it's been a while.
it's been some time.
I didn't forget about this space, though (even though it probably seems like I have).
The last couple months have been...full.
Oleleshwa at sunset
Ten days. Sixteen travellers (11 kids, five adults)
Fifty-two hours in transit to and from destination.
Three airports. Two six-hour bus rides.
Four build days. One six kilometre walk to fetch water.
Five lorry break-downs. 500 shillings to buy enough food for seven people.
About a dozen cups of chai hot chocolate (seriously recommended).
More donkeys and goats than I could ever begin to count.
+ a sense of community unlike any I had ever experienced before.
I have been home for 16 days. During those 16 days, I have been asked the question "how was Kenya?" so many times I've lost count.
The answer is always some variation of the same thing:
"It was great!" or "It was awesome!" or "It was wonderful!"
And all of these things are true. But none of them come close to doing a justice to the experience.
Of flying into Nairobi at night and seeing all the lights from the plane
Of eating some the most incredible fruit
Of leaving camp and having children running toward you so they can hold your hand on the walk to the build site (aka their school)
Of seeing the before and after - the old school, in its desperate state, next to the new builds
Of not speaking the same language, but still finding lots of ways to connect
Of waving and smiling at everyone you see because they're waving and smiling at you
Of that night when the sky was so clear it was like being in a planetarium
Of sitting around a camp fire while your Maasai guide shares about his culture
Of being blown away as you listen to seven high school girls talk about what the opportunity to pursue education means for them
Of sitting in a classroom in the dark while children take turns reading to you in English and Swahili
Of creating a community with a group of people you probably wouldn't otherwise have the chance to meet or interact with
Of feeling like you're part of something, everywhere you go
"You are highly welcomed in Kenya."
This phrase was repeated often during our time in Kipsongol, although none of us needed the repetition to know it to be true. We were taken in immediately by the community, embraced without hesitation. And it had nothing to do with us - it's just the way things are. There is a deep current of love that runs through rural Kenya that manifests in acts of care.
People look out for one another. And for someone whose love language is acts of service, seeing that in action affected me on a deep level.
The crew, after a six kilometre roundtrip with Mama Katherine, Mama Norma and Mama Carolyn to fetch water. The water we carried was enough to last four days.
The first 16 days home have passed quickly, filled with work and appointments and wedding planning and more work. I have had the chance to meet with some people and tell them about my trip, but I am very much still processing the experience - and more specifically, grappling with the question of whether or not its possible to create that same sense of community here at home - and if so, how to go about doing it.
Dear friends, since God loved us, we also ought to love one another
1 John 4:11 (NIV)
