letters

I have been inspired by my cousin and my friend Madison. 

Dear Mosquitoes,

Thank you for loving Kaleigh way more than you love me. 

Dear Kenyan Hospitals,

You need to treat your patients nicer, give them pain killers and numbing medicine when necessary. I hate you so much. I just had to get it off my chest. See you soon! 

Dear Muddy Roads,

Enough is enough. I am tried of washing my shoes. 

Dear Kenya,

You are beautiful. I adore you. 

Dear Prayers,

I am sorry I have so much to say lately. There is just so much to be grateful for and there is so much need I see around me. I hope you understand. But please, please help shosho feel better and let Opondo have a better home. I want those two in particular so bad. It would mean the world to me.

Dear Elders,

I love you. Keep the funny texts coming. Can we please match every time we see each other? No one has to know it was 100% on purpose. I love the little mzungu flare you add to my life. 

Dear Person,

Hi. I am here for you. Share the burden. Let's do this. 

Dear Children, 

You are addicted to temple run. It is time to confess and forsake. 

Dear Mom & Dad,

Thank you for supporting me and my crazy love for Africa. It means the world to me. 

Dear Water Buckets,

You get really heavy when you are full and make me really tired when I carry you upstairs. I would love to have running water but you the best I can get right now. We definitely have a love-hate relationship. I can't picture my life right now without you. 

Dear June 10th,

You are coming up way too fast. I am not ready to move to Zambia. 

falling in love

I went back to the place where I fell in love with Kenya. It seems like every patch of grass, mound of dirt and tree has a memory. 

This is where I saw Musa's head sliced open for the first time. 

This is where I super glued Francis's foot to his shoe. 

This is where I was taught how to do a somersault and a cartwheel.  

This is where I knew my life had been changed. 

Oprah arranged for us to come. Last time we were in Kenya the manager at TCRC (Thika) told us she has been looking for a new home for some of the boys. Naturally I thought of Eternal Hope (where we are now). We set up the arrangements and now three of our favorite boys are going to have a new safer and loving home soon. 

There has been a lot of complications with paper work and the process is long and complicated but soon the boys will be changing homes.

Oprah called TCRC and said she wanted to visit the boys. Tony drove us. We got there and it was like a flood gate of memories hit. 

The boys were in school and so we went into the kitchen to set up the snacks and food we brought for the boys to munch on. As soon as the bell released them from school a flood of my favorite people in the world rushed into Kaleigh and my arms. It was like out of a movie. One boy after another jumped into my arms. I could have died. I was so happy. 

It was one of those moments that you wish you could stop time. 

My kids. My heart. 

It was all there.

We fed them. We played with them. We gave them books, toys and games. We took pictures. 

They begged us to not go. 

But as all good things.

It had to come to an end with a resolve to come back. 

I love those boys with all my heart even the annoying ones. 

I cannot wait to see them again. Oh my gosh. I cannot wait. They are perfect. 

The lucky three. 

Can we just take a moment and look at this child? 

Edi Opondo. 

He is my favorite. I know we are not supposed to have favorites but I couldn't help it. 

I would do anything for him. 

You have to agree that he is one lush son of God. 

trying to fit in

This trip to Kenya is not like my normal pop by. The orphanage we were going to stay at refused to let us come. Luckily another orphanage in Nairobi was welcoming. 

Here there are just over 30 kids. It is a mixture of boys and girls but definitely more girls. Our house is large and spacious. We have rooms that we do nothing with except maybe hang our delicates to dry after we wash them or let my dirty clothes pile up. We got here and in the house we only had bunk beds, mattresses and blankets. 

Perfect. Sleeping is covered. 

Nothing a quick trip to the supermarket could not take care of. 

Now that we have been here for a week, it is almost like we live here. 

The locals are getting more used to us. (Or not. We still get called all sorts of tribal names and the famous, mzungu.)

Here in Kayole it is a constant battle to find out where I fit in. In Thika we had made our mark. Everything seemed to flow. Now it is back to the square one. 

It was a new adventure to get my phone to work and new internet. It was an adventure to find a bank. Every time we need to get new food from the shop it is an adventure. Nothing is what we are used to. There is no flow and independence seems to be slightly taken away. 

As time passes it will get better. Things will also flow here in Kayole. But for now there is a lot of texting, calling, asking Oscar for help. Bless his soul. 

The kids are also at school all morning until like 4 or 5 in the afternoon sometimes. So Kaleigh and I have a lot of down time. I read, The Kite Runner, in 3 days. It was seriously so good. I highly suggest it. 

Also a perk about living with girls: they can braid hair! Guess who got lines in their hair last night? That's right. This sister right here. 

And I didn't end up going to Uganda that first week. I came to Kenya and realized I was needed somewhere else. 

So, kwaheri from Kenya for now.

oh canada

As it is snowing outside and I am waiting for my next flight here in Toronto, Canada, I thought that I would blog. I am going to Turkey next and finally Nairobi getting into country at 3:30 am. Who found these flights anyway? Me.

First of all, it is freaking weird to think that I am going somewhere super hot and it is all snowy outside. I flew in and literally thought to myself that I am not prepared for this but I am only here in snow land for 6 hours.

Okay. Okay. Now to the goods.

I feel like a lot of people are confused. I am not in the Peace Corps yet. I am just taking a little trip to Kenya before I head off for 27 months. I will be back in America in May.

This trip has been a struggle to plan. The orphanage that normally hosts me does not have as open arms as they say. They say that they have "other projects" going on and so they do not want any volunteers right now.

I did some research into that and it sounds like the manager is just lying to me.
After a few days of feeling homeless and SUPER stressed, I found the next best option.

Kaleigh and I will stay at Eternal Hope. It is an orphanage run by an American Mormon family. It is co-ed. That is going to be so weird. Girls are so dang moody. I know I will learn to love these kids so much.

I have gone and visited this orphanage many times. Oscar and Gabby work here. I am going to get to see those two lush men almost every single day now. That will be way different.

As you have also maybe noticed; Kaleigh and I are flying out a week apart.

I am taking this first week to make a trip to Uganda. What am I going to do there? I have no idea. Who do I know there? Not a soul, really. It is just because I purely have this desire to go to Uganda. Seize the day!

And that it is. I will be in America in May and then make my more permanent move to Zambia in June. So, don't freak out if you were not able to give me a proper goodbye.

We still have time.  

it will all be worth it

I have my Peace Corps invite. Now it is really down to the nitty-gritty. This medical stuff is going to kill me. Not because the Peace Corps is difficult about it but because my freaking doctor is being extremely difficult. By the time I finish with the medical stuff I will have visited the doctors office at least 6 times when it could have all been done in 1 or 2 appointments. I got so frustrated with her one day I was nearly in tears. It will all be worth it.
Only one more appointment. Please cross your fingers for me.

I have one last dentist appointment next week.

I have to scan some papers in.

I filled out my Zambian visa today and now need to mail it in.
I need to fill out my Peace Corps passport application and mail it in.

I feel like I am in really good shape for less than a month after accepting.

I went to REI to look at equipment that I need to take with me. Oh doggy. This will cost me an arm and a leg. It will all be worth it.

When push comes to shove I am just pushing and shoving along. Nothing is going to stop me.
I love Zambia so much already.

I just keep on reminding myself when things seem to be falling apart and not going how I planned (which seems to happen a lot):
It will all be worth it. 

the beginning

I got my invitation to the Peace Corps today. It is like getting a mission call. (But better... I said it.) It was exactly when and where my recruiter thought would be the perfect fit for me. I am stoked. It is all I can think about. 

June 10th I leave here. I am already packing my bags and not looking back.

The invite came a lot sooner then I expected. I was actually on hold on the phone with BYU-I trying to get some transcripts from them that PC requested before I could get my invite. I was on the phone with them when I randomly checked my email and there it was. Email gold. I hung up on BYU-I. Too excited to finish that unneeded phone call. I was not expecting this gem to come for a few more months! 

Now I am down to the nitty-gritty. I accepted my invite. I did not think long or hard about it. This is what I want to do. Please ship me off now. 

My email box has exploded. PC is going crazy. There is so much medical stuff I have to do, congrats letters, etc, etc. It is overwhelming but with so much excitement it is also fabulous. 

Of course I have also forgotten my PC Medical Portal sign in information. I made that isha up back in like February or March when I started this crazy journey. I have to get into to that portal to get all my doctor and dentist stuff done ASAP. I am all about getting this isha done so they know I am serious. I am dead serious about this.

Life is great and this is just all so wonderful. 

I feel like this is all just the beginning of the best adventure of my life. 

Welcome along for the ride. 

life is calling. are you going to answer?

I started and finished my application for the Peace Corps in March or February. I don't remember. I was in Kenya and all hyped up on saving the world. It happens often.

I got an email from them like a week later. They wanted and interview and me to rewrite a few of my essays. Oh crap. This is real.

I had a mild freak out. I was out of the country. I still have a semester of school and an internship left before I can leave. I set them an email after a week of thought. "Can I please put this all on hold?" It was a miracle. They said that was possible.

School finished. I graduated. Internship started going. I got a job. I definitely did not want to be in America. Everything seemed just temporary until I could sort out what I really wanted to do. My wanderlust had never ever been this bad. I would go to sleep dreaming of traveling and being far away eating awful foods and getting diarrhea from it. It sounded so wonderful.

I knew I had two choices. Move to Kenya for a year or so or the Peace Corps. I was in a pickle for a couple of months. I really had no idea. I made a few phone calls to my Kenyan friends and Bishop. Would it even be possible for me? I couldn't live at the orphanage for the whole year. I would have to get a house. Then the other side. I was Googling all about the Peace Corps. I bought books and read them. I Googled "Mormons in the Peace Corps." I wanted to know.

I emailed the Peace Corps back in the middle of all this. "I am ready. Could I please be taken off hold?" It is after your trail of faith you will know. The more I talked with my recruiter. The further along I got with the process the more I knew with out a doubt this was right. The further along I got with the Peace Corps the more moving to Kenya made me feel extremely uneasy and stressed.

I was not supposed to move to Kenya.
I am supposed to do the Peace Corps.

I am stoked about this. It is all I can talk about. I cannot wait to leave. I am DYING waiting for my assignment. This is worse then a mission call. You honestly never know when it will come. One month? 3 months? Who knows?

Everything is subject to change but when I went and had my interview, my recruiter and I went through a few programs and their descriptions. On my application she said that I was the perfect fit to teach high school English in the rural areas of Zambia.

This is all so perfect.

I have submitted my application.
I have had my interview.
I have put in my fingerprints.
They have been reviewed and I am not a criminal.
The medical people have sent me an email saying I am cleared.

All I need is my assignment.
That was all I wanted for Christmas.
Maybe my birthday? It is tomorrow.