The Visitors

I turned the stove on to boil some water, and I heard a sudden crackling noise. It was strange.. All of a sudden, something big, black and very rat-like FLEW out from under the stove... I screamed, of course, which scared Leah. "What was that?," she yelled. I started laughing... "A rat! A really big rat!" Then I smelled something burning. I noticed that there was something shoved up into the corner of the stove, underneath the eye, and it was on fire. The rat had taken some wet wipes or something of the sort and made a nest with them under the eye of the stove, which I guess had caught on fire, which caused him to run. Perfect! We now had a new visitor. We couldn't find him anywhere, so we stopped looking, hoping to run across him. We saw him once more later that night, but he ran away quickly.


Yesterday, I went to turn the stove on again and noticed a yellow towel under the stove on the other side. I pulled it out with tongs and revealed our missing yellow hand towel. The rat had started another nest in the other corner. Stupid rodent. A little while later I hear Morgan saying something in the kitchen, so I go in. She pointed to the corner, where I saw a rolled up sock stuffed up into the corner. The towel had hidden it, so we didn't see it the first time. It took all of Morgan's strength to get that sock out of the stove, and when she did, we realized that it wasn't our little ankle socks... it was a man's sock - a 4 ft. long sock. A sock on steroides. "What the...??" We were dumbfounded.


Morgan started cooking her eggs, and I went about my morning. A little later, we hear Morgan yell from the kitchen. We knew. The rat was under the eye the whole time, only running out when it got too hot. It had run into one of our bedrooms. Mine. Enough is enough - we went to get Silas, our favorite teacher. He said that of course he would come look for the rat, and he had a feeling it would die. :)


Silas showed up a little while later. He went in our rooms and looked under every single possible thing, totally destroying any sense of order we'd created. He finally found the rat under the spare bed in my room and tried to corner it. Meanwhile, Morgan had disappeared outside somewhere and Leah and I were waiting on the couches, feet pulled up off the floor. Soon enough we saw something scamper down the hallway and run under the couch, and Silas soon followed. For the next 10 or 15 minutes, Silas and Chirchir, the man who brings our water, looked in every single corner, every single basket for the rat. Leah was now standing on the couches and I had my camera out videoing, hoping to catch the rat run across the living room. Soon enough, right as I'd turned the camera off, the rat flew out and ran right into Chirchir's shoe, under which he was pinned. Silas grabbed a plastic pole and started beating it, Leah started yelling, I was laughing, and the rat was screaming.

Finally after much effort and many sleepless nights, the rat was dead. And I have pictures. :)

Later that same afternoon, I was laying on the couch and I noticed something fat and 8-legged under our table. Thinking it was just a huge, nasty spider, I called Morgan in to kill it.. When she looked under the table, she was shocked to find 5 egg sacks in the web. As if we really needed a thousand baby spiders running around our house. We hauled the table outside to douse it in bug spray and kill the spider. When we flipped the table over, the spider was gone... it had escaped. But I found a huge stick to get the sacks off. I looked up and the little kids were watching me. I called them over and they watched me take them off... EEhhh... I still feel creepy crawly just thinking about them!

- Gloria

This Is My Health

They held their hands out to us as we walked past, cupped, as if awaiting a downpour of shillings. They always want money, even if they only ask for bread. "Wazungu... wazungu," the boys kept calling after us. We didn't even look, but just kept walking. We were on our way back to Sang'alo after staying the night in Eldoret just for a little escape. Our escape didn't seem like a very good one though, after seeing a man beaten bloody for stealing on the streets.

"Wazungu," they still called. I finally turned around to look one of the boys in the face, firmly saying no. He simply held a plastic bottle up to his mouth and nose and breathed deeply. Glue. They all had it.

We continued to the market to get a couple of things, and while we were there, Morgan started to cry, her heart broken for the boys. We bought some rolls to give them. It's a basic rule to never, ever, ever give street children money. Never. They will use it to buy glue or something else. I've also adopted the other rule of never giving them anything packaged, because they could also sell it and use the money for glue.

We started walking back towards the hotel and came across the boys again. We could tell even from far away that they were wasted... more high than i could have imagined. They saw us approaching and came with one hand held out, one hand clutching the bottle of glue. Their eyes were completely glazed over; they couldn't really even look us in the face. Morgan showed them the bread. "I will give you bread if you give me your glue," she said to them. They just looked at her with a blank stare. "If you give me your glue, I will give you bread. No glue, no bread." People started noticing the 3 Wazungus talking to the street children and stopped to watch. The boys held their hand out again, still clinging to the glue. "No glue, no bread." A lady finally stopped beside us with a slight smile on her face. We asked her to explain in Swahili that if they would give us their glue, we would give them their bread. She did, and the boys turned, tucking their glue into their shirts and pants, yet still looking at us for the bread. "This is my health," one boy said. I held my hand out. "Give me your glue and I will give you bread." I said it a few more times, and they finally turned their bodies away, but still looked at us. "Fine." We walked away.

I glanced behind me only to see them following us from a short distance. I told the other girls, but we still kept walking. Finally, I turned around abruptly, catching one of them close behind, and held out my hand again. "You give me your glue, I will give you bread." No response. Morgan finally got a little irritated and said, "You give me your glue, I will give you bread. No glue, no bread. But DO NOT follow us. We are trying to help. Do not follow." We walked away; they did not follow.

We'd almost made it back to the hotel when we saw one of the boys running up to us from behind. He held a bottle out to us. I took it from him and Morgan gave him some bread. "You did the right thing," Leah assured him. He took the bread and looked back at Morgan with an expectant, glazed-over expression, as if he were waiting for more bread. I looked at him and said, "This bread is for you, not for your friends. For you. If they want bread, they can find us and give us their glue." Again, we walked away.

We were approached by at least 3 or 4 more boys before we made it out of the city. None of them were willing to give up their glue. As we rode back to the village, I began to think about what the one boy said - "This is my health." Street boys are typically orphans with nowhere to go. They have no one to take care of them, no one to feed them. They can go days without eating at all. They could resort to stealing, but everyone knows you can be beated to death. They resort to glue instead. They buy a bottle, sharing it between themselves by pouring little bits into empty plastic liquor bottles. The fumes are so strong, like our rubber cement. The glue keeps them from feeling hungry or cold, not to mention it helps them escape reality for a little while. I began to realize that if I were in their position, a piece of bread wouldn't be enough for me to give up my glue either. What happens once the bread is gone and the hunger returns? What are they supposed to do after we are gone and can't buy them bread? I knew that the one boy would have more glue by nightfall. That's just a given. But the thing that troubles me is that this is their existence. Huffing glue is all they know. They are beyond addicted - they survive off of it. They cannot live without it, not on the streets anyway.

Where is the hope for these children? Who will look them in the eye and say you are worth more than fumes and worth more than begging? I will give you bread if you give me your glue.

Matatu Glory and Other Amusing Thoughts

Dearest family and friends,

Where to even begin. First, I must inform you this may be a very grammatically difficult email to read. Some of the keys on the computer are misplaced and let's be honest...i suck at spelling. Time is short and money limited so I will do the best I can...Sigh.

I miss you all. We all wish we could have taken our family and friends with us to this place, even if just for a moment. I know this week has been difficult for some and I am so sorry I cannot be there with you through it. Please know that I care for you and am praying constantly. We may be distant but we are not seperated.

Random things you may want to know:

1. cows, goats, donkeys, and chickens are everywhere. those who have gone before us know what i mean. I have gotten into the habit of saying 'gnombe!' or 'teta' (both mean cow) loudly while pointing at the cows. i don't know why, but i find it fun. Perhaps because people are always looking at us and sometimes pointing (kids mostly) because we are white. Maybe i am projecting how i feel on the the cow, or maybe i am just crazy. : )

2. i just saw a man get caned. i don't know what to say or feel right now. we are safe mom and dad- dont worry. If you steal here in kenya there is a high chance that mob justice will break out and you will be caned or burned. Well, someone stole something from someone and out came the 2x4 and oh gosh. I know people steal for ill intentions, but if you could see this place... They know what could happen. Sometimes i feel that perhaps there is a greater reason for their actions, not just simply to steal, but perhaps to survive or help a loved one survive. i dont know. We are on the 2nd floor of a large building and it happened down below in the street. stealing is very rare from what i can tell and what i have been told, so please dont worry. we don't carry anything with us and dress low key.

3. the children are amazing. we sing songs, play, and laugh together. I wish we could spend more time with them all, but as there is only 3 of us it takes a long time to cook, clean, and prepare for the day/night. teaching is going well and it feels so perfect, like the greatest blessing to be here. they are currently reviewing for their national exams so we are just going back over the information that they somewhat know...which helps and allows us to not rush through the material so fast.

4. Chad and Nate. They miss you guys so much! Silas says hello chad and also stated that you 'are a man in a half.' I have taken up where you left off and have taught Silas more slang and even some sign language. He is so funny and kind to us. You all left your mark and it is comforting to know that you came before us. They really do love you guys and always ask what you are up to and how you are doing...if you have families...if your hair is the same...you know : ). You left your 'mark' with these people and they have not forgotten your stay or love. Also, Silas calls me the "full blooded american-african woman"...i think this is good, right? : )

5. I love african food.

6. The only way to ride in a matatu is to stand. If you do not know what a matatu is just picture a small truck that is stuffed with about 24 people in the bed and maybe 3-4 in the front seat. i have decided that a matatu ride can either be heaven or it can be hell. They dont go very fast due to the roads (very bumpy and muddy due to the rain), but they have bench seats and metal bars around it so you can hold on. it is a really good place to meet people and to think. you have people and animals on them and i must admit, i like it. Sometimes it is not so fun when you are sitting down crammed in with about 6 people on one side and people standing infront of you with a chicken and small boy to your left and about 30 pounds of water on your lap. But overall, it is good. it is our main transportation here and it is working out well so far.

7. Please pray for us, the school, and children here. Also for kenya as elections are coming up soon.

8. Please write me/us emails, text messages, or letters. it is so good to hear from you all and often times it helps the days when we can remember words from loved ones.

9. People often ask what staple food we have in the US . Sometimes I say we dont have one and name off a few popular things, or i say mcdonalds. We are blessed with copious amounts of wealth and convenience in the states. I know we all know that, but it hurts sometimes to see all the poverty. I am scared that i will become immune to it. It is not everywhere or everyone, but it is at the same time; it is hard to explain. right now, as i type this to you, i have a view of the city and buildings and a market. Yet i also have a view of a field with (for lack of better terms) a slum inside it.

10. We are still planning to build the library and hopefully finish the school (a nice school building is still not completed and the students study/learn in very shabby rooms with no real walls.) But it cost more then we anticipatied and asked that the children write letters and create art work with the art supplies we brought so we can sell the work to raise money. We hope to do this soon, but it is going much slower than we thought. we are going to make a video and send pictures over email, so if you are willing to show and speak to people and churches that would be great. i hate to ask, but one thing africa has taught me is to be humble. it is not about asking for money or even to help support us now, it is all about the children who wake up at 4:45am to study, go to school with minimum supplies, study from 7-9pm with no running water and only 2 hours of electricty at night. Their clothes are torn but they smile. If they could see the US, i dont know what they would think of the indifference in us and some of our students. There is so much i wish i could share if time permitted. it is odd to try and relate the days via email. For those who worry, please know we are very safe. People in the villiage and school look after us like we were family. We are gaining more "street smarts" as the days go on. We kinda feel like pros right now. I feel like a living representation of what you said about dirt biking dad; that you "start off scared and shy, then get good, then get cocky, then mess up and get shy again." We are getting good, but hopefully not cocky. : )

You are all very loved and I pray constantly for you. Please write when you can.
- Morgan

A Bucket of Water

Rainy season is slowing going its way. We had two days with no rain this week. At first we were so excited, because the roads get so bad when it rains. For example, last week when we emailed, it took us 3 hours to go 13-16 miles to the near town of Kapsabet. By the time we got there we were beyond frustrated and a little at loss of what to say after such a long drive. Today, it took us the same amount of time to make it to Eldoret, which is twice as far as Kapsabet.

We didn't realize, however, how useful the rain is, especially when it comes to baths and drinking water and cooking. We fill up our massive kettle and boil the water for 20 minutes and then purify it. But this week, both of our filters were mostly dry. We didn't take a bath for maybe 5 days? Disgusting, I know. We've vowed we will never go that long again without a bath. We actually had a shower head rigged up, so now we can climb up a ladder and pour water into this thing on top of the roof, which then flows down. It feels pretty luxurious! :)

I started to get a little worried after 2 days without rain. We didn't have water for showers, we didn't have water to cook with or to drink. We'd used up almost all of our bottled water. I wasn't sure what we were going to do. Both containers that catch the rain water were almost empty. I was sitting in the kitchen when I saw Borness peek around the corner of the house. She directed someone to the door, and a few moments later, a couple of the older girls walked around the corner with a huge bucket full of water. We hadn't said anything to her about needing water. She just noticed and did something about it without a second thought.

I almost cried as they set the water down, smiled, and left. Borness simply looked, approved, and disappeared. It's the little things like that bucket of water that show me the face of Christ.

- Gloria

The Scariest Night Ever

I was awakened at around 4 in the morning to Morgan and Leah crouching over my bed and whispering my name. "Gloria, wake up!" "What?.... What's going on?" "Just get up, come with us." "What's going on?" "We'll tell you in a minute. Just come into our room." A little freaked out, I followed them across the hall into their room. Morgan explained to me that they'd been awakened by loud music - they'd heard it earlier, but it was really far away. Now it was right outside our house, and they could also hear men's voices. I layed down on Morgan's bed and listened to the music blasting outside our house. It had gotten really loud about a half hour before, and Morgan and Leah were pretty freaked out. They'd called Rachel to find out if anything like that had happened when she was here, but it hadn't. She didn't know what it was. A little while later, we saw flashlights moving around and shining into the house next to us... We were sure that they would be coming to our house next.

Earlier that week, someone had stolen shoes from some of the students, and someone else had slashed a neighbor's cow. We didn't know if these were the same people that did those things or if they knew that 3 white girls were living in a house by themselves; we didn't know anything. We just knew that there were men outside our house shining flashlights into our neighbor's house and blasting music at 4:00 AM. We knew we were scared. We knew we'd protect ourselves if it came down to it. Morgan got out the knives that she had and also the hairspray. (I know, I know... what are you going to do with hairspray? Well... spray it in their eyes? Make a blowtorch out of it?) Morgan even told us where to aim with the knife if it came down to actually using it. I dreaded the thought of even thinking about using a knife on someone. I decided to not think about it unless we heard them at the door. It would be daylight soon enough, so I just lay there listening to the pulsating beat of the music, trying to block out the men's voices.

I think we eventually fell asleep, because soon enough we heard the generator turn on and children's voices outside. But the music was still there. We went back to sleep. A couple hours later when we woke up, the music was still there, but softer now, but it was also daylight. We were confused.

We didn't get up for a while yet, and when we finally did, we talked to some of the other teachers, asking questions about what was going on. We learned that there was a funeral that afternoon on the other side of the school property. It's customary that when a funeral takes place, people go to the house of the deceased and mourn with the family. The night before the funeral, because there are so many people at the deceased's house, men will sleep outside and play music to "keep watch". That explained most of it, except the fact that they were beside our house instead of the other house across the property. Most of the teachers didn't really believe us when we said how close it was, but when we insisted, they simply shrugged saying that they didn't know why they would be on the school property.

We still aren't to the point of laughing about it yet, but hopefully soon enough. I just know that I haven't been that scared in a long time.

- Gloria

Mob Rule

My whole train of thought has just been blown. I am sitting upstairs at an internet cafe, and all of a sudden we heard shouting and whistling. Everyone rushed to the windows to see what was going on. I asked someone what was happening and all they said was "thief". I looked down to see people forcefully beating a young man on the back, blood streaming down his face. I had to look away... It didn't matter though, I'm afraid that image is burned into my memory now, and I won't be able to rid myself of it.

We learned this week that there is mob rule here in Kenya. If someone is caught stealing, they will more than likely be beaten to death or even burned to death. Someone stole shoes from the children at school twice this week, and we learned yesterday that the same person stole money from a neighbor. They caught the person that night. One of the teachers pulled out a rubber hose type thing and showed it to us - that was what the villagers had used to beat the man. They'd taken him somewhere but would be bringing him back soon. The teachers warned us that when he arrived, everyone, even the students, would be screaming and yelling for him to be burned. Rachel Cox, one of the girls that spent a lot of time here a few years ago, warned us that if our things were ever stolen while we were out walking in the town that we could yell thief, but to be prepared because that person would likely be beaten to death.

My question is this: What is it that makes someone so desperate that he would risk his own life just to steal something? It seems as though there has to be something more. Surely they have nothing left to lose if they're willing to go that far.

- Gloria

Here Goes Nothing...

It seems forever ago when I boarded the plane for Chicago, then London, then Nairobi. I don’t think it had even really hit me yet what kind of journey I was embarking on. I made the trip from Dallas to London by myself and met up with Leah and Morgan in London. We were a little worried about arriving in Nairobi because we’d heard that the girls that had gone before us had things stolen from their luggage. And then there were the cautions from the nice Kenyan man I’d met on the plane: “Do not trust anyone. Not even the people you are working with. This is Africa.” (This is Africa… We’ve abbreviated it now to T.I.A. for future reference.)

We got our visas without any problem and got all of our luggage (nothing was stolen). Things were going so well that surely something was bound to go wrong sooner or later. And so it was that when we walked out to meet the person that was supposed to pick us up and take us to the hotel, he was not there. I think the first reaction was to panic, but we were too tired to even do that. We went back in and one of the women working the taxi information desk tried to help us look up the number of the hotel. When we couldn’t find it, we started to think of anybody at all that we could call to come get us. The lady even offered to call the travel agent in Nairobi that we’d been in touch with. We were so thankful to have found someone so helpful! As we were calling the travel agent, I saw a sign outside that read “Menonnite, Fronkez” or something of the sort. Even if Leah’s last name was misspelled, it was meant for us and we were so relieved! As we gathered our things and started to leave, the woman that had so politely helped us stopped us and said, “What? Nothing for me?” (meaning money) We hadn’t exchanged our money yet, so Morgan searched through her things for some change or anything that we could give her. She gave her all the change that she had, and the woman counted it as she laid it on the table. She started to laugh and speak in Swahili with her friends, who also started laughing. When I asked her what she’d said, she replied, “There is not enough here even for milk.” All we could do was walk away and meet our ride.

The Mennonite Guest House is a great little home-style hotel with quite a few perks such as a volleyball and tennis court, a playground for the kids, a library, and the ever-slow internet. We met some characters there, including a Canadian auditor, but the one that stood out from the rest was Doug O’Connell, the Irishman. Everybody eats together at the Mennonite House, and so when we went to lunch the next day, we sit down, everyone greeted each other and started asking questions and sharing stories. Soon enough, the Irishman starts telling about how he had been training for the Iron Man and couldn’t complete the running portion because he’d hurt his knee. More questions came, followed by many more stories from all of his travels to Spain, Nepal, the US, etc. We decided to invite Doug to go with us to get our cell phones that afternoon. As the day turned into the next couple of days, we were so grateful for his company. Wherever we would go, he’d walk behind us to keep an eye on us and everyone surrounding. He was like our own personal protector, bodyguard, and guardian angel - whatever you want to call it. We were safe with Doug, although we didn’t realize it until after we’d separated and gone our different ways.

Paul, our driver, took us from Nairobi to the Mariann School in Sang’alo. He was a wealth of information and gave so much advice, which we gladly received. He shared about Kenya’s political history, which Morgan will have to share about. I was in the back and couldn’t hear anything. I was surprised as the scenery changed from the stereotypical Africa of the Great Rift Valley that we think of and see in movies to the mountainous pastures and tea fields. It reminded me of Costa Rica. The drive was so beautiful, and extremely bumpy. It’s the middle of rainy season here, so the roads are full of potholes. We arrived to the school on Saturday and met the school management team and some of the teachers. At church the next morning, they had a translator just for us. There were 2 sermons preached, and I think we’d all agree that it was hard to sit for so long listening to Callogen translated into broken English. The singing was beautiful, though, and the people were so kind and gracious and inviting.

I think culture shock hit all three of us right away. It’s hard to describe the way every day life is here. Things are so much more relaxed, but that term doesn’t even do it justice. Time just functions differently here. The children are in school literally all day and half a day on Saturday. Half of them live on the school property since their homes are too far. We’ve been observing classes all week and have finally arranged our own schedules. We’ll probably really start contributing on Monday. They have already finished the syllabus and are now reviewing for the National Exams (finals).

I’ve taken so many pictures of things that words can’t describe. Our home is comfortable and clean. We are slowly learning to do things for ourselves here, like cooking and cleaning. There is always work to do or something to clean, especially since its rainy season. We didn’t have any electricity until Wednesday night. We’d gone into town to buy some supplies for the house and one of the teachers went with us to get the school’s generator fixed. Now we have about 2 hours of electricity every night! It’s been so great to be able to charge phones or the laptop or whatever. Sometimes teachers have brought their phones over to be charged, so it also creates a time when we can sit and have tea and get to know the teachers or management. Even though we’re so thankful for the electricity, we really do enjoy the candlelight and lanterns that we have to use the rest of the time.

We are slowly getting used to the “outhouse”. It’s more of a cement port-a-potty, really. Typical toilets in Kenya consist of a hole in the ground. This one, however, is a cement seat. The hole goes down maybe 50 feet or so, so there’s really not a smell. As of right now, we’ve only taken one bucket bath. We heat up the rainwater from the day and put it in a plastic tub and just do the best we can. This weekend one of the teachers is going to rig up a shower for us though. It will consist of a black plastic container that holds the water, which runs down through a hose into the little room. We’ll have to boil the water and then climb up the later to pour it into the container. We’re really looking forward to it!

I think before this becomes too much longer, I’m going to sign off on this one. We’ll include many of our stories separately to make the reading easier. I’ll be surprised if any of you actually read all of this! J I’ll write again soon and include more pics/stories.

Until then! - Gloria

PS - I tried to include a picture, but the internet is soooo slow... maybe next time.