Well I made it to Charlotte…leaving Nairobi Wednesday night
(Wednesday at 12:30 in the afternoon home time) and arrived in charlotte 11pm Thursday nairobi
time…1pm home time…16ish hours in planes and around 6 hours in airports…what a
whirlwind! (Please forgive this
fragmented and jet-lagged post…P.S. I added this sentence after writing…so that
tells you where I’m at mentally)
My last days in Kenya were SO blessed. I realize I haven’t
written yet about visiting a school for children with special needs (an amazing
experience and a place I want to return to) or about my last days at the school—which
were So rewarding. Highlights: one of the girl’s mom coming to the school to
meet me, a note from one of my middle school aged Bible studies girl telling me
that “your advices have changed me to be a better girl”, and the marked
improvement by the girl who on the first day didn’t understand a lick of English
or Swahili (on the last day she said Hi and Bye). Also, I was able to spend time with the girls
I did orientation with and it was so great to catch up on our time and
reminisce about how far we came in just 3 months. My very last day was relaxed,
prayer and picture filled. I already miss my Kenyan family. Here are some snippits of my last days: (thanks to James Briggs for the school photos..he's amazing!)
My travel was pretty uneventful but I did see an amazing
Amsterdam sunrise and met a church group from Atlanta who I “joined up with”
while in Amsterdam. My flights were passed sleeping (surprisingly) and watching
a couple movies. I did experience a bit of culture shock walking into the Atlanta
airport-everything was so bright and clean…people seemed so hurried and busy…not
to mention the cashiers looked at me pretty funny when I asked how they were
doing (out of habit) and there were SO many similar food choices. Sadly, my
taco craving will have to wait until Seattle…El Rinconsito…here I come!
Additionally, I was able to have time to reflect on my trip
and all the things that I can already see have changed in me…I’m sure there
will be many more things to note in the coming months…besides the notes above…I’ve
also noticed things about America already…the fact that we are blind to the
spiritual poverty around us but quickly point out the physical/economic poverty
in other countries…definitely a log vs. stick thing…Yeah, Kenya has a long way
to go in living out the gospel…we all do…but I was refreshed by the openness to
talk about God, pray for others, and the plethora of spiritual words plastered
on matatus and around Nairobi. Also, thanks to the public transportation in
Nairobi, airplanes feel quite spacious...so that was a bonus. Personally…I know
that I want to live more frugally and with gratitude for the undeserved blessed
life of material ease that I have in America. I did nothing to earn or merit it…and
the children I worked with did nothing to deserve the life of physical struggle
they were born into. The truth is that ultimately we all need the same grace,
the same forgiveness, the same salvation.
Anyway…I’m off to shower, rest, and hopefully sleep past 3AM
tonight J
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