Tutaonana

This entry will not contain nearly as much as it should. Mainly because it's been 7 months since all of this happened, but also because life is very busy right now. I've titled this blog "Tutaonana" which means (pretty much) "I'll be seeing you." This is commonly said when people part company in Kenya. Goodbye is always so final, but to say I'll be seeing you is much more pleasant. This is basically a recap of all the things that happened the last two weeks I spent in Kenya this summer.

On Friday, July 12, the crew loaded up and went to Mombasa to pick up the second 516 Missions team. It was a little bittersweet for me to be picking up the team because I was so excited for everyone to get to experience this amazing trip, but I knew that I would be leaving with them at the end of their stay. This summer for me solidified that I wanted to be a part of the East Kenya Missions team, and it was hard to think that in less than two weeks I would be leaving it.


We stopped at Pizza Inn at the mall in Mombasa on our way back to Malindi. I love this part of the trip because you're meeting people and they're experiencing new things and are so excited. Most of the people on this trip were first-time Kenya-trippers, so everything was new to them. As I spend more and more time in Kenya, everyday life is just that: ordinary. But in the eyes of these first-times visitors, I am reminded of how far out of the American comfort zone this really is.

  

The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. We had a quick meeting before everyone got some much needed rest. The next morning, we all woke up early to get the day started and to have language class. I always love when Gertrude teaches because she really loves what she does. While Gertrude was teaching everyone their new Swahili phrases, the interns went with James up to the church to finish up the Sunday School building and to clean up the yard. Julie practiced with some of the choir and Kleopas brought some people and they practiced on the guitar. The building was finally finished and it looked great! We went back to the house for lunch and everyone loaded up to head to Mangangani. We were going to go pass out tracts and New Testaments and invite people to come to the cinema we were showing that evening. Mangangani is so much fun. The last time I went out there, though, was when I didn't feel well at all, so it was nice to be able to fully enjoy the company of the Church in Mangangani. We broke into teams to go around the village. We were sent in different directions so that we could spread out and cover a lot of ground. I paired up with Emily, who had come on the trip last summer, and we headed off with some of the lady church members. We walked around for hours passing out tracts and talking to the people in the village. Most of them were very receptive. This was one of my favorite parts of the summer because I had no idea where I was going, which meant putting my faith in God and the ladies telling me where to go. I also felt more comfortable with the language, so I talked to more people out in the village. This was a fantastic experience. We all headed back to the church where we listened to the choirs perform before Richard (Youth Pastor at That Church in Arkansas) and Juma preached. We watched the Jesus Film in Giriama (the tribal language of the Coast) and there was one man saved that evening. The angels rejoiced over that one man's salvation.

The next morning we went to church in Mangangani. James and Kenya went to the church in Malindi, so we used Josiah and Abigail as translators for a couple of the lessons. They did an amazing job! The services were amazing and the man that was saved the night before was there!

Girls at church at Mangangani

The church at Mangangani

Josiah did an excellent job translating!

Typical- girls working and the boys are, well,….

After church, we went back to the house for lunch and we packed up the vehicles for our trip out to Miritini (the village we would be visiting to do basketball camps). Some of the visitors went shopping in town to get some souvenirs before the week got crazy. We all came back together that night and had our Engish worship service before heading to bed. The weekend was already so full, but we were so excited to see all that God had planned for the rest of the trip!

Ready for a beautiful day on the Indian Ocean!

On Monday, we woke up and headed out for our free day. Mondays are normally our days off anyway, and this one was no exception. We went snorkeling again, but it was a MUCH prettier day for it. The sun was shining, the water was clear, and it was pretty warm outside. Throughout the day we made plenty of references to our last snorkeling adventure and made sure we wouldn't get the boat stranded again. We went out to the reef and swam around for a little while, then we all got back on the boat to go to a new spot. This new spot turned out to be a sandbar a little way off shore. A couple of us decided to still go around the sandbar and snorkel while the lunch was being prepared. This led to one of the scariest moments ever. I was snorkeling around, and no one was near. The water was pretty shallow, and there were sea urchins (the poisonous ones) everywhere. As I was swimming back to the sandbar, and eel came out of the grass and scared the mess out of me!! I tried to swim backwards while staying off the shallow bottom and not hyperventilating. Even thinking about it right now is making my heart race. AH! I didn't die, but that sure tested my snorkeling skills. Lunch on the boat was so good! We all ate until we were full and then we hung out a little more before headed back to shore. We went from there to the Crocodile Farm. This is a tradition for all of the teams that have come to Kenya. James tries to make everyone hold the giant python, and the faces are always amazing.

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day!

We went back to the house for dinner and devotional and then headed to bed. Tuesday morning was an early one. 4 AM to be exact. Brother James loves 4 AM. We loaded the bus and headed south to Miritini. The teachers' strike was still going on, so we weren't really sure what was going to happen when we got there. We didn't even know if there were going to be kids to have at the camp. When we got there, we began setting up camp. Quickly there was a crowd standing around watching. We could tell that there were definitely only about half the kids at school. Thankfully, the Nursery Class teachers were still in session and were our first group to go, so word spread that we were there. As we began our basketball camp, it was clear that it was going to be an amazing week, no matter how many kids showed up. The team of people that came on the trip had a heart for these kids and a heart for sharing the gospel.

Let me tell you what was not amazing. The choo. Going on a mission trip to a developing country is quite interesting when you are a spoiled American who complains when a public restroom may need to be cleaned. You will never bond more with people than over a bathroom situation. They are inevitable on a trip like this. Even if I told you the many stories that went along with the choo, you still wouldn't really understand. The smells, the spiders, the flashlights, the roaches, the thin concrete floor over the giant pit of poo, all of which will never mean as much to you if you have never experienced something like that.
As I told you, there was a teacher strike going on, so there weren't as many students there, but we still made it work with the kids we had. The view at the school is absolutely incredible. The problem is, if the basketballs start rolling, they're going down into the valley never to be seen again. I started off at the station on the edge of the hill. That was quite an adventure, trying to chase the basketballs as they began to take a tumble. By far the most interesting moment was when a little girl wanted to get out of line and I told her to stay. She stayed all right, she squatted down in the line and "relieved herself." Yep, right there in the basketball drill line she just couldn't hold it. Let's just say that next time I'll let whoever wants to leave the line go off and leave.
On Wednesday, we ran into a snag. The deputy headmaster pulled Brother James into his office and told him we were going to have to shut the whole thing down. Say what? After two meetings and setting all of this up, now you're going to tell us you have a problem with it? In that instant, Brother James prayed for the heart of the headmaster to be softened. After a long conversation, the headmaster decided that it was a good idea to continue on with the camp. Thank you, Jesus, for casting out the works of the devil.

I got moved to the group up on the main football field away from the edge on the second day. I was very thankful that I did not have to run down the hill after basketballs anymore. We were working with the older kids. I worked with TJ on dribbling drills. We made the drills a competition, like a race, and the older ones really had fun with that. Every night, we would have a meal, hang out around the lanterns, and worship together. On Wednesday, we found out that the teacher strike was ending. Classes would resume the next Monday, but we got to meet the rest of the teachers on Thursday and gave them all Bibles.

One evening, Richard and TJ did an improv guitar session and made up songs about everyone on the trip. We were rolling laughing for a while. It's good to be able to have those moments to just laugh and recharge ourselves. Being in a different culture is more draining than you think. You are constantly monitoring yourself to make sure you are being respectful in the culture you have entered. Not to mention, you are trying to use as much of the language that you know. Sometimes it can be extremely stressful, so much so that the purpose of the trip gets lost in the midst of the stress. For those of you who will be going on a mission trip or entering a new culture, make sure you take time to decompress and have some fun.

On one of the days, we ventured down into the valley to see if we could get to the ocean. It was very steep and there wasn't really a safe way to get there, so we went about half way and came back to the camp for dinner. These are some of my favorite moments: the unplanned, adventurous, culture-learning times when we can just explore elements of the country. Kenya truly is a beautiful place.
On Friday after the basketball camps and dinner, we showed the Jesus film in the local tribal language. People came and went as the movie was playing. This was definitely our least-attende
d showing of the Jesus film this summer, but people in the community still heard the Gospel and received Bibles.

On Saturday morning, before daylight, we packed up camp and headed for the game park. Brother James and Kenya went ahead and took the land rover and trailer back to the house while the rest of the group went on safari. This was a great safari. We saw cheetahs, lions, antelope, wildebeest, ostriches, zebras, elephants, giraffes, and a ton of other animals. We stopped at the other side of the game park to eat lunch at the same place we stopped to camp back on the intern expedition. We had a nice lunch and loaded back on the bus to go back across the game park. There was just one problem. It takes hours to get across the game park, and about 30 minutes into the ride, I had to go the bathroom pretty badly. I tried to hold it as long as I could. My bladder was burning. I know this is probably too much information, but this was all part of our journey. After a while, a few other people really had to go. So we told Kleopas that we had to stop. There, right in the middle of the savannah, behind a small bush, we went to the restroom. Four of us ladies marked our territory behind that bush. I am normally an extremely private, modest person, but at that point I would have gone to the bathroom on national television. Thankfully, we separated the boys and the girls and we took turns holding up a lesso (piece of fabric) to give us some privacy. That was certainly a unique experience.

We made it to the entrance without any more stops. While we were there I purchased a little figurine which will later come into play. I normally do not buy things at these shops because they charge way too much, but I bought it because it was made out of old branches and woven to make a palm tree and a hut and I hadn't seen any like it. I ended up holding it on every flight back to the U.S. because I didn't want it to be crushed. Everyone made fun of me, but it stayed safe throughout the journey home.
We made it back to the house Saturday afternoon, and James and Kenya had already unloaded all of the camping stuff! They wanted to make sure everyone got some rest and could focus on getting their things ready to head home. Before dinner, they pulled the interns into the kitchen to give us some gifts they had purchased during the summer. Each person got items that described them. I got a T-shirt that says "Pamoja Tujenge Kenya"which means "Together we are building Kenya." This was symbolic of me joining the team in Kenya, which I will be doing next year. I will be going for over a year to homeschool the Taylor children and help with ministry. I also got a ring that the ladies use to balance things on their head. All summer I tried to balance everything on my head. All of the gifts were wonderful, and it was a great time to spend together as we reflected on our time this summer.
The next day we had wonderful services in the Malindi church. This was such a sad time because it was our last day to worship at the church with the people we had come to know. It was also a happy time because Brother James baptized 13 people that Sunday. My favorite was Kleopas. He has kids that have attended the church for a long time and he has always been our travel person when the groups are in town. He never showed any interest in church or in Jesus. But this summer, we had the privilege of seeing him come to know who Christ is and trust Him as his savior. The last day before we left, we also had the privilege of seeing him follow in scriptural baptism. What a joy it has been to watch his life be transformed!

On Sunday afternoon, half the group went to the tourist market for last-minute shopping and the other half went to the football (soccer) field to play the church team in a game. I went to the tourist market, because let's face it, I'm not much of an athlete. We had a good time bargaining with people and using our Swahili. This was fun because I knew just enough to hold a quick conversation, and the Kenyans loved it. Our fun ended when Kenya got a phone call from the football field. Brother James had attempted some super-human soccer kick and had broken his wrist. She had to leave us and head to the hospital with James. The rest of us stayed around for a little bit and then took tuk tuks home. When we got home, the interns loaded up in the van and headed to Nakumatt to buy a special present for Gertrude. We really developed a beautiful relationship with Gertrude this summer. She invited us into her home several times and taught us so much. We decided to buy her a bike to show her how much we appreciate all that she did. After we bought the bike, we headed to her house to give it to her. It was such a sweet time and she made use chai one last time. We sang together, prayed together, cried together, and laughed together. She is such a special lady of God and I am grateful that she is in my life.  We said our goodbyes and headed back to the house.

That night we did our "good, bad, and ugly" which is our debrief before we head home. This is a special time of reflection on the trip. The interns gave James and Kenya some funny little gifts. We made James his very own "paan," (the stuff he made us eat in Nairobi). It was quite interesting. We packed up all of our things for the last time and headed to bed.
The next morning, we were all a little sad as we knew that it was the day we had to leave Kenya. Out of the three times I've been to Kenya, this was the hardest to leave. I kept thinking, "You can just stay. Just call everyone back home and tell them you're staying." Everyone loaded up on the bus, but the interns loaded up in the van. This was a wonderful time with just Logan, Brittany, Julie, Kara, me, and Kenya. We got one last chance to reflect on the summer, share some laughs, and get everything off of our chest before we got on the plane to go home.
Once we got to the airport, we said our goodbyes and headed through security. We were all very emotional as we left the Taylor family at the airport. The things that family taught us in one summer in just unexplainable. The experiences we shared together and the spiritual wisdom that was poured out to us was invaluable. I will always be grateful for the time they spent to disciple us.

Once we made it through security and onto the plane, I realized that my ticket and the plane didn't match. There was no seat K. We had a good laugh.

My little palm tree man is safely flying with me in my seat. 

Flying over Mt Kilimanjaro. This is the peak through the clouds.

He's still safe in the airport in Ethiopia.

My little palm tree is safely in the US waiting to get through Customs.

The flights were uneventful, which is always a good thing. I slept for most of the big flight, something I rarely do. We arrived safely in America and back to Little Rock, where my parents were waiting for me. They were very glad to have me home. The worst part about doing work like this is the stress it has on my family. I wish I could just take them with me wherever I go. I will enjoy their company until the next adventure.
I am so very blessed to have been able to spend the summer with such amazing people. It was an honor to get to know them and work along-side them. The memories made will last a lifetime.

From the first day of internship to the last day of internship, a bond that's unbreakable.

Thank you for following my summer internship. Keep coming back to hear about my next adventure to Kenya. July 2014-September 2015. It's going to be awesome.

In Christ,
Ashley