A Game of Cards

Today I woke up and was able to meet some of the guests staying at the Children’s Home. This weekend there is a weekend challenge going on (which is basically a marathon of worshipping!). Several of the students who grew up at the Home have come back and it was incredible to meet them. The Home is their family and it was cool to see the connection they still have with this place. In the afternoon, I walked to town to do some chores. On my way, I got a call from Melanie—one of the staff members of MGEF. Melanie and I were trying to plan a meeting to talk about self-esteem classes for the MGEF students. Self-esteem classes are something that I am very interested in and passionate about, and I would love to help start them here with MGEF. I paused for a second during our conversation and just looked around at my situation. I was casually walking through Kenya, talking on my Kenyan cell phone, and planning my dreams with this wonderful woman in Nairobi. Life is crazy!

I stopped at Lucy’s house while I was in town and spent some time with her family members. I pulled out a deck of cards and tried to teach them all how to play 500 Rummy. It was awesome to sit around the table with these friends and try to share a part of my culture with them. Eventually the game broke down and I decided to try and teach them how to shuffle! They shuffle cards so differently and they were just intrigued by how I did it. Then Lucy and I ended up grabbing a bowl and trying to see who could throw the most cards into the bowl. I feel so comfortable here, so at home. Lucy is an incredible friend and sister and I really hope that I can maintain my relationship with her from halfway around the world!

I also don’t think I have mentioned my wonderful motorbike driver. His name is Vincent and he picked me up from the bus stage one time. He is a safe driver and goes very slow and so I have been using him ever since! After all of these rides, we have become friends! Today on our way back to the Home, we saw camels! Just a herd of camels walking down the road next to where I live. I started laughing and Vincent and I stopped to see the camels! That night, I spent some time with the kids at the weekend challenge and just felt so grateful to be a part of this wonderful community.