I once was told that once you've been to Africa it gets into your blood. After returning from Africa I wasn't so sure that I would be returning there to do work in the same community. I had the desire to return to see my new friends at some point but the longer I'm away the more it pulls at me. I had a dream a few nights ago about the area that I was living and my friends there. Since then I've talked with some friends that I made there and exchanged emails with one of the pastors. It is in my blood!!! While talking with family my step-mother felt like she wanted to sponsor the High School education for my friend daughter. My friends name is Grace and is a single mother of two. Her daughter Bethany is a great student and a promising young lady. There are many more like her!
I have so very much missed my friends at the Naibor orphanage and continue to have a deep desire to help them. I have found the process of trying to get grants a pain. I realize that a huge part of this is due to my own short comings in paperwork and such processes. Maybe as time continues I will become better at this but for the time being it isn't something that I see as a fruitful use of my time. I do have a huge desire to buy land and build a proper orphanage for the kids in Naibor. Some of the other dreams for that land would be a vocational welding school and seamstress school that would also be the center for those businesses. The welding school has already been started and just needs a good home now.
Here's where I need you. We live in an extremely wealthy nation even in these "trying times" we are still so very well off. For example in 2008 we spent around 450 billion dollars during the Christmas season alone!!! We can all afford to give a bit. How about skipping that 5 dollar foofoo coffee drink that you really don't need. You could even just make it at home and save some money that you could help others with. Is a missed foofoo drink really more important than helping some kids who get there water from a muddy river with dead donkeys in it? I realize that giving your money to an individual in this day and age is a scary thing but read through this blog and see where others have invested there money and what it has gone to. Write me and feel free to pick my brain and see what I'm really all about. Together we can really make a difference for 30+ people today and thousands to come.
I look forward to hearing from all of you and embarking on this new journey. This is your open invitation to be a part of something incredible so please join in.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wrapping it up and on to the next adventure!!!
Dear Friends and Family,
I'm really not sure how to put the last three months into an email. I guess that's a good thing though, it sure would have been a boring 3 months if I would have been able to sum it up in one short email. I have made friends that will last a lifetime, my heart has been changed, I have laughed plenty, cried, been frustrated, relieved, overjoyed, I have loved and been loved, I have grown, I've seen new incredible things, experienced new things, been able to be a part of beautiful acts of kindness and I got to go the hospital. At the end of an adventure what more can you really ask for? It was....I can't think of a single word to truly capture it so we'll just use with incredible. I can't believe that I got to partake in such a grand adventure!!! I don't know if it has ever happened to you or not but I feel so unworthy to have been a part of all of that has happened to me over the past few months. There have been people who wrote to me or talked with me who have said that what I've done was this great thing but I really wasn't some selfless thing. I was given a rare opportunity to be a part of something great and I just said "OK". As I look back on my life there have been tons of opportunities to do such things but I always decided that there was something more important like a dirt bike or some vacation. Neither of those have ever came close to what I got from this trip. Take that crazy leap and jump at the next opportunity that you get to do something great. The few things that you have to give up will be so incredibly worth it. I guess I should probably tell you about my last week in Kenya and my travels.
Well wrapping things up at the house went fairly well. They even got all of the interior plaster done so the interior walls looked beautiful! It was so good to stand inside of the house with a roof and finished walls. I really am pleased with it and learned a lot from it. I hope to be able to apply that knowledge someday. I am glad that we now have George and Noah better trained with it. Before I left we had set up a project that consisted of 5 structures built out of the blocks that both of them will be a part of building. So there is one of the mission objectives completed....at least advanced. The ISSB blocks have been used and Noahs business has been improved and moved out into the publics eye where he has been able to use it to gain more business. Noah and George have also become friends. I really feel so blessed to have both of them as friends and had such a great time with the two of them. I really hope to be able to spend more time with them over the years to come.
Speaking of work and business development how about that vocational welding school and shop. In that area of Kenya people use the phrase "Jua Kali" as a slang phrase for poor craftsmanship. I wish that I would have known that before we started a vocational school in Jua Kali. As fate would have it the welding shop was very much needed there in Jua Kali. There is no other welding shop in the area so they have the corner on the market and people are using it! When I left there were chairs, a door and a window ready for sale out in front of the shop. They also already have a steady flow of business that is getting bigger. We were able to train orphans to become metal fabricators and have a shot at an occupation. In a place where the unemployment rate is around 50% this really is a valuable thing and I think that it will continue to expand and create more jobs.
Thanks to a donation from a new friend we were able to get the supplies to add another water tank and more gutters to harvest the water out at the Naibor orphanage. I have a hard time doing all of the work when there is a young person nearby who can learn how to do it as well so now there are a couple of boys at the orphanage who can install gutters as well. Now they just need rain!!!
When I left for Kenya I had this list of things that Jerry and I wanted me to get done while I was there but life happens. On the way from the airport right after arriving Jerry told me that the new orphanage and the youth camp were both unable to start. It's funny how our plans can get changed so quickly and things still work out so well. The overall purpose of the trip was to serve in any way needed so here are some of the bonus areas of serving that I got to be a part of. There was a lot of illness going around that kept some of the teachers from their posts for some time so I got to help out in the nursery school and kindergarten. I have walked into burning buildings, scraped up human brain, worked with violent teenagers and have a tendency to enjoy extreme sports but there is nothing that could have prepared me for that. Those teachers really are incredible. Those tiny little cute kids are so misleading. They are actually one of the most powerful single forces on the face of the earth. They can create enough power in one hour to power a city for at least a month!!! They are quick and sly, they can get into trouble in the blink of an eye and they leak! In one day we had 5 out of 6 wet themselves and then they played in it. Did you know that if a puddle of urine forms on a merry go round it's like a pee sprinkler? I do! That was the hardest work that I did the whole time that I was there.
We were also blessed by a number of visitors that needed to be taken from place to place from time to time so I got to be the tour guide/taxi driver. This was an interesting time for me. I really enjoyed the people that I got to spend time with and am so happy to have them as friends in my life. They really have brought a lot of great things into my life but it was a part of my time that I struggled with. I'm hesitant in sharing this with you because I feel like a whiner but I also want to be transparent with you in my struggles so here it is. I felt like I didn't have a "real" purpose. I had to put my stuff on the back burner to serve others. That should be something that I rejoice in to an extent but it was really hard for me. It turned out to be a great time of growth for me. I still feel silly for it but I'm glad that it happened. That took up about month of my time there so it really cut into some of the projects that I wanted to do but it also provided others with some great experiences and enabled them to serve.
Teaching bible studies was another great unforeseen experience for me. As a young follower of Jesus I am still weak in my biblical knowledge and this provided the perfect opportunity for me to grow in my knowledge and teaching skills. It really was a lot of fun and I have no doubt that I got more out of it than the kids that I was teaching.
My last week was bittersweet. On Thursday I went to the Naibor orphanage for the last time to say good bye to the kids and spend a little bit of time with them. It was hard to leave them. They were all there so we had enough people to play another game of baseball. My team got slaughtered! We then just spent time having fun with each other playing games and putting on fake tattoos, thanks Mom. They then started giving presents. They had been making me some stuff for some time and presented me with a necklace, ring, bracelet, belt and a hand carved black rhino. The boys had all done the rhino. Each one of them had a part in it and it really is great. It was very hard to leave and I had to fight back tears as I left these fantastic people who taught me so much and were so welcoming and loving to me. That place was by far my favorite place in Kenya. I miss it greatly.
Laura Nell, Kenia and I got some great time together before I left. I didn't get to spend much time with Kenia but am looking forward to hearing about what she's going to be doing with her time there. You all know Laura Nell from many previous letters about her. I will really miss my time with her. That lady had at least one bible verse for everything that life could throw at a person! "Laura Nell, we're out of potatoes." I'd say and then she'd pipe up with some verse that would pertain to someone being out of potatoes. It was incredible! Everybody there called her Mimi because L's and R's are hard for them to say. Mimi I'm so glad that we got to spend such great time together, thank you for all of your wisdom. Thank you for keeping me focused so often.
On my last day in Nanyuki I went on a hike to some caves with the youth and while we were in one of them I fell and bent my thumb back. I heard and felt a snap but could move it so I figured it was all right. As soon as I stood up I got sick to my stomach and dizzy so I had to sit down. It hurt!!! I've broke fingers before that didn't hurt that bad. So I made a sling so that it would be easy to keep it elevated and then put some of the ice cold water from a nearby creek on it. Kipchirchir and I waited by the creek while the others hiked up the trail a bit to a place in the sun to have lunch. While we sat there talking we could hear elephants trumpeting not to far off and monkeys playing in the trees. It was pretty awesome all things considered. It was a 4 mile hike back that went pretty well. I ended up getting it x-rayed after paying for the x-ray tech's cab ride to the hospital. No breaks and it wasn't dislocated so I just needed to keep it immobilized for awhile. I got it all wrapped up and went on my way. That bandage made it hard to do the things that I want to do so it only lasted about a day and half.
So after an overnight layover in London, lots of driving, one day in Redding and some cliff diving I am sitting in my Dad and Step-mothers house in Cornville Az. at 5am listening to Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds moving on the next grand adventure....the rest of my life!!! It should be incredible!!! Thank you for coming along with me and being so supportive. I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully sitting down with you and sharing life. I'm off to pick up saddles for this mornings horse back ride and then off to work on a house with my Dad. I hope that this finds with a smile and in good health.
Love and Peace
Caleb (Njoroge)
I'm really not sure how to put the last three months into an email. I guess that's a good thing though, it sure would have been a boring 3 months if I would have been able to sum it up in one short email. I have made friends that will last a lifetime, my heart has been changed, I have laughed plenty, cried, been frustrated, relieved, overjoyed, I have loved and been loved, I have grown, I've seen new incredible things, experienced new things, been able to be a part of beautiful acts of kindness and I got to go the hospital. At the end of an adventure what more can you really ask for? It was....I can't think of a single word to truly capture it so we'll just use with incredible. I can't believe that I got to partake in such a grand adventure!!! I don't know if it has ever happened to you or not but I feel so unworthy to have been a part of all of that has happened to me over the past few months. There have been people who wrote to me or talked with me who have said that what I've done was this great thing but I really wasn't some selfless thing. I was given a rare opportunity to be a part of something great and I just said "OK". As I look back on my life there have been tons of opportunities to do such things but I always decided that there was something more important like a dirt bike or some vacation. Neither of those have ever came close to what I got from this trip. Take that crazy leap and jump at the next opportunity that you get to do something great. The few things that you have to give up will be so incredibly worth it. I guess I should probably tell you about my last week in Kenya and my travels.
Well wrapping things up at the house went fairly well. They even got all of the interior plaster done so the interior walls looked beautiful! It was so good to stand inside of the house with a roof and finished walls. I really am pleased with it and learned a lot from it. I hope to be able to apply that knowledge someday. I am glad that we now have George and Noah better trained with it. Before I left we had set up a project that consisted of 5 structures built out of the blocks that both of them will be a part of building. So there is one of the mission objectives completed....at least advanced. The ISSB blocks have been used and Noahs business has been improved and moved out into the publics eye where he has been able to use it to gain more business. Noah and George have also become friends. I really feel so blessed to have both of them as friends and had such a great time with the two of them. I really hope to be able to spend more time with them over the years to come.
Speaking of work and business development how about that vocational welding school and shop. In that area of Kenya people use the phrase "Jua Kali" as a slang phrase for poor craftsmanship. I wish that I would have known that before we started a vocational school in Jua Kali. As fate would have it the welding shop was very much needed there in Jua Kali. There is no other welding shop in the area so they have the corner on the market and people are using it! When I left there were chairs, a door and a window ready for sale out in front of the shop. They also already have a steady flow of business that is getting bigger. We were able to train orphans to become metal fabricators and have a shot at an occupation. In a place where the unemployment rate is around 50% this really is a valuable thing and I think that it will continue to expand and create more jobs.
Thanks to a donation from a new friend we were able to get the supplies to add another water tank and more gutters to harvest the water out at the Naibor orphanage. I have a hard time doing all of the work when there is a young person nearby who can learn how to do it as well so now there are a couple of boys at the orphanage who can install gutters as well. Now they just need rain!!!
When I left for Kenya I had this list of things that Jerry and I wanted me to get done while I was there but life happens. On the way from the airport right after arriving Jerry told me that the new orphanage and the youth camp were both unable to start. It's funny how our plans can get changed so quickly and things still work out so well. The overall purpose of the trip was to serve in any way needed so here are some of the bonus areas of serving that I got to be a part of. There was a lot of illness going around that kept some of the teachers from their posts for some time so I got to help out in the nursery school and kindergarten. I have walked into burning buildings, scraped up human brain, worked with violent teenagers and have a tendency to enjoy extreme sports but there is nothing that could have prepared me for that. Those teachers really are incredible. Those tiny little cute kids are so misleading. They are actually one of the most powerful single forces on the face of the earth. They can create enough power in one hour to power a city for at least a month!!! They are quick and sly, they can get into trouble in the blink of an eye and they leak! In one day we had 5 out of 6 wet themselves and then they played in it. Did you know that if a puddle of urine forms on a merry go round it's like a pee sprinkler? I do! That was the hardest work that I did the whole time that I was there.
We were also blessed by a number of visitors that needed to be taken from place to place from time to time so I got to be the tour guide/taxi driver. This was an interesting time for me. I really enjoyed the people that I got to spend time with and am so happy to have them as friends in my life. They really have brought a lot of great things into my life but it was a part of my time that I struggled with. I'm hesitant in sharing this with you because I feel like a whiner but I also want to be transparent with you in my struggles so here it is. I felt like I didn't have a "real" purpose. I had to put my stuff on the back burner to serve others. That should be something that I rejoice in to an extent but it was really hard for me. It turned out to be a great time of growth for me. I still feel silly for it but I'm glad that it happened. That took up about month of my time there so it really cut into some of the projects that I wanted to do but it also provided others with some great experiences and enabled them to serve.
Teaching bible studies was another great unforeseen experience for me. As a young follower of Jesus I am still weak in my biblical knowledge and this provided the perfect opportunity for me to grow in my knowledge and teaching skills. It really was a lot of fun and I have no doubt that I got more out of it than the kids that I was teaching.
My last week was bittersweet. On Thursday I went to the Naibor orphanage for the last time to say good bye to the kids and spend a little bit of time with them. It was hard to leave them. They were all there so we had enough people to play another game of baseball. My team got slaughtered! We then just spent time having fun with each other playing games and putting on fake tattoos, thanks Mom. They then started giving presents. They had been making me some stuff for some time and presented me with a necklace, ring, bracelet, belt and a hand carved black rhino. The boys had all done the rhino. Each one of them had a part in it and it really is great. It was very hard to leave and I had to fight back tears as I left these fantastic people who taught me so much and were so welcoming and loving to me. That place was by far my favorite place in Kenya. I miss it greatly.
Laura Nell, Kenia and I got some great time together before I left. I didn't get to spend much time with Kenia but am looking forward to hearing about what she's going to be doing with her time there. You all know Laura Nell from many previous letters about her. I will really miss my time with her. That lady had at least one bible verse for everything that life could throw at a person! "Laura Nell, we're out of potatoes." I'd say and then she'd pipe up with some verse that would pertain to someone being out of potatoes. It was incredible! Everybody there called her Mimi because L's and R's are hard for them to say. Mimi I'm so glad that we got to spend such great time together, thank you for all of your wisdom. Thank you for keeping me focused so often.
On my last day in Nanyuki I went on a hike to some caves with the youth and while we were in one of them I fell and bent my thumb back. I heard and felt a snap but could move it so I figured it was all right. As soon as I stood up I got sick to my stomach and dizzy so I had to sit down. It hurt!!! I've broke fingers before that didn't hurt that bad. So I made a sling so that it would be easy to keep it elevated and then put some of the ice cold water from a nearby creek on it. Kipchirchir and I waited by the creek while the others hiked up the trail a bit to a place in the sun to have lunch. While we sat there talking we could hear elephants trumpeting not to far off and monkeys playing in the trees. It was pretty awesome all things considered. It was a 4 mile hike back that went pretty well. I ended up getting it x-rayed after paying for the x-ray tech's cab ride to the hospital. No breaks and it wasn't dislocated so I just needed to keep it immobilized for awhile. I got it all wrapped up and went on my way. That bandage made it hard to do the things that I want to do so it only lasted about a day and half.
So after an overnight layover in London, lots of driving, one day in Redding and some cliff diving I am sitting in my Dad and Step-mothers house in Cornville Az. at 5am listening to Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds moving on the next grand adventure....the rest of my life!!! It should be incredible!!! Thank you for coming along with me and being so supportive. I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully sitting down with you and sharing life. I'm off to pick up saddles for this mornings horse back ride and then off to work on a house with my Dad. I hope that this finds with a smile and in good health.
Love and Peace
Caleb (Njoroge)
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
I'm in my last week here...
Dear Friends and Family,
This is a bit late but I know that you’ll all forgive me. It really has been a full week with tons of opportunities for God to help me grow into the man that He designed me to be. I’ve had to really battle some of the things inside of me that are not of Him or the real me and I know that it’s just the start. Sometimes you see things that just don’t seem right to you but if you really sit down and take a moment to think about them you know that those things aren’t really coming from that person but instead from a hurt or a place that they haven’t let God into yet. I know that many of you don’t share the same passion for the same God as me and I’m glad that you continue to read these and I hope that you get something from these anyways. These battles that I deal with make me fight within myself between the bad habits that I formed for many years and the true Love that God continues to fill me with. Some 2009 years ago or so there was this carpenter that changed the world. He loved in ways that hadn’t been seen before with a depth that is unprecedented. I simply want to be more like Him. Even before I asked God to take over my life I knew about this man and had such a high respect for him and what he did for the world. Even then I knew that if I could be more like him I would leave this world a better place because I was a part of it. It’s so hard for me though!!! My dear friends please pray for me to become more like that carpenter. If you’re not a praying person will you just give it a try for me, I could really use it!!!
On with my week now. Last Monday, the 9th, Bridget and Elle left us for the states. They left early in morning with a missionary couple from Tanzania that I would love to spend some time with. I really enjoyed all of the time that I spent with them. They were a blast!!! I even got to practice my restraints on Elle one night when she whacked me with a wet dish towel. It was like having a bratty little sister around, it was a blast! It was such an honor to share life with these two ladies. We really did get to dig into some of the depths of each other and share in both struggles and joy. What a great thing it is to share life with others. I really do feel so honored to be able to be a part of this and share in this beautiful life that God has given us. I still get to share it with Laura Nell and our newest addition, Kenia. Laura Nell continues to be a guiding light and I will miss her (and her cooking) dearly after I leave. Kenia and Laura Nell have taken such great care of me, I’m really not sure what I’ll do with out them….
With the girls gone my time got freed up again to tend to my other projects. The house and the business development of Noah’s blocks being the priorities. The house is looking great! They’ve finished putting all of the mortar up for the trim and it looks great! The roof will be finished today and they’ll start plastering the interior tomorrow. That should be almost done by the time that I leave for Nairobi. George (the contractor) and I took a trip to Nyeri on Friday to look for roofing but the cost was far to high and they didn’t have what was requested so we went to Nairobi on Monday. If you have been following all of these you’ll know that Nairobi isn’t exactly my favorite place on earth. It’s a city and the only city that I’ve ever even liked to spend more than an afternoon in is San Fran.. So George, his cousin Ken and I left around 7am in his old diesel Land Cruiser pick-up that I love. It’s beat up and held together with all kinds of miscellaneous pieces. It’s 2.5 to 3 hours each way and it’s nothing like a US highway. There are no lines in the road but there are bicyclists, cows, sheep, donkeys, pedestrians, car parts, speed bumps, and a lot of crazy drivers. You have to be so hyper-vigilant in your driving. So I have a bar in a very uncomfortable place that I’m resituating myself on every 60 seconds or so for the whole ride. I think I bruised my tail bone. We made it there with very few incidents and dropped off my faithful motorcycle. That part was rough. We then went to a restaurant that Georges uncle manages called Carnivore. Let me tell you, Carnivore is fantastic!!! Georges uncle got us this lunch that was incredible for free. Have you ever had ostrich? If not then you should try it. After lunch we hobbled out to the truck moaning and groaning from all of the food that we ate. We then took off to the industrial district to track down the correct roofing. After a bit of driving around we found a place that had it and they had it for 25,000 shillings less than anybody else. That’s a savings of around $325. So we ordered it up wrote out the check and went to pick it up. As they were loading it we noticed that it was the correct gauge but the wrong pattern. After a phone call to the boss man we let them load it up and hit the road again. We got back home sometime around 7pm. We spent 12 hours to get the right roofing and they didn’t even have it. I do have to say that the roof does look good and it’ll keep the water out just fine. It’s good to see it coming along so well.
I spent last weekend at the orphanage as a very last minute thing. George and I finished up our business a bit early so I just loaded up my stuff, told Laura Nell that I was leaving for the weekend and took off for Naibor. It was so good to be back with the kids. I really missed them. It’ll be hard to be away from them for so long. I keep on wondering if they’ll remember me or what they’ll look like the next time that I see them, if I ever get to see them again. They taught me more than any thing else here, I hope that I got to return at least a little bit of what they gave me. All of the kids were home from school so the place was full and so full of life. I helped cook the chipate for dinner much to the amusement of many of the kids especially the older girls who’ve rarely see a man cooking in the kitchen. They were having a youth conference for the weekend so there were people from around the area staying there. One of them was the youth director from Timau who slept on the bunk above mine. At sometime before 5am he thought that he really wanted to listen to music on the radio so he started going through all of the stations with the radio blaring. Remember that part where I wanted to be like that carpenter? I wasn’t having thoughts that would lead to me to actions like the carpenter. I asked him to turn it down so he did a little bit but just turned it back up a little bit later. So I decided to get up and go water the plants. I hopped out of bed and went into the dark night of early morning. I got ready to start watering and the ground moved right by me. There are some pretty big animals out here that can be not so nice when disturbed so my heart leaped into my throat. I quickly realized that it was a cow and went back to “watering”.
Speaking of wildlife, George and I took two people out to beautiful El Kaarama to see some of the structures. One of the people is building at least 5 structures from Noah’s blocks and wanted to see some creative structures and El Kaarama had some to offer. On the way we saw a number of elephants and giraffe amongst the usual animals. It was great because there were so many baby’s. It really was a great time.
Well, it’s time for me to wrap this up and get back to work. This is my last week so there will most likely only be one more of these. I look forward to it and looking back on this great adventure that I’ve been able to be apart of. It took nothing grand on my part to do, just follow the path put in front of me. I hope that this finds all of you well. I hope that there are some smiles looking at this right now. Maybe even someone got moved and will step out into an uncomfortable place that they’ve never been before and find an incredible thing waiting for them like I have. I miss you all and look forward to sitting down and sharing life with you in the very near future. Keep on smiling, you never know who’s day you could be making better with that smile.
Peace and Love
Caleb
This is a bit late but I know that you’ll all forgive me. It really has been a full week with tons of opportunities for God to help me grow into the man that He designed me to be. I’ve had to really battle some of the things inside of me that are not of Him or the real me and I know that it’s just the start. Sometimes you see things that just don’t seem right to you but if you really sit down and take a moment to think about them you know that those things aren’t really coming from that person but instead from a hurt or a place that they haven’t let God into yet. I know that many of you don’t share the same passion for the same God as me and I’m glad that you continue to read these and I hope that you get something from these anyways. These battles that I deal with make me fight within myself between the bad habits that I formed for many years and the true Love that God continues to fill me with. Some 2009 years ago or so there was this carpenter that changed the world. He loved in ways that hadn’t been seen before with a depth that is unprecedented. I simply want to be more like Him. Even before I asked God to take over my life I knew about this man and had such a high respect for him and what he did for the world. Even then I knew that if I could be more like him I would leave this world a better place because I was a part of it. It’s so hard for me though!!! My dear friends please pray for me to become more like that carpenter. If you’re not a praying person will you just give it a try for me, I could really use it!!!
On with my week now. Last Monday, the 9th, Bridget and Elle left us for the states. They left early in morning with a missionary couple from Tanzania that I would love to spend some time with. I really enjoyed all of the time that I spent with them. They were a blast!!! I even got to practice my restraints on Elle one night when she whacked me with a wet dish towel. It was like having a bratty little sister around, it was a blast! It was such an honor to share life with these two ladies. We really did get to dig into some of the depths of each other and share in both struggles and joy. What a great thing it is to share life with others. I really do feel so honored to be able to be a part of this and share in this beautiful life that God has given us. I still get to share it with Laura Nell and our newest addition, Kenia. Laura Nell continues to be a guiding light and I will miss her (and her cooking) dearly after I leave. Kenia and Laura Nell have taken such great care of me, I’m really not sure what I’ll do with out them….
With the girls gone my time got freed up again to tend to my other projects. The house and the business development of Noah’s blocks being the priorities. The house is looking great! They’ve finished putting all of the mortar up for the trim and it looks great! The roof will be finished today and they’ll start plastering the interior tomorrow. That should be almost done by the time that I leave for Nairobi. George (the contractor) and I took a trip to Nyeri on Friday to look for roofing but the cost was far to high and they didn’t have what was requested so we went to Nairobi on Monday. If you have been following all of these you’ll know that Nairobi isn’t exactly my favorite place on earth. It’s a city and the only city that I’ve ever even liked to spend more than an afternoon in is San Fran.. So George, his cousin Ken and I left around 7am in his old diesel Land Cruiser pick-up that I love. It’s beat up and held together with all kinds of miscellaneous pieces. It’s 2.5 to 3 hours each way and it’s nothing like a US highway. There are no lines in the road but there are bicyclists, cows, sheep, donkeys, pedestrians, car parts, speed bumps, and a lot of crazy drivers. You have to be so hyper-vigilant in your driving. So I have a bar in a very uncomfortable place that I’m resituating myself on every 60 seconds or so for the whole ride. I think I bruised my tail bone. We made it there with very few incidents and dropped off my faithful motorcycle. That part was rough. We then went to a restaurant that Georges uncle manages called Carnivore. Let me tell you, Carnivore is fantastic!!! Georges uncle got us this lunch that was incredible for free. Have you ever had ostrich? If not then you should try it. After lunch we hobbled out to the truck moaning and groaning from all of the food that we ate. We then took off to the industrial district to track down the correct roofing. After a bit of driving around we found a place that had it and they had it for 25,000 shillings less than anybody else. That’s a savings of around $325. So we ordered it up wrote out the check and went to pick it up. As they were loading it we noticed that it was the correct gauge but the wrong pattern. After a phone call to the boss man we let them load it up and hit the road again. We got back home sometime around 7pm. We spent 12 hours to get the right roofing and they didn’t even have it. I do have to say that the roof does look good and it’ll keep the water out just fine. It’s good to see it coming along so well.
I spent last weekend at the orphanage as a very last minute thing. George and I finished up our business a bit early so I just loaded up my stuff, told Laura Nell that I was leaving for the weekend and took off for Naibor. It was so good to be back with the kids. I really missed them. It’ll be hard to be away from them for so long. I keep on wondering if they’ll remember me or what they’ll look like the next time that I see them, if I ever get to see them again. They taught me more than any thing else here, I hope that I got to return at least a little bit of what they gave me. All of the kids were home from school so the place was full and so full of life. I helped cook the chipate for dinner much to the amusement of many of the kids especially the older girls who’ve rarely see a man cooking in the kitchen. They were having a youth conference for the weekend so there were people from around the area staying there. One of them was the youth director from Timau who slept on the bunk above mine. At sometime before 5am he thought that he really wanted to listen to music on the radio so he started going through all of the stations with the radio blaring. Remember that part where I wanted to be like that carpenter? I wasn’t having thoughts that would lead to me to actions like the carpenter. I asked him to turn it down so he did a little bit but just turned it back up a little bit later. So I decided to get up and go water the plants. I hopped out of bed and went into the dark night of early morning. I got ready to start watering and the ground moved right by me. There are some pretty big animals out here that can be not so nice when disturbed so my heart leaped into my throat. I quickly realized that it was a cow and went back to “watering”.
Speaking of wildlife, George and I took two people out to beautiful El Kaarama to see some of the structures. One of the people is building at least 5 structures from Noah’s blocks and wanted to see some creative structures and El Kaarama had some to offer. On the way we saw a number of elephants and giraffe amongst the usual animals. It was great because there were so many baby’s. It really was a great time.
Well, it’s time for me to wrap this up and get back to work. This is my last week so there will most likely only be one more of these. I look forward to it and looking back on this great adventure that I’ve been able to be apart of. It took nothing grand on my part to do, just follow the path put in front of me. I hope that this finds all of you well. I hope that there are some smiles looking at this right now. Maybe even someone got moved and will step out into an uncomfortable place that they’ve never been before and find an incredible thing waiting for them like I have. I miss you all and look forward to sitting down and sharing life with you in the very near future. Keep on smiling, you never know who’s day you could be making better with that smile.
Peace and Love
Caleb
Sunday, August 9, 2009
8-9 post
Dear Friends and Family,
It’s funny how even after writing last weeks email, about appreciating the things that you see in everyday life, I can still walk through my days missing so much. For instance, I saw a bunch of giraffe on Thursday. Did any of you? I looked at them and thought they were pretty cool but I’ve seen those before. It’s amazing how quickly I had already lost touch with seeing those things. In my opinion a giraffe still isn’t nearly as amazing as watching Lydia learn to walk or Rachelle (Naibor orphan) laughing while she plays with something as simple as a balloon. It’s not just Lydia walking or Rachelle playing with a balloon it’s their faces when they do it. You get the privilege of seeing right into their heart and mind. I love watching Lydia’s face as she concentrates and then sees the joy and excitement on the face of everybody else, her face just lights up! It’s funny how much that moment is celebrated and then how later on down the road when she’s totally mobile that excitement turns to frustration and many other emotions. When Rachelle gets that excited it’s like you get a glimpse at her soul, her face just totally radiates it and it is incredible. I think that as we get older and more self conscious and hurt by others we don’t let ourselves experience those emotions to their fullest sometimes. I mean you really have to be with someone that you really trust to truly show those emotions in their purest forms, or maybe it’s just me….I hope that it is! I’ve started playing soccer recently and I have to tell you that sometimes there is some raw emotion being shown their. It turns out that I’m a bit more competitive than I would like to admit. Let me tell you about my week.
The Mohawk was a hit!!! You should have seen the looks the class gave me when they saw me that morning. I came in wearing my leather biker jacket, a bandana and a beanie. As the kids were all reading a passage about not judging people by their looks I took off the beanie and bandana and moved out to the front of them. They weren’t sure what to think of it. I would guess that I’m the first person that they’ve seen at the front of their class with a Mohawk. The lesson went fairly well but I still left room for improvement. For the rest of the week kids have been asking me about it and why I shaved it off. They all thought that it looked pretty great, they said that I looked like a rock star. I’m not too sure how much the deputy teacher appreciated it though. I asked him if I could have a Mt. Kenya Baptist shirt so that I could wear it around town and he just kind of chuckled and walked away.
I’ve had to give the house a bit more attention this week than normal so I’ve had some great time with George (the local contractor). I’ve really enjoyed my time him and will miss him. He is a very smart guy with a great sense of humor. He has become a good friend. I was sick Saturday so the girls even happily volunteered to come out and help with the house since we weren’t able to go to Timau as planned. The trusses were built last week and we are ready to roll them tomorrow. I look forward to walking around on top of the walls tomorrow. It’ll be good to have my nail bags on again. It’s funny how things like my nail bags, motorcycle helmet or my fire helmet feel so comfortable and so much like a part of me that has so many connected many memories. Smells and feelings come flooding back after a long absence from these things. It’ll be good to be back on my motorcycle again, I feel like I’ve been away from a friend. I’m not so sure if that’s healthy or not…..
The girls and I all piled into the car and went out on Safari on Thursday. They really hadn’t seen much wildlife since they’ve been here and that all changed quickly for them. One of the first things we saw was giraffe and water buffalos. We saw nearly everything even elephants! Unfortunately they haven’t been able to see any baboons since arriving and since they are leaving for Nairobi tomorrow I don’t think that they will be seeing any this visit.
Well my friends, I have a soccer game coming up soon so I must get going. The sun is out and a soft breeze is blowing. I’m at a small airport diner and can hear British accents mixed with Swahili and Kikuyu. There are small beautiful birds all around chirping and looking around for a fallen chip. I can smell the dry grass in the breeze and can hear the traffic on the nearby road…..I wonder what I’m missing.
Peace and Love
Caleb
Monday, August 3, 2009
8-03 Laptop revivals!!!
My Dear Friends and Family,
It’s an odd feeling that is starting to creep over me these days. It has even been a little bit of a struggle. My time here is drawing to an end in just about three weeks. I have come to really love a number of the people here over the past couple of months. I have been so very blessed to share life with so many great people. The warm hearts and open doors are such a testimony to a people that have so much value in relationship. I was out riding my motorcycle through Shamba Land (my name for a farming area near my home) with a friend of mine this week and we ran into some people that she knew from many years ago. Before I knew it I was like family. They prepared tea for us and then made a fantastic dinner. I had a great time talking with one of their twin sons who is in University right now over in Mombassa. It so incredible to take a step back from the moment that you are in and really just look at the moment that you get to share. This is something that I really try to do often and I know that I still take far too much for granted. There have been so many of those moments. I remember dirt biking to the top of this mountain with Steve one time. As we neared the top a thunder and lightning storm rolled in over the valley and we got to watch it come at us. We were so amazed at what we saw that we just kind of forgot that it was coming right at us. Before we knew it we were riding through the dark on our dirt bikes as lightning lit up the trails before us and we were completely drenched by the down poor. I took a step back and looked at this great moment that we got to share and it will always be a beautiful memory for me. I bet you’d love for me to share memories more from this week instead of from so long ago. Here we go.
Last week my computer suffered a major heart attack that, after talking to a computer expert, we decided had to be a fried mother board. So sad. The computer was going to be left here for people to use after I left. I lost all of my pictures, documents, music, and a computer for someone who really needed it. I felt very bad about not being a better steward of what had been given to me to care for and then pass on. The day before this happened I had written an email to a dear friend about miracles and how I fear people getting caught up in them and not seeing the everyday miracles that happen. In my heart I had started to put God in a box. He loves me though. So I was packing my computer up to take it back to the states in the hopes that we could at least salvage the pictures when I decided to ask God to fix it. So I asked and then opened it up and hit the power button. You wouldn’t believe what happened, nothing. So then I started to pack it up and had this argument in my head about plugging it in. I had done this before and nothing happened but I figured I’d take another shot at it. So I plugged it in and the little lights on the front lit up! There was a brief moment of hope so I pushed the power button and the screen came to life! So here I am typing out this weeks update on my resurrected laptop.
I’ve been struggling with some inner battles on what my future holds for me. I have this feeling that God has something big in store for me when I return to Redding but not patient enough and want answers now! That battle has been so unhealthy for me. I was telling Laura Nell about it and she told me that I should get better grounded in Gods word so I’m helping teach bible lessons at the school. I hate to say it but I’m sure that most of these kids know the bible much better than I do. It has been great though. They love doing the wave like we’re at a baseball game and have started to really engage in the conversations that come up. I have learned so much from them and have enjoyed both my time with them and my time studying for my lessons. Tomorrow I’m going to teach about the inner heart and not judging on what the outside looks like so tonight Elle is going to give me a Mohawk and we’re going to do something with my facial hair as well. It’ll be interesting to see how this one goes over.
The teaching staff here is incredible! They have such a great heart for these kids and invest so much of themselves into the children. We had some of them over yesterday to play UNO and had such a great time with them. They were laughing and joking with us the whole time. It was so good to see this side of them. They’ve been inviting me out for soccer games and I have to tell you that it’s been humbling. I have no skills at all. I tried to blame some of it on the altitude but it’s all me.
Elle, Bridgette and I spent the night at the Timau orphanage this weekend. It’s an all boys orphanage and you can tell. These kids were so much fun. I think that we played volleyball and soccer for at least 5 hours on Saturday and most of us left the battle field with injuries and covered in dirt and mud. It was fantastic. Once again we felt so welcomed. They went the extra mile in everything. It is so beautiful there. They still have foliage and some of the greatest climbing trees. Those boys climb everything, play with everything and wrestle all day. It’s amazing how an old car tire can entertain them for so long. They have one old car tire that is always being played with by someone. The next morning we went to their church and were welcomed so warmly. They invited us up in front of the church again to introduce ourselves and give a little testimony. It’s funny how nervous I can get in front of all of those people. Even though there were only about 6-10 people who could speak English I had them laughing quickly. It’s so good to see all of those faces laughing and enjoying each other. It was a great church that really seemed to have a deep love for each other. You could tell that they were a close community that has shared life together very well. At the end of the service they invited us back up to the front where Pastor Steve presented us with some carvings of two Giraffes wrapping around each other. He talked about the differences between us and then about how even though there are those differences we are still brothers and sisters in Jesus. It was pretty incredible and a real honor.
As always you are still in my prayers. Speaking of prayers, Steve had his motorcycle, computer and some other stuff stolen from the house a couple of weeks ago. We prayed for him at a morning prayer time. There is just something powerful about people coming together in prayer, it was even more beautiful to hear these men pray for my friend whom they’ve never met from the other side of the world. He received a call a few days later from someone who saw his bike parked down the street so he took off from work and there it was. He picked it up with a burned out rear tire and an empty tank of gas. Other than that the bike was fine. No other property was recovered but I still see something great here.
I hope that all is well and that you are smiling and enjoying this wonderful life. I know that there is suffering and hard times but please know that you never have to go through it alone. To the Koz family; you are all in my prayers. If any of you see them please let them know that there are a lot of people praying for Cindy. I miss you all and hope the best for you. Give a hug to someone around you and let them know that it’s from me. If they don’t me then just give them a hug anyways, it can only do good.
Peace and Love
Caleb Oshier
It’s an odd feeling that is starting to creep over me these days. It has even been a little bit of a struggle. My time here is drawing to an end in just about three weeks. I have come to really love a number of the people here over the past couple of months. I have been so very blessed to share life with so many great people. The warm hearts and open doors are such a testimony to a people that have so much value in relationship. I was out riding my motorcycle through Shamba Land (my name for a farming area near my home) with a friend of mine this week and we ran into some people that she knew from many years ago. Before I knew it I was like family. They prepared tea for us and then made a fantastic dinner. I had a great time talking with one of their twin sons who is in University right now over in Mombassa. It so incredible to take a step back from the moment that you are in and really just look at the moment that you get to share. This is something that I really try to do often and I know that I still take far too much for granted. There have been so many of those moments. I remember dirt biking to the top of this mountain with Steve one time. As we neared the top a thunder and lightning storm rolled in over the valley and we got to watch it come at us. We were so amazed at what we saw that we just kind of forgot that it was coming right at us. Before we knew it we were riding through the dark on our dirt bikes as lightning lit up the trails before us and we were completely drenched by the down poor. I took a step back and looked at this great moment that we got to share and it will always be a beautiful memory for me. I bet you’d love for me to share memories more from this week instead of from so long ago. Here we go.
Last week my computer suffered a major heart attack that, after talking to a computer expert, we decided had to be a fried mother board. So sad. The computer was going to be left here for people to use after I left. I lost all of my pictures, documents, music, and a computer for someone who really needed it. I felt very bad about not being a better steward of what had been given to me to care for and then pass on. The day before this happened I had written an email to a dear friend about miracles and how I fear people getting caught up in them and not seeing the everyday miracles that happen. In my heart I had started to put God in a box. He loves me though. So I was packing my computer up to take it back to the states in the hopes that we could at least salvage the pictures when I decided to ask God to fix it. So I asked and then opened it up and hit the power button. You wouldn’t believe what happened, nothing. So then I started to pack it up and had this argument in my head about plugging it in. I had done this before and nothing happened but I figured I’d take another shot at it. So I plugged it in and the little lights on the front lit up! There was a brief moment of hope so I pushed the power button and the screen came to life! So here I am typing out this weeks update on my resurrected laptop.
I’ve been struggling with some inner battles on what my future holds for me. I have this feeling that God has something big in store for me when I return to Redding but not patient enough and want answers now! That battle has been so unhealthy for me. I was telling Laura Nell about it and she told me that I should get better grounded in Gods word so I’m helping teach bible lessons at the school. I hate to say it but I’m sure that most of these kids know the bible much better than I do. It has been great though. They love doing the wave like we’re at a baseball game and have started to really engage in the conversations that come up. I have learned so much from them and have enjoyed both my time with them and my time studying for my lessons. Tomorrow I’m going to teach about the inner heart and not judging on what the outside looks like so tonight Elle is going to give me a Mohawk and we’re going to do something with my facial hair as well. It’ll be interesting to see how this one goes over.
The teaching staff here is incredible! They have such a great heart for these kids and invest so much of themselves into the children. We had some of them over yesterday to play UNO and had such a great time with them. They were laughing and joking with us the whole time. It was so good to see this side of them. They’ve been inviting me out for soccer games and I have to tell you that it’s been humbling. I have no skills at all. I tried to blame some of it on the altitude but it’s all me.
Elle, Bridgette and I spent the night at the Timau orphanage this weekend. It’s an all boys orphanage and you can tell. These kids were so much fun. I think that we played volleyball and soccer for at least 5 hours on Saturday and most of us left the battle field with injuries and covered in dirt and mud. It was fantastic. Once again we felt so welcomed. They went the extra mile in everything. It is so beautiful there. They still have foliage and some of the greatest climbing trees. Those boys climb everything, play with everything and wrestle all day. It’s amazing how an old car tire can entertain them for so long. They have one old car tire that is always being played with by someone. The next morning we went to their church and were welcomed so warmly. They invited us up in front of the church again to introduce ourselves and give a little testimony. It’s funny how nervous I can get in front of all of those people. Even though there were only about 6-10 people who could speak English I had them laughing quickly. It’s so good to see all of those faces laughing and enjoying each other. It was a great church that really seemed to have a deep love for each other. You could tell that they were a close community that has shared life together very well. At the end of the service they invited us back up to the front where Pastor Steve presented us with some carvings of two Giraffes wrapping around each other. He talked about the differences between us and then about how even though there are those differences we are still brothers and sisters in Jesus. It was pretty incredible and a real honor.
As always you are still in my prayers. Speaking of prayers, Steve had his motorcycle, computer and some other stuff stolen from the house a couple of weeks ago. We prayed for him at a morning prayer time. There is just something powerful about people coming together in prayer, it was even more beautiful to hear these men pray for my friend whom they’ve never met from the other side of the world. He received a call a few days later from someone who saw his bike parked down the street so he took off from work and there it was. He picked it up with a burned out rear tire and an empty tank of gas. Other than that the bike was fine. No other property was recovered but I still see something great here.
I hope that all is well and that you are smiling and enjoying this wonderful life. I know that there is suffering and hard times but please know that you never have to go through it alone. To the Koz family; you are all in my prayers. If any of you see them please let them know that there are a lot of people praying for Cindy. I miss you all and hope the best for you. Give a hug to someone around you and let them know that it’s from me. If they don’t me then just give them a hug anyways, it can only do good.
Peace and Love
Caleb Oshier
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
7-28 update, new friends
Dear Friends and family,
This has been another eventful week of course. Someone once told me that if you’re following Jesus and things are boring then you’re doing something wrong. So far they’ve been very right. We received two more visitors from the states last week. It’s so interesting how people react to new people when they know that they are coming but know nothing about them. There is a bit excitement but also hesitation in them showing up. You never know what to expect. Since I’ve been here we’ve had 8 visitors and I’ve had that tension with all of them and I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by all of them. This time it was two college age ladies. Elle is here as part of her biblical counseling degree and her friend Bridgett is here for moral support and to just help out. They have both been a blast to spend time with.
So let me try to recap the week here for you. I’m a bit behind due to my computers motherboard getting fried. Well the house has windows in it now and we are getting ready to put the ring beam on it. Hopefully we’ll have a roof on it next week.
We were able to put in a new 1000 liter water tank and some more gutters up out at the Naibor orphanage. The welding students are doing well. We got their business license today and have expanded the business to hair cuts and cell phone charging. The business is growing and the reputation in the area has grown.
Friday Laura Nell, Chirchir and I went to a couple of schools so that Laura Nell could teach the Jonah story. It was incredible. We were in these bush school/church’s where the only light came from the open door or the cracks between the wall boards. Both of them became quickly packed with young children so curious to see what the wazungu (white people) had to teach. Laura Nell didn’t leave them disappointed. They were captivated by her animated movements and sounds. She had them laughing, jumping and even some teary eyed before they left. Our time there brought 103 kids to the sinners prayer. I’ve never been a part of anything like that before. It was incredible and I enjoyed it very much.
Due to so many illnesses we also helped out in the nursery school. I’ve lived with kids this age but I have to tell you that when you multiply them their strength and power to overcome nearly any force grows exponentially. Nursery school teachers should have comic books written about them. You never see any superhero go against a class of these kids because no matter how powerful that superhero might be they will never make it!!! Duct tape. This is the key. My dear friend Rachel gave me some red white and blue rolls of duct tape before leaving. It was one of those gifts that is given with a fun thought because of some conversation but ends up saving lives! I need a cape and tights with a utility belt armed with duct tape. Maybe a big “D” in the middle. Enough said.
Saturday morning we loaded up the car with water and supplies for the weekend and headed out to Naibor where the girls were going to spend the weekend serving the orphanages needs. I spent the night the first night to help out with the transition and had a great time. By the time Monday came they had packed walls with cow manure and mud, bathed little kids, ate like an orphan, played baseball, done laundry for about 28 kids, cooked, watched a goat get slaughtered, ate fresh chicken, done dishes, and cleaned the orphanage. There were many stories that came from last weekend but I don’t want to embarrass them. I bet an American meal and a real toilet were the best things that they had ever seen come Monday. I’m proud of them though. It’s not an easy life out there and to go straight from a lavish American life to squatty potties and mud huts is a rough transition. I can’t imagine anybody coming here and not having a life changing experience and I think that is what both of them will leave here with. I look forward to seeing where their lives go after this.
I hope that all of you get to do something like this at some point in your life if you haven’t already. I’m blown away by it and am so honored to be a part of it. There are similar needs right there in your own home town, at least there are in mine. You are all on my mind and in my prayers. Please take care of each other and give each other a hug for me until I can come home and give you one myself. I must get going.
Peace and Blessings
Caleb
This has been another eventful week of course. Someone once told me that if you’re following Jesus and things are boring then you’re doing something wrong. So far they’ve been very right. We received two more visitors from the states last week. It’s so interesting how people react to new people when they know that they are coming but know nothing about them. There is a bit excitement but also hesitation in them showing up. You never know what to expect. Since I’ve been here we’ve had 8 visitors and I’ve had that tension with all of them and I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by all of them. This time it was two college age ladies. Elle is here as part of her biblical counseling degree and her friend Bridgett is here for moral support and to just help out. They have both been a blast to spend time with.
So let me try to recap the week here for you. I’m a bit behind due to my computers motherboard getting fried. Well the house has windows in it now and we are getting ready to put the ring beam on it. Hopefully we’ll have a roof on it next week.
We were able to put in a new 1000 liter water tank and some more gutters up out at the Naibor orphanage. The welding students are doing well. We got their business license today and have expanded the business to hair cuts and cell phone charging. The business is growing and the reputation in the area has grown.
Friday Laura Nell, Chirchir and I went to a couple of schools so that Laura Nell could teach the Jonah story. It was incredible. We were in these bush school/church’s where the only light came from the open door or the cracks between the wall boards. Both of them became quickly packed with young children so curious to see what the wazungu (white people) had to teach. Laura Nell didn’t leave them disappointed. They were captivated by her animated movements and sounds. She had them laughing, jumping and even some teary eyed before they left. Our time there brought 103 kids to the sinners prayer. I’ve never been a part of anything like that before. It was incredible and I enjoyed it very much.
Due to so many illnesses we also helped out in the nursery school. I’ve lived with kids this age but I have to tell you that when you multiply them their strength and power to overcome nearly any force grows exponentially. Nursery school teachers should have comic books written about them. You never see any superhero go against a class of these kids because no matter how powerful that superhero might be they will never make it!!! Duct tape. This is the key. My dear friend Rachel gave me some red white and blue rolls of duct tape before leaving. It was one of those gifts that is given with a fun thought because of some conversation but ends up saving lives! I need a cape and tights with a utility belt armed with duct tape. Maybe a big “D” in the middle. Enough said.
Saturday morning we loaded up the car with water and supplies for the weekend and headed out to Naibor where the girls were going to spend the weekend serving the orphanages needs. I spent the night the first night to help out with the transition and had a great time. By the time Monday came they had packed walls with cow manure and mud, bathed little kids, ate like an orphan, played baseball, done laundry for about 28 kids, cooked, watched a goat get slaughtered, ate fresh chicken, done dishes, and cleaned the orphanage. There were many stories that came from last weekend but I don’t want to embarrass them. I bet an American meal and a real toilet were the best things that they had ever seen come Monday. I’m proud of them though. It’s not an easy life out there and to go straight from a lavish American life to squatty potties and mud huts is a rough transition. I can’t imagine anybody coming here and not having a life changing experience and I think that is what both of them will leave here with. I look forward to seeing where their lives go after this.
I hope that all of you get to do something like this at some point in your life if you haven’t already. I’m blown away by it and am so honored to be a part of it. There are similar needs right there in your own home town, at least there are in mine. You are all on my mind and in my prayers. Please take care of each other and give each other a hug for me until I can come home and give you one myself. I must get going.
Peace and Blessings
Caleb
Sunday, July 19, 2009
7-19 Update
Dear friend’s family and who ever gets these,
Wow!!! How else do you respond to such a blessed life? I can’t tell you how many times a day I find myself in awe of the life that I get to live and the circumstances that I find myself a part of. I could have been writing these for some time but I don’t think that many would be interested in my life in America because there aren’t “exotic” things like here. The truth is that there are still so many moments there that are still as powerful as my moments here. It’s just so easy to get numb to them or see them as trivial when it’s part of your everyday life. There is this movie called The Crow and in it the main character comes back from the dead to avenge the murder of his fiancé. After dying and losing the one that he loves he tells this young girl that nothing in life is trivial. I think that is very true and that there is so much awe and wonder in the experiences that you get to have on a daily basis but we find ourselves “used” to it. It’s an easy place to get to but I urge you to look at it again. Tonight go outside take a deep breath and look at the stars and moon like it is your first time. Or do the same with a loved one. Take everything about them in, see all of the great things about them in a deeper way than ever before. Okay, I’ll get on with the email and telling you about the week.
I’ve told you about her before and I’m going to again because she is amazing! Laura Nell and I have been having so much fun together. She has such a great sense of humor and cooks very well. She made us this spaghetti this week that was fantastic!!! She really has been such a delight to spend time with and I am so thankful for her presence here. I truly find myself surrounded by wonderful people. I am still in awe of the warm hearts that I have encountered here. Noah and his family continue to invite me into there home and their lives. Washington and Helen (the dorm parents for the school) continue to bless me by always having an extra seat and food for me in the evenings. Chirchir and the orphans blow me away their joy, love and openness to me and each other.
We tore down a huge part of the walls on the house that we’ve been building so that we could go back and put up block interior walls and then did a ring of cement around the top of it to make it more stable. Between the two, the walls could take a direct hit by a Sherman tank. I hope that no one try’s to test that…..I take that back. If any one does I want to be the one who gets to drive the tank because that really does sound like a lot of fun. Wouldn’t that be a blast!!! We had some people from England come out to the site and they loved the building and the quality of the blocks. It was very encouraging. The guys doing the work were looking a bit beat up and spirits were a bit low this week so I treated them to lunch and it changed their spirits so much. The lunch for 7 of us cost about $15 and made them feel so appreciated. That is an incredible investment, what a great reminder of the power of just showing people that you do notice what they’re doing and that you appreciate it.
Yesterday I went to a Masai/Catholic/ Baptist wedding. Odd. I bet God gathered up his angels to watch that one for a few good laughs. It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. It was pretty awesome to see all of these people with different beliefs gathered together listening to everything in two different languages to celebrate love. It was hot, loud, stinky, dirty and one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen. I love seeing cultures come together like that and celebrate something so grand. It was over a hundred miles round trip on a motorcycle with a young man on the back over dirt roads. I loved it!!!
Unfortunately there is a nasty cough going around at the orphanage and one of the girls became very sick. I got a call this morning that she has a fever and doing worse. I went out to Naibor to check on her and she was very sick. It hit very hard and very fast. So I brought her to the hospital with one of the older boys. We went to the general hospital and it is chaotic and filthy. We had been there for about an hour and hadn’t moved at all when there was an unusual commotion at one end of the hall. A crowd of people went rushing into a room carrying a man who appeared to have been coming out of a seizure. I looked at Francis the older boy and he told me that was the doctor was the man being carried. I looked back at him and said “We’re leaving.” I called around and found another hospital nearby. We walked in and she received her first injection within 5 minutes. The doctor left Catholic mass to come and check her out and diagnosed her with acute pneumonia. So that is where I am right now. She has been admitted and is in bed right now. There are two nurses and she is the only patient here. This is fantastic!!! All things considered of course.
Here is my last thing to share with you and you’ve already heard it. You keep on reading these so if you don’t like it then it’s your fault at this point. The stars are incredible!!! There was no moon last night or the night before so it is just absolutely amazing out. There it is, I’m done. Thank you again for all of your support. I continue to pray that this reaches you safe and sound. I also pray that these reach into your hearts and stir you up to just let your love ooze out of you even more than you already do. Thank you for taking the time to read these and being a part of this journey with me.
Much Love
Caleb Oshier
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