All Quiet On the East African Front

All is well here. My luggage came today, which has been actually kind of strange. I was so used to waking up and putting on the same shirt, and the same pants that having to choose what I was going to wear seemed somewhat foreign.

It has been pretty slow around here. Yesterday I got to speak at a church in Shimo la tewa, a community down the road. I love visiting small home churches, they remind me of the church in Acts chapter 1 and 2.

Today I was feeling a little under the weather, and so I just did some small errands, and then worked on things at the house. I didn't realize how lonely it can be when you're alone. I now look back and realize how social I am, and how being alone effects me. I have heard it said that solitude is the furnace of change, we'll see about that.

But for now I am going to get back to watching Stargate, and hopefully falling asleep to the sweet sounds of Russell Crow parading a group of bumbling idiots around a far off planet.

Batta

I have a friend here in town, his name is Sndip (spelling?), and he owns a shoe store. It is an official Batta retailer (those of you who have been here will know what I am talking about, and probably find that somewhat amusing). Sndip is just an everyday shop owner here in Kitale; An Indian imigrant, who uprooted his whole family to move here and run a shoe store, pretty typical story around these parts. What is amazing is the friendship that we've developed.

Everyday I walk past his shop on my way into town, he always calls my name, and has me come greet him. Once and a while I will sit in his shop and "talk" with him. Mostly I sit there, and ask him questions that he barley understands and he nods yes. He typically buys me a soda and shows me pictures of his family on his phone.

Today I saw a Chelsea hat, and said that they were my team. He laughed and handed me the hat. I told him I couldn't take it but he insisted.

Here I am holding the hat, Attempting to look as Kenyan as possible.

and here I am again wearing the hat, again, attempting to look as Kenyan as possible. (you may have noticed looking Kenyan for me basically means not smiling.)

All of this to say, the LORD has really blessed me here. I realized today that it is rarely obvious who God will put in your path . Sndip needs Jesus too, and it is crazy that the LORD has brought me all the way to Kenya to minister to a shoe salesman.

Bugs In My Pants...

In town today one of the boys who lives there came to me asking for money. Nothing special really, if that isn't happening to you while your in town, well then your not in town. Anyways, I told him "Sorry but if I give you money I have to give it to everyone," a standard answer really; but then he said something that caught my attention.

"But the Bugs, they are eating me, they are eating me alive."

I took a breath and turned around and asked him to repeat what he had said. "The Bugs they are eating me alive," he said.

I asked him what he meant and he then showed me the inside of his waist band, and there I saw one of the most disturbing things I will likely see. Covering the inside of his pants were small white eggs, thousands. He then Preceded to pick up another bug from his thigh crushing it in between his fingers, squirting blood under his nails.

Easy decision really. "Ok Kid, lets go buy you some soap." 20 shillings (30 cents) later a bar of soap and a bug free set of pants.

Just another day on the streets I guess.

It's Like I Never Left...

I have been known to watch movie trailers, and get so excited for upcoming movies that when the movie actually comes out I am disappointed because of how much I have hyped it up in my mind. That is just the way I do things, I get excited about something and let it consume me until I get sick of it. Thankfully that isn’t the case with my return to Kitale.

As the title suggests it is like I never left. I have so easily slipped back into life here that it is obvious that only God could have orchestrated it. As you will have deduced from me blogging, I have made it to Kitale, and could not be happier to be here. Thanks for your prayers and your thoughts.

P.S. I wrote this blog the first day I was here, and am only now able to post it seeing as I have only now gotten my internet working.