Who is that chick playing out there?!

Can you spot her??

That is Ali, a fellow Canadian passing through Kenya. She is a friend of a friend and when she heard that we have a soccer team, she asked what she could do to help. She came loaded with a bag of soccer stuff for the boys and some other kids, something that we always need. Then she asked if she could practice with the boys. "You want to actually practice with them??!?" "Yeah, I do" she replied as if it was no big whoop.

Kelvin was tickled pink to have her come out. And let me tell you, she was fierce. I guess she plays on the provincial team in British Columbia and has even gotten chances to play on the national team. She plays for a big club back in Victoria, BC. So she's pretty darn good.  She held her own out there with those boys. I think they were pretty impressed. They kept saying, "Ah! ye in kali!" Ah! she is fierce! 


She came off the pitch at the end of practice with a smile on her face. She said it was probably the most intense practice she has had in a long time. She figures that if she was to practice like that everyday, her game would get even better.

Although, she was walkin' like a granny. I think she was quite sore. I bet her muscles are painin' today.

Way to go girl!

Overwhelmed

Where to start...

Life has been overwhelming the last couple weeks. It has been hard but also it has been incredibly joyful and exciting. I am overwhelmed in a good way. 

First of all, I am reading a book that has rattled me up. The Hole in the Gospel is written by the president of World Vision. It is an account of how he accepted God's calling for him to take the position even though he had a high end CEO job. Then he talks extensively about what is happening in the world. The reality of poverty, war, disease, hunger, corruption, etc. That's about when I started to feel overwhelmed with hopelessness. There is SO much need, so how do you even begin to make a difference? How are we so oblivious to what is going on in the world? The West is so disconnected from it. I spent hours reading and my heart shattering into tiny pieces for how little we are helping people who literally HAVE NOTHING. I live in Africa and try to help the poor but even I feel like I don't do enough. (By the way, the book has totally convinced me not to buy a washing machine. I would rather pay some struggling single mother to wash my clothes. I actually tried to compromise and say I would pay someone to put them in my washing machine.) Eventually the author started to turn things around and offered encouragement to me, hopeless at that point, that I was not called to save the world but to obey Jesus and what He has asked me to do for the people He loves. I am called to be His hands and His feet, His love and His compassion, for those who are suffering. I think I am on my way there.

I still haven't even finished the book. I still have about a third left to read. 

Next, Kelvin and I have started marriage counselling. I am personally loving it. I am overwhelmed at the way God has designed marriage and what purpose it has. I am overwhelmed that God's gift to me is Kelvin, an amazing, loving, handsome, God-fearing, man. I am overwhelmed at how hard marriage and relationships can be especially as we strive to obey Jesus' commands to love, respect, submit, forgive, stay committed to one another for the rest of our lives.  I am in awe of my Creator, that's fo' sho. 

On that same note, wedding plans are coming along well! Only 7 more weeks to go! We are having some issues with the invitations. People are just not understanding that, if you are not invited, don't come. We didn't  give you a card for a reason. We have had numerous people ask us if they can bring their coaches, neighbours, teachers, and other people. NO! is my answer. People keep calling us asking for their invitation, as if we have forgotten it or it got lost. If you didn't get a card, it probably means you weren't invited. It sounds harsh but, at this point, I have to be. 

We have also found the apartment that we are going to move into once we are married!! It is a sweet little one bedroom place just up the road from where I stay now. Currently they are re-painting it and getting it all fixed up for Kelvin to move into it in December. After the wedding, I will join him! It has 24 hour security and bars on all the windows (my top priority) and flowing water (my second top priority). Gosh, 7 weeks can't come soon enough. 

On to the boys...

There are days where I am super excited about them and some days I am so frustrated. 

I am personally struggling to connect with the boys on a deeper level. My relationships with them are very surface level. Language is a barrier as not all of them can speak in English. I think the fact that I am white and I am a girl puts a bit more of a divide between us. And then I am more of a matronly/motherly figure. They have a lot of reverence for me. I bring most of the finances and they know that without me, Kelvin really can't do what he does for them. I guess it is not a bad thing. I think I like the respect and reverence they have for me. But sometimes I just wish to connect a little bit more. On the other hand, kelvin does an amazing job with them. They just adore him. I have no idea how he does it, but they respect and honour him to no end. 

We are having issues with one of them in particular. It's hard when you do so much for him and then he turns around and hurts you for no reason at all. I guess you expect him to change but that doesn't always happen. His issues are so much deeper than we understand or have the capabilities to deal with. We are just praying for guidance in how to deal with the one that has strayed. 

But then there are some who are making huge leaps forward and, if I dare say, are becoming some pretty awesome human beings. 

And I have been overwhelmed by the response to our call for Christmas gifts! People are stepping up from everywhere to bless these young men. I am so looking forward to doing some shopping for them! Thank you all!!! Asanteni Sana!

Then there is always the joys and tribulations of everyday life. Yesterday, I had a rough time at the pitch watching the boys play. I just got so much unnecessary attention from everybody around that it was exhausting and draining for me. I am white. So!? However, I am looking forward to a great afternoon with a good friend, chatting and chomping on home made cookies. Simple everyday blessings. 

All in all, I am overwhelmed. But oh so thankful for all that is going on in my world. 

Wazungu Season

There has been a flood of white people that have arrived in Mombasa. It's wazungu (white people) season. College students are travelling and volunteering during their summer holidays. Entire families are taking their yearly 2 weeks paid vacation and hitting up Mombasa's resorts. Expats are returning to their homes for a few months and  hanging out with their Kenyan wives (our neighbour has been gone for a few weeks now leaving her child at home with a friend. We suspect she is in some hotel with her white husband).

I have been able to meet some cool people as they discover Mombasa. I like hearing what they are learning, experiencing, seeing, processing, etc. 

However, I have noticed that I am being treated differently by the locals. 

All of sudden, I am getting a lot more attention from people (especially men) asking for pretty much anything. I have to fight harder not to pay higher rates in the matatus, often making sure that I have the exact amount ready so they can't 'forget' to give me my change. I am using my swahili more to show them that I am not a tourist and indeed know my way around this town. The kids at the primary school where the boys practice have started following me around and chatting away with me thinking that I am one of the 14 volunteers from Ireland that have come to teach for the summer. 

It's a little exhausting. 

But such is life. I will just have to get over it for the time being. 

In other news, Mombasa has turned cold! Alright, it has become cool. During the days, you are still likely to sweat but at nights, a harsh breeze blows in bringing cool air and thick clouds. I can actually feel a cold (sore throat, sinus headache) coming on as I sit in a long sleeve shirt and long pants on my couch. 

It's delightfully refreshing. 

And this past weekend, we got the pleasure of seeing Juliani come and perform at a rally that Kelvin was the MC for. Juliani is probably the biggest musician in Kenya. His witty rap lyrics are all Christ focused. His stage presence is overwhelming. His signature dreads whip back and forth as he flings his head around. He is one of a kind, that's for sure. 

I think 40% of Kenyan male youth think they were born to rap like Juliani. And I would say that about 1.5% of that 40% are actually somewhat talented. That makes for a lot of terrible musicians. I have had so many young men show me their stuff. I just nod and smile while trying to decide if I should be honest with them and tell them it's terrible or if I should just let them pursue their dreams and allow God to show them that music isn't their gift. 

The first time I saw Juliani, I was disgusted. At that time, his biggest song was, "I want a piece of your ear like Mike Tyson." I looked at my friend and asked, "Is this boy really a Christian?" She quickly assured me that I needed to understand the rest of the lyrics (that were all swahili slang) in order to understand the gist of the song. After listening to his music and seeing him perform half a dozen times, I have realized that he truly is a follower of Christ. And a humble one to take time out of his day and put on a (free) concert for a crowd of school students. 

The students went wild.

One of these things just doesn't belong

Give us clean hands

“He who has clean hands…He will receive blessing from the Lord”  Psalms 24:4-5

Ok, so I kind of butchered that verse and took it a wee bit out of context but I need clean hands. Literally. We all do. Every afternoon we have to work on the compound for two and a half hours. This means pulling weeds, digging, slashing or, if you are lucky, cleaning. Yes, the lucky ones get to clean as in mop, dust, sweep, wash the cars, etc. Those are the jobs where your hands don’t hurt for days afterwards. Yesterday I spent my day pulling weeds. These aren’t tiny garden weeds that we find at home; they are huge weeds up to your knees. After two hours, I had three blisters that had popped, a couple small cuts, and dirt in the depths of the wrinkles on my hands. I have had two showers and still haven’t gotten all the dirt off my hands.

I thought it was just my poor, precious, fragile mzungu (white person) hands but when I look at everyone else’s hands, they are just the same and some are even worse. We are all feeling it. I have used more band-aids in the past week than I have in the last 2 years.

However, one of my classmates said to me yesterday, “Nikole, I don’t know where the myth came from that mzungus are weak because you are much stronger than I am. I admire that.”