeting with those families for just a week is hard to make a relationship and learn about someone new and become their friend. Here we have even less time, but if we are able to, I can see the benefits of this trip and those relationships and how they will change us all being much more than the other trips I have been on.

So much to say and see... (Anne)

The youth have been writing throughout the day, but by the time evening came everyone was ready for bed! We'll get their posts up here tomorrow. This morning we spent time with my friend Esther who I met in Kenya a year and a half ago. Of course, they all fell in love with her! She even made them bracelets with their names beaded in! She is such a gift! :)

We met with Joe and Sarah Ellen in their home this evening. It was wonderful to be with them. When we arrived in Eldoret at the IU house this afternoon, we were welcomed by Amy Altemeyer and Lela Russell. It was strange to see such familiar faces in an unfamiliar land, but we appreciated it! The drive today was long and at times quite bumpy, but it was beautiful. I loved seeing Kenya through their eyes... they were enthralled with the large skies and varying landscapes. We even saw some zebras!

It's taking awhile to upload photos and the battery on the laptop is almost gone, so I'll upload more tomorrow!

Day One (Allison)

Over Twenty-four hours of travel later....
We've survived our first night in Kenya at the Methodist Guest House. A night of sleep in a real bed plus a hot breakfast made us feel muchbetter and returned us to our cheery, positive selves after some rough traveling.
The good stories begin with the plane delays. The first flight from Indy was a bit delayed, which didn't seem like a big deal at first, but when it came to making connections later onit left us with some problems. When we got to Dallas, our plane landed when the boarding beganfor our next flight. So...we ran through the airport, up a flight of stairs, across 3 movingsidewalks, down an escalator, and through more of the airport towards our gate. We got therein time to find out the flight was delayed about an hour. Then, delayed another 20 minutes., and then another 20 minutes. Don't you just love flying?! Trust me there are many more stories to come, so stay tuned for more...to be continued...

We made it! (Anne)

We finally made it! There were some scary moments with plane connections, but with rushing we got on the correct planes! We're all safe and ready to sleep at the Methdoist House. We'll write more tomorrow. Good night! :)

Anticipations, Expectations & Excitement!

A few thoughts from some of the youth as they prepare to leave in 9 days...

• I am looking forward to meeting new people, eating new food, and being in a new place. I am nervous about a language or culture barrier that I don't yet know about. You can only learn so much from books. - Spencer

• I am looking forward to helping as many people as possible while we are there. Of course I'm looking forward to trying new foods. I am nervous about being off of the continent since I never have before. - Taylor

• I am looking forward to experiencing a new culture, meeting new people (especially the little children in the pediatric hospital), leaving America for a while and seeing African wildlife (zebras!). I'm nervous about communicating and seeing extreme disease up close. - Lydia

• I am looking forward to building on old relationships and creating new friendships. I am also excited to meet and play with adorable children and our safari trip. I am nervous about the out houses. - Caroline

• I am excited to be in a new place and experience and explore things outside of my tiny little world. I am most looking forward to learning from and becoming friends with the students in Kenya, especially those close to my age. The only things I'm nervous about are the 30-hour flight and the lack of western toilets. - Callie

• I am so ready to go to Kenya. I have been talking and hearing about going for so long and it is finally here! I'm very excited to meet all the diverse people and learn more about their culture. I am not excited to see the poverty in Kenya with the children and adults. - Leah

• I am especially looking forward to spending time with an unfamiliar culture. It is scary to be an ocean away from my family and many of my friends, but I am excited about the group that I am traveling with. I know that we will have some life-changing experiences that make us grow closer together! - Emily

• I've always loved to travel, so naturally I am extremely excited to be going to Kenya. First, I can't wait to see the different geography and the cultures. I can't wait to travel and share these experiences with my friends, who truly are my North Church family, so it will be a wonderful bonding experience too. I'm excited to bring my camera and capture this part of the world through my lens, and share it with others when i come back. I think I am ready to see the world as it is outside of America, and I can not wait to see how it changes my life for the better. - Lindsey

• It is finally here! It seems like we've been planning this forever and its only days away now! Although I've never even been out of the country and there are so many things to be nervous about, I'm still super excited...playing with the children, getting to go on a safari, and spending time with friends...I can't wait! - Allison