The end of my Kenya trip and back home

Matt at the feeding program in Kambi Teso Children's Home #6 is getting built

Right now I am sitting in the Nairobi airport where the air is hot and humid (sorry I didn't get this posted until two weeks after I wrote it). It always seems that way as I pass through here, but when you've been enjoying a much more temperate climate in Eldoret, Kenya, with highs in the low 80s year round, and you're flying to Portland, with a current high of about 45 to 50 degrees, the air in the Nairobi airport seems downright stiffling.

It has been a whirlwind tour the last twelve days in Africa and far too short. Nevertheless, it has been good as the Open Arms board has been able to map out a plan for the future of the Open Arms Village and how we can proceed as we add new children, new homes, and new ministry opportunities to the village. After a busy week with board meetings, the weekend seemed rather slow, as we were able to go swimming with the children in Upendo House on Saturday down at the river. Matt took on the role of a crocodile chasing after the children in the swimming hole as they giggled and screamed to get away. Sunday was a memorable day as the village participated in another guardian's day at the village where relatives, extended families, and friends of the children were invited to come and visit. Matt was asked to speat at the church service, as 53 children, about 35 staff members, and about 50 to 60 visitors and guardians from the community enjoyed the festivities. About a dozen adults responded to an invitation to become Christians, and all of the adults responded to a re-commitment to help oversee the welfare of the 53 children at the village.

The newest member of the Open Arms Village, Agnes, arrived just three days before Guardian's Day, less than 2 years old, living on the streets of Eldoret and all of her life thus far, and now a recent orphan. She is adjusting well to life at the village, but she is having a difficult time sleeping through the night. Nevertheless, she is smiling, happy, and eating well.

On Monday, Matt and David went into town to do a little shopping and get haircuts (a haircut in Eldoret is a much better deal - about $4 - and they do a good job). While we wre waiting at an appointment, Matt noticed the clock on the wall had a brand name of "Sicko". Must be a poor knockoff of Seiko but they didn't consider the awkward English translation (a quick Google search didn't reveal any web page that "Sicko" has for any clock manufacturers).

David also informed Matt of a few other strange and serious developments in Kenyan culture while they were admiring the Sicko clock on the wall. Recently, David recieved a letter from a pastor who called himself a "Minister to Road Carnage" (apparently the matatu drivers in Kenya have been getting worse and more lethal with their driving skills). On a much more serious note, David and Matt discussed the treatment of street children in Eldoret as a particular policeman in Eldoret has been on a recent rampage to eliminate the population of street children through any means possible, including shooting children, throwing battery acid in the faces of children, using whips, police dogs, and other means of intimadation and torture. Fortunately, a national journalistic team will feature an expose of the policemen's injustice hopefully ending his career as a policeman.

I just boarded the plane and the air conditioning feels wonderful. Looking forward to an uneventful flight and a warm hug from Cheryl when I get back to Portland.

Until next time,

Matt

Back in Kenya

Hi everyone, It has been awhile since my last post. I apologize, but I thought I would take a hiatus since I was back in the US, but I got the chance to come back to Kenya for some meetings this month, and Cheryl and I get to come back for a longer stay in July. Hopefully, I will interject a few blogs over the next few months as we continue our adventures in Africa. I also have to apologize for the lack of photos. They are on my camera, but I have not downloaded the program for my camera to my new computer yet. I will add some photos at a later time. I arrived back in Kenya on the evening of March 31 after an uneventful flight across the Atlantic with one layover in Amsterdam. I was feeling a little sleep deprived, but it helped that I had plenty of reading material and movies to watch on the plane. After I arrived in Nairobi, I was ready to go to bed. I woke up the next morning, and it seemed like I had never left Kenya. The weather was wonderful, about 80 degrees and sunny, the matatu drivers are still crazy, and the streets of Nairobi are still bustling full of people. I spent the morning and afternoon running a few errands in Nairobi for Open Arms, and then got to the airport early for my flight to Eldoret. They didn't know what to do with me at the check in counter. Even though they complemented me for showing up early (3 hours before the flight departed), they wouldn't let me check in my luggage until 2 hours before flight departure. I got to Eldoret safely, and we went out for dinner at one of our favorite places, Mamma Mias. It was good to see our old friend Ricki managing the restaurant, and to say hello to some of the waiters who recognized me from frequenting the place so often. We hopped back in the van and took some luggage over to one of the children's homes, and got to say hi to all the children in Upendo. It was so good to hear them say "Daddy Matt" and greet me with open arms. So many of the children have been growing, and I saw several new faces. Upendo House is bursting at the seams, beyond capacity, with 18 children, but soon the next children's home will be opened to help with the always growing demand for more children to come to the village. The next day we had church at the village, and afterwards, we got to go swimming with the children in the river. It was so cute to see Esther and Belle swim in the river for the first time. With the dry season, the river is very low, but there are some shallow pools that the smaller children can safely swim in. It was a great time seeing the children have so much fun. On Monday, our meetings got started with introductions, and from there we had four very busy days, with some marathon planning sessions that will help bring direction for the future of Open Arms over the next several years. It was great to actually see all the board members together from the three separate boards in the US, UK, and Kenya, get a chance to know some new people, and reacquaint myself with some old friends. It seemed like after some exhausting meetings every day I went to bed early every night. The only excitement was on Tuesday night seeing an Atlas Moth fly into the guest house which caused quite a bit of excitement. For those of you who don't know, the Atlas Moth, so I've been told, is the largest moth in the word, and this particular moth had a wing span of about 6 or 7 inches, although Cheryl and I saw one at Mt. Elgon, Kenya that had a wing span of about 8 inches. Some people thought it was a bat when it first flew in, but we managed to shut off the lights, and safely lead it outside, where it flew around one of our outside lights for awhile. Now the meetings are over, and I actually have a little time to blog. I will try and send another blog this weekend. Until then, Matt (and Cheryl the next time we come to Kenya)