Dry Tears

Monday, June 9

Today was absolutely incredible. We woke up and went to the special needs school, which I haven’t seen yet. Even as I sit here and try to reflect on it, and describe how I felt, what I saw, what I smelled…I come up with a loss of words. I fell in love with the kids there, and I couldn’t get myself to get back in the van when it was time to leave. I actually came back later in the day and got to hang out more with the kids, and I was able to have a great interview with the headmaster of the school. Then we went to see where the borehole is going, which was so cool! Then I got to see the truck drive in with all the parts for the borehole.

We also went by this ministry called Nekure316, which was started by Zablon and it basically takes women who are mothers off the streets and provides them and their babies with shelter and food. They also teach them about God, and teach them life applicable skills that they can use to create income and such.

Then after that, we drove into an IDP camp (Internal Displacement Camp). There were 10,000 people living in the one we went to, and they were there because of all the conflicts that were going on earlier this year. It was an awful sight to see. We drove in, and you could smell urine in the air. There was no clean running water. There was very little food. And there was so little hope in that place. Everyone wanted their picture taken and wanted me to bring it back to them… It was so hard to leave. One of the things that I’ve learned on this trip, that I’ve always kinda known, but just hit me all the harder, was of how stinking blessed I am. And a lot of times I just don’t think that’s fair. I mean, I have it so comfortable here in the states, but there are over 10,000 people who go to sleep hungry and wondering where they will find enough money to give milk to their babies. Then I realize something as small as the quote in the spiderman movie,” With great power, comes great responsibility”. No I don’t have a superpower but we have all been so blessed and we should do something about what we have been given. And I think secretly that at the bottom of every heart, despite how evil, there is always a part that wants to do a good work and make a change. Put that spark of hope back into someone’s life. Yeah, I’m pretty much rambling…but just one of my thoughts that came about from this visit…

So since I officially got myself down about just writing the last paragraph, I thought I’d end today’s writing with an exciting thing! Today at lunch I met the 6 of the Roadery Club of Kenya high-ranking officials, one of them being the president! So that was awesome just getting to know those guys and hearing about what they do and they loved the idea of Dry Tears and couldn’t believe so many young people in America wanted to make a difference in a place like Kenya! And here’s the clincher: one of the guys is an owner of a business that uses water for his business and he committed to buying the water from the school!! Isn’t that incredible?? So even though I never got to see the well being started, I got to see God do some amazing things each day!

Then later that night we went to a goat roast as a going away party, and I ate its intestines (they were fried and actually pretty delicious).

The WRAP: So basically the only thing I didn’t include was when I went on the safari which was really fun and I saw a bunch of sweet animals including a lion like 4 inches away from me! It was awesome.

Part of me feels like I left a part of my heart in Africa… I can’t wait to go back and connect with that part again.

I’ve been changed. I hope that through my stories you’d be able to take a glimpse at the change.

Bwana Asifiwe!

Sunday, June 8

Went to church this morning, which was super cool! They would all sing these really cool songs in Swahili, so we had no idea what they were saying. But it was so cool to just close your eyes and just soak in the melody and the beautiful voices singing praises to God. It was moving. Then they invited us to go in front of the church where they introduced our team. Then Zablon (who besides being a tight guy with a sweet name, is actually a local) started talking about Dry Tears and introduced me to everybody and brought me in front of everyone. I was scared. He went on about it and everyone was nodding their heads and occasionally someone would say “Amen!” Zablon then asked if I had anything to say to everyone. I uh, didn’t really know what to say and felt really awkward, so I just smiled and said “Bwana Asifiwe!” which means ‘praise God’. Everyone seemed to like that, and yelled “Amen”, and a few people laughed. I think someone had said a joke.

Then after that, we went out to lunch at this nice place. Zablon saw someone he knew so he took me over to the guy and introduced me to him. I found out this guy was the president of the Chamber of Commerce, which apparently is like this thing where all the businesses in that area work together and help each other build other businesses up. Jeff then came over towards us and introduced himself to the man, whose name was Boniface Muhia, and he explained to him his vision for the school. Boniface absolutely loved the idea and said that he would do everything he could to persuade the businesses to consider buying their water from the school. This apparently is a better promise than the MP dude cause this guy has a lot more influence within the group. So that was super sweet!

Saturday, June 7

So let me tell you about this vision that my team leader, Jeff Beech (who is with the Beech Foundation, cool guy) had. At the beginning of the trip he told me about the vision he had for the special needs school that the borehole is going in. He thought it would be so cool for the school to get clean running water as well as the surrounding community. But then he took it one step further and said he thought it’d be cool if the local businesses that use water for their product or their business could buy the water from the school (they would have it put into a water truck for transportation). They would sell it cheaper than what they were previously getting for which would help the business and build up the economy (I’m not sure if it would make that big of a difference but I think it might). The money used for the water would then go to the school to help pay for medicine, better and healthier food, and more teachers.

So yeah I thought it was a pretty cool idea.

So  tonight, Jeff and this other dude named Zablon (sweet name, tight guy), went and had a meeting with the MP of Nekuru, which is like the equivalent of a senator. Jeff told him this vision he had for the school, and the MP totally loved it and he committed to doing everything in his power to get the businesses to buy the water from there. That was pretty encouraging!

Friday, June 6

Dang, I had a blast today! We went to Tumaini (which is the orphanage that our team is doing most of their work at) to work just like yesterday. So I kinda did some construction (and had to carry like 100 lb blocks….very tiring) so then I helped paint this gigantic mural deal that has Jesus feeding the 5,000 (very cool). Then I left to go play with the kids because I am an awful painter. I’ve learned a few phrases of Swahili but overall it’s pretty hard to communicate with the kids so instead I just chase them around pretending to be a dinosaur (also very tiring). It really blows me away that these kids can have so much joy in the Lord despite their circumstances. In fact the first day we got here, these kids that have no parents, sang us a song that talked about Jesus being their father (I can honestly say I teared up hearing it…it was beautiful).

Oh, I just remembered something that I did yesterday. We went to visit a bunch of local churches. One of them was in the hardcore slums, I mean the highest poverty rate area in the area (does that make any sense?) Anyways, it was awful, there were trenches lining the streets that were filled with trash. There were many homes that we passed that were also burned to the ground due to the “disturbances” earlier this year. And I never wrote how the meeting went yesterday, but it was so cool. There were these two dudes that came in, one being the owner of the drilling rig business, the other was this cool surveyor. I got to see them sign the contract and do all this cool legit business that I didn’t understand. Then they talked about different stuff that was pretty beneficial. Don’t remember much of it now, but it was like on how they work and the different levels of water tables in the area and chemicals in the water and etc. (pretty cool stuff)

Thursday, June 5

I’ve finally made it to Kenya! Just woke up, feelin pretty refreshed. I flew from Atlanta to London Monday night where I met up with the rest of the team and did a little London sightseeing. Then flew to Kenya that night, so the past two nights I have been surviving on about 2 hours each night. Then yesterday got in, and let me just tell you that we’ve been doing a lot of work in Africa, but to actually be there and step out of the plane, I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s like “Hey, I’m in Africa!”

It’s like 7 a.m. right now and the streets are already busy with life (alarm went off this morning at 5). We’re on our way to the church then going off to our work sites. Not really sure what I’m gonna do… I’m suppose to be meeting with the well contractor for the borehole that’s going in at Nekuru Special Needs School (Which was kinda the incentive for me on this trip) It’s actually a bummer, cause I got here and found out that the borehole isn’t going to be dug while I’m here cause all the equipment is like ten days out. So that kinda put a damper on my parade…whatever.

*EXClAIMER

you guys might be like, ‘What the heck is a borehole, I thought you guys were doing wells’. A borehole is a little bit more advanced technology than a well. It goes down like a ton times more deep and hits the water table, so it will be very hard for it to ever run dry. It is also powered by electricity and has a submersible pump down in it that will pump it up (in this case) a big water tower that will also be connected to the school. This will allow them to have running water, and ultimately change their entire lives. So yeah.