Blogs from Kisii, Nyanza Province, Kenya, Africa

As the gentle cool breezes flow I am reminded of the reason I came to Kenya. I came because of the children. I came to show them love. To give them hugs. I came to show them the Christ we speak about and lives inside of me. I think back to when I was a child. Do these chilren have the same experiences, the same adventures I had? No, I think not. While they think "Where will my next meal come from?" I knew. When they think of " Will I go to school tomorrow?" I knew. While they think "Will my momma and daddy be home tonight?" I knew. I had been assured that all was well. These children came from homes that were broken, starving, without medical care and without Christ for many of ... read more

It started raining in late March, not alot but some every few days, now it is pouring! Downpours occur daily and you best be prepared. I learned that one day when I went to a friends house down the road and was on the back of a pik pik (motorcycle taxi). The driver stated "It is raining there" I said "I'll be ok I won't melt." Well let's just say that when I arrived at my friend's house, I was soaked! Glad I had placed a shawl in my bag! Last weekend the family I am staying with and 2 of the girls from the orphanage and I went to Homa Bay. Can I say "WOW". It was beautiful. Just to see what God made with his own hands was amazing. The cool water brushing up ... read more

Just a few more days left in America. I am excited, nervous and unsure of what to expect. I have been to Kenya before, yes that is true, but this some how feels different. I am leaving my beloved pets, family and treasured friends for a whole new culture. Will I fit in? Will I do what I am made for? Will I?????? It feels as though I have electricity flowing thru my body at 12,000 miles per hour! Jambo!... read more

Jambo! Jambo! Vi befinner oss naa i Kenya. I dag har vi kjort til et tettsted som heter Kisii. Her skal vi bare vere i en natt for saa aa kjore videre over grensen til Tanzania. I to dager har vi vert paa safari i Masa Mara. Det var helt fantastisk! Det var akkurat som aa vere i filmen Lovenes Konge. Vi saa giraffer, zebra, geopard, elefant, flodhest og ikke minst den majestetiske loven. Det var virkelig en opplevelese! Ogsaa naturen i seg selv var et syn! Et maal for denne turen er aa se "The Big Five". Vi har naa sett tre av de ( Love, elefant og boffel.) Vi mangler derfor leoparden og nesehornet som vi haaper aa se en av de neste dagene, saa vi kan krysse av dette paa check listen. I ... read more

June 18, 2010 We are off today to Oyugis, Kenya to work in a village project with Hearts4Kenya. We are a small group from Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church in Louisville, Ky., USA. This will be my third trip to Kenya, but first to Oyugis, which is near Kisii. Can anybody give me some information about the area? We are excited about our 3 week trip.... read more

so this is probably the last blog in Kenya. We just came back to Kisii today to finish up everything here. It's only been a couple days, but not too much has happened. Alyssa got electrocuted when she stuck her hand in some water that was heating up. It was one of those full body electrocutions. Also, yesterday, the crazy old man from next door got drunk extra early, and walked over to the kids and us while we were working and started waving around a machete. He told the kids to start working, and he threatened Carol. He's basically crazy. While he never actually hurt the kids, its pretty horrible that he can just walk over onto their property and start threatening everyone with a machete. Apparently, we have to wait for the Land Council ... read more

On the night we arrived home after our last post, Neal was attacked by a cow with horns. It apparently thought Neal was a threat, because it started sprinting after him. Alyssa was very shocked and really could do nothing except yell and scream for him to run inside. He was only wearing flip-flops, and it had just finished raining, so he slipped easily in the mud. Luckily, he fell next to an even bigger cow than the one chasing him, so he saved himself a few seconds to start running again. He eventually lost the horned cow by swinging himself around a post (the turn was too sharp for the cow to handle). It was a very shocking experience, and all we could really do was laugh. The next morning we accompanied Carol to the ... read more

After a five hour matatu ride, we finally arrived in the town of Kiamokama. Mary met us there and we piled into a four door sedan with 9 other people. That is how they travel here in Kenya. On the way to the Children’s Home, we passed fields of tea and maize - the two main crops in this area. Tea farmers pick the tea leaves, sell them to the tea factory in town and then buy pack the processed tea for drinking. It is a silly system. When we arrived at the entrance to the Children’s Home, a bunch of the kids were outside waiting to help us take our bags to the home. There are twenty or so children living here - ages 5 to 15, more boys than girls. Mary had them each ... read more