Trip to Kenya with Yellow Rhino Minitries

So I've been back for a few weeks now. I got back Friday morning, Christmas was Monday, and I got hit with a major virus on Tuesday (that I finally feel mostly recovered from). So doing a final blog kind of fell off the radar. The flight home was much more enjoyable than the flight there. No major turbulence, and I had a whole row to myself so actually got to lay down and sleep (in coach!). Takeaways from my trip: 1) American food just.... isn't as good. Especially fruit. I have never considered breaking international law but very much thought about trying to sneak mango and pineapple into my suitcase. I also didn't have an issue with acid reflux or headaches like I do here. Like at all. American tomatoes? Avoid like the plague. Kenyan ones? Enjoyed in soup most days and never had any problems. It was fun trying to explain how mangoes are literally not grown in my COUNTRY, let alone where I live, which is why I usually buy them frozen if at all. They know what grocery store...

Sadly, my time on Nairobi has come to an end. In fact, I'm at the airport right now 😭. Somehow my 15 hour flight will take only 6 hours (yay time zones!). But onto the good news! I posted on Facebook the other day that one of our high school students shared that his sister was unable to attend a school last year (they go the calendar year, so start in January) because they couldn't afford the school fees. Well, with your help we got to share the news with her and her mom today that we are covering her fees and welcoming her into the Yellow Rhino family. This was the response when we told her brother at the end of the retreat: Each family we visited insisted they serve us tea or juice and a cake or something similar. No matter how little they have, they always wish to serve us as a way of thanking us for serving them! This family made my last day filled with joy. As I constantly remind the student who went on the trip, they are NEVER a burden and always ...

Ok so just pretend it's still Wednesday, ok? 10 hours of ministry takes a lot out of you and we all needed to crash when we got back. Instead of one big Christmas party where everyone comes to one central spot and we needed to organize transportation and food and decorations, we brought the celebration to the neighborhoods! That meant we could spend time actually talking to the families and seeing the impact we make first hand. Bringing presents of Yellow Rhino T-shirts, food bundles, sweets (candy) and of course KFC we made 6-7 stops around Nairobi. A few to single families, and others to large groups gathered in homes or the local church. We even brought extra sweets to give to the local children who aren't sponsored by YRM. They didn't want us to leave and we had to cut them off for disrespectful behavior (towards us and each other!). In the largest neighborhood gathering we also performed the annual Christmas pa...

Tomorrow is the Yellow Rhino Christmas Celebration! It is also my last full full day in Kenya (taking the red eye Thursday night). Today we went to the mall so the little girls can get some energy out in the playground and to get the materials we need for our Christmas party. The store we went to was kind of like a super Walmart with one "small" exception... A Christmas choir! They even marched around the store! After shopping we got to organizing the goodie bags, treats, and T-shirts for our stops tomorrow. It's been a very long day (and tomorrow will be longer) but a very good one!

Technically, this happened on Saturday during the retreat, but it definitely deserves it's own post! Chris, Doris (yellow rhino intern), and I traveled into the city with our driver Kevin to meet the student I foster and his family! I had brought over children's Bibles for him (Raymond, going into 6th grade) and his little sister (Neema, entering 1st grade) and some small toys for them. Neema was very excited to attach her frog keychain to her backpack! For Raymond I brought a picture Rubik's cube which he finished in about 10 seconds 😂 We got to know each other and they enjoyed seeing pictures of how much snow we get where I live. Mama Raymond served us tea and chapati, she is the chapati master! Chapati are kind of like fried pancakes and they are definitely a delicious staple around here. It was so wonderful to finally meet face to face and both kids and their mom were very appreciative of the Bibles. We promised to bring a solar torch (flashlight) this week...

Technically the last two high school kids go home early tomorrow morning, but most of them went home today making the retreat week officially over. I would say the house is quieter, but with two little girls in residence that isn't true! These students amazed me from day one. I knew they were they brightest students (1 going into 11th, 4 going into 12th and 3 starting college) that are a part of Yellow Rhino, but that doesn't begin to describe them. They created a chore chart for themselves ON THEIR OWN. The adults didn't ask or expect this of them, but they assisted with cooking meals (for 14-15 people!), did the dishes, helped with laundry, helped entertain the littles, even mopped floors. When was the last time a high school kid you barely know made you lunch because you were busy in a planning meeting? My answer.... yesterday. Not to mention, 6 of the 8 were boys, and I was a bit concerned about leading music with a history of having to pull teeth to make boys look even...