Home Sweet Home!!

After two very, very long days of traveling, we are finally home!  My best friend, Amanda, who has been watching our apartment left nice surprises for us everywhere...ahem, Amanda!!  She so nicely plastered tampons, pads, and 'Caution' tape everywhere, as well as placing her and her boyfriend's pictures taped over top of AJ and my pictures! Lol!  (paybacks will be a'coming!)  Other than that, my MIL was so sweet!  She stocked our fridge and counter with all kinds of foods and drinks so we wouldn't come home to nothing to eat.  She even went as far as cooking us food so that we wouldn't have to cook and could eat that when we got home; it was so awesome - what a GREAT way to come home!!  

So now I have to back up and give a run-down of the last few days.  On Sunday morning, we left bright and early to begin our long bus ride back to Nairobi.  We checked into our hotel, grabbed a shower in HOT water (which was glorious!), and then headed off to dinner.  We had a really nice dinner at this restaurant, which if I remember correctly, was called Trattoria.  AJ got some sort of Italian Salmon pasta dinner, and I got an individual pizza with prosciutto on top.  It was so yummy and so welcome from the rice, potatoes and cabbage we were used to.  When we were on our way to the restaurant though, it was one of the first times that I've seen young kids come up to us begging for shillings.  Even on the way, I saw this mother sleeping on the sidewalk with her very young baby sleeping next to her.  It was so sad, and so different than what I'm used to seeing here at home.  Because we don't live in the city, it's not too often you see someone who is homeless, let alone women and children, or babies for that matter.  

Here is a quick 1 minute clip of some of the things we would see on the drive from Kitale to Nairobi:

 After dinner we went back to the hotel to get a good night of sleep.  Early the next morning, we met before 7 to get ready to go on our Safari at the Nairobi National Park.  According to their website, "the 117 km2 Nairobi National Park is unique by being the only protected area in the world with a variety of animals and birds close to a major city."  The safari was pretty awesome.  Apparently it's pretty hit or miss as far as whether or not you will see many animals, so I made sure to write down what we did see.  While we didn't see any lions like you might expect, we did see Zebra, wilderbeasts, water buffalo, antelope, giraffes, gazelle, eagles, peacocks, ostriches, Impala, goats, baboons, a secretary bird, a corvasta bird (sp?), and one Rhino.  However, as we were looking at the Rhino on the one side of our vehicle, we heard a lot of commotion on the other side, maybe a few hundred feet away, along the side where the park bordered the city.  When we looked over we were surprised to find two groups of Kenyan men going after each other with sticks and machetes.  It was believed by our driver that they were likely fighting over a piece of land,...but still....machetes? Really?  While you might think that would be a bit on the scary side, especially being so close to us, I think I was more or less in shock that we were even seeing anything like this at all.  Thankfully it didn't appear as if anyone really got hurt, and you could see a few policeman heading the men's way to possibly break it up.  The groups then separated and we finished up our safari before heading to the airport.

Here are some pictures from the Safari:

This reminds me of an old Pink Floyd Poster from the 90's!!

Family Zebra Butt; Mama & Baby.

Random Castle in the middle of the Safari. Weird. But Cool.

Not the best pic - but these are some of the men involved in the fight.  They either had sticks or machetes.  In this picture, you can only see one machete (the 3rd guy from the left side).

Love Love Love!

Steph managed to catch me taking pictures on the Safari =)

Our flights were fairly long and uneventful.  I managed to get a few hours of sleep on the 13 hour flight, while poor AJ really couldn't sleep at all.  Sitting anywhere for as long as our team had been, nothing at that point is comfortable.  You just ache to stretch out your body and walk around.  When we arrived at JFK, we grabbed our luggage, headed to our shuttle bus, and then went back to Providence, eventually dispersing to our homes. 

It's so nice to be back home.  It's actually easier for me, being home, to really sit and process some of the things from the past two weeks.  I was glad to learn more about the organizations there, and the authenticity of the ones that we met and worked with.  I was disappointed to find out how the corrupt the government and churches/pastors are there, but glad that I now know.  It makes me question where my money goes all the more when I give to things like this.  Now, I'm happy to say that when I will give in the future, I know of a few honest places that will use the funds appropriately to best help the people there.  I also realize how much of a need there is for medication (that won't be kept by the doctors and pharmacies - or overpriced that no one can afford them), and for education.  The basic need for many of the Kenyans in Kitale is survival.  Without a means to provide for their family, that makes all of these things unavailable to them.  One of the things that I loved about TI is that they were helping the Shimo and Neema girls to learn trades that would give them the ability to provide for their families, as well as educating them.  With these skills, the girls can now go off, start their own businesses (which most of them talked about their dream of becoming a 'businesswoman!'), thus providing for their families - but also giving them a sense of self-worth.  It will take some time, but these girls are fast learners!  If you go to provinkenya.blogspot.com - I believe Faith will be posting some information on each one of the girls at some point - so you can get a better idea of who they are.

In the meantime, I am sifting through the 1500 or so pictures that I took on this trip.  As I go through them, I will be adding them to this blog in the previous blog posts - so you may need to scroll back through from the beginning to see some of them.  Or, if you have Facebook, you can also search for 'Providence KenyaTeam', and look through everyone's pictures on there.  I'm pretty sure we are all going to be posting like madmen to this page over the next week, so be patient as the pictures will likely come in waves.

Again, thank you all for your prayers and support through all of this!  Now,...back to the pictures! Am going back to the first blog post now when we arrived to add the pictures from the bus ride from Nairobi to Kitale when we first arrived.  xoxo

Last day...

Our last day is officially coming to a close.  We still have a few days of travel left, but this will be our last night in Kitale.

We began the morning by going over to the Veronica Home until shortly after lunch.  You could tell that some of the team was starting to distance themselves somewhat from the children as we knew we would have to say goodbye, some for the last time.  It's so hard to answer a child when they ask if they will see you again, if you will come back,...and you simply do not know.  There were many tearful goodbyes as we started to load up the taxis to head back to the TI compound.  I hugged Stella many times before actually getting in the cab, but as I sat there, unable to operate my broken window to say goodbye for the hundredth time, I quickly opened the door to give her and another child just one last hug before we pulled away.  I think I put up a wall at that time, because no tears came, but I could feel my heart break just a little as I imagined this could be the last time that I may see her precious face.  I wish I could explain the pull at your heart when you encounter these kids with literally nothing,...and yet see how much joy and love that they have for you.  You can't help but be moved and changed by it.

Here are some photos from our day at the Veronica Home:

The progress made on the school so far by the end of the week...

I don't know what will happen when we get home.  I don't know whether I will go on with my life being complacent, or whether I will become more proactive and intentional about the suffering and caring of people. There was some talk this evening about what we will do now; what will happen when we get home.  One of the things I know I will try to do more of is to acknowledge people everywhere.  Instead of hanging my head down low and avoiding conversations, or people in general - I know that I want to step out of my comfortable shell and learn how to love in the biblical way that God calls us to; remembering that love is first a choice, not necessarily a feeling.  It will be a challenge, but it's a small step that isn't too overwhelming to push me away.


We also had to say goodbye to the Neema girls today.  We already said goodbye to the Shimo girls yesterday, but as I'm sure you can guess - more tears flowed from the team and the girls as we prepared for the Neema girls to leave this afternoon.  Before they left however, some murderous activities took place!  Many of the team members slaughtered chickens.  I decided to stay inside, but immediately regretted not putting on my headphones and listening to music as I began to hear shrieks and laughter coming from the team as they were killing the chickens.  I know it sounds crazy,...because I eat chicken and all, ...but honestly if I could be a vegetarian, I would!  It just so happens that I like meat too much, and vegetables too little!  Irregardless, it was still all pretty disturbing.  Thankfully AJ did not kill, nor watch this take place - he had a headache today so he was laying down during that time.  And, naturally, I did not eat the chicken either.  Just couldn't get that image out of my mind, so glorious pop-tart dinner for me it was.


I'm filled with so many emotions that I can't really process this trip and what I have seen or experienced.  So much of it just feels so surreal, and yet I know that as we journey home, and when we get home, things will rise to the surface begging to be dealt with.  There are no words that can bring a full reality to what life is like here.  I hear so many people say that you really need to experience it firsthand to understand; and they would be right.  I think it's easier for us, as Americans, to ignore or pretend that certain things don't happen in our world, and so we stay in our own little bubble of comfort and do not dare leave in fear that we may feel guilty or moved to do something; to essentially act on the injustices facing so many people in our world.


I'm going to go for now.  I will update on our travel, safari, and pictures when we get home.  Until then, we love you all and thank you so much for your support and prayers that made this possible for both of us.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we embark on our 2-day journey home. xoxo

PS - HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARRIE!!  =) 

TGIF!!

The countdown to the Chicken slaughter is just beginning.  I'm soooo not excited for this!  I wonder if it would be wrong to,...I don't know,...set them free? I suppose that may anger a few of the people here.  BUT it is certainly tempting!!  I still am not sure whether AJ has decided what he is going to do yet, if he will kill a chicken or not.  I think he's worried I will look at him different if he does,...but secretly I don't think he wants to. =)

Today AJ went to do construction again at the Veronica home building the school.  It sounds like the guys are getting pretty far on this.  Apparently though they plan on building dormitories as well, but unfortunately the money for that does not exist yet.  I think our plan is to give whatever money we have remaining tomorrow from all of your support to go towards that project.  There is so much need here, it's heartbreaking.  If the Lord happens to speak to your heart concerning anything happening over here that you may be reading in this blog, or the www.provinkenya.blogspot.com - that you may want to help support, then feel free to contact us by e-mail (clrewkowski@yahoo.com) and we can certainly talk about it or help guide you along the way of what you could do.

I decided to go back to the In-Step baby orphanage today.  I just love being around all the kids and spending time with them.  At one point I was outside of the baby house (a small room outside that holds a lot of the babies during the day for feeding and napping), and there was this little boy sitting in a chair that was holding his head in place and strapping him in.  His name is Anthony and he has cerebral palsy.  No one was really paying much attention to him, and so I couldn't help but just sit down in front of him to talk and play with him for a little while.  He loved to get his feet tickled and massaged, so he would start giggling and smiling every time I touched them.  Surprisingly his little tootsies were really cold when I touched them.  It gets pretty cold in the morning and evenings here, but this was the mid-afternoon where the hot sun really beats down on you.

Here are some pictures I took at In Step:

Uh Oh!

Look at those cheeks!!

This is sweet Anthony. =)

This adorable little boy has mental retardation.

After In-Step we came back to the compound to spend time with the Neema and Shimo girls.  They were still doing their work, but the Shimo girls brought their children with them today.  They were adorable! At first they seemed pretty frightened by all the white people, but eventually they really warmed up to us.

Here are some pics taken when we got back from In Step:

The team help the girls to make tye-dye shirts.

This is Janet - she is one of the ones who cooks for the girls everyday. 

This is Joanne - also one of the chefs for the girls.  I think I heard that she is a retired school teacher as well.  Needless to say, she is a RIOT! She loves to 'model' for the camera!

When the girls left we had a big BBQ outside.  In fact,...it's still going right now!  Erik (one of the Kenyan guys that work for TI) was grilling/roasting steak, goat, and pork.  We had salad with Ashley's delicious home-made croutons, pasta salad, roasted potatoes, cooked cabbage, chips that tasted like Doritos, and Ashley's homemade chocolate chip cookies - which were so yummy!!  It was great to have the comfort food that we would likely eat at home and take a break from all the potatoes, rice, cooked cabbage and beans.  I have to admit...I don't think I can take another bite of that food while I am here!

Tomorrow is our last day, and on Sunday we will head back to Nairobi.  The plan is to leave in the morning, arrive in Nairobi around dinnertime, stay the night in Nairobi, take a morning safari first thing Monday morning, get on our plane later in the afternoon, and arrive at the JFK airport by Tuesday morning, by noon - back to the church.  If I can, I will update tomorrow night before we leave.  Aside from the chicken murders happening here tomorrow...ahem...we will be going to spend the afternoon at the Veronica Home.  I'm so excited to see my Stella and Lina tomorrow!!  Till then....Goodnight! =)

PS. Sorry for all my spelling/grammatical errors in these blogs - I don't read over them before posting!  I know, I know...very unlike me! Gotta go now, going to go watch AJ play volleyball. =)  xoxo