03.16.10

I got up at 7:30am and "showered" (aka washed my hair with a pitcher in the tub). The water was (again) FREEZING! Risper says it's always like that, and that she's used to it. I don't know how anyone could ever get used to that! I went down to breakfast, gave Mom and Dad a card from Steph and me for their 25th wedding anniversary (!!!!!), and grabbed some breakfast. I had corn flakes (with lots of sugar - I got dirty looks all week for using too much sugar on everything) and a "granola bar". Turns out the granola bar was just cereal packed together. You're supposed to pour milk over it and eat it with a spoon. I just thought it was an incredibly dry granola bar.. I ordered chai, but before it got there I started feeling queasy and lightheaded, just like I used to in high school.

For those of you who didn't know me in high school, or haven't heard the stories, I used to faint. I would get dizzy and faint. It was really weird, but my friends love to joke about how my face turned green. Yeah, yeah.. hilarious..

Anyways, I felt like I was going to faint again. I haven't felt that way since high school except for maybe once or twice. It really freaked me out because I can usually control it when I feel it coming on, but this time there was nothing to do to stop it. I turned around and told my mom I didn't feel well. I couldn't even keep my head up so she probably knew I was being serious and not melodramatic. My dad walked me back to the room where I laid on the bed until I felt better. I hated making a scene in the dining room, and especially hated having to say "I'm fine. No really, I'm okay." to seven concerned people in our group who had no idea what was going on. I really was fine after I laid down and cooled off -- I was just bummed that I didn't get my chai that morning!

We left for the newest orphanage in Muhuroni around 10:00am. The orphans were in school so we didn't get to meet them, but we did meet the widows and some others who were there. We toured the facilities (a dining hall, kitchen, managers' room/office, widows' dorm, girls' dorm, and boys' dorm). Every building had terquoise walls inside - I loved it! There were two young men mixing cement and plaster to finish one of the dorms while we were there. There were also two other young men digging a water well. They had already dug down to 30 feet and have to go to 100 feet before they'll hit water. The man in the bottom of the well had a pick axe and was just hacking away at the concrete-like ground. They cemented the sides as they got deeper. They expected to be finished with the entire thing by the end of March.

Out of the seven or eight bags of tshirts and beanie babies we packed, only one or two made it to Nairobi on our flight. We brought half of the beanie babies with us to Muhuroni and put one on each bed in the dorms with a piece of candy. It was so cool and fun to do that; I so wish we could have been there to see their reactions! We also gave beanie babies to the younger kids who were at the orphanage (they were too young for school) and they loved them! It was so cute to see them playing with toys that were part of a collection I once thought would be worth millions.. Ha!

We met with the widows in the hall and Tim spoke to them, explaining that we only had a little time left because we didn't want to be there when the kids came home for lunch at 1:00pm. Otherwise, we wouldn't leave until at least 3:00, making them late back to school and us late to our next stop. But the ladies brought out lunch anyways.. It was so thoughtful and generous of them! We had chicken stew, rice, and ugali. Now I had been looking forward to trying ugali all week. My parents and sister told me about the food when they went last July and ugali was something they mentioned over and over. I was under the impression that it was good; I was wrong. It's just a filler food. It's maize and water mixed together into a bread-like mixture. (I ended up eating a zone bar when we got back to the van.) They also served us Coke and Fanta. They've served us soda every place we've been! I know it's a nice gesture, but I kept thinking how much I'd rather they give the orphans a treat than spend their money on sodas for us. Either way, it was just another sign of their incredible hospitality.

We left a little before 1:00 (RIGHT before the kids came home from school) and headed to the Kericho feeding station. I didn't realize we were even going to this one. Once we got there, I was so thankful that there were no kids at the Muhuroni orphanage because there were hundreds of people waiting for us at the feeding station! It was incredible! They were all lined up along the fences and surrounded our vans as we pulled into the complex. They swarmed us as we got out of the van; everyone wanted a turn shaking hands! There were some local ladies playing drums and singing for us. The pictures of them are some of my favorites from the whole trip. After about 10 minutes of shaking hands, the directors of the feeding company had us go over to the 50 orphans they feed each day who were waiting to see us. They were so good; they were lined up patiently waiting for us off to the side. We went through the line and shook each of their hands.

After that, I had to use the bathroom.. What an experience! It's basically just a concrete floor with a hole in the ground, three walls and a door. And it smells AWFUL! That's what they have at all the orphanages, and even in lots of convenience stores and places like that. I guess they're just used to it. Thankfully, I only had to use those toilets once the whole trip!

They children who are fed there each day were called into the dining hall where they served us Coke and Fanta and sang for us. Then we got to hang out with the kids (including the hundreds of local village children and teenagers who came to see us) for a few hours until we had to leave. Dad gathered all the older kids around, grabbed a translator, and spoke to them about education. That's his favorite thing, I think. He did that at a couple other orphanages too. After that, a coupel ladies grabbed Joel, Dad, and me to take a picture with them. Then another group wanted a picture with us. Then another.. and another.. and another.. for about 10 minutes straight! That's a LONG time for Joel and Dad, who hate having their picture taken. But they smiled and did it, and I was so proud to hear no complaining ;)

We finally were told we had to leave, so we started our trek back to the vans. We kept getting stopped to take more pictures so it took forever to get up there. A lady gave me a painted gourd as a present, and also to all the other members of our group. Everyone gathered around our vans while Tim spoke. It was amazing how attentive they were to what he had to say! They chief of the local tribe came and introduced himself to us, and shook Tim's and Joel's hands. He must have thought Joel was important too because they were the only two whose hands he shook. Joel says he was tempted to introduce himself as the chief of America, but thankfully he held back.. ;)

We finally left and got back to the hotel with no car troubles! We stopped for roasted corn, which wasn't as good as I expected, and then chilled for a while. We walked around the hotel grounds, had tea on the veranda, and just relaxed until dinner. Steph and I bought some souvenirs. She got a big orange, blue, and black plate with animals painted on it, I got a small red, orange, yellow and black jewelry box with a zebra and tree on it. We also got a small bowl with a giraffe and tree on it. I have that in my bathroom now. Jason called his dad and wrote out the March Madness brackets, so I filled out mine before dinner :) After dinner, Francis and Mauryn shared their life stories; both were so cool! Frances' story was especially inspiring; he grew up in the slums and was in an awful situation before he found the Lord. It was such a great story of redemption! We stayed at dinner for over two hours talking with them. After we got done talking with the Mbuvis, we went to take Risper some gifts (shoes, CDs, and pictures) - she was so excited! I got back to my room around 9:00 or 9:30 and went right to sleep.