home time

my last day in kenya. i leave for the airport at 8 tonite. hop on a plane at 11. 28 hours later i arrive in regina. 6:28pm tuesday night. so far i don't feel excited or sad.. maybe it's too early in the morning for those feelings... but i do feel incredibly blessed to have spent the last 6 weeks in such a wonderful place, serving such an incredible god. this experience has been unbelievable. i've learned and changed so much. this place, this work, these people, have opened my heart and taught me things i never would have learned back home. i hope i have been a blessing to all the people who've been such a blessing to me. i look forward to coming home with a transformed heart. i look forward to sharing my experiences with others, encouraging them to follow god's lead in their lives wherever it takes them. i look forward to the work i can still do for projects here while i'm back home. i look forward to seeing where god is going to take me when i get back. i look forward to seeing aaron, my family, my friends, my church family, my fish. i look forward to cheese pizza..
here are a few things i'm really gonna miss here:
- my kids. their smiles, their high fives, their joy, their tears, their runny noses and muddy feet, their laughs, songs and dancing, their cute swahili accents, their sweet sweet hearts. teaching them and learning from them. being frustrated and overjoyed by them. their hugs and love.
- my roomates and other volunteers i've met from all over the world. we've become so close and it's going to be so hard to leave not knowing if i'll ever see them again. i went to church yesterday (it was amazing) and the sermon was about growing in community. having courage, love and truth. taking off the mask and being real without fear of being judged or condemned. the pastor told us to look at our neighbors and think - what if this person next to me holds the key to bringing me closer to jesus. people are put in our lives for a reason. i've felt a real sense of community here and have definitely grown because of the people i've been surrounded by.
- chai masala tea and fresh pineapple every morning.
- the beauty of this place. it's incredible.
- the slums. in a sense it's heartbreaking, but in another so inspiring. i've never once seen a beggar in kibera. everyone is at least trying to sell something - roasted corn on the cob, used shoes, random electrical pieces, or candy. whether its because they don't know any better (because they've never left the slums) or have simply accepted where they're at, the residents of kibera are some of the most cheerful i've ever met. they are happy with what little they've got, which is surely to be a culture shock to me going back to a place where people are never satisfied with their material goods, always seeking more and more.
- chapati and mandazi (yummy food)
- crazy new experiences constantly
- matatu madness
- the smells, the sights, the sounds, the laidback lifestyle, the slow pace, the kenyan way, everything..

well, maybe not everything. a few things i won't miss:
- not having water for days on end. back home its fine to go a few days without a shower. but here, i always feel grimy and showers are pretty needed.
- walking in welly's for hours and hours. although i'd take the rain over the cold any day.
- blowing kibera out of my nose.
- driving on the left side of the street. just can't get used to it.
- haggling. please just give me a store with price tags.
- sleeping with a mosquito net.

hmm.. i'm sure there are more things i'm going to miss that i won't even realize til i'm home. which is tomorrow night. see you then!