Sunday we went to a Church called Lighthouse, it was SO fun. It was a crazy service with insane worship and everyone was dancing and waving their arms and waving chairs in the air, so classic. But we had a great day.

Monday we went around to the different places we decided to work at, in order to figure out our schedules and talk with the people in charge to figure out what we are going to be doing. We rode on the back of piki-pikis, or motorcycles, to all the different places which is so fun.

just in town...

I decided to work at Oasis of Hope and Discover to Recover. Ill be at the two places Monday through Thursday. Every morning i will be at Oasis basically helping with whatever they need. Preparing lunch, teaching classes, doing P.E., teaching the Bible class, stuff like that. Around 1 im going to be heading over to Discover to Recover where i will be doing remedials or tutoring with kids who are struggling, after that ill be teaching the Bible class (:

i cant wait to get started, tomorrow is the first day.

Tuesday we went to town for a little bit and then went to this music festival at Kitale Academy. It was so cool, schools from all over came to compete with poems or songs, many of them performing their traditional, tribal music. It was fun to talk to and get to know a bunch of kids and have them sing for us and see their traditional outfits.

Tuesday night we also went out to dinner for Chris' 23rd birthday at Pinewood. It was fun to get out and do something outside the house.

chris and melissa

some of the team

Chris and MelissaAshleySammy Chris and MattAshley and MelissaSteve....

Today we had a mellow day and just went over to Oasis to hang out with the kids, it was also "Bath Day" and we washed all the kids, definitely one of the craziest things ever (:

Matt and Lucy

Cyril

Melissa getting her hair done

They climb all over you

Cyril

This is going to be a longer post but I need to catch you all up on what we’ve been doing (:

Wednesday we went to a slum called Kipsongo, I wasn’t allowed to bring anything, like a purse or camera because they would have been stolen right off of us. So I have no pictures but it was so crazy to experience. These people live completely idle lives, doing nothing all day but making their own alcohol and getting drunk by about lunch-time. Their children are neglected and many times their houses burn down from cooking inside and passing out from being so drunk. I wouldn’t even consider them houses though. They are huts made of trash bags and any trash or cloth they can find. Some of the better ones are made of dirt and cow dung. It was so sad to see children wandering around with little or no clothes and no parents in sight. When we said hello and picked them up they were so happy. These children probably never receive affection or attention from their parents or anyone.

That day a woman named Sister Freda, who runs a local hospital, set up a clinic to check up on the people of Kispongo. I don’t do so well in hospital situations so I stayed outside and watched and played with all the adorable kids. Inside they were giving shots and vitamins and pills to kill things like worms and jiggers. These people were so messed up, one guy had done nothing and just let it rot after his hand had been chopped of. They were also testing for HIV; 9 people found out that day that they were HIV positive….another thing we give out is a relief supply called Plumpy Nut, Its basically a package of a substance like peanut butter but is full of protein and vitamins and nutrients that help malnourished kids, if they eat it for about a month it will save their lives.

Thursday we started off the day by going to Sister Freda’s hospital. What she does is so amazing. There is a District Hospital run by the government, which is horrible, Sister Freda runs her own amazing place. It is absolutely beautiful; if I were a patient I would love to be there. It is so peaceful and so evident that the Peace of God is with her and in that place. We got a tour and also played with the kids there; she feeds and has a school for the kids whose parents are sick and cant take care of them. She also walked us down to Mombasa Ndogo, a small village nearby. These people also live in huts and mud houses but they are farmers and looking for jobs but actually trying to improve their lives, unlike the people of Kipsongo.
sammy with some kids

Freda's

Some of the kids from the village

Kids at Freda's

huts

Freda's

My favorite (:

Ashley

After Freda’s we went to Shimo High School. The kids there were hilarious but so fun to talk to and get to know.





And finally, Friday, we went to Kitale Family Primary School where we took another tour and hung out with the kids. After that we went into town and hung out and had lunch.

I totally forgot to tell about Tuesday night, we had a team called the World Racers come over to the house to have dinner and hang out. They are a team of about 20 from all over the United States who are missionaries and traveling to 11 countries in 11 months. They were spending their 6th month here in Kenya. I have no idea how they do what they do. The living situations where they have been staying is crazy. But it was so cool to be able to hear about what they’ve been doing and just talk with them; people who have such amazing hearts and are such servants for the Lord. They have given up so much and sacrificed so much for the entire year. They offered us so much advice and encouragement and we were able to pray for each other and learn from each other.
tt

Mzungu

Yesterday we started of our day by going to Oasis of Hope for the official tour. We split up and helped teach the classes until break when we played with all the kids. I helped the first graders with a craft. We made bracelets (:

getting my hair done again....they love playing with it haha

i was attacked





Siri, cutest boy ever

they love the camera


walking home


After Oasis we headed home for lunch and then drove to Gilgal. It’s a private Christian High School. We were able to get to know and talk with all the students there. They were so friendly and happy to have us, and hearing their stories was so amazing. Its crazy to hear some of the places these kids come from. They are so smart too; I looked at their chemistry and physics books and there is no way I could do any of that haha.


some of the boys






A lot of street kids also came over after seeing that there were white people (mzungus) visiting. Everyone just runs up to us shouting “Mzungu! Mzungu!”