Trip Highlights

well I'm back from my trip to the coast and it was everything I had hoped it would be...relaxing, warm and beautiful! I read a lot (finished 5 books in 10 days!) ate great food, laid in the sun, shopped and reconnected with my friends from Denmark. After our week in Mombasa and Diani Beach we took the overnight train back to Nairobi which was an experience! I had never done this before but it was cheap and fun. Sleeping was difficult due to the noise and the bumping around and when we went to the bathroom I could see the ground zipping by beneath me, however we woke up as we were driving through a national park so outside my window were zebras, giraffes, buffalo, and lots of other animals. It was an amazing way to wake up and I never get tired of seeing safari animals! We spent a day or so in Nairobi shopping and exploring and I came back to Maua today.

Here are just a few highlights from the trip:

I rode a camel on the beach. It was awesome. My camel's name was Adam (funny, right?) but there was also Eve, Pluto and Barack Obama. It was a bumpy ride but a lot of fun and gorgeous on the beach!

Multiple people have been asking me recently if I know karate. Apparently they have seem The Karate Kid and assume all Asians know karate. It was funny the first 3 or 4 times...

We went snorkeling on a glass bottom boat and it was awesome. Clear waters, awesome coral and beautiful fish. Here are a couple shots I took when we were checking out some of the sea life.

Here is just a glimpse of one of the city centers we found to shop at in Nairobi...lots of shops, lots of great stuff.

Also I saw someone on the streets in Nairobi wearing a Ben Roethisburger jersey! I tried to take a picture and shout out the window but he didn't see/hear me. I think a lot of people get donated clothes because one of our drivers was wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates hat and didn't even know what the 'P' was for or who the Pirates were, but it still made my heart happy!

I'm glad to be back home and ready for a busy week of outreach and medical clinics. Ps did I mention I helped deliver a baby last week? It was awesome and this is the sweet beautiful little girl. (It was also kind of gross because the nurse I was helping didn't wear gloves (SUPER GROSS) I did though, don't worry!)

Mombasa and Diani Beach

I think I'm in love with the Indian Ocean. One of the things I wanted to do while I was in Africa was swim in the Indian Ocean...I mean when else would I have the chance. I laid eyes on it and I'm smitten. It's a gorgeous blue green and it has white sands and it's warm! I love it.
We arrived in Mombasa on Thursday morning. I took a 6 hour matatu ride from Maua, met up with Christina and Ida in Nairobi and we boarded a 10:30pm overnight bus. It was surprisingly comfortable and I was able to sleep more than I expected. We arrived in hot Mombasa around 9am took a tuk tuk which looks is like a little taxi/motorbike for three. It's really fun to ride in and we got dropped off at a hostel about 15 minutes from the city. It was nice, clean and had decent food. We explored in town, did shopping, visited the beach and read alot. Saturday morning we took a tuk tuk to the ferry and across to Diani beach! It is everything I expected an more. We found a brand new hostel that must have been a really nice resort before because the lodging is amazing. It has a gorgeous pool, my dream bathroom (claw foot tub and all!) and is a 5 minute walk to the beach. I am loving exploring here, swimming in the ocean, and we have plans for snorkeling and hiking! If you are ever looking for a vacation hot spot, Diani beach is it! I promise you won't be disappointed.
Ps I'm writing this post from my iPhone because there is free wifi! So I will try and upload pics as well! Miss and love you all...wish you were here!

Random Ramblings & little Sierra

I’m not quite sure when fear became so paralyzing in my life. I just kind of always remember it being there...maybe it started in the third grade when I did my first piano guild (I memorized 10 pieces on the piano and played them for a judge that critiqued me, talk about wounds!) or maybe it was when I was 14 and about to start high school and petrified but trying to play it cool...or when I was 17 and had my heart broken for the first time or just four years ago when I was graduating from college and about to pursue a career in ministry rather than nursing...I’m not really sure when or where fear became such a big obstacle for me. Maybe its because I hate disappointing people, or dread the idea of letting anyone down, but somewhere along the way I became powerless in taking risks, deathly afraid to take a step in what could be the wrong direction and an avid player in the “what if” game.

Until about 6 months ago when I decided to throw caution into the wind and quit my job and spend some time overseas. I know many of you were thinking, who is that girl, right?! I like to refer to this as my Eat, Pray, Love trip. (read the book, its way better than the movie, but in short its all about a woman’s journey of self discovery.) Obviously alot of things led to this decision and I had many “Oh Crap, what have I done?” moments coupled with pure excitement but all drowning in fear and anxiety.

And through facing fears, like packing up my desk and leaving Heritage on my last day, or stepping onto the airplane in Columbus after crying all through the car ride, through security and up to my gate, or coming to a country where I dont know anyone and dont have any friends or family or support system, I’ve realized that taking risks is part of life. Otherwise we never change, we never grow, we never reach our full potential.

And the last thing I want to do is become stagnant in my life. I want to be less afraid to dream, to make exciting and surprising plans for my life. I want to flourish and become the best possible version of myself. All that starts with overcoming fears. And all that is starting to happen here in Africa.

I come in contact with sick babies, bad water, mosquitos carrying malaria and much more everyday and just like overcoming these fears of disease, I’m slowly facing my fear of total and complete surrender to Jesus. (Nick, I’ll get back to you on what that tangibly looks like but lets just assume we both know right now). Like all my other fears, I have fears of whole heartedly following Jesus because its a risk and there are no contracts or guarantees, there is just me steeping blindly hoping I have enough faith to believe that Jesus will show up, but also knowing that when He does it often involves trials and painful lessons. Fast forward to today, I’m snuggling this precious HIV+ baby that came to the clinic and I realized that all the scary risks I took over the last couple months have brought me to this place of loving this little baby, Sierra and it was a no brainer to hold her and love on her until her mom tells me I have to give her back, who cares about the scary what ifs, in this moment snuggling her was all that mattered and my heart was so full of love and joy. I realize that God has been faithful to me through a dozen fears and risks I’ve taken and here I am literally living out the rewards, sitting in a dirt clinic looking into this cute baby’s dark brown eyes. So why wouldnt I continue to trust Jesus, to surrender to His will and believe His promises...I’d be lying if I said it isnt scary but part of living an adventurous life is taking risks and overcoming fears and I prayed for adventure and I am loving living that out every day!

I was dying it was so hot and sweet little Sierra was bundled in a sweater and blanket.
Don't you just love those checks?

I slaughtered a chicken!

So one of the things I wanted to do while I was here in Africa was to slaughter a chicken. I don't know why but I figured I love chicken why not get the whole process and where better place than Africa?!

Live chickens are sold in town at the market and my friend McKenna who is a nurse at the hospital is a pro at chicken slaughtering so she was happy and willing to teach me. So we bought one yesterday and stuck it in the pantry overnight. Yes thats right, in the kitchen cabinet.

This is the chicken I affectionately named "CANES" after my favorite Chicken Finger place in Columbus. As an afterthought, maybe naming the chicken I was soon to kill was a bad idea.

Isn't it cute? I was maybe sorta petrified of it. It was clearly scared, probably knowing it was going to die. It would squawk and squirm and it did not like when I held its wings down. Here is the last pre-death picture of Mary and I holding the chicken. (Well, I wasn't actually holding it, but petting it)

Here is the video of us killing it. I thought I was either going to faint or throw up but I didn't! I held on to him very tightly but passed on the original idea for me to stand on the chicken with my feet and cut at the neck. Instead I just held on really tightly. It was awfully bloody.

I didn't realize what a process it was to eat a chicken. However once we cut off its head, we put it in some boiling water and then started to de-feather it. Once it was naked we started to cut it apart, throwing all the parts we dont eat away. However in Africa, they eat the heart, the liver, the gizzard, and the testes. Gross right? Here are some pictures of that process:

 

All these pictures to say that after cooking the chicken, I couldn't bare to eat it. We cooked it on the stove with some onions and seasoning and it just didn't taste like Canes chicken. All I could think about were cutting off the head, ripping out the heart and the liver and all the blood. Yuck. I think this was my first and last chicken slaughtering experience!

Hey blogger friends...its been a while since I posted anything. I was feeling pretty YUCKY for a couple days which you can imagine is not fun with a squatty potty for a toilet. However, I am back and feeling great. Its been raining everyday here which really cools things off, and I can't believe it is MAY! Time really flies. We had a national holiday yesterday (Labor Day?!) which meant no work, so Jill and I went to Meru to the grocery store and for lunch. It was nice to get out of town. My mom was been sending me awesome packages so I'm not starving as much anymore too. (Thanks mom!)

I'm reading a ton, finishing up season 4 of Friday Night Lights, knitting a baby blanket and pinning my life away on Pinterest. There is a lot more down time than I imagined so if your schedule ever allows for a Skype date with someone 7 hours ahead, let me know!

In the meantime I thought I'd give you a couple random snapshots of life in Maua...missing you all.
xo

Ewww. This is why I don't eat the meat here. All those black dots are flies. VOM.

24 people crammed into a 14 passenger matatu

The Swahili service at church. I didn't understand a single word. But isn't it pretty?

Doesn't he look like he could be a model? Snot and all?

SPOTLIGHT: KALEB

This precious baby is Kaleb. Today he is one month old! He was born premature at 35 weeks and his mother passed away due to pre-ecclampsia. Kaleb has been in the "NICU" (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) for the last month without any visitors. Eventually his father is going to come and get him, but no one is quite sure when. He has been discharged for the past 2 weeks and is doing great. He is so precious and I just love snuggling him. He reminds me of all the cute babies I love back in Columbus! It breaks my heart that he hasn't had any visitors so I like to stop by everyday and give him some love. Pray for Kaleb to keep getting stronger, for him to feel special and loved even though he doesn't have any parents or family around. Pray for his father who is going to resume responsibility of him eventually, pray that he comes soon. Pray for this sweet little boy who I just love and feel so sad for that he will never know his mother.

My friend Ida!

Oh I just love his little face!

Not only am I learning a ton about the African culture, seeing really cool animals and traveling to new and interesting places I'm learning a lot about myself, about humanity and about God.

Its funny because the people I meet at the hospital, on the community outreaches or even just in town have so little. They can barely feed and clothe their children, they live in huts smaller than my bedroom made of cow dung, can't afford to send their kids to school and make their living off of selling bananas at the fresh fruit market. Yet, they have more faith and an incredible passion for God. Literally everyone I meet is a Christian. And its not like they just call themselves Christians, they genuinely trust the Lord to provide for them, to protect them, to love them and believe that He alone is worthy of their praise. It really makes me think because back in America we have SO much. We have more than we will ever want or need, we have food on the table, jobs and the opportunity to go to school, yet we continually aren't satisfied, we want more from God. I'm totally guilty of this and it seems like every time I'm in Africa I am struck by how much I have and how little these people have, yet how happy they are and how much I still desperately seek happiness in all the wrong places. I want to be more like the Kenyans. I want my heart to be overflowing with joy and love regardless of my circumstances.

I've also realized I'm a lot stronger than I give myself credit. I mean I'm going to the bathroom in a squatty potty everyday, taking cold showers and sleeping in a bed that caves in the center with a mosquito net(which I actually enjoy). I'm eating peanut butter sandwiches twice a day and haven't had chicken fingers in almost a month! Impressed, right? I'm also living on the other side of the world from all my friends and family in a culture where I clearly don't fit in, stripped of all things that make me comfortable. However I feel at home here. I feel safe here. Its like I said above, I'm surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ and we are share the same love and passion for our Savior. Its encouraging, and its beginning to feel like home.

God has been showing me how tightly I hold on to some things in my life, that He is slowly asking me to release and surrender to Him, I've been wrestling and fighting Him, digging my heels in and dragging my feet. But there is something about seeing real people around me trust God and see Him provide for their everyday needs that make me want to trust Him with all the little and big things in my life.
But I am so resistant and headstrong.
I am so stubborn and defiant.
But I want to be different, thats what this trip is all about, right? Starting over, getting a fresh and new perspective on life, on God, on myself. So I am going to stop fighting, I'm going to stop wrestling. I'm going to start trusting, start surrendering, start loosening my grip.

I've also been learning that when I think of starting over and "finding myself"really there isn't a search in store. I am who I am because God says who I am. A friend assured me before I left that I am beloved. I am precious in His sight, my identity is already established in Him and Him alone. My search is really no search at all but a reaffirmation of what I already know to be true. Somewhere along the way I lost that, I lost sight of something that I knew to be truer than anything else in my life. Its slowly coming back to me, in ways I never would have imagined, in ways that if I wasn't looking I would have missed, and there is so much more freedom in that than I ever could have believed. And I don't think He is trying to control my future or every little decision or thought but rather for me to embrace who I already am. And for the first time in a long time, I'm pretty excited about that.

Its a continual journey and I'm continually learning new things about myself and about God. Not the adventure I intended but an adventure for sure!

xo