Tumblr (3.0; @willismissions)http://missions.11wyg.org/<p>After taking the advice from a wise source I decided to blog just a little bit more, however we are going back in time here and this is one of my longer posts so sorry about that. I also have a blog post or two left, one of which is just a hilarious story that would only happen to me. Also while re-reading this while typing, I thought I should make a “Monk List” in which I list all the things I was afraid of on this trip, it would be quite a lengthy list.</p> <p>                                 Monday June 22, 2009</p> <p>Today we traveled from Eldoret to Nakuru to meet up with the other half of our team that was already there. The Eldoret group we figured out was the singing group so at 6:30 in the morning when we pulled out of the guest house we started in song, we sang various songs beginning with a song that a long time ago Steve had taught the willis youth group that I have since forgotten, I do know the course but that’s about it this song is called “If on the wings”-great song by the way! Then we sang additional “church” songs leading up to “Hakuna Matata” from the Lion King. It was a ton of fun and Joseph even said that he wanted us to keep singing…so we did. On the way we pulled over and stopped at a hotel like shop thing to use the restroom and then we grabbed some breakfast and had a good and relaxing time but we didn’t stay too long because we needed to get to Nakuru to have time to shop and arrive at the game park on time. Now once we got to Nakuru we went to shop…at a market. When we got there and started piling out of the two matatus and the conways car we were swarmed by vendors, I tried to stay with someone who was familiar with the market scene but somehow me and Zach got stuck at this one place so after we made our one purchase we ran to the matatu that Joseph was sitting in and shut the doorand locked it and I closed my curtain(again here I am in a marketplace forced to close my curtain, because I am such a fraidy-cat), if you have realized yet, I do NOT like markets! So instead of shopping me and Zach got to enjoy a kiswahili lesson from Joseph in which my dad joined a little later on where he sat in the front where the world could see this mzungu(white person)-it was crazy! After everyone had finished shopping which was only one hour, however Zach and I only lasted 15 minutes, we went and ate with the Conways and then we headed to the game park. I was in the matatu that was in the lead for most of the trip with Scott, Mitchell, Zach, Steve, and my parents. The sightings of animals started before we even got inside the park, we saw a good number of monkies just in the parking lot! Once inside the park we started driving a ways and at first it was a bit boring but then I guess Noah let the door of the ark drop and we saw zebras and then there were other animals to follow some of which were rhinos and baboons. We drove down the trail a ways and eventually reached Lake Nakuru where there were masses of flamingoes and pelicans in the water, this was one spot where we were able to get out and walk around, so we all piled out of the vehicles and took a number of photos(my camera’s battery died minutes before we reached the lake so I relied on everyone else’s cameras) and Hollye, my mom and I walked along the beach towards the sea of pink flamingoes and watched as they flew up in the air-it was incredible! On the way back to the vehicles my dad spotted some tracks…of some sort of cat, not a kitty cat but a simba(lion) cat! Once I saw those I quickly made my way back to the safety of the matatu! Once everyone was back in we started back down the trail to continue with our safari, we saw some more zebras and baboons which when we came across a certain baboon, Mitchell thought it would be a good idea to call it over but instead of going to Mitchell’s window(right in front of me) he decided to come to mine! Now with my track record of wild animals on mission trips I decided it would be best to shut my window so as to keep the baboon outside of the matatu, I wasn’t taking any chances! We continued on with our journey and came upon a baby rhino closely followed by the protective mama rhino. When I say “came upon” that’s exactly what I mean, the distance between the matatu and the two rhinos was equivalent to the distance between a bus stop and a stopping bus..and once more it happened to take place on my side of the vehicle- it was nuts! After we gazed at these massive creatures for a while-a long while- we moved on with the tour. Now we were going to head up to the Out of Africa Cliff but on our way we saw some waterbuffalo, some warthogs, and giraffes however on our way up my mom, who was sitting in the very back seat, started feeling car sick from all of the bumps in the trail-not road but trail, so Steve, who was in the front seat said he would switch with her, okay let me take a second to remind you that we are in a wildlife game park with rhinos and lions, so once we found a seemingly safe place they made the switch even though we couldn’t see any dangerous animals it was still nerve racking because you didn’t know what would come out of where so I held my breath and shut my eyes while this switch was taking place. Everyone made it back into the matatu safely so now we were headed up to see the most amazing view that I will probably ever see.We got up the mountain and looked out across the jungle where we could see the slow moving giraffes we looked out at lake Nakuru with a portion of pink water due to the brilliant color of the flamingoes. It was breathtaking! Not only was it breathtaking in the sense of the view but also because we are extremely high up on a cliff with no gaurd rail and I am terrified of heights, I always say it’s not the height that I am afraid of but the fall that may come from the height, so I stuck to the safety of looking at this magnificent view from a distance unlike many of our team who climbed down part of the cliff just for the fun of it-that made me nervous! Once everyone had their fun at the cliffs it was time to take our group picture and then we were on our way up to yet another clifff, Baboon Cliff. This was another spectacular view however one of our matatus got stuck and didn’t know the way to this particular cliff so along with seeing the baboons and giraffes and beautiful scenery we saw one of our white, yellow, red and blue matatus driving between the trees at the very bottom of this cliff! We then loaded back up and headed down to our way out, we started driving down at 5:58 OM and the park closed at 6 for safety reasons. We got back to the Hotel Kunste and went to eat dinner. I ordered a wonderful minestrone soup. My mom however ordered the vegetable soup thinking carrots and real vegetables that we hadn’t had any of the 2 weeks we were there but when the waitor brought out the soup, it was a green color and as it turned out instead of being called “vegetable soup” it should have been called “Sukuma wiki soup” sukuma wiki was my mom’s least favorite meal and so Larry asked the waitor to bring some minestrone soup out for her. We wrapped up this fun filled day with a devo that Jeff led in which he read us one of his blog posts that was a tribute to Sam McReynolds, we also sang a few songs and then it was time for bed.</p> <p>-Whitney Herrington (I wrote this journal entry a while back and never put it up but I wanted to share this day with everyone, it was an exciting one)</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/136194426http://missions.11wyg.org/post/136194426Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:11:12 -0400<p>I thought that we were going to Kenya to teach, but I have learn so much from these people, who have very little. We thought we were being prepare, but everything is so different when you see it with your own eyes. No amount of preparation could cushion the blows of the real thing. I saw things that books or magazines couldn’t describe fully. We thought we were walking into a war zone, but every house we went to, we were welcomed with open arms and hearts. The hospitality of Kenya was just wonderful. We went thinking we would lose a lot of wieght but we were fed meals fit for kings. Every house we went to there was a feast prepared for us. No amount of preparation can prepare you for everything you will see in Kenya. I know that I will be going to Kenya again, for the learning experience has only begun.</p> <p>~Zach</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/132957289http://missions.11wyg.org/post/132957289Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:17:13 -0400<p>While we were wandering the streets of Eastliegh to see where the Conways work. Some one asked Larry, if Kenya had a better government and they fixed up all the building and streets would things here get better. The answer that was given shocked me, he said ” No, they people of Kenya are so used to living like this that they would tear down and destroy the new buildings” How can you get used to living in those horrible conditions? I wouldn’t be able to survive it. They are so used to living in fear that they it became natural to them. If there is no chaos or turmoil some tribe will go and start one. Each tribe is bent on destroying the others that they don’t realize that they need each other to survive. Some stories I have heard were that one tribe threw out their preacher, because he came for a different tribe, but when they did that they didn’t know what to do so they pleaded for him to return. Another was that people burn all of a man hay that he was selling, then realize that the needed that man hay to feed their live stock. They rely on each other more than they think, but they are blinded by their hate and greed, that they don’t realize it till after they lose the food to feed their families or live stocks. Even the church grows when their is turmoil, but there is some fighting among the churches because of tribal backgrounds. But in some churxches that is set aside and all are welcomed to worship. I was told that the best thing we could do was pray for every one in Kenya, pray that one day they have their eyes opened and see everything the way it is. Sending money to repair damaged buildings is pointless, but sending money to feed starving families has some promises. It seems that every building only lasts several years before it is torn down by fighting or looting. It is a horrible thing to realize but the Kenyans have gotten used to living the way they are, that they don’t want to change that. So we all need to continue to pray that something will change that and that they grow in their faith with God.</p> <p>~Zach</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/132952060http://missions.11wyg.org/post/132952060Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:06:29 -0400<p>One thing that I have not been able to forget, was when we were at Busia to visit an orphanage, the widows there were always laughing even when things were serious. All of the widows living at the orphanage were HIV positive, they knew they didn’t have very long to live. When they were asked what is their dream for life, they said “To make sure these orphans have a future, a chance to succeed.” These widows all refused ‘wife inheretence’ (After the husband dies the wife must marry his brother and have children in the deceased husband’s name) and the result of their refusal led to them being chase away from their own home, by their own families. They all said that they knew the didn’t have very long to live, but they said, while laughing, that they will give all they can to the orphans there. Only once did the true emotions show when one woman was telling her story of being chased away by her own father, her laughter faded and she started to cry. I am amazed by their strength to endure and their faith in God. I wish we all had that faith and strength. They had nothing to give, yet they gave everything they are to these orphans. When some one asked Christopher how can you live with this everyday? He answered ” I try to stay positive and keep every one laughing, for when I shed that first tear I don’t know if I will stop crying. If I show that everything is lost, everyone around me will give up. That is not something that we need.” They show each other such amazing love and support, that I don’t think any thing can tear them apart. I wonder do we have to go through that much suffering to find real faith and strength? Why is it that we only call on God when we really need him? Can we have the faith and stength these widows have? Are we able to stand and laugh in deaths face or will we cower and let fear take our life? My mind is overwhelmed with these questions, but I know one thing, it’s that these women had set a wonderful example for those around them. Whoever is raised by them can truly know what it means to follow God till the end. They have been a powerful influence for me and I will never forget their faces and stories.</p> <p>~Zach</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/132939584http://missions.11wyg.org/post/132939584Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:41:58 -0400<p>I don’t believe that I fully understood what it meant to say the prayer giving thanks to God before we eat a meal until this trip to Kenya. I have heard all of my life the little jokes about saying the prayer before the meal as if it were just something you had to do. For example a prayer such as: ” Dear God thank you for this meal now let’s eat!” Now when we were in Kenya, I realized just what being thankful for the meal meant to the people there. Many times Kenyans will just eat one meal a day and sometimes they may not know when their next meal will come. In America we don’t have to worry about not getting a meal for a few days, sometimes I think our clocks revolve around mealtime instead of the mealtimes revolving around the clocks! Anyways when we are thanking God for the food that we are about to eat, it is a truly important task because God has graciously provided us with the food or with the money that we use to purchase that food. In Kenya, I could tell that the people who invited us into their homes were truly thankful and it was so refreshing, it made me feel guilty for all of the times that giving thanks to God has simply slipped my mind and I must let this experience serve as a reminder. I often refer to this phrase: “Everyday is a gift from God!” and I know that everything that I have been blessed with is a gift from God. One of the most amazing things I experienced on this trip was seeing the purity of the hearts of the people in Kenya, I pray that I too will be able to have that same purity. When I say purity I mean that a prayer of thanksgiving is a prayer of thanksgiving not a “let me hurry up and say this prayer so that I can satisfy my stomach” because without God’s hand we would have nothing.</p> <p>-Whitney Herrington</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/132543359http://missions.11wyg.org/post/132543359Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:03:23 -0400<img src="http://27.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9r5cliyiaGPYxzo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>The mission team enjoying a meal with one another</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131855229http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131855229Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:22:32 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9r3uduC6QVgT8Lo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Don on the stairs of the Sam’s Place Dormitory</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131854797http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131854797Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:21:22 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9r2cgwZ0OLMTcpo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Sshhh Important decision making going on!</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131854364http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131854364Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:20:12 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9r0cwl1PmDDJ4qo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>This is a funny picture because I just randomly snapped it but both of our drivers happened to be in it and in the same position!</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131853706http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131853706Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:18:40 -0400<img src="http://28.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9qw5o86FN0CQpPo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Gates of Sam’s Place</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131852450http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131852450Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:15:24 -0400<img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9qq9znTn11cFApo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Hey and so did Steve!</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131850484http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131850484Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:10:49 -0400<img src="http://27.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9qntfskYW7Toxio1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Look guys Zach found a friend!</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131849791http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131849791Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:08:55 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9qlxebIlT0oDAdo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>KDPL Seminar</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131849160http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131849160Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:07:26 -0400<img src="http://27.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9qksq8ZutGBfSYo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Don relaxing after a hard day’s work!</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131848714http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131848714Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:06:34 -0400<img src="http://28.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9qj51kVShAkhabo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>The lake with quite a few flamingoes!</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131848126http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131848126Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:05:16 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9qgfotV27M2DNIo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>The school</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131847163http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131847163Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:03:10 -0400<img src="http://27.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9qf5jrpN3zpiuMo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Studying away!</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131846640http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131846640Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:02:10 -0400<img src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9qdeldD9BarcwKo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Students patiently waiting for their classmates to finish a test</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131846054http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131846054Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:00:49 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9qbn9vdUgLw1fZo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>God’s beauty!</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131845503http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131845503Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:59:27 -0400<img src="http://26.media.tumblr.com/cplThlNz1p9q492tSqMb6mfDo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Precious little girl at MITS eating her lunch.</p>http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131843031http://missions.11wyg.org/post/131843031Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:53:42 -0400