A Glimpse into Life in Kijabe…

I wake up in the morning at about 6:30 am to the sound of Paulina's Ipod alarm clock and lay on my what has now become incredibly comfortable sleeping pad snuggled in my sleeping bag, trying to ward of the freezing Kijabe morning.  I'm usually one of the first ones up and I treasure the quiet time in the morning where I listen to the Lord, plug in my bright yellow Ipod, or read my bible.  Soon, I see Taylore wake up and head to the bathroom with a handfull of bobby pins, ready to fashion her perfect bun.

At around 8 am, Nikki is already full of energy, and her and Neal wake up the rest of the team.  Sometimes our wakeup call is a few gently spoken words, but if we are lucky, it is a sweet serenade, sometimes Neal's renditon of "Cotton Eyed Joe".

Breakfast soon follows, and I immediately pour myself a delicious cup of Kenyan coffee and pass it to Dorothy, my fellow addict.  We have gained some self control since our days in Karati where we went a little loco after 7 cups, but we still enjoy it.  The rest of the team files into the kitchen, bundled up in bedbug infested blankets we found in the attick of the church (no worries, we prayed against them and most of us are itch free at long last).  After a delicious meal of kenyan pancakes, mandazi, or toast, we go back to our big tent to prepare for the day.  I also usually get the pleasure of braiding Neal's rat tail, which is always a delight.

Ministry usually begins around 9 am.  Tuesdays and Thursdays, we get to teach in the schools, where we often learn more than the children.  We have learned that squirrels are animals of prey, Kenyan children LOVE to learn our amazing dance moves and American songs like "Party in the USA", and Americans are all fat and they want to know what we eat.  On Wednesdays and Fridays, we get to work in the hospital.  I LOVE to work in the Kitchen with Jane, an amazing Kenyan woman.  At first I wanted to work with her to get out of cutting the raw meat (which Coltan looooves), but I have come to look forward to working with the spunky lady and to bring patients their tea, porridge, and lunch.  When I'm not in the kitchen, we go around encouraging, praying for, and talking with patients.  I love to go to the pediatric ward with Breanne, who has a special love for the children.  On Saturdays, we go to the IDP camp where we share testimonies, give a biblical challenge, woship together, and then hand out food. After we hand out food, we visit the homes of the people there and encourage and pray with them. 

After ministry, we often head straight for Dorothy's Place, a tiny little grocery store where I love to buy apple berry juice.  Emily C goes straight for the Coke Lite and Ashlee and I head over to Mama Chico's for a 25 cent samosa (a fried meat thing in bread….so yummy).  After climbing the hill back to our "home", Paulina usually heads for the kitchen, refusing to tell us what she is making with Margaret or Vicki, and the rest of us wait "patiently" for dinner while we joke around with eachother and appreciate Allegra's antics–I love that girl!!

During dinner, we talk about how good God is, the way He moved during ministry, and enjoy eachother while eating delicious Kenyan food.  Sometimes after dinner, I give Kirsten and Kristin a  haircut, we play games like 9 holes of golf, whist, we read our bibles and journal, pluck our eyebrows (which is especially fun when Neal joins in), choreograph dances, play telepictionary, or the vegetable game (which is more fun than it sounds).  Some of us enjoy and ice cold shower or just talk and laugh A LOT. 

At about 9 pm we have "family time" where we worship together, challenge each other to be more like Christ, get awesome teachings, and spend time together in the Word and in Prayer.

Then it is time to fall fast asleep in our two little lines of sleeping pads and sleeping bags, snuggled up, sometimes singing obnoxious Rhianna or Kelly Clarkston songs, sometimes reading, sometimes laughing uncontrollably…but we are all thankful for another beautiful, wonderful blessed day from the Lord in Kenya, our beloved home <3