Just a Regular Day

I was reminded this week that it is fun to hear about the “little things” that go on here…just daily occurrences. I thought about that and realized that virtually everyday I have a fun story to tell. Jodie and I often entertain ourselves just by talking about the everyday things that take place. So I have decided that while I like to write about the kids and the happenings at the orphanage I will sneak in a story here and there about my everyday life…just for fun.

I have a very good friend in California that I like to email, Instant Message, and talk to on the phone with. We don’t talk on the phone too often because it is expensive. So Instant Messaging is the next closest thing to talking on the phone. She will wake up at 3:30am sometimes so we can “chat” for a couple of hours. Over the past month we have not had a lot communication with each other, so last week when she was on Spring Break from teaching we were able to IM together. We were trying to squeeze in a month’s worth of activities that had taken place in our lives. We were doing a pretty good job with catching up when I noticed the time. It was close to 6:40pm. The sun begins to set right around 6:40pm. Sadly I had to say goodbye and pack up my things to leave. But leaving the orphanage is not as simple as running out the door. There are children that love to hug and play and hug and hug even more…leaving takes a little bit more than just a few minutes.
Once I got out the door I knew it was going to be a race to see if I could beat the darkness…and the rain. It was beginning to sprinkle. Then it hit me that I had left my bicycle at the orphanage. I ran over to my bike and tried to get on as fast as I could, but I was wearing a skirt and it wasn’t one of those flowing skirts that allow you to easily ride a bike. It was a skirt with slits on the sides and it was slightly fitted. So I hiked up my skirt and headed out as fast as I could…mind you the road to my house is all dirt and it has been raining everyday for the past month so the road is one huge muddy mess…walking to the orphanage and back home is often quite an adventure in the muddy road.
As I began to ride my bicycle the rain began to fall…not drizzling anymore. I had a hard time seeing with the darkness on the winning side in my effort to get home while I could still see where I was going. It was quite a challenge riding my bike, holding onto the items I was carrying, keeping my skirt down, watching the road, trying to see with the rain now falling at a steady pace and darkness on my heels. I heard lots of comments from all the Africans walking and riding their bikes. Most of the comments involved laughter and lots of apologies to me for my “difficult situation.” I even got one comment from a man regarding my skirt and all the effort I was putting into keeping my legs modestly showing without crashing.
By the time I got home I was in need of dry clothes and a blow dryer. My guard told me how sorry he was for me about six times and Jodie asked, “What happened to you?”
I made it home and it wasn’t completely dark!!!
It was a good day. I was able to IM with Freya for a LONG TIME and catch up on life with her…just one of those regular days!

Easter Sunday

We’ve had a lot of rain over the past month. It is nice because the rain makes everything so green and for that period of time when the rain is falling the temperature is not as hot. When Rita was here visiting with us she was asked to speak on Easter Sunday morning at a church in Mirerani…a long drive and bad roads. Normally it would not be a big deal to drive to Mirerani because the orphanage has a 4-wheel drive truck. When you add up bad dirt roads and a month of rain then you have an even bigger adventure waiting then the “normal” adventure that the drive usually is.
We were not disappointed. The drive took us all by surprise. There we were…three American women driving a 20 year old truck in the rain out in Maasai land, which happened to be flooded more than we imagined it would be. Not only was the road flooded but at some places during the drive the road was a river…I am telling you the truth. We watched a tree quickly float past the front of the vehicle as we were driving through. We passed a HUGE bus that was broken down and full of passengers but we could not stop because the water was up to the middle of the truck doors.

I have had many adventures over the past 20 months living here. But our Easter Sunday driving adventure has got to rank at the top of the list. The whole time driving Rita, Jodie and I were doing a lot of praying. It was an hour and a half prayer meeting…a laughing, shouting “wow” kind of prayer meeting.
We arrived at the church on time…even the Africans were surprised we made it on time. We made it early enough to have breakfast at the house of one of the church leaders before the service began. We ended up staying there in Mirerani for the afternoon service and Rita spoke. We weren’t planning on staying but the sun had come out and we figured if we stayed the river would have time to subside a bit…which it did.
The drive back was not nearly as adventurous although the road was still flooded. It just wasn’t as bad…we were thankful for that.

I wore a white skirt and a pink blouse to church since it was Easter and I wanted to dress in colors I would wear back home on Easter. It always amazes me how mud seems to find a way of getting all over everything. When I was at the church a little girl came up to me and asked me to bend down so she could help me. I bent down and she began to brush the top part of my back. After I left her I walked over to Jodie to ask her what was on the top part of my back and she told me it was mud. How did it get there? I don’t know, but then again…what was I thinking wearing pink and white?