Tyler''s Blog entries

Jan 25, 7:22 am

Well, I’ve never blogged before, but here it goes. The trip so far has been very interesting, although we haven’t done too much so far. After we got off our second flight in Nairobi, we went through customs which was surprisingly easy and met our driver Patrick. He drove us to where we were staying that night and was going to be back at 6:00 the next morning. I didn’t get much sleep that night since it was mid day where you guys are, but after probably about an hour of listening to cool animal noises, I kept hearing someone walking past the rooms outside. After a while I caught a glimpse of the guys arm outside from my bed and I thought it might be Patrick. So I got out of bed to ask my dad what time it was when Patrick walked up to our door and saw me in my boxers. He kind of smirked and then told me it was 6:30 and we needed to leave, so we all packed up quick and hopped in the van.

We got to the airport and flew 45 min to Eldoret where we were picked up by the hospital’s ambulance. Laura, the main doctor’s wife, and another guy whose name I forget at this moment picked us up. We then went to the market to pick up some food. Aaron and I found some sun dried fish which they call here Onema, but I’m pretty sure there minnows. So I’m pretty excited to try those out. :D when we left there, we were packing up our food and some kids were asking us for something that I didn’t understand and I didn’t know if I was supposed to give them anything or not or how I was supposed to act so I just smiled and waved and turned around and kept packing the van. Laura went back inside and bought some bread and brought it out and gave it to the kids. Then we hopped in the car and asked Laura if they were homeless and she said yes and that they were addicted to sniffing glue so she would usually get them something to nourish them because if they get money they would just buy glue and sniff it all day. That was sad. But she also said that there was a big need for ministry for these kids, so if any of you reading this think that would be cool, you should definitely pray about it. :D

After this we drove 2 hours to the medical base. It was a little windy and Aaron noticed that a lot of people were wearing jackets. Laura said that they all thought it was cold. I thought it was hot so I guess I have it made here.

We got to where we were staying which is sweet, and we have an amazing view!! I actually woke up this morning at 5:30 and then got up again at 7ish right as the sun was finishing rising and it was sweet! Actually a little bit chilly too. Anyways, last night we went to a bible study and then hung out with everyone. That was cool. There were some kids there, Jude and Hudson, who were crazy hyper. Hudson thinks I’m Taylor. They were going wild and Hudson feels bad that Aaron has only one arm and he really wants Aaron, Bethany, Hannah and me to come to his house and play with him. He was pretty funny.

Now I’m up and hopefully Aaron and I will be able to paint a house. I’m excited for this trip!

Jan 25 at night

Well today was good. After the last post, Aaron and I made oatmeal for everybody. The girls didn’t want to get up though so we just got more for ourselves.  After we ate, my dad went back to the hospital and Aaron and I went outside to kick around the soccer ball till they got up. Hudson and Jude were outside and yelled across the yard to us. So we got to hang out with them for a good hour in the morning kicking the soccer ball around and hunting for pine cones and sticks that were sticking up in the ground. They were pretty great. Then I got Hannah and Bethany up and we headed over to Laura’s house so she could show us around. Hudson told us that he would stand and guard the pinecones and sticks till we got back. I told him that we were going to be gone for a few hours so he said that maybe then he would go inside and eat lunch and then come back out and guard the sticks.

First Laura showed us through the hospital. That was pretty cool. People here are huge on greetings, so we got really used to waving and shaking hands. Fortunately for me, they also do the nod here so they understand my greeting when I forget to wave.

Then we were shown through the town close by. They call it the center. Town is what the town is called if you travel to Eldoret. Laura showed us where we could get safari cards and minutes so we can call or use the internet, and where we could get other foods. Pretty much all the little stores sell the same things, so she said she usually goes to a different one each time so she doesn’t give money to just one person. Laura pointed to these vehicles with a big enclosed back on them which were driving through the center, and she said that they were matatus. You can take a matatu anywhere between or to here and Nairobi, and it constantly picks people up on the way. I asked how many people a matatu could fit and she told me that matatu means three more so it can always hold more. She said her son was in one and he said that there were 42 people in it.

Then we headed up to the forest. First we stopped at the public school. We were greeted by all the kids and tried to greet them. Then we went to the orphanage. We were greeted by two ladies there. The first one just come up and gave us a big hug. I guess you’re supposed to rub cheeks on both sides when you hug. The second lady just shook our hands and said hello. We were taken through the whole orphanage. The kids there are so self sufficient. They all grow, harvest, and cook their own food, and milk the cows and just take care of themselves and each other. One kid who had just finished making his food wanted us to take his picture eating.
Then we went to another school a ways further into the forest. We are going to paint some of the school later. They said that they had brushes so we would just have to bring paint and they would let us spend the night if we wanted to. So I’m excited about that. Then we headed back.

On our way back there were some cows walking on the path and Aaron asked if anyone was watching them. There were two little girls who were probably about 5 walking a bit behind them and Laura said that it was probably them.

We got back a few hours later and Hudson was waiting for us. It was pretty funny. My legs killed so I just plopped on the ground and started talking to him. Later we went to the center and took Hudson with us. We got eggs and some fruit. The eggs were more expensive then back home but the fruit is amazing. A larger mango is only 4 shillings. It’s 75 shillings to a dollar, so you could buy 20 mangos for $1.07! I was pretty excited about that.