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.