happy Easter!

Jambo! (Hello!) Bwana Safiwe (Praise the Lord!)
Habari yako? (How are you?)
Mzuri Sana (Very well.)
Asante (Thank you.)

These are some common expressions that I either say or hear multiple times a day, from anyone and everyone. (and for those of you wondering, I also find myself saying "hatari," which means "danger." haha)

I hope you are doing well. It has been quite an eventful week. Here are some highlights:

- On Sunday we went to the children's home (orphanage) where some of the teens (from our ministry on Sundays) live. It was so fun. We had an awesome time playing with all of the kids. They range from a few months old to 19 years old. There are 56 children, and on that particular day, we also had some other kids from the church come, as well as some neighborhood children who came by to see what was happening. The director's wife was telling us that many of the surrounding neighborhood children are quite poor themselves. One nearby family is made up of a man with 6 wives and 26 children. WHOA. Anyway, the day was called Family Day, where they invite the extended families of the children who live in the home. The director's wife explained that though the children no longer have parents, they see it as very important for them to stay in touch with extended relatives like aunts, uncles, and cousins. Not too many of the relatives came, but it was quite touching to see the reunions that did happen, and the pride of the children who had someone come just for them.
Anyway, the day was quite fun. We had a time of worship, full of exuberant dancing and singing - SO FUN, and then our group did a short skit and our leader gave a message. It was good. Then we spent time eating and playing with the kids. We played a lot of games with them, and watched them play a lot of games as well. Oh these children - they are so beautiful!! We stayed a long while, but every second there was well worth it. One of these days I hope to get some pictures up for you to see. :)

- The week back at the base was so full that no one could believe it when Friday came. We had a wonderful speaker who came with his whole family. They have a ministry in a village near Kisumu (another city in Kenya), where they have ministry for widows and orphans. The area where they live has a high prevalency for AIDS and HIV, which is why there are so many widows and orphans there. The ministry is cool though- they really are helping the village see transformation, with various projects going on and more envisioned. They are helping the widows get back on their feet - building houses, and providing other things, but also helping them build responsibility by taking care of sheep. It is really amazing to hear the stories of what was going on there. Fridah said that the team went there once, and at the end of their time, one of the widows wanted to bless the team, so she came out with 5 mangoes. It was all that she had and she gave it all in thanksgiving. How humbling is that.
The speaker was awesome and we had a wonderful time each day learning.
Anyway, it was pretty funny when the family came to the base. The wife is Filipino and Chinese, and multiple people asked me if she was my sister. haha. But she was great to talk to (as well as the three kids and our speaker of course). She told me that because of the stereotype that Asians are good at martial arts, some people are scared of Asians. HAHA. She told me this story about how she was at the market once in another city, and someone came to steal her friend's bag. She said that she just shouted "NO!" and held out her hand in some kind of karate chop, and the person ran away scared. HAHA. I laughed so hard. Yes, many people have asked me if I can show them some Kung fu or something, but I just laugh. In the mornings we have done some kickboxing after our run, and that is enough of a highlight for some of the Kenyans to see. haha.

Oh, speaking of funny things for Kenyans to see, I have been meaning to write out some once in a while. For one thing, contacts are something so foreign for Kenyans to see. Most don't even wear glasses, so I suppose they would not need contacts either. I don't wear them that often, but the first time that I did, my friends freaked out. haha. I can still see Lilian's face as she was appalled when I took them out of my eyes. She had this look of horror and yet interest. She then wanted to watch me put them in the next time (only to turn away at the sight of my finger getting close to my eye. ha) Duncan asked to keep the contact (I wear daily contacts, so I just throw them away after anyway). So funny.

Okay, back to highlights of the week:
- So I am continuing to learn that the answer to complaining is just finding things to be thankful for. I had to go to the hospital clinic this week, but I found plenty to be thankful. Here is the story: On Wednesday night, my hands broke out into a crazy rash, that started to spread onto my arms. By the time I got into bed, it had spread all over my entire body, including the bottom of my feet. It was incredibly itchy and uncomfortable, and as it was later and later (I still have yet to sleep through the night), I just laid there and prayed through it. I found that I was really thankful that we even have skin! hahaha.
Anyway, in the morning, I got up after a couple of hours of sleep, and then as soon as I got out of the bed (I now sleep on the top bunk), the bed broke! I just laughed, because I just thought about all these attacks on my sleep, and how this was really the last thing that could happen. I was also so thankful because Lilian, who sleeps in the bed under mine, was already up and out making breakfast, and I was also not in the bed when it broke. Jeremy (one of the leaders) also fixed it relatively quickly, and it was fine by night time.
Back to the rash, by the morning, it had mostly gone from my back, so I decided I wasn't going to let the rest of it make me miss class or the exciting things God had for the day, so I went. During class, the rash only got worse, and by lunchtime, it was all over my face and head, not to mention every other inch of my body. I was really trying to be thankful and talked to Judy about working hard to not complain no matter how uncomfortable or itchy I was. It really took the grace of God working in me - not by my strength at all.
After lunch, the leaders decided it was time for me to go to the hospital clinic, so I went with Janelle. The doctor was SO KIND, and I was so thankful for his wisdom, a clean clinic, and no wait! Though my time in the office was short, when we were finished, the waiting room was full. Basically, we narrowed it down to a pretty high chance that this was a major allergic reaction to the water cleaner chemical that had recently been changed in the drinking water at the base. We have a filter for the drinking water, but apparently that broke, so the staff added a water cleaning treatment to the filtered water to drink. However, something in that treatment was not so good. Anyway, the doctor gave me an antihistamine (I think) injection in my hand, and some medicines to take throughout the week. He also said not to drink the treated water for a week. So, I am drinking the untreated water (even though they said the filter broke, I haven't noticed too much of a difference from before), and taking 2 different meds. You can pray that I don't get sick, as the meds supposedly lower the immune system, and I don't know how clean the water is. I bought some bottled water when I went to the store today, but it's not enough for the whole week. Anyway, I am sure I will be fine with the Lord. I have been drinking the untreated water since Thursday evening, and I have not had any problems. Praise the Lord!
I'm thankful because the rash did go away on Thursday after going to the clinic. It came back on Friday twice during the day, and is on my arms a bit right now, but each time it is less and less, and I think it is just getting out of my system. I was so thankful to have a chance to go and see the medical clinic, that it was not too expensive, and to have a chance to pray for the hospitals and doctors in Kenya. It is such a good ministry. I sometimes wish I could do medical work to be able to help people in this way, but as I heard the cries of three little ones getting shots that day, I remembered why I am not in this profession. :)

- On Sunday night, our electricity was cut, and ever since then, we have been having some kind of power outage every day. I'm not sure what happened, but again we are trying to be thankful and find the good in it. We have found fellowship around lanterns and flashlights, and I have enjoyed using my good ole' headlamp! :) Oh, and also on Sunday night, something really made me laugh so hard - it brought out the unstoppable Takei laugh and was quite funny. Good times. :) One of the English pastors said that he had never seen a Japanese woman laugh before. HAHA.

- This week has also been full of people, even though the pastors left. There is a team of English soccer players here for two weeks, running a soccer camp. It has been fun with them here, and even more amusing was their first night here, when we had ugali and scuma (a spinach-like vegetable) to eat. The look on one of the boys' faces was priceless. :)

- Finally, on Wednesday, we went to visit some neighboring houses and just meet the people nearby. It was great. Our little group (Paul, Lilian, and I) met some people building a support for a well, and two other families. The second one had a little girl named Purity. :) It was an awesome time, and the stories from the other groups were also extremely encouraging. In Lisa's group, God spoke the same thing out to the people through Lisa, Philip, and Hillard, but in three different languages without any of them knowing until Philip translated. How exciting!

Tomorrow is Easter! We will be going to a church where we will be spending our outreach in July. I'm excited to just be in that place, and being able to see it physically! We will be doing a presentation, and it will be great.

I hope you have a blessed Easter. Jesus is risen!
Kristy