Weeeeeee’re Baaaaack!

We were sad to leave our new friends in Kenya. The travel back seemed to go by quickly, even though it was still over 30 hours total travel time, but it probably was due to the fact that we were both pooped. (yes brother mike, you did mention something about that….). Over all, it was quite an adventure. And a learning experience. We live in the greatest country on earth, with the most opportunity, and filled with loving, generous, caring people. All too often we might lose sight of just how blessed we are to live here, but that doesn’t change the fact that we are truly blessed to live here. It was rare, in fact I really can’t remember one time, when we asked the many friends we made in Nyeri where they would like to travel and possibly live….that anyone ever said anywhere but America. And for good reason.

Anyway, enough of the flag waving. Just glad to be home again. Will we go back? Maybe. Possibly. Probably. But for now, it sure is nice to drink the water from the tap. And flush a toilet.

We promised not to forget the many wonderful people we met in Africa. We won’t. We plan to continue to try and share our blessings and abundance with those much less fortunate. In the last message we mentioned some areas of need. During this time of Thanksgiving and the Christmas season, should any of you wish to also share, we would definitely like to help you accomplish just that. 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. 

Honorable Desperation

Our trip is coming to an end. What an amazing experience. We have been touched in so many ways, by so many people. So many wonderful, loving, generous, embracing people. Did we accomplish all the goals we set leading up to this journey? No, not hardly. To do so, we would have needed much more time. And money. Honestly, I don’t think we really had a clue what was needed here, what their life was really like, the extent of their daily struggle……. our goals were naive. Our perception of the large scale striving simply to survive was certainly understated. Equally overstated though, was their perception (and hope probably) of the ability of these two visiting Americans to help them overcome their numerous, daunting challenges.

What do you say to a person who is respectfully, dignifiably begging for help? A person who you know is doing everything they can to make ends meet, doing all they can to support not only their own immediate family but also the families of their siblings since the vast majority are not working and have no income. How does one say “sorry, I just don’t have the means”, when clearly skipping one “night on the town” would make available enough to actually change, in a very significant way, the lives of many for months. Constantly our minds were filled with thoughts of “we know we can’t help them all, but we can help some”. I don’t feel guilty for my many blessings in my life, but I know I need to share them. Its easy to find the desire to help such a people who have nothing but hope. And hope they do have. And faith. One of the few things they can afford.

When I think back over the last weeks, certain images float through my mind.

• Cars that barely climb the hills, and smoke so much trying to do so.
• Far greater numbers walking as most don’t even have smoking, dilapidated cars.
• Bicycles used for transport, carrying much more than I can get in the boot of my “Z”.
• Barefoot people. So many barefoot people. Regardless of rain or shine, young or old.
• Mud everywhere.
• The most “spoken” word we heard was “Karibu” (welcome).
• The most unspoken was “help me please”.
• Such generous people, willing to give so much when they have so little.
• Amazing animals.
• Beautiful children. Always smiling. Always waving.
• Bongos and singing. And dancing. Loving life easily. Still don’t know how they do it.
• Boiled tea with boiled milk and sweetened with something. Extended to us in every home we visited. I know most couldn’t afford it. But they couldn’t imagine us leaving with sharing a cup.
• The sorriest excuses for “homes”, defying gravity somehow to remain upright, and the occupants feeling blessed because at least they have some sort of roof over their heads.
• Children thrilled to be in school, embracing an opportunity to learn. Their parents never had such a chance.
• Talented, driven, dedicated teachers at Little Flower Institute, truly having the students’ best interests, and often at significant personal sacrifice to do so.
• Poverty.
• More poverty.
• A hospital creating miracles everyday.
• An ugly disease called AIDS, residing in the most beautiful, undeserving children.
• Annual incomes, monthly incomes, daily incomes…. so small…..needed to provide so much.
• The purity of the simple joy of just being happy to be alive another day.
• The never-ending reminder how lucky we are.
• Embracing that reminder.
• Still embracing it.

This trip may be coming to an end, but we won’t ever forget our new friends. The goals we started out with may not have been satisfied, but we have new ones, ones we will continue to try to successfully complete. Eventually. God willing.

We can’t do it alone though. So little really can help so many people. I know so many generous people back home, in the greatest country on earth, just looking for a way to help if they only knew how. Or who. Or where. We can help with that. There is a little red tape, but we are working through it. There is no administrative overhead needing to be covered before “donations” make their way to the end user…… 100% of any contribution will reach the intended destination. We have the Arch Bishop’s word on that. He is a good man, we trust him.

The list of needs is endless. Dr. Miena, resident miracle worker at the hospital needs a lap top. The third hand one he has now doesn’t even have the capacity to play “pong” and is better used as a door stop for the swinging doors of the operating room that no longer swing. (For most of you younger than me, “pong” is a game from a time long ago, needing almost no memory to run.) The Little Flower Institute needs three or 4 laptops. If these students are ever going to compete, they need access to the internet. “Dell’s” lowest end laptop, running about $500 or less if on special, would be more than adequate for Dr Miena and Little Flower. A cost achievable only in their dreams, but maybe not for some of us.

The teachers at Little Flower make $100 a month, if they get paid that month. This has to support so many in most cases. Its a wonder these talented educators haven’t moved on to more consistent, substantial employment opportunities. Their predecessors did. Any financial supplement to this meager salary would be a blessing. There are seven of them. There should be more, but there simply is not the funding available. They are willing to shoulder the burden, and they do a good job, but it has to get heavy when they do it for virtually nothing and their personal family demands are so great. We need to help them.

Fortunately primary education is now available to all for free. But this only goes through the equivalent of what we think of as high school. The Little Flower Institute is doing a magnificent job of providing a skill set which will enable their students to hopefully find a way to stay off the streets and actually have a “career”. Unfortunately, this education isn’t free. Each school year consists of three terms, and room, board, books, tuition is about $500 per student for the entire year. Unfortunately, an increasing number of kids are finding their parent(s) simply don’t have the ability to pay. The school tries to let them stay anyway as long as possible, but this places such a burden of the meager resources already expected to go so far. They have a “sunshine fund” which was originally set up to help cover these “emergency” needs, although it is empty most of the time. Replenishing it would help so many.

These needs are not “one time” by any stretch. They will be ongoing. But helping them even one time is one time more than they have experienced so far. I wish you could have been there with us. There is no way to share with you what we felt with words alone. To feel their “pain” but at the same time to be in awe daily of their positive approach to finding a way to “get through another day” and always with a smile. You would love them. We did. Do. The needs of this little community in Nyeri are certainly not unique. There are many places in this world in similar need, and all very deserving. We really are blessed to be born here. Help someone, somewhere.

If you think our friends in Nyeri might be some you want to help, they would be grateful. If you have a thought how you might want to help, please let us know. No effort is too small. You can either reply to this website or email us directly at kkearns@ebay.com to talk about it.

Soon we will have a link where you can go to see all our photos. As soon as we do, we will let you know. We will keep updating this blog, there is still a message to share. Better if we do that from home though. We are so thankful for the chance to come to Nyeri and meet the most amazing people. We are also equally thankful we live in America. Thanks to all who have supported us during this journey with prayer, kind thoughts and words. Very much appreciated. See you soon.

Poor but Generous

Kenya is home to many amazing animals.  For most of us, a zoo is likely to be the only place they will be seen, and never living together in harmony, as is the case most of the time here. We won’t forget the animals we saw, but the memory of what we found to be most unique about Kenya is that of the amazing people we have been so blessed to meet. Some we are lucky enough to even to call friends now.  To be sure, an honor we will cherish forever. Thanks to FR. JB’s many connections, we had the rare opportunity to access people and areas “off limits” or more commonly “overlooked” by Americans. Our audiences with the Arch Bishop, the Prison warden and the head of the Kenyan Police
College will be memorable. Spending time walking amongst the prisoners, shoulder to shoulder, eye to eye with them, many sentenced to life, all forced to exist on the wrong side of the bars, presented an opportunity to reach out and let them know that although they made a mistake, and not the first for most, that they were still human beings.  Our last several days were spent just as we had hoped….. with the school children, the adults suffering from aids, leprosy and previously abandoned and, of course, the children born into this world with aids. It’s hard to put into words the feelings we experienced constantly while in the midst of these precious souls. Tears were forever on the verge of spilling over as we interacted with these loving people. We were successful in holding back “most of the time”, it was too hard to explain to a child why we were “sad”, but even as I write this now, I can’t help but feel the same tug of the heart as I reflect back on those moments together. The most amazing realization is that in the midst of such desperate, severely challenging conditions, almost no one seemed “hopeless”. Maybe the daily struggle to simply survive leaves no time for feeling hopeless.     The young school children were so excited to be visited by the two fat white guys from “Amerika”. Ok, they didn’t call us fat, but standing next to them, we sure felt that they must be thinking we were both solely responsible for creating world hunger by the food intake required to maintain our girth. Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m paranoid. But they were so skinny…..   They were so intrigued with everything different about us, even the hair on our arms. We were amazed with how educated they were in spite of the truly third-world conditions of their classrooms.   No lights, no electricity, dirt floors, chalk boards created by painting them on the walls…… but still producing such well mannered, smart kids.  We provided “sweets and biscuits” to those answering our questions correctly  and significantly underestimated the supply we should have brought along.  And kids so excited to be learning. It was only a couple of years ago that education from Preschool through 12th grade became “free”. Previously only those capable of paying tuition could attend, and this eliminated all but a very few. Getting a chance to go to school was, in their eyes, a ticket to a better life. And they were not going to fail.    Our visits with the adults suffering from aids and leprosy produced stories that underscore the innate desire so many have to help one another. Many of these patients had been left for dead throughout the sea of slums, unable to care for their very basic needs, let alone work. Many a story was recited whereby their very existence was credited to children who took the time to care for these adults as they lay by the roadside and in alleys, and living off the food scraps delivered daily by the children. Ultimately they were found and transported to the “hospice” to be cared for, many actually recovering. Where they go once released is another story, but at least they have a second chance. Again, the purity of simply being happy to be alive continued to be awe inspiring. One man, suffering from leprosy, having lost all his toes, many of his fingers, parts of his ears and face, was just so happy to just be there. I never once saw his face without his almost toothless smile.  Although he couldn’t speak any English, I felt such a peace and joy just being in his presence. Most moving of all has to be the time spent with the children struggling to overcome the curse of being born into this world with AIDS.  Such precious, loving, loveable children. When feeling healthy, so playful.        Quite a stark reminder of their plight though, was the contrast between those “healthy” at the moment, and those experiencing the wrath of the AIDS virus in full bloom. We felt helpless, unable to provide any real relief, other than to try and put smiles on as many little faces as we could. Fortunately many of these children were unaware of the reality of their condition, other than they didn’t feel well a lot of the time. We won’t forget the time we were able to spend together, definitely nowhere near as much time as we wished for, but all in all, truly a blessing we will forever be grateful to have experienced. To look in the sparkling eye of a child, see the ear to ear grin in spite of the fact that their expected life span is counted in months rather than years, well, it puts into perspective any complaint we might ever have. Pray for them.   The “Little Flower Institute”  was originally one of our main destinations when we started this trip. This school provides an opportunity for young “women” (and 2 men) to get technical training in a variety of trades and hopefully find an alternative to a life on the streets. What an amazing place. The devoted 7 teachers,  making up the “faculty”, possess such a “gift” for connecting with the students. Still a mystery is how in spite of substandard conditions, they can continuously produce a student body surpassing the national standard for test scores.  Their dedication is evident in so many ways, none as great as their commitment to continue in spite of frequent months of no pay, and needing to personally fund student needs. This “Institute” is part of the local Diocese, but is required to be self-sustaining. Students are required to pay to attend, but once accepted, are not turned away due to lack of ability to pay. And many cannot pay. The annual tuition, which includes room and board and books is a whopping USD $500. For many, it might as well be $5 million. We were constantly touched by the generosity of these talented educators. Annually there is discussion by the Diocese as to whether the “Little Flowers” should be closed for fear of financially being unable to continue to remain self-sustaining, hence the common requirement for teachers to forego pay, even though they all earn only about USD $100 a month. Our intention is to try and find a way to provide funding to ensure the teachers get paid, the students unable to pay have access to “scholarship money”, and the infrastructure can be upgraded in any of the numerous ways long overdue. More on that later……. There is hope though.  There has to be. Heck, if these kids, adults, patients, students can continuously maintain their hopeful view of their future, who are we to think any differently? They will continue to strive to survive. Maybe with a little help from Amerikans, a people they so want to know, living in a land so magical in their minds, we can slightly increase their odds. It really wouldn’t take much. A month’s salary for a teacher, a semester’s tuition for a student….. while almost painless for most of us, would actually significantly change lives over here. Please think about it.  

OK, got to go get water. 🙂  

       

Days 5-7 … Finally a break – we are spending the night in a tree

After 5 days of non-stop discovery of Kenya and the plight of the Kikuyu tribe we are taking a break and heading to Aberdare National Park to spend the night in a tree and watch the wildlife come out of the forest to get fresh water and take salt from the ground around the tree.   We saw families of baboons, warthogs, antelope and best of all elephants. We couldn’t believe it when we watched 10 elephants come out of the forest and over to our tree. There was one LARGE male and many females. The cutest thing was a baby elephant always being protected by the herd and staying underneath the mother.

   

 

 

 

We went to Lake Nakuru National Park for a game drive (self driven) and this is where the REAL adventure began. It was so unbelievable to see these animals out in the wild and not in a cage. Father JB has a 4×4 Suzuki he can use so Father JB, Father David, Kevin and I hopped in the truck and off we went. As we started down our first trail, we had to slow way down to let the 100 or so baboons cross in front of us.

 

 

 

   

 

 

To see them walking right next to the truck (mothers with babies hanging underneath them as they go by) was incredible. We saw giraffes, flamingoes, columbus monkeys (big white fluffy tails), many varieties of dear, zebras, water buffaloes, and white rhinoes (so intimidating).

It has been raining here off and on and the trails we were taking (and making some of our own) had deep ruts and wouldn’t you know it … we “bottomed out.” So here we are stuck in the open plains with HUGE water buffaloes, with HUGE horns attached to their heads, trying to push with all our might (and slipping in the mud) to get the truck free. No luck … and now the animals are getting nervous and we can see them starting to face us. Kevin pulled a brave, dangerous and ingeneous stunt … he ventured off through the plains to retrieve a very good size branch. We were able to wedge it under one of the tires and with Father JB jamming on the gas pedal, the rest of us pushing with all our might (mud covering us – mostly Kev), we finally were able to break free.

A quick wash off and into the truck for our escape as the buffalo were running past. As we continued on our way, we were just in awe seeing these animals living in their natural habitat. This was truly nature in all its glory. Finally, we stopped for lunch (we had packed lunches) on Baboon Cliffs and we had quite a time with one of its residents. He wanted our food and kept pestering us, so we finally gave in and shared our lunches with him.

 

They almost seem like little humans the way they interact with us. Anyway, it was a wonderful break, but back to our mission – day 8 is next …

Day 4 – Tim’s bag is found, so its 90 miles back to the airport.

Yea!!!  Tim’s bag has been found. A little damage we are told, and apparently there is a little issue of needing to address a customs issue for the Sonic Wall device Tim brought for Father JB, but Tim really needs a change of, uh, clothes, so we are grateful. Those of us around Tim maybe more so than Tim. J Unfortunately the roads are in much “better” condition coming from Nairobi than going to it. I don’t recall this “E ticket” ride when we first arrived and traveled to Nyeri. I think I’m at least two inches shorter now from bouncing up and down practically the entire way. Father JB is a very good driver, but I’m not sure that I agree with his philosophy that the bumpier the road, the faster we should go. Over 100 km/hr. That is about normal freeway speed for us back home, but these aren’t our freeways. I probably won’t quit complaining that our gas tax back home should  actually be used on fixing our “bad” roads, but these are something resembling more of an “after” picture from a B52 bombing run. If you wanted to connect the dots (pot holes), you would rarely have to draw a line longer than 5 feet. Amazing that cars last more than a couple years here. Or actually, maybe explains why they look like they do. 

Oh, we made an observation here regarding graffiti. We would show you pictures of the clever art work, but there is none. Anywhere. Cleanest city walls we have ever seen. The only sign “Polite Notice – No Posters”, and that’s all you ever see. Amazing. Along the drive to Nairobi, we were struck by the general way of life these people live every day. There may be areas in America that resemble this Spartan, minimalistic, shopping at Goodwill would be a dream, “life style”, but I have yet to see them in person. One gets the sense that survival is the theme of the day and it rarely changes. Except on Sunday when most still observe that day as the day of rest. I don’t think I could even work one day a week, resting for 6, and make it living the struggle commonplace in Nyeri and Kenya in general. And still such a happy people. They only got cell phones in this country 3 years ago, and almost no one has internet in their home, so certainly there is some value in an “ignorance is bliss” existence when it comes to the “luxuries” of the Western World, but as more of the West comes to Kenya, the separation between the “haves” and the “have nots” will certainly be a challenge for this government. For now though, it is quite an experience stepping into this time period. 

So we finally made it to the airport. And after being told to retrace our steps at least 5 times, “Tim only” was finally allowed to go claim his bag. Or what was supposed to resemble his bag. “Slightly damaged”?!

   Not only was the bag destroyed, many of the valuable items we brought for the kids were missing. So was one of Tim’s shoes. If anyone sees a one-legged man hopping away carrying an armload of Children’s gifts and wearing one new shoe, I bet he’s our guy. They didn’t steal the Sonic wall though, and after a valiant effort by Tim to argue that it was a donation to the Church (which it is!), he only had to pay a “50% duty”. Good thing it only cost USD $75……. (even better that they had no idea what is was and that it really was valued 20 times that amount….. but hey, after all it really was a donation). We definitely have to figure out how to get goods into the country going forward without paying a duty for donated items. We have a plan for that though…… 😉  Upon leaving the airport, Father JB allowed us to enjoy seeing some of the local “non-human” residents. (Although we could argue that they are all more human than that custom’s agent making Tim pay the duty….) Here are a few we met:    

It was quite an eye-opening experience, again, traveling through the region, seeing the lifestyle of this community. The pictures say more than we could, so let these speak for themselves: 

    Taking goods to market.    Arriving at market. Busy day at market.   Kenya Home Depot 

   Specialty ” Boutique” shops.  Rain or shine, waiting for the bus.

 “Rolling backpacks in America?! How do they get through the mud?” Best behaved children we ever saw.

 All in all, certainly another “Blessed” day. “Asante sana” to all of you for your continued support and encouragement. It really is nice to know we are still connected to home. Oh, and father Juan, we are all keeping your Mom in our prayers. And you can really feel God in this place, so I’m sure he is listening. Aloha.

Day 3 – You call this a hospital?

Hospital day!  Tim and I were excited to visit the local hospital today and see first hand all the wonderful work done on a daily basis for a population that largely would have no other hope for treatment. We certainly did not overestimate the value this wonderful group of Nurses, Doctors and technicians provide every day of the year. What we didn’t expect were the conditions within which these daily miracles occur. One could easily imagine a battlefield Army MASH unit working in a more sterile environment with much more advanced equipment. A common theme expressed to us was the belief by the staff that they only continue to succeed through the grace of God alone. As has become the norm, we were received with open arms and a sincere appreciation for our desire to spend time with the staff and people. It is rare, unfortunately, that this hospital has visiting “friends from America”, and they couldn’t be more hospitable. The smiles were free-flowing, as well as their desire to share the numerous needs of the hospital.

Overall, the buildings have leaky roofs, walls long overdue of repair and a new coat of paint, damaged ceiling tiles, tile floors with many missing tiles  and poor electrical wiring. There is a serious shortage of wheel chairs and rolling patient “trolleys” . The deficiencies are all encompassing throughout the miracle-working hospital, but critically so in the ICU, Operating Room (which they call the Theater, but doesn’t even show a single movie….) andDiagnostic
Center. 

The ICU, which cares for adults and children alike, is little more than a room with a sign that says it is an ICU. They do their best to provide quality care, and do succeed most of the time, but just how they do it is a mystery with the limited equipment at their disposal. Items we take for granted in any American ICU, but missing or broken here include a digital ECG machine, Infant incubator, ventilators, defibulator, suction machine, infusion pump, pulseometer, blood pressure machine…. the list is endless. What isn’t in short supply is the love and dedication of the staff. 

The “Theater” provided the most striking reminder that we “weren’t in Kansas anymore” and this truly is still an area struggling to evolve. How a sterile environment could ever exist is mystifying.  An operation was underway during our tour , despite broken doors, no hot water, floors and walls that simply could never be cleaned appropriately. Windows were cracked or missing. Again, an Army MASH unit would provide a much more optimistic opportunity for success. Having no other choice, the talented, loving Doctors and nurses forged ahead. Listing the needs of the operating room is almost comical if it weren’t so serious. The “changing rooms” need to be developed, paint  and wall repair throughout, hot water and new sinks provided , swinging doors need to swing again, the anesthesia machine  is very old and has no monitor and partly manual, an oxygen concentrator is a critical need and the sterilization machine is very old and in need of replacement. Of course, the leaky roof and missing floor tiles underscore the dire state of this miracle working department. A neglected backyard shed in America would be provide an upgraded environment to the receiving and recovery “rooms”. Heck, any veterinary clinic would far exceed these conditions. 

The “Diagnostic Center” serves not only this hospital, but the entire area for over 200 kilometers. Other area hospitals depend on the one CT scan machine here, which of course, was broken during our visit. It is very old and the parts are expensive.  Currently, the tube needs to be replaced, and at a cost of USD $40,000, its easy to understand why it remains inoperable. The attached computer is in serious need of upgrading and the x-ray machine needs a direct fluoroscope to safely and thoroughly diagnose the ailments of the vast local population. 

The many other departments of this hospital have equally lengthy lists of needs. The dental department has no e-ray equipment and the scaling machine is in pieces . The children’s ward needs curtains to provide some privacy. The physiotherapy department needs everything. A traction unit  and almost any exercise equipment would be most welcome. The laundry room struggles along with a washer and dryer probably purchased second hand by the Flinstones and won’t last much longer. The room looked like it had just been washed down, but that was simply the result of constant leaking from the equipment. The nursing school, which educates classes of 200 at a time, needs training mannequins , computers and various educational/training equipment. The “private” wards need patient trolleys, wheel chairs and oxygen concentrators. 

Insurance is almost non-existent, and when available, provides almost no reimbursement to the hospital. There is no government funding. They rely solely on the meager amounts collected from the patients, many of which have no capacity to contribute. Maybe older equipment, which has been replaced by new, upgraded models, from hospitals or clinics from the USA, might be made available and could find their way to this remote, life-saving institution. Anyone who knows of any such opportunity would find an eternally grateful recipient here in Nyeri. We would be happy to help make it a reality…… more on that later too. J 

The day flew by and it was time to return to our “compound”. The images we absorbed today will be added to the growing list  which will be etched in our mind for a long, long time. There just has to be something we can do to help this hospital………

               

A few pictures from the first 2 days in Nyeri

Two goat herders and their brother. We met them on the roadside.

Tim and Fr. JB by our shower. OK, maybe not “our” shower.

 This is our coffee maker though. Seriously.

  This is the first class of students we met with. So polite.

 The are the “Little Flowers”. They live in the compound and cooked dinner for Tim and me our first night…..

 This is the “Little Flowers” goat. He used to have a brother. We had him for dinner last night. Seriously. Now we feel we better replace him with another goat. More on that later……

 Survival is a way of life here. But they still find a way to smile.

 This is her brother. He wouldn’t smile and seemed scared. Until I pointed the camera at him and said “say cheese”. I’m sure he was laughing “with” me and not “at” me…….

 You don’t think he was laughing at me when I said I could pick faster than both he AND his sister…….

  Or that I said i wouldn’t use my hands?

  “sorry Fr. JB, I just can’t take my brother anywhere”

 Until just a short while ago, this was the local church.

Common (and we mean very common) methods of transporting the goods:

 

 

Arrived in Nyeri! – Day 1

As our plane flew over the Kenyan countryside, the view of the amazing topography quickly distracted us from the weariness of what was then 36 hours since we woke up and started our journey from
San Jose. Whatever my mental picture was of “Africa” before, it was quickly replaced with views of vast green stretches, drastic elevation changes, sparse evidence of population (except in the large city of Nariobi), simply a sheer, natural beauty I had not seen contained in one single location ever before. I think that was the first time it really hit me that we were in “
Africa”. 

Getting through customs was painless. The queue for the VISA was quite long, and Tim and I  envisioned a wait of at least 30 minutes, maybe 45. We were at the very back of an apparent non-moving line when a very “helpful local” struck up a conversation with us and ultimately took us to another part of the airport where we were immediately #2 in a VISA line. Only cost us 500 shillings (about USD $7) for his help and well worth it to avoid the line. After spending the next 30 minutes looking for our luggage, one of a traveler’s most dreaded fears, “lost luggage”, became real as we discovered Tim’s bag never made it. We think it must have been held up in Heathrow customs as it contained a couple of firewall devices his company “SonicWall” generously donated for this trip. Unfortunately it also contained all the soccer balls, Frisbees, chocolate (Thank you Dr. Ho) and various other “gifts” we were bringing to the children. Oh, and of course, all of Tim’s clothes. The search is on, and maybe we will still see it before too many days have passed. Tim needs clean underwear….. 

Father JB was there to greet us, having arrived on time, and thankfully had sufficient patience to still be warm and welcoming as we walked through the arrival gate “only” an hour and 15 minutes late. The weather was rainy but fairly warm, and we set out on our 90 mile journey through
Nairobi and on to Nyeri, our final destination. Monday morning traffic through Nairobi was not unlike any other overcrowded city having wet streets, and lanes being shared by autos, buses, bicycles loaded down with goods, people drawn wagons and many, many pedestrians. I found myself thinking that although from the sky this area seemed very enticing, once on the ground, this would not be a tourist destination I would ever likely choose. 

Once out of
Nairobi, the travel proceeded at a very fast pace. I have not seen so many animals along the roadside. Cattle, donkeys, lambs, and all with many seemingly newborn additions, and all quite domesticated. And oblivious to our car passing by. Or trying to pass by. Beautiful country though. This area is world famous for their coffee (one of their biggest customers is Starbucks) and their tea. What was surprising was also how prevalent was also pineapple, mango, grapes (yes, they make wine here too), corn……virtually anything they wanted to grow. The climate and fertile soil is very conducive to growing almost anything. Dotted often along the way were small fruit stands, all selling the local produce.  We stopped at a few of the roadside stands, the people were very friendly and the prices were quite reasonable. The taste was excellent. 

One thing that struck me was how many of the pedestrians all along the drive, wore no shoes. Apparently, although often a necessity due to lack of money, much of the time this is a preference. Seemed odd considering the weather was rainy and the roadside was rocky. And so many pedestrians, even far out in the country. 

We finally arrived at Father JB’s “residence”. This is where we were informed we would be staying as well. Although very humble, and scarce of luxury, it is a very warm and loving environment. We are very happy to have an opportunity to make this our home for the next couple of weeks. 

After a luke-warm shower and a nap for about an hour, it was off for a quick tour of some of the Parish coffee fields and then “dinner” prepared and served by the children living in the compound run by Father JB. 

The children are wonderful. They were so excited to receive us. The food was very tasty, and the serving size was far more than we could finish. The meal was made up of a little mutton, and lots of vegetables. Desert was fresh pineapple and watermelon and limes. The children then sang several songs to us, some in English, some in Swahili, and all with a very heartfelt expression of welcome. Two very young children, maybe 4 or 5 years old, then recited two poems to us that they had written. They were in Swahili, but we were told they were about AIDS and having hope and how thankful they were to go to school everyday. Perspective to be cherished and coveted to be sure. Tim and I both are excited about the opportunity to spend time with these “role models” starting tomorrow. 

OK, sorry for rambling on. I want to write much more about the children, but something tells me there will be opportunity often over the course of the enxt several days. I am ready for a much needed night’s sleep. I think Tim is already counting sheep, and I will be out as soon as my head hits the pillow. Good first day. Exciting to think about what tomorrow will bring.  

Good night. 

Day 2 in Nyeri – Coffee Anyone?

After the rainy day yesterday, the sunshine was a welcome alarm clock this morning. A bit chilly last night, surprisingly, but today was warm and clear. After a quick breakfast of local coffee and local fruit, we set off for our education of the Diocese’s biggest revenue producer, coffee.

My expectation of the process and the technical infrastructure was not high considering this was still a “developing” country. Much to my surprise, we found a very organized process, and a strong understanding of agricultural practices. The missionaries first developed these fields in 1902, and much of the original coffee trees were still in place and productive. The attention to detail was impressive. More impressive was just how hard these people work. My back got tired just watching the women as they seemed in a constant bent over position. Rarely bending their knees, they adopted a position similar to one where we try to touch our toes and stretch our hamstrings. I don’t know how they do it. I would last maybe 10 minutes, certainly not a full day, and to think these people do it everyday for many, many years. Amazing. And all for about USD $2/day. I don’t think I will drink a cup of coffee again without thinking about the effort going into producing that cup.

We took a little time to stop by the kindergarten and 1^st grade classes. The students were hard at work and of course, extremely friendly. We also stopped by the hospital to meet the doctor in charge. Tomorrow we will spend most of the day with him working with the various patients in whatever way we can. Trying the patience of the Doctor and nurses is probably more like it.

Tim and I have both commented often how different the interaction is here in Nyeri. After two full days here, only today did we see another “white person”. There was a group of 4 tourists who passed through the area. Otherwise, we have been the only two. For many of the children we are the first non-black people they have ever seen. While at first most of the people we come across just look at us, fairly expressionless (unless we are being introduced to them by father JB), but as soon as we smile and wave, they immediately break into a wide grin and couldn’t be more friendly. This is true whether they are children, young and old adults as well. A very friendly people. We went into town today for a brief shop, had to pick up some supplies for the school meal, and being the only two white people amongst the literally thousands of town people, every person we greeted responded with a very friendly reply. Every person. A very cherished experience.

Tim’s “lost” luggage was “found” today after we called a couple of times. The first explanation was that the bag was damaged. After a while though it became clear that the firewall Tim brought was being held by customs and we needed to come “pay” the duty. Clearly just a money issue. Problem is that the airport is 90 minutes away. The plan now is that we will go there on Thursday. I just hope all the items we brought for the children are still in the suitcase. Apparently we should be able to negotiate the amount. (Too bad we don’t have procurement to organize the bid process. JJ)

We hope to have internet access soon, maybe even tomorrow. We went into town earlier today to get the equipment needed and open the account for the parish, but there was a surprise set up fee equal to about USD $500. That would be a lot of money in the States for setup, so you can imagine what a setback this was for this struggling Parish. Unfortunately, it is just very expensive to set up here, but we are trying to get the price reduced as we will do all the installation work for the Parish. I say “we”, but as y’all know, that means “Tim”. I hope we can work something out tomorrow.

Ok, time for bed. Early day tomorrow as we will get dropped off at the hospital and spend a good part of the day trying to be helpful. At least not get in the way. Today was another special day.

Aloha. (I have to learn how to say Aloha in Swahili.) J

The travel begins…….

Well, we are halfway there. We made it to London, and now are only about an hour or so from boarding the flight to nairobi. It has been a long day so far. We figure that we will be awake for about 45 hours by the time we have our first chance to take a nap. London was pretty today, but cold. Tim and I are both pretty pooped (not to be confused with what those monkeys will be throwing, or what little brother mike warned us not to get).