Half Way

That's right today and tomorrow mark my half-way point here in Kenya. It's weird to think about because sometimes it feels like I've been here a long time and other times it feels like I just got here.
To those who are regularly checking this, sorry again that it's been a while since I've posted. I'm trying to do it on Mondays, but chances are if I don't get it done on a Monday, I'm not going to get it done throughout the rest of the week either. So here's an update for the last two weeks.
For the most part things have just been routine here for the last couple weeks, with just a couple out of the ordinary highlights. First of all was last Sunday. There were three girls from the UK and Australia that Catherine and I did a bit of orientation with when we first got here. The five of us got along quite well during those first few days, but since the orientation we've been doing very different things. They've been living by themselves, not with a family, and working in Kibera slum, two of them teaching and the other helping in an HIV clinic. Last Sunday we all got together with the AIM Short-Term Co-ordinators and it was just a nice afternoon out. One thing though that I took from the conversation that went on was that the Nairobi they see is much different than the Nairobi I see. Catherine and I are about a 10-minute walk from the church and it's only about another 10 minutes beyond that to get up to a little mall-type place where we can get pretty much everything we need, and there's a small market there on Wednesday mornings too. We go into downtown once in a while, but that's pretty much it. We do not venture too much further than our own little neighbourhood. However, the other three girls live in a neighbouhood like ours, but when they go into Kibera, I'm pretty sure everything is different. They get escorted into the slum until they reach where they are working, really because it would be unsafe for them not too, even the full-time AIM person who works there gets escorted in and she's been there quite a while. They talk about the things that they see regularly and it really is nothing compared to what I see. The unsanitary conditions, the crowds of people, and the poverty that would be there would be nothing compared to what I see. Talking with them about their work really opened my eyes to some of the things that I do not see on a regular basis that I figured was going on in the city, but haven't really experienced myself, and it made all of these things more real to me. It was very nice to see those girls again and to catch up on what each other has been doing.
Another highlight came on Monday when we went to the Nairobi National Museum. There were a lot of artifacts and things there from the different tribes that are in Kenya. To see some of that stuff was really fascinating, and looking at the differences between some things because they were from different tribes were interesting too. There were some musical instruments there which really fascinated me. One things was a xylophone-type instrument, but it wasn't the same tones that we would use in a Western instrument, so it sounded different and trying to pick out a melody on that would be much harder for me because I would not be used to the tones that are on there. There was lots to see there, and it was all so intersting.
Well, I think that's about it for now. Everythings else has been just routine things that I've mentioned before. I'm still leading the young adults Bible study on Tuesday nights and being involved in the worship team on Sundays. It has been really great getting to know some of the young adults in those two settings they really are some amazing people with interesting family and life stories. I am continuing to pray for them as some of them are the only Christians in their families, others have family members who are ill, and others are struggling financially with school fees and whatnot. Also, please keep me in your prayers that I would be making a difference here at the church and with these youngs adults.
Thanks so much for all your thoughts and prayers!
Kwa Heri
Steph