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Last night in Kenya....

I honestly can't believe how fast the past 4 weeks have gone by!  I leave bright and early for London tomorrow and couple days excursion with my mom!  

My safari in the Masai Mara was INCREDIBLE!  We saw everything you could see, except the elusive rhino.  I was even greeted and then chased by a monkey upon arrival.  It was easily the most terrifying experience of my life, but also really awesome, because, honestly, how many people get chased by monkeys?  Not many.  Anyway, since there are far too many funny/unusual/awesome stories, I'm just going to copy and past the email I sent to my mom halfway through! It's only a smattering of everything I saw, but it's a pretty good taste I think:

- We followed a leopard that was being followed/harassed by 2 jackals.  It was hilarious.  They just kinda ran behind her barking , but everytime she turned around they shut up and froze.  I guess she just wasn't hungry because she never tried to eat them.

-I've seen thousands, literally, of wildebeasts, zebras and gazelles.  They're making their annual migration over into Kenya from Tanzania so they're everywhere.  Also, if you've forgotten what a wildebeast looks like, please google it.  They are easily the ugliest creature I have ever seen!  Our guide, James, says the joke is that it's 5 animals in one.  I can't remember all of them, but he said that it has the face of a grasshopper.  They also make really funny sounds, so I have a video!

- I've seen several lions, including a mom with her cubs.  We couldn't seen them very well since the grass was tall, but the cubs were SO cute from the glimpses I got.  We also watched several more snooze under some bushes.  They are enormous and remind be of Fred and JJ because apparently they sleep 16-20 hours out of each day or something.

- I've decided that giraffes are my new favorite animal next to llamas and slothes.  They are SO cool!

- I've seen a coupld ostrich, but they move pretty fast, so they're hard to catch up with.

- The finale yesterday was watching 3 cheetah brothers nap under a tree together.  We seriously watched them for like an hour waiting for them to do something, but they just rolled aorund every now then.  After a while, they finally got up and I think they strongly considered taking down one of the wildebeast nearby, but it got lucky since apparently they weren't very huingry.

- Today, we saw 2 separate herds of elephants, each with at least one baby!  Fun fact: elephants are pregnant for 23 months.  And giraffes are prego for 14! 

- We have yet to see a rhino, but apparently they're hard to find this time of year because they get annoyed with the noisy wildebeast and hide out.

- Thankfully, no more contact with the monkies has been made.  However, I've been told that bl ack mamba snakes are common in this area.  Awesome.  I now walk to and from my tent in constant fear of death by monkey, spider or large poisonous snake.  Otherwise, I feel pretty safe, even when I can hear the (apparenlty dangerous) hippos walking/snorting yards from my tent.  Pray that I come back unscathed!

 

The British family I'm with is hilarious.  I have a hard time keeping up with their lingo, but it's still fun.  I've heard the words "cheeky" and "daft" more times in the past 2 days than I have in my entire life.  They also live up to their drinking reputation, as they have easily polished off 2 bottles of South African red wine with dinner the past 2 nights and still maintained enough decorum to order an after dinner Bacardi and coke. Last night, though, while they were walking me back to my far off tent, Linda spoke of the possibility of previous lives and the relevance of astrology.  She also admitted to being very "daft," and told me I was a "brave lass" for venturing to Kenya all by myself.  Altogether it was an amazing experience, and I have 937 pictures to attempt to convey how truly brilliant an African safari really is.  

Now that it's my last night, I've had plenty of time to think about why God brought me here.  Obviously, I felt led to serve in some capacity in Africa, and New Life Homes just came into the picture when the time was right.  But ever y time we feel called to do something or go somewhere, I think God intends to work in us, not just the people we serve.  I think the biggest thing I learned in Kenya was in regards to my relationships with other people.  I never realized how much I depended on the physical presence of my friends and family.  Early in this trip I experienced a loneliness I've never known.  Since then, I've learned that while it's fine to seek comfort in people you love, ultimately, God is the only one who can provide it.  Once I found comfort in God's presence, the rest of my trip was no longer filled with this overwhelming loneliness.  My biggest prayer is that I remember this when I'm home.  Mission trips are awesome, but the spiritual high that follows is usually temporary.  I pray that the things I've learned and the closeness I now feel with God doesn't diminish when I return to the bustle of school, friends and other activities.  This trip has truly changed me and I want that transformation to be permanent.

love, 

emily

Romans 8:28

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Safari!

I leave for my safari in the Masai Mara is approximately 42 minutes! Ah! I can't wait! I got into Nairobi yesterday afternoon and got settled pretty quickly into Kate's apartment.  It's right down the street from the NLH so I spent a couple hours playing with the babies before they went to bed.  I got to see Karl again so I was pretty excited.  Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to see him before I leave since my flight gets in after NLH closes to volunteers :( I just want to freeze him in time so I can come back and adopt him in 5 years!

Anyway, I spent most of the evening masterfully packing all the unnecessary wooden animals I've bought over the past few weeks.  I probably have a good portion of the African wildlife to set up across my dresser.  However, I an extremely paranoid about them getting broken/crushed in my suitcase, but I think I packed them pretty well.  Otherwise, not much has happened since my last post.  I went to Wayne and Mary Lynn's for a French toast breakfast before I left Kisumu, so it was great getting to see everyone again before I left.  I really do miss Kisumu SO SO SO much and definitely plan on coming back in the future.  I never got to go to Lake Victoria, so I absolutely have to visit again.

It's weird to think that in just 4 days I'll be on a plane bound for London.  Crazy!  This trip has gone by so fast, especially in the last couple we eks.  I can't even put into words all the amazing things God has taught me and shown here.  He's definitely used Kenya and the people I've met here to help me grow closer to Him.  Thanks for all your prayers!  

love,

emily

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"It's a little bit pili pili"

Well, tonight is my last night in Kisumu and I am very sad. I have
truly loved the past four days and wish I could stay here longer!
Since my last post, I have fad many babies and been thrown up on
twice! I've also become particularly attached to a little girl,
Carla. She's probably about a year old and is teething I think. The
best is when she starts gnawing on another kid's foot. Anyway, I've
really enjoyed working with the babies in the past few days, but I
think what really made my time in Kisumu great was the people I met.

I know I mentioned them before, but Wayne and Mary Lynn are basically
two of the most awesome people I've ever met. It's incredible how
much they've trusted God to provide for them in the past year, and
I've learned so much from their stories. They are amazing generous
and have a way of making everyone feel like family. Yesterday, Mary
Lynn and I spent most of the afternoon together cooking and baking
together. It was so much fun! We made lunch for the workers painting
their home, and then I baked my orange chiffon cake for their small
group Bible study. I am happy to say that it was quite a hit!

The Bible study was also really fun. The topic was on surrender,
which is something that I've definitely become familiar with here in
Kenya. It was interesting, though, when we talked about the
difference between surrender and commitment. When we "commit"
ourselves to God, we still retain some control. It's like giving Him
rule over the whole house, but keeping one room for ourselves. With
surrender, however, we sacrifice all power to Him. He has complete
reign and we have willingly lowered given every aspect of ourselves to
Him. I thought it was a pretty neat distinction. We're more than
willing to commit to something, but surrendering always produces
hesitation.

Today I went to the craft market with Megan, Kimberly and Ashley. I
bought more things than I know what to do with, so my friends should
be excited about souvenirs! It was a lot smaller than the Masai
Market in Nairobi, but they had some interesting things. I got a few
paper necklaces. Apparently, they roll trash paper into little beads
and string them together to make jewelry. Pretty creative I think.
Anyway, it was great way to spend my last day. We had an amazing meal
(again) and I'm definitely going to miss it here!

I'll be doing a LOT of traveling this weekend since I'll be going on
safari in the Masai Mara! I can't wait! Thanks again for your prayers!

love,

emily

PS "pili pili" is Swahili for spicy!=

Karibu!

Karibu is Swahili for "welcome," and let me tell you, I have never
felt more welcome in my entire trip than I have here in Kisumu. When
I first got here, I was feeling kind of anxious, to be honest. I was
alone again and the stress of my flight/making sure my enormous
suitcase didn't get lost/finding my taxi driver made me really worried
that I would sink back to where I was at the beginning of the trip.

I couldn't have been more wrong! I got to the Kisumu home around 9
and was given a quick tour before being left to play with 20 or o
babies. The home is a little bit smaller than the one in Nairobi, but
there are more babies here. There's also a special needs wing (the
Amani Cottage), which is home to about 7 kids, and a unit for older
kids (the Simon Newberry Cottage). Altogether, the home has 44 kids.

Shorty after I began playing with the babies, a group of about 10 or
so Americans came in to help out as well. I met a girl named Megan
who is here with her mom and older sister. They invited me over for
lunch and dinner after being shocked that I was an 18-year old white
girl in Kenya alone for a month. I gladly accepted their invitation
only to find out that they are staying with a couple from
Texas, Wayne and Mary Lynn. I had heard about Wayne and Mary Lynn and
their amazing food from Morgan and Hilary. Apparently, they were well
taken care of by this incredible couple during their time in Kisumu.

I cannot express how great their hospitality was. Not only did they
serve me ( and several other guests) lunch and a Thanksgiving-themed
dinner, but Wayne also chauffeured me around so I could take care of
some errands. They truly have a heart for God and for the people of
Kisumu. I think they've been here since about last November and are
in the process of moving into a home of their own (they are renting a
flat right now, I think) so they can live here permanently. They are
a great witness to the people of Kisumu, as they share a Jesus video
in local slums and prisons. I also met a really cool girl, Katie, who
has been living alone on Kenya for the past 6 months, so she can
definitely sympathize with me! Their warmth and generosity is also a
huge blessing to me and I can already tell it's something I'm going to
greatly miss when I leave Kisumu on Friday.

It's incredible how much God has blessed me during this trip,
especially with the people I've met. I leave in just a week and I
know He's still got a lot in store for me! Thanks so much for your
continuous prayers and support!

love,

emily