Monday, 7/6/09, day 20

Oh , How I wish I could have slept longer!
I had coffee for breakfast, which is ALWAYS a good pick me up. I’m a little upset that my hair can’t cooperate even a little bit for me this morning…
I’m writing this down at around ten in the morning. I have no specifics on what time it actually is, because African’s have no minute hands on their clocks. Therefore… it’s ten o clock until it’s 11 o clock. Either way, it’s very quiet this morning. The chickens and roosters are crowing somewhere in the middle of the cornfield. (Did you know that “chicken” in Kiswahili is “Coo-coo”? Just thought I would throw that in there.) My teammates are silent as the grave right now, which is perfect for listening to the kids at school singing their morning songs around the flag pole. Traffic is vaguely audible in the background… One of the dogs is asleep next to me, the birds are chirping in the trees, and the wind is blowing ever so softly. The sky is as bright and big as ever and there’s scarcely any clouds out. The few that are hanging around are drifting lazily by, like their waving to each blade of grass on the ground. I love when I can sit back and enjoy moments like this, because these are things that are rarely experienced at home. I treasure these little things that God puts here. If I had my way, I would spend the rest of my day on the Rock and admiring God’s handiwork. Alas, there is much to be done!
I got to e-mail my family again today. Getting to write to them or hear from them is truly the highlight of my day, I love them so much! I was volunteered to make dinner tonight because LAST night I had sicamouwicki and Ugali with Judith. (I’m so glad that I got to spend time with her yesterday!) I’m a little irritated that some of my teammates have decided to start treating me like I’m 5. I’m trying to convince myself that It’s just a part of being on a mission, but I really don’t like being talked down to by someone who has no business talking down to me. I take a break from these people, and hang out with Mark instead. He’s such a funny guy! I mess with him all the time. He keeps telling me that “If I keep messing with the bull I’m going to get the horns” and I tell him that “it’s the spice of life to play with fire instead of just watching it burn”. A little danger is good, and it’s making this trip much more fun! Mike get in moods where he is so serious, and the way he goes about it is just downright entertaining. The sarcasm surrounding this team astounds me, and really makes me feel at home! I’m still missing Brad and Sharon. I’m trying to comprehend the reasons that God took away two pillars from the building. I don’t know about the rest of the team, but I think God is telling me that it’s time to stand on my own instead of having a leader to follow.
We went to Bungoma today. Stopped by Shariff’s (sha-reefs) supermarket, dropped off laundary to Ana, went to the local market for our fruits and veggies, waited patiently for the other teammates to order shirts, and got to finish the rest of Hotel Rwanda. (The movie was hard to watch at times. The reality of the situation was just devastating. It probably didn’t help that I was in Africa while I watched it for the first time…) I was able to have about a half hour of personal time to just chill out in front of the office and listen to my Ipod. No one was around the compound, so I let myself sing a little. Gotta keep the vocal chords warmed up!
On the drive back home, Titus had to stop the van in the middle of the road because there was a chicken crossing. Oh, lord, the “Why did the chicken cross the road” jokes were rampant!
One we were home, I had the pleasure of spending some more time with Judith. I also got to go up on the rock (Finally!) to pray. (I have thoroughly enjoyed having the rock here. It’s like my own private sanctuary- everyone leaves me alone so that it’s just Me and God. It’s been incredibly refreshing for my soul, and God is really helping me to heal from my burdens.)
When I got back to the tent, (protus had removed the tents to weed the grass and put them back) I found out that Protus had washed my tennis shoes for me! They were still dirty and muddy from the rainy weather we’ve been having, so it was such a nice surprise to find them clean! Protus is so thoughtful and nice to me all the time; I feel so unworthy of his generosity!
We had some strange version of hotdogs for dinner. Nothing fascinating, but I’m glad that there’s food to eat. In the past few nights, my teammates have made it a habbit to stay up a little late to talk and tell stories to each other. It’s happened again tonight, and I love that I get to listen to it! Mike usually talks about his time in Saudi Arabia; Mark talks about his life and previous job; Jim talks about someone he knows who is in such-and-such a position (as it pertains to mike and marks’ stories); and Jan shares a lot about her family. I usually sit back and listen to the stories, laugh at the banter, and write about my day (like I’m doing now.) I’m pretty sure God uses these times to teach me a little bit of wisdom.
Jan started talking about the most recent marriage proposal that I’d received today (while in the market place, some guy was getting googly eyed over me and started talking to Titus, who promptly told him that I wasn’t for sale.) The comments just kept flying about how Mark would keep me around for now and feed me to the lions later, and Jim was saying his jokes about how “I’m worth a lot of cows, and I need to remember that cows help people and it’s not about me”. Yeah. Keep talking everyone! It’s all in good fun. It was my delight to see a lightning storm before bed! Have you ever seen an enormous, pitch black sky lit up by lightning? It was addicting to hear the roll of thunder reach from so many miles away from us! I enjoyed this for a little bit before turning in for the evening.