Walking, Meatballs and One Month

Its been one month since I got to Nairobi!!! wow, incredible. In two weeks I will be halfway done with my internship. So, in celebration of one month I will award my readers with a prize...TWO BLOG ENTRIES!!! :)


Living and Such:
Living has been the same, a lot of hanging with people. And since June 11 a lot of World Cup football, which I am completely ok with. Since I have been here, my love for soccer has surpassed my love for TV shows. I am starting to become obsessed with football and everything to do with it. Before coming, I liked it, I knew it existed, I flirted with watching a few games everyonce in a while. However, now it is what I think about with some of my down time, what I want to do on weekends...I'm in trouble! I have been playing with a buncha guys everyonce in a while on weekends...SO MUCH FUN. I have even had the thought of joining Covenants JV soccer team when I get back. Outside of soccer, I have really gotten to know quite a few people and now have some really good friends here in Nairobi. I still miss everyone at home though, I really am excited to get back, but I can't think about that too much. I was able to see Ryland Rainsford and his girlfriend Juliana Padilla ( classmates from Covenant) over this weekend which was AMAZING! They are going to be in town for the next few weeks and we are going to hang out a little more. However, it is so encouraging to be able to see friends from home. Outside of that, at the end of this month I will be going with Alvin, Nancy and her parents for the fabled parents meeting to Kisumu which is (i think) on the Northwest side of Kenya, so I will see some new sights. I will also be able to be in Alvins wedding playing music which will be fun!

Community Development:
Alot of my thoughts I put down in the other blog, But here is what I am up too. Last week I had a few interviews with the Kawangware group that went very well. I am pretty pleased with the data and information I am getting, I feel like even if I am doing something wrong I will be able to give Alvin some good data. This week I will be interviewing nine people! so pray for my feet because I will be walking so much, I am trying not to spend much money on public transportation/staying active by walking everywhere. So, I will be meeting with the majority of the group this week. One of the group members I met with last week was named Rose. She brought me to her shop which sold fish (she called herself a Fish Monger, which I found hilarious). It was such an encouraging trip because here was Rose, in the middle of a slum we were laughing constantly and she was sharing a lot of her testimony with me. By the end of this month most of my research should be finished, so I will have July to figure it all out!

God:
God has really been quitely working on my heart, his voice hasn't been to loud in my prayer life but his word has been really getting my heart. I think he is just letting me experience and then later he will show me all that I have learned and why I needed to learn it. He loves doing that to me! I remembered something the otherday, I remembered when i was little I had a day where I was barraged with things about Africa. I don't know why I thought this when I was eight but I felt that it was significant and it meant something and since then that day has always stuck in the back of my head. I was in the word the otherday and remembered this and really felt like that day was describing this summer. I said to myself "well, it could be a coincidence" and then God confirmed again in church. I have a bible with a metal attachment on the front in which you can put small notecards with verses on them. I have had this bible for about 8-9 years now so its been through a lot. I don't use this bible a lot because I have a smaller one in a different translation that I like better that i have been using for the 6 years. However, that one was falling apart and I didn't have time to get it rebound while I was in the states so I brought this other one. I wasn't paying attention to the sermon and church and took out the note card that had been on the front of it since who knows when and turned it around. On the opposite side was the African word Jabula which means praise. This had been there for at least 7 years and I had just turned it over now... and again I knew I was supposed to be here. So, I'm here and keep praying that I enjoy it and don't get distracted with everything else I am thinking about.

Other stuff and Small Anecdotes:
-USA tied England 1-1, I get to rub that in the face of many Kenyans who made fun of me for supporting the USA.

-(the following story is really true and happened in real time! I promise) In Kenya, it is normal to see either a small pickup truck with at least 10 guys in the bed just riding around, or a huge cargo truck with at least 30-40 guys in the cargo area. I have been wondering why people ride in the back of these trucks. So, the otherday I was walking somewhere. I realized that it was going to be about 3 miles and I didn't feel like walking. So, I saw a big cargo truck coming up behind me. I decided to live a little, run and jump on the truck while it was moving and sit down with a buncha Kenyans and pray that the truck was going where I needed it to go. So, the truck is going about 15 MPH and I run and jump and my hands catch the rail on the back of the truck. I pull myself and am now in this cargo truck with a buncha Kenyans...or at least what I thought were Kenyans. I was feeling proud of myself that I jumped successfully onto a moving truck, knowing that getting off wouldnt' be as hard because of Nariobi stop and go traffic. Of course, I bring attention to myself because Muzungus (white people) don't do that. I get in the truck and surprisingly one of the guys looks over starts speaking in english to me and goes "are you south African?" (referring to the white population of SA) and I go "nope, why do you ask?" I glimpse around at all the people faces and realize they are all staring at me with very big eyes and are in shock. "Because I have never seen a Mozungu do that" I smile and say "well...now you have" The conversation ends there and I look out the bars are realize that the cargo area of the truck is hidden from the sight of anyone outside the truck. I find this odd and didn't really realize that until now, however. the truck was heading towards town. I look at the guy and say " why do you guys ride around in here? Why not take public?" He looks at me and then talks to another guy sitting beside him in a language that isn't swahili. he looks back and says in broken english "we aren't familiar with here". I say "oh, ok well...uh Karibu Kenya (welcome to kenya)" "he says "Asante" (thanks) and looks back at the guy next to him and they talk for a few minutes. He then looks at me and says "We need you to leave" I looked really puzzled and he noticed, I asked "why" and he said never really answered the question he just said " to much trouble, for us and you". I take that as my que to get out ASAP and tell him thanks. I wait for the vehicle to stop and hop out and walk about five minutes to my destination happy that I didn't have to walk the whole way. Later on I am with a Kenyan friend and see a truck and point at it and go "Mash, what are those trucks? why do I always see people in them?" Mash laughs and then says "sometimes they are construction workers getting a ride from work, other times they are used by illegal immigrants from other countries trying to get to Nairobi for work".
- I learned sometime throughout the week that when in rome, sometimes not to do what romans do because sometimes they aren't actually romans.
- Alvin bought me mince meat the other day for me to make speghetti and meatballs. I really didn't understand the difference betweem mince meat and ground beef until I started cooking with it. Maybe I did it wrong, but everytime I put the meat ball in the pan to cook (because we do not have an oven) and it would fall apart. So finally I had to break the news to Alvin. Here was our conversation:
D- I have bad news Alvin
A- What is this?
D- The meatballs aren't working
A- (laughs a little) why is that?
D- They keep falling apart when I put them in the pan
A- (laughs for at least a minute) You have the issue of dissintegrating meatballs?
D-Yep, it happens to the best of us. I'm just gonna add them to the sauce ok?
A- Im not sure what you are anymore
D-what?
A- your not American, your not Kenyan and you just gave me proof your not Italian

See you guys next week,
Dave