Rafiki yangu ya kwanza My 1st friend

I said goodbye (Kwa heri!) to my first friend here tonight. It overshadowed finishing our mid-term exams. It's hard to put words to my feelings but I wanted to share with you a bit of the delight she has been.

It's ironic that we know very little about each other, due to our communication limitations! She's learning English and knows lots of words, but hesitates putting them into sentences. I'm learning Swahili and am willing to try to say anything, but don't know the words. However - she is fluent in Italian so when we'd get stuck, I'd use Spanish & she could understand. Yet we connected on a level that is beyond words. I don't know if it is due to the intensity of our experiences or the providence that brought us together.

Fausta has been supported by a Catholic mission since she lost her father when she was 6 years old. She studied in Italy and will now be running the laboratory in a new hospital which opens next Wednesday. Tomorrow at 5:30 am she will start her journey home, including 22 hours on two buses, if all goes well.

My family here at Flora Hostel

Moments I will remember about Fausta - her ability to act out anything - from rabbits to hospital visits, her hug when I was showing photos from home and got all teary-eyed, her balancing a candle on her head when the electricity went out, her perserverence, and most of all her kind heart, quick smile and unbelievable sense of humor.

Yes, she really can balance a candle on her head ...

Safari njema, rafiki yangu! Safe travels, my friend.

Kwa heri is how you say goodbye in Swahili. Kwa means “for, by, to, by means of, etc.” And heri is defined “tranquility, happiness, advantage, blessedness, success.” So while I wish my new friend “Safari njema” and that she goes by means of tranquility and happiness – I wish the same for you. May you all be blessed with friends who know your heart.

Touring Kitale

Tumerudi Nairobi na tutaenda tena. We have returned to Nairobi and we are going again!

And yet today begins a different journey. The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. Today I have a smudge of ashes on my forehead as a reminder of the journey we take to strengthen our faith. It seems appropriate that it comes in between two journeys to visit places that I might be living for the next few years. After these trips I will need to decide which one. The decision seems a bit daunting at the moment, but I hope it will become clear.

I thought I would take you along the journey we had to Kitale last weekend via a few photos.

One option for traveling to Kitale - via matatu - or a mini-bus / van.
Our mode of transport - the easy coach. Still affordable, runs on a schedule (rather than when seats are filled) & assigned seats, which means no overcrowding, which is often experienced on the matatus.
The morning commute in Nairobi. We walked to the bus station - about 40 min from where we are staying. The weather here has been beautiful, around 80 degrees, usually sunny, but with occasional rains.
We drove through the Rift Valley, a famous geological area.
And by a former volcano, Mt Longonot
And by a few lakes, including Lake Naivasha. Note the white soda along the shoreline. Both salt and soda, which is exported for use in glass making, are collected from a series of soda lakes in the area.
Fellow travelers
The contested 2007 elections in Kenya brought fighting between two parties in early 2008, which resulting in displaced people living in camps. A coalition government was formed and is working on a new constitution before the 2012 election.

Many homes have iron sheeting for roofing, but we still saw many with thatched roofs.

Early morning market outside Kitale.
The Kitale area is known for maize (corn). These grain bins could be seen for miles.
One of the highlights of the weekend was visiting the mission sights of our co-missioners. Russ works at a center that helps kids at risk for living a life on the streets get into schools and maintain connection with their families.

We met the kids right before they left for the weekend at home with their families. We interrupted lunch, but they were happy to see us.
While the first group of children were being delivered home, the remaining ones and I did a little dancing before the vehicle came back for them.
Another mission sight is Kiminini Hospital, providing quality care at a low cost.
One of my favorite sights was the donkey cart, so I'm thankful John captured a photo of one.
John & Cindy by the Kitale Cathedral
Kitale has a number of supermarkets that seem to have just about anything we would need.
And finally, wrapping up with a bit of local wildlife!

Thanks for continuing to follow my adventures. Early tomorrow we are off to Mombasa. I'm excited to see the city, which has a long history, the Indian Ocean, my fellow missioners there, and find what possibilities there are for my work.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, continuing renewal of spirit and a sacred time of reflection this Lent-
Mary

Off to see Kitale! Tunaenda kuona Kitale!

I'm leaving shortly to see Kitale - one of the places I could live and work after language school.

Here's my first newsletter & a few photos:

11th Feb 2010


Dear Friends and Family,

Habari za Marekani? What is the news from America? This is my first newsletter from Kenya and I am still determining the best way to send you news from here.

Today marks 6 weeks since I left my parents' home in Iowa for Kenya. The opportunity to be living in a new country and learning a new language can be overwhelming – both in gratitude and in the newness of it all. I want to thank all of you who have supported me in my decision to come, in the preparation, especially while leaving many of you in the LA area last summer, and now while I am overseas.

Although most of my time thus far has been dedicated to learning Swahili, a recent moment of grace for me was in a slum called Mathare. We were invited there by Sister Elizabeth, of the Contemplative Missionary Movement of P. De Foucald. Her community lives there and offers children a clean and safe place to play and learn. We visited their Sunday school classes where the children sang and danced to make us feel welcome. One of their teachers was a local university student who spends her Sundays there to teach the children their worth as people and that something good can come from the slum. She had the vijana (youth) sing a song of blessing for us, with hand motions of sprinkling us with their blessings as they named each one of us.
Singing for the visitors. We sang Jesus Loves Me for them.

These are the primary school children. They organized a chaotic little dance for us. The little girl in front kept looking at me and shyly smiling. Precious!

A Race for Peace was held this Saturday in Kibera, Nairobi's most famous slum and one place of post-election violence in 2008. The motto of the day was “Upholding a Culture of Peace in Kibera.” The day started with the 13-16 year-old girls running, many barefoot and in skirts, but at speeds humbling for me.


These next two weekends, my co-missioners (and friends) John & Cindy and I will be traveling to Kitale and Mombasa to meet the bishops and ascertain where we will do our ministry for at least the next 3 years. I am both excited and nervous to see what the future will hold. The next time I write you, I should know where my new home will be!

Thank you again for all of your prayers, support, letters and emails. I hope you all know that you are loved. May we grow in our compassion for each other and our gratitude for the many gifts life brings.

Peace to you and to our world,
Mary
Our weekend entertainment ... scrabble scramble. Fausta is learning English, so kept a list of new words.
A day out with our fellow missioner!