Hola España!

Today we went to Versailles!  The gardens were huge and amazing, going on forever and ever.  When I think about Baylor spending so much money replacing flowers and maintaining our beautiful grounds, then I have to look at Versailles and think much more awesome it is.  You could literally spend days wandering through the gardens, let alone the main palace.  Claire and I rented some bikes and made the journey a bit quicker but still spent several hours riding around (and still didn't see everything!)

I think my favorite part about today was see Marie Antoinette's estate and house.  Marie had very and timeless good taste.  I wouldn't say she was minimalistic, but much less lavish than the other chateaus or palaces that we've visited (including the extremely gaudy and excellent main palace of Versailles).  I found it refreshing.  Her estate was situated in the far corner of Versailles, surrounded by kilometers and kilometers of gardens and a farm.  The French seem to do a very good job at restoration making it look like the royal family from the 1600s disappeared only yesterday and were replaced by tourists today.

Paris is lovely, but I will be glad to leave this country and (sorry French people) replace it with a much better one.  Tomorrow we leave for SPAIN!  Estoy muy muy emocionado, I just can't even believe that this day has finally come!  I feel like I've spent every moment since I found out that I could go to Spain for the summer anticipating this trip and it's surreal that it's finally here.

I promise I'll post pictures when I can, and that time is not right now. Lo ciento.

Dia de las Iglesias

Day of the churches.

Today was off to a late start.  Our room has these great storm shutters that you can shut out every single ray of sunshine, so we didn't wake up until almost 11.  Oh well.

First we went to the Basilica at Montmartre, which is this awesome white building on a hill.  The inside was incredible, but we didn't get to climb to the top and see the probably really great view of the city.  That's alright though because we got our workout later.  However, this has probably been my least favorite place to visit in Paris.  Mostly I think it really bothered me that there were so many "vendors" standing outside the church trying to get money from you.  They tied string on us telling us it was "for the church" and "for good luck," then demanded 10 Euros.  Nope, I don't think so.  One of them had the nerve to use some really nasty words at me when I told him NO!  The church is the last place these kinds of people should be pawning their stupid lies.

Next we went to Notre Dame, which was much cooler and with many less vendors than the Basilica.  We did get to climb to the top of Notre Dame and see an amazing panoramic view of the city with gargoyles everywhere on the top of the towers.  The whole thing really makes me want to watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame again (I feel like everything in this city makes me think Disney).

We walked to the Pantheon, but it was closed.  We may have time to come back later and see the tombs of Marie Curie and Alexandre Dumas, etc.  After we went back to Notre Dame and watched an  concert of Gregorian Chants by a Spanish group.  This might sound strange but it was so beautiful.  The acoustics inside the church are so absolutely perfect that a single voice resonates throughout the building without a microphone.  Very cool, very relaxing music.  Finally to end our long day we went back to the Eiffel Tower to watch the light show.  I think it's much more of an impressive structure in the night time, during the day it looks kind of ugly and awkward to me.

I'll upload pictures later.

Bonjour

Made it to Paris.  I'm not going to lie, it was a struggle.  (That's all I can say because my only real follower is mommy dear, and yes mother you would kill me if I told you how I got to the city. No, it wasn't that dangerous. Chill out.)  Let's just say I will never try to navigate a foreign country that I've never been to alone again.  And let's just say that my first impression of this country was not a good one.

Climbing the stairs in the Hotel de Paris.

So far the wifi here has bee much more difficult to find than in Kenya, shocking considering this is a first world country (which doesn't have air conditioning by the way.)  The hotel we're staying in is pretty cute though, very small but safe and with lots of character.

After my first impression I'd say that any movie you've ever seen about Paris is totally accurate, I constantly feel like the Aristocats are going to come climbing through our open window or that the cartoon-like police sirens are chasing Cruella DeVille.  However, I have yet to see 101 Dalmatians.  Every single building has to be way over 500 years old and the architecture is incredible.  There have been a few times where both Claire and I have just had to stand in awe and pictures just don't do it justice.

Just hanging out with Mona.

Our first day here (yesterday), I arrived a few hours after my plane arrived at CDG and then we spent the morning at the Louvre, followed by a long walk to the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel towel.  I think during the 3-4 hours we spent walking around the Louvre we probably saw less than a quarter of it, you could literally get lost in there for days.  The entire chateau is totally made out of so many different kinds of stones, the ceilings are covered in gorgeous paintings, and everything is gilded in gold.  It must have been nice to have been French Royalty back in the day.  The Arc de Triopmhe is HUGE, again pictures just don't do it justice.  I expected it to be a minor landmark but it really is more like a large stone building randomly in the largest round-about you've ever seen (talk about circle of death, please don't install one in Waco because people will die.)  The French go big or go home.  It wasn't until later when we were sitting on the grass by the Eiffel Tower that we found out you could actually climb up into the Arc, so missed out of that.  We missed out on climbing the Eiffel Tower too mainly because we were wearing awful walking shoes and my feet were literally bleeding by the time we got there, que triste.  But, we did hang out by the tower for a few hours and plan to go back tomorrow night for the light show.

Louvre.

Louvre.

If anyone has every told you that the French are rude, it's mostly true.  There have been a few exceptions, but mostly they ignore you or give you the worst restaurant service ever just because you speak English.  Also, the food is extremely expensive and delicious.

Today we attempted to go to Versailles, but got lost in a small town in the countryside and gave up.  We'll give it another go tomorrow.  We did end up seeing the National Opera house, which was simply beyond words and cheap at a student price!  Apparently many people forget about it when in Paris, but it's a must see! We also briefly saw Notre Dame but plan to go back later when it's open or for mass (in English).  Somehow we snuck into Moulin Rouge, unintentionally of course (the shows originally cost 200 Euros, oops) We tried to see Montmartre, but couldn't find it and gave up so we didn't get lost in the dark.  The sun doesn't set here until past ten, weird.

What? So What? Now What?

For the past few days we've been on safari in Masai Mara, an area where there is literally nothing but trees and animals.  Even though we didn't see many animals this year, I absolutely loved it!  Just looking out the window at the endless rolling hills, occasionally populated by a herd of elephants, was a much needed break from the dirty city.  Not only that, but it was able to help us all think about the past two weeks and what God has been really doing in our lives and others, which is actually the purpose of the safari.  And what better place to do it than in untouched creation?!

So we were asked to think about the questions: What?  So What?  and Now What?

What happened?
We came to Kenya, some of us knowing what to expect and others shocked by the absolute poverty we saw.  Nairobi is a modern city compared to much else in this country, but even so it falls short of the standards we're used to as Americans.  The air is filthy and hard to breathe,  and although many of the roads are paved they are covered in dirt or falling apart (which makes the air quality worse), the housing is atrocious, and much of the construction seems to be abandoned leaving the city with a run-down ominous feeling.  We met many people during our time here, most living in total poverty and heard their stories.  We did little jobs here and there to fix things in the short-term and we played sports probably with thousands of children.

So What?
So the vast majority of people here live far below our standard quality of life.  So what?  They're happy, they rely on God for everything, they don't complain much, and they offer far more than they have.  A great example of this would be Boniface, he gave up his life in a mediocre lifestyle to do what God asked of him.  He said yes to God when many of us say no.  He lives by faith everyday with no salary while taking care of his family and many boys that he brings off the streets.  Everything he does, he does by prayer and faith that God will get him through it.  And he has.  While we were here Wes told us that Boniface's car had broken down (which he uses to go feed the street boys) and that his boys wouldn't be able to go to school for the next year; Boniface was worried because didn't have the money to fix either of these these problems.  Immediately without prompting we all said "we got this" and pulled from our own pockets the $600 needed for both.  We didn't solve his problems permanently, but we helped him get through a hard time.  Had Wes not mentioned this problem to us it's likely that Boniface may have not gotten the money at all, but God works in mysterious ways.  I think more than anything the little things we do here open doors for more ministry after we leave (through Michezo-Afrika) and give people like Boniface the hope to carry on.

Now What?
In a few hours I'll be leaving for Paris and soon after going to Spain for over a month.  So what do I do with what I've learned and how my life has been changed by this experience?  Every time I go on a mission trip I feel like my relationship with God gets exponentially closer, but that spiritual high is hard to maintain especially with the distractions of the first world.  During my time here I've wondered whether survival in a third world country or at home is more difficult?  Here, people rely on God to survive, praying that their children get enough food to eat for dinner that night.  At home we are so bombarded by distractions that it's easy to lose God in it all, our relationship with God is what we rely on to survive (meaning that sin is so much easier at home, and only our relationship with Him is the only thing that will save us in the end).  I guess all I can hope for is to maintain my strong relationship that I have now and carry that over into my relationships with others and my possessions.  Hopefully I can take what I've seen and put that into action (maybe I don't need to buy all that stuff at the mall or the grocery store).  Also, because everyone here has become so close, I know that when I come back to Waco I'll have good friends to lean on when times get hard and temptations become strong.

It's been an incredible journey and I'm so glad that I was given the opportunity to be here. Thank you Kenya!

For the Love of Glue

Hello Momma, yes I am alive.  I haven't been killed by African bushmen or taken in Paris, so please don't report me missing.  Sorry I haven't blogged in a few days.  The internet is really awful here (first world problems, I know), it goes in and out and I've basically given up on adding pictures to the blog for now because I could literally write a novel in the time it takes for them to upload.

Today we woke up at 5am to feed the street kids again.  Most of them are not actually children but adults living on the street.  There were many more today than there were last week, which I think was really good for them to be able to come together.  Also many more women showed up this time and I had the opportunity to talk to Marcy.  Marcy is 22 and carries her 13 month old baby, Sarah, on her back.  Marcy has been living on the street for 5 years and said the father of her baby is a "mzungu" (which is the Swahili word for white person).  It makes me sad to hear her say that because I know many of the women living on the streets resort to prostitution for money or are raped.  She kept telling me how hard of a life it was to live on the street and asking me to help her find a house for she and her baby to live; she told me she didn't care if the house was hot but that she just wanted to be safe.  Marcy told me that little Sarah was sick and that she won't eat anything but milk, then she later told me that she too was feeling sick.  We were able to give both of them some medicine for their stomachs as well as some bread and milk to eat.  But I think the hardest thing for me this morning was hearing these people's stories and how they are ill, which is so heartbreaking on its own, but then watching them suck the fumes from a bottle of glue to mask the pain.  We were told that they do this to be able to sleep anywhere and to prevent themselves from being hungry, but to watch a mother make herself and her baby sick from the fumes of glue is beyond words for me.  I can't imagine a life like that and wouldn't wish it on anyone, all I or anyone else can do to help these people is pray with them that their life is able to be turned around in some way.

Boniface tells us that many of the people he ministers to on the street have been abused by their parents and choose to leave their homes or their families could no longer to take care of them and were told to leave.  Some leave voluntarily and have a place to go home with a family who loves them, but for whatever reason won't leave the street.  Many get stuck in the streets due to an addiction to glue that decomposes the brain and causes eventual problems down the road.  It's a very sad thing to watch, a cycle that almost refuses to be broken.

This afternoon we held a sports clinic for the street kids at a city park, which was not a sports clinic at all but just playing with them in the light.  Going from the street at 5 in the morning to the park at midday, it was interesting to see actually how filthy these people were.  Many of them shed their dark coats and put down their glue bottles just to play.  Their clothes were ripped, and if they wore shoes at all the shoes were tattered, falling apart, and often not the right size.  In Kenya it is illegal to be homeless so during the day they have to hide or they will be beaten by the city council (and as Marcy told me, they will not only beat you but your baby as well).  Often times homeless people are called "takka" (which means trash), so it was totally evident on their faces how happy they were to play soccer or be paid attention to at all.

I met a woman named Elizabeth shortly before we had to leave, she is also 22.  Elizabeth was asking for ice for her swollen eye, she told me though a translator that she had been beaten by a larger woman.  Later I found out that this larger woman was the mistress of her father's children and apparently was jealous of Elizabeth and the children and chose to beat her.  (Sidenote: If I had to make a guess from her appearance, Elizabeth looked about 10 years old. She was very small and weak.)  Elizabeth told me that her oldest child was 9.  Please think about that for a second a do some math with their ages. Her children live with Elizabeth's parents, who kicked Elizabeth out when she was young and no longer allow her to live there, forcing her to live on the streets.  She asked to help her get home and to pay for her children's school, but  I cannot, so the most we I could do is pray with her.  Elizabeth also carried glue.

Agape

Early this morning we had the opportunity to meet with men that live on the streets of Nairobi and hear their stories as we shared bread and milk with them. This experience was so much more than just providing a meal for the homeless, it was a rare chance to get a small glimpse into the lives of men who live on the streets everyday. One man we talked to had been on the same street corner for over 30 years and was 69 years old. Boniface was able to open the door for us to visit these men and share the gospel with them. We gave them pamphlets that explained the significance of a life with God and two of the boys we shared with, James and Douglas, committed their lives to Jesus. 

In his youth, Boniface went through some hardships within his family that led him to live on the streets for a time, he says that this is the reason why his heart is full compassion for the street boys. Later, he was able to get off the streets, receive a full education and become a pastor for a church in Kenya. He felt God’s call to minister to the street boys and proposed the idea to his church who rejected it. Boniface simply left the church, his salary, his home, his life of stability to start a ministry for the boys who live on the streets, quickly burning through his life savings. Today Boniface lives completely by faith, relying on God to provide for himself, his family, and the boys he takes into his own home from the streets.

Later in the morning we endured a long bus ride to visit Boniface and his family at their home, which was one of the most meaningful experiences we’ve had since we’ve been in Kenya. Our team split up, some of us built a fence, some cut the grass with machetes, and many of us pulled weeds in the front of his house. It was really incredible to see how much work we were able to get done as a team in only a couple hours, work that would take Boniface and his family days to complete. As the team worked, it was awesome to see how the accumulation of small actions done by every team member added up to transformation of Boniface’s land. It was a really good reminder as to why were here in Kenya and why were serving. Although we can’t change all of the hardships that many of the people we encounter face, we can do many small things that eventually add up to make a huge difference. Today was significant to us because it showed that even manual labor is a way to express God’s love to people.

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” 

Philippians 2:3

-Rachel Nankervis, Katherine Berg, and Jennifer Gueldner

Prison

Day 2:
I had real difficulty putting into words what I wanted to say about this day, so I apologize for the late post (if anyone but my momma actually is following my blog).

Just look at those smiles.

Firstly, our schedule has changed so much that NOTHING is as it was originally planned.  When we left the hotel in the morning we were under the impression that we were going to an orphanage, but instead arrived at a prison.  Clearly, it's very important to be flexible here in Kenya.  At the prison we met up with the Kenyan national volleyball team (who our Baylor volleyball team will play and beat next week).  It turns out that these girls actually train and work at the prison.  We got an opportunity to talk with them about their lives and get to know them pretty well, very cool.  After our slight detour we arrived at the Maximum Miracle Orphanage where we donated 10 mattresses to the kids who had been sharing with one another in hopes that they will all be able to have their own beds now. (Sidenote: the mattresses are so cute and colorful with flowers and pretty patterns, I would very much like it if American mattresses were not so boring.)  Finally towards the end of the day we worked a sports clinic at a school somewhere in Nairobi.  At the clinic we had several stations including: volleyball, soccer, acrobatics and tumbling, and American football.  This basically rendered basketball, equestrian, and track people useless, but instead of sitting around we started a dance party, an aerobic workout session, footraces, and helped out the acro girls with the limited amount of tumbling we can do.  Eventually some of us started stunting the kids, which by far was the coolest part of the day for me.  There were SO MANY kids and they were amazed and so happy just to be lifted into the air, such a simple thing.  More than anything I think it helped us to connect with them and for them to really open up to us.  After that a group of girls followed me around asking me to dance, I was flattered because they were much better dancers than I am.  Basically the purpose of us going into some of these places is not to play an hour of sports, but to open doors for our Kenyan based ministry to step in and start a relationship with these schools, etc.

Dance party!

Day 3:
Today we actually intended to go to the prisons.  I again went to the women's prison, just like last year, and another group went to the men's prison.  However, unlike last year I was not intimidated by the negative stigma we normally attach prison.  Kenyan prisons I think are in a way much nicer than American prisons.  For example, I've been to a juvenile delinquency center near Waco a few times and was much more afraid there than I have ever been in Kenya.  Coming to the prisons this year I knew that I was in a safe place with kind people.  The women, despite their circumstances, are so joyful.  In American detention centers there is constant negativity and violence, the women in prison here constantly have smiles on their faces and Jesus on their lips and their hearts.

This is the only picture I was able to get of the prison because cameras were not allowed inside.

We played volleyball and basketball today, and I was able to help with basketball.  They loved it!  It was so much fun for us, the prisoners, and the guards alike.  We did several drills having to do with basketball and then tried some relay races with a partner holding the ball between your heads, hips, backs, etc and running to the end of the court and back.  Eventually they invited us to do an aerobic workout with their prison trainer and it was HARD!  I hope Baylor coaches never learn about his style of workout:  high kicks, squats, jogging, dance moves, etc.  I think everyone was genuinely exhausted after.

We finished up at the women's prison a little early and met up with our other crew at the men's prison.  Although we weren't able to do much there but pick them up, there was a track with Kenyan Olympians training right there within the prison.  I think because the government runs the prisons that they really are nice facilities and that's what draws national teams and Olympians to train at the different ones.

Kibera Slum

Finally, we stopped by a cliff overhanging the largest slum on the continent of Africa called Kibera.  Over 1 million people live within the slum which is only roughly 1 Km long, incredible and incredibly sad.