Nov. 3

November 3
Well I have survived my first month in Africa and have not been hit by a car, washed away in a flood, mugged in a dark village or eaten by a crocodile, lion or bitten by a venomous snake. All in all I would have to say I am doing pretty well! Praise the Lord!!! Especially for the snake one eh?? It has been an interesting month. Babies have come and gone, Renee ventured to the North leaving Danielle and I to learn how to do this thing called Serving His Children, and now Renee is in the States and we are doing it for real! Life is pretty mind blowing and there are moments when I just have to stop and ask myself if this is all real or am I having some crazy dream. Then there are moments that are so beautiful and tender I think my heart my burst. And then there are moments, had one just today in fact, where I find myself saying "tell me again why I don't want to live in America and work in a hospital and make lots of money?" Fortunately those moments are usually very short lived. It is difficult to really convey what it is like here. I know that this blog just gives snippets of life and I am sorry for not doing a better job of sharing what is happening. It is just so hard and then time is hard to steal away to write well.

I ventured to town today. It was a nice day, not too hot, warm but there were big fluffy Grey clouds in the sky and I worried a little that I might get caught in the rain. I did not so once again time wasted worrying for nothing. Sorry God...When will I learn. Anyway back to my adventure. We need some things so I walked through the village down to the boda station. It is about a five minute walk. It is ALWAYS interesting.  As I walk between the homes made of various materials, some mud, some wood planks, some tin sheeting, some cardboard, many things occur at once. There is always a multitude of children running about and towards me yelling : Hey Muzungu, how are you" It is one of the only English phrases they know and they love it when I respond to them. There are many chickens, ducks, goats and cattle with huge and I mean huge horns just wandering about. Sometime they get out of your way and sometime you have to get out of theirs. You also have to watch closely where you are stepping or you will get a wet sloppy surprise. Down at the bottom of the hill you have a great view of lake Victoria directly across the road. Often you can see small boats out fishing and lots of birds flying about. There are usually a dozen or more boda's at the bottom waiting for a fare and most are eager to have you choose to ride with them.The ride to town take about 10 minutes and is very pleasant with the exception of about 40 seconds as you pass the fish market. All I can say about that is you should really hold your breath if you value your breakfast. The rest of the ride is nice. Gorgeous views of the lake, green tropical landscape, interesting people all on their way somewhere and cultures clashing in all directions. You can see kids in a variety of school uniforms, some yellow and blue, others in red gingham, still others in purple jumpsuits, all on their way to different schools. You see men in business suits riding on the back of bodas and ladies in long dresses riding side saddle on them as well. You see men in long white robes and little round hats usually on their way to work or a mosque and others in dirty rags wandering aimlessly. There are trucks and cars and bodas and bikes and all sharing the same road which is not marked with lines and everyone honks to let each other no they need to scoot over and make room. It is just wild!

So my first stop was at an gift shop. Renee had bought some beads to take to America but did not have enough cash with her, but here that is never a problem and they tell you to just bring it later. So I was bringing it now. Then it was off on foot about 3 blocks to the grocery store. I got some pineapple-passion fruit juice and something that says its cheese but the taste does not convince me. Then outside back on a boda. This time I got a guy who speaks English really well and turns out to know Renee and is very helpful. I decided to hold on to this guy. So he takes me to my next three stops and even waits outside for me while i do my shopping. First stop was the pharmacy where you can walk in and buy pretty much anything you want. No prescription needed. I got scalpel blades, malaria medication and anti-fungal cream. Then back to the Boda and on to central market. I will have to save the description of this place for another blog, but it is amazing. I picked up carrots, green beans, onions, and pineapple. Well actually Moses my Boda driver got the pineapple while i went and got the other items. I just handed this guy I met five minutes ago 3 thousand shillings (about 1.50) and asked him if he could get two pineapple for me while I got the other items. 10 minutes later I met up with him and two beautiful pineapples! The people here are really nice and most of them are very trust worthy. He could have just rode off with my money and I never could have done a thing, but there he sat waiting patiently for me. So then it was off to home. As I walked through the gate to our compound I hear" welcome back from shopping auntie" which is how you will usually be greeted when you return from nearly anything. So a successful trip to market and the veggies taste great! Cant wait to see what tomorrow holds. Missing you all and welcome your emails. Just know my internet is occasional so if it takes me a while to respond, just be patient...I hear it is a virtue!