February
16, 2011 TMSC,
Kenya – Day 3
This
morning I woke up feeling so dirty. We haven’t bathed since Sunday night :/ We
decided that we would set out all of the water that we had left to start
warming in the sun. We did that and then had our morning tea w/ sugar! It was
the best breakfast yet! We decided that we would need more water to do our
smelly laundry so we walked to the spring for more. This was surprisingly easy
because we talked the whole time. Surprised? JWE didn’t talk about our
feet hurting or anything about the challenge itself. The walk went by really
fast! I have to say I’ve been quite sore today…so carrying the water up the
hill was more difficult than in days past. I prayed again for God to give me
strength becase I had little to none on my own. At the top of the hill there
were people waiting to watch the wazungu (white people) attempt to carry water.
This has ben a big frustration of mine. People just sit around and gawk at us.
I know that some are just curious and that they’ve never seen wazungu doing
these things…but it gets old. I’m a little tired of being such a spectacle. So we just stood at the top of the hil
and stared back at them until they finally left J I found a plug for my
water jug so that I could carry it on my back better without getting so wet. As
soon as mine was on my back and Amanda’s was on her head, we started back and
then it was bath time! I was starting to repulse myself :/
Bath
Time: It wasn’t too sunny this morning so the water that we had left out wasn’t
too warm. It didn’t matter to us though – we were GROSS. As much as I needed
that ‘shower’ I soon remembered that we have to bathe in our outdoor
bathroom…it’s an outhouse. There are 6 stalls that all use the same big pit –
imagine. We got out water and our bar of soap and headed to the stalls. We
didn’t want to risk our clean clothes getting gross so we decided to scamper
across the yard in our lasso *it’s a
piece of fabric that serves as our blanket, water carrier, and now towel!*
Through this bathing experience I learned the real value of some of the things that
I am so fortunate to have. I DROPPED THE SOAP…it didn’t fall in the hole but it
may as well have :/ ughh. Before this Challenge I would have said ‘forget it!!’
but not today. That soap is valuable to me. It cost me 24ksh to buy! Not to
mention it’s my only bathing soap AND my laundry soap! When you have close to nothing,
you have a greater appreciation for everything. So I picked up my soap, washed
it off really well, and kept on going. This was an amazing bath! Although the
ammonia fumes were wofting all around me, I felt so clean! Then it was laundry
time. We washed our clothes with our bar of soap and then hung them to dry.
There is something so nice about clothes that are dried in the sun! We’ve found
that doing laundry every day is so much easier than waiting to do it all at
once (this is for after the challenge – we only have2 pairs of clothes now).
We
rested and journaled a bit before it was time for the reading program at
school. My lack of energy and motivation really took a toll on me today. I
found myself wanting to walk out a number of times. The kids were the same as
they always are but this Challenge is taking its toll on me. When I caught
myself getting frustrated, I had to tell myself that it wasn’t them – it was
me. I can’t imagine being this way all the time. The teachers here get paid
very small amounts and I don’t know how they do it. It’s a different world.
After
the reading program we came down to the orphanage to check in on sweet Irene.
She looks a TON better but we also found that my little, precious, Doro is
sick, we’re pretty sure that she’s coming down with the chicken pox as well. L She walked slowly over to me and all that she wanted to do was
hug me. I have never felt so helpless in my life. Here was this sweet child who
I could do nothing for…I could do nothing to ease her pain. I held her for a
while and she started to fall asleep. I took her inside so that she could rest
in her bed. My sweet girl – I love her so much.
We
went over to the house and had lunch. By this time it was 3 o’clock and we were
having our first and only solid meal of the day. I was hungry but didn’t look
forward to just ugali. In America I would say that we live to eat. Everything
revolves around our meals. I Africa, they eat to live. It’s not always good and
most times isn’t satisfying…but they do it to survive. It’s a totally different
world in poverty. *All of Africa isn’t
poor – I’m just talking about the part of Africa that we’re experiencing*
God is showing me that I need to appreciate what I do have and not dwell on the
things that I don’t. I have enough to live and I need to be thankful for that.
My stomach may growl once in a while, but I’m alive.
We
ran out of Kerosene last night (for our lamps) so we needed to get some more
for tonight. This is our only source of light when darkness sets in. we have
10ksh each day to spend…yesterday was mangos and today was kerosene. I would
have loved to buy more fruit but there was a greater need above it. God is
really showing me the difference between needs and wants. I WANT a mango
because it would taste so good…but I NNED kerosene to see a night. There is a
difference – it’s clearer to me now.
We
came back to our house and took some time to rest. While Amanda journaled, I
laid down to rest my body. About 30 minutes later I woke up! I didn’t mean to
fall asleep but I guess my body needed it! I went to find Amanda and she was
sewing some buttonholes for our kids school uniforms. Hesbon 1 had told us
earlier in the day that we would be fetching water this evening. We gathered
the troops (all of the older kids) and headed for the spring. This time we too
the cart AND the donkey J Our feet are getting a little more used to the
torture of walking the road so it was a bit easier this time. We all carried
water up the hill and loaded the cart. Again, we didn’t realize that this water
was for the school and that we would have to go back again for the
orphanage. On our second trip to
the spring I had the pleasure of walking with Hesbon 2. We talked about the
Challenge so far and how we’re feeling about what we’re experiencing. We also
talked about his childhood and how he had less than we do now. He said that
sometimes there would ne no food…so all he would have is 1 cup of tea in the
morning and one in the evening. This is all while having to go to school every
day. I can’t imagine. My brain is so blurry now and I have more than he did.
It’s so humbling. I never even went to school without breakfast. If I did, it
was because I CHOSE not to eat. These people amaze me.
After
retrieving the water again we headed home. By this time it was close to dark
and very hard to see the ground we were walking on. We had to ‘walk by faith’
as not to step on something that would harm our feet. We made it back and were
greeted by our night watchman, Ezekiel. He is a straight up gift from God! He’s
a wonderful man. He told us that it was time to put our shoes back on because
he was worried about our feet! Not matter what, these people care about each
other…he genuinely didn’t want us to get hurt. Bless him!!
We
talked with Rose for a few minutes and then our sweet ‘rich neighbor’ (Rose)
invited us in for tea!! In Kenya, it is an honor to be invited in to someone’s
home. She let us drink HER tea and use HER sugar! It was such a blessing to
have Rose and Natasha’s company. *Natasha
is the sweet girl who is staying with us at Tumaini* We were also able
to ‘eat’ with the lights on because they have electricity! I now know what it’s
like to really appreciate electricity! Before, I never really thought about it
bc it’s something that I’ve always had. I know that it is a luxury and that I
shouldn’t take it for granted…but it’s hard when you’ve never had to go without
it. After our short stay in the land of riches, we returned to our humble
abode. Sophie (one of our kids at Tumaini) came to visit and all that we had to
offer her was water. We can’t afford anything else. When she left, Amanda and I
debriefed our day and then it was time for our nightly devo with the girls at
the orphanage. Tonight’s lesson was perfect for me and Amanda…we talked about
how our faith should be bigger than our feelings. We need to trust that God has
it all figured out - instead of focusing on how we feel at the moment. It was
cool because I have been focusing so much on my stomach growling when I should
be praising God that I have something to eat. I need to focus on what I DO have
and not on what I DON’T.
Day 3 Complete
