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