But everything has changed. My whole world has been flipped upside down, shaken up, rung out, and changed. Radically changed.
I don't think it really sunk in that I was actually, for real this time, going to Africa. It didn't sink in until I started descending those steps off of our Boeing 747, once we landed in Nairobi. The smell of the burning coals and trash, mixed with so many other odd and unfamiliar smells, sounds, scenes, and languages, made for a real good "sinking in" sort of moment.
The next morning after we arrived and after our over-night stay at a Mennonite guest house in Nairobi, we hopped on a matatu (african-style van) and headed for Kibwezi.
Nairobi during the night didn't seem so bad, but during the day, the sun exposed the city to be a place of a good amount of wealth and a place of pure poverty. A city in ruins. With unfinished architecture and construction on every corner, trash covering the grounds, homeless mothers carrying their babies on the streets with well-dressed business men and women passing the beggars and the orphans by.
We drove throughout the madness and the altogether foreign sights of Nairobi and traveled through smaller towns during our almost 5 hour drive. Once those hours passed, it was such a sweet relief to pull into Kibwezi, at last.
After we got settled at our new guest-house-home, I'll never forget the first time we traveled by foot into the town. Us, "mzungus" (Swahili for white person) greeting these beautiful African people and children. For some of us it was the first time we had ever walked the streets of Africa, among these people. We were giving "sweets," and hugs, and big smiles. And my heart was overwhelmed with the realization that I was there, loving on the people I had been in love with for years, but had never even met.
The days flew by. Faster than I imagined, and faster than I wanted them to. Certain plans were completely changed, so we went and served wherever we felt led to. We spent days walking for miles on the back roads of Africa, with clothes and shoes in our backpacks. We walked back into small brick houses and huts and clothed the children with whatever we had. We spent other days at schools, interacting with school kids and singing songs about Jesus. Some days were spent at a special needs orphanage, or making hygiene kits for young girls, even playing soccer and volleyball with high school kids, other days were spent making baby kits and traveling to the hospital to make a special delivery for the new mothers and babies.
There were hard days, and good days. Days where you couldn't find a lot of words to say, and days where there were never enough words to be shared, spoken, or talked about.
This trip changed me. And the few weeks that came with this trip has humbled me in a way that not even I can explain. Everywhere I went, I could just feel the presence of God with you. You could clearly see the sweet love of Christ in everyone, and everything.
You see, these kids are broken and dirty and hungry and a lot of them are alone. But as I sit here I realize that I am very much the same as them. When I sit before the Lord, I am broken and dirty. I am alone without Him and I hunger for more of Him everyday, but none of the filthiness matters. It's all washed away in my eyes and in the eyes of Jesus. None of the dirt or the colors of skin or even the language barrier matters. Because when they come running into my arms with smiles on their faces, and when they hold my hand as I wipe that same dirt from their little face, I catch another glimpse of Christ's love for us.
Before I went to Africa I thought I knew everything about what it was like to love and be loved like how Jesus loves, but in reality I knew nothing. Love knows no boundaries. It's not confined. Love is not commercialized and love is not about materialism. It's about time. It's about investing time and being a servant to other peoples needs. It's not always comfortable, but the biggest thing is humbling ourselves to recognize the need for relationships. Our greatest fault is our casual blindness to the despair of others.
Love and life is about being interested in other peoples hearts just as Jesus has always been interested in yours.
Africa will always remain a part of me. It will never leave my heart or my mind. Its red dirt will always remain stained in the creases of my backpack, and on the bottoms of my feet. It will never fade away. Because a love this deep has no chance of ever being forgotten. I've learned that Africa is love. I've learned that wherever you go, go with your whole heart. Even if the people you meet along the way and the place where you stay steal it away.
Sincerely,
Kenna
Sincerely,
Kenna
Sketch Book entry:
Africa: Day Seven
(June 3rd) 5:58pm
Everybody tells me that I'm helping change the hearts of these kids, but really, they're changing mine.
