This is my last week in Kibera. From here we will be heading to Eburru which is about 3-4 hour drive up into the mountains. It is a small village and we will be seeing more tribes in this area. The mountain is actually a volcano.. Over the last few days Ive been saying my goodbyes and it has been really hard. Many families have stolen my heart and if it were up to me Ide like to just stay in Kibera the whole time. So Ive said all my goodbyes and now we are packing up, cleaning, and are going to debrief before we head to Eburtu tomorrow. I really pray that I will be able to come back to Kibera in the near future to continue the ministry that I have started.
On a more exciting note...
One of the guys (albert(picture below)) told me he wanted to take me to an animal orphanage he knew about. The zoo was filled with all these animals that had been aved and were orphans. THey had everything and it was cool cuz they were sort of in the natural environment. The zoo was outside so they just used the trees and the forest area as a zoo. I made friends with the tour guide and she got the zoo keeper to show us the animals up close!! We got to go right up next to the entrance of where the lions were and he called them over to us. We were so close that we could have put our hands through the fence and touched the lions. It was intimidating. BUT... I didnt want it to stop at that. I asked the zoo keeper if I could go into the cheetah pen with him and pet the cheetah. He let me.. He walked in with me and said I could pet it. He also brought a few other guys in there as well, but they all just watched. It was extremely scary at fist, but then the cheetah started purring and it began licking my arm....that kinda freaked me out. I thought it was getting ready for dinner..heh.. so yea good times.
God has still been changing lives and bringing more people to me even though we are gettng ready to leave. For example... the other day I wanted to get a better look at Kiberea so I found one of hte tallest buildings around the area and climbed to the top floor. WHile I was up there I ran into this guy named Evans and asked him how I could get on top of the building. He brought out this ladder he had made and shoed me a hole in the roof and we got on top of the whole building! While we were up there talking this big guy started yelling at us through the hole that we had come through. It was his landlord. hen we got back don the landlord was all up in Evan's face and told him that he was EVICTED!!! I just about threw up when he said that. I felt horrible. Evans just walked back into his room and began packing his stuff. While he was packing I was upset and went down to talk with the landlord myself. I talked to the landlord for a good 10 minutes about the whole thing and told him not to evict Evans! I then began praying that God would soften the landlords heart and listen to me. Finally the landlord said ok and said to never do it again. So I got Evans his apartment back. Yea this is a long story but it gets crazy. . . Evans then invtes me into his place to talk with me. After all is said and done he tells me that he is a Christian and was very greatful for me helping him. He also said that before he was a christian he was in a very powerful gang in Kibera and people still know him for that. Apparently he still has alot of power in the area and people have alot of respect or fear for him because they fear his friends. He told me that he would watch out for me and if I ever had a problem to come to him. He said that if I ever needed anything or if anyone ever did anything to me to let him know and he would take care of it. So now... I have connections with the muslim mafia and with the street gangs of Kibera.
On a more exciting note...
One of the guys (albert(picture below)) told me he wanted to take me to an animal orphanage he knew about. The zoo was filled with all these animals that had been aved and were orphans. THey had everything and it was cool cuz they were sort of in the natural environment. The zoo was outside so they just used the trees and the forest area as a zoo. I made friends with the tour guide and she got the zoo keeper to show us the animals up close!! We got to go right up next to the entrance of where the lions were and he called them over to us. We were so close that we could have put our hands through the fence and touched the lions. It was intimidating. BUT... I didnt want it to stop at that. I asked the zoo keeper if I could go into the cheetah pen with him and pet the cheetah. He let me.. He walked in with me and said I could pet it. He also brought a few other guys in there as well, but they all just watched. It was extremely scary at fist, but then the cheetah started purring and it began licking my arm....that kinda freaked me out. I thought it was getting ready for dinner..heh.. so yea good times.
God has still been changing lives and bringing more people to me even though we are gettng ready to leave. For example... the other day I wanted to get a better look at Kiberea so I found one of hte tallest buildings around the area and climbed to the top floor. WHile I was up there I ran into this guy named Evans and asked him how I could get on top of the building. He brought out this ladder he had made and shoed me a hole in the roof and we got on top of the whole building! While we were up there talking this big guy started yelling at us through the hole that we had come through. It was his landlord. hen we got back don the landlord was all up in Evan's face and told him that he was EVICTED!!! I just about threw up when he said that. I felt horrible. Evans just walked back into his room and began packing his stuff. While he was packing I was upset and went down to talk with the landlord myself. I talked to the landlord for a good 10 minutes about the whole thing and told him not to evict Evans! I then began praying that God would soften the landlords heart and listen to me. Finally the landlord said ok and said to never do it again. So I got Evans his apartment back. Yea this is a long story but it gets crazy. . . Evans then invtes me into his place to talk with me. After all is said and done he tells me that he is a Christian and was very greatful for me helping him. He also said that before he was a christian he was in a very powerful gang in Kibera and people still know him for that. Apparently he still has alot of power in the area and people have alot of respect or fear for him because they fear his friends. He told me that he would watch out for me and if I ever had a problem to come to him. He said that if I ever needed anything or if anyone ever did anything to me to let him know and he would take care of it. So now... I have connections with the muslim mafia and with the street gangs of Kibera.
Will you go to school today?
This is hilarious.. we were playing a game and the guys
are in one line and the girls on in the other line. The guys
are so checking the girls out in the other line.
are in one line and the girls on in the other line. The guys
are so checking the girls out in the other line.
This is a hole being dug for a squatty potty. After its dug they
build a few outhouses over it and use it for a bathroom.
build a few outhouses over it and use it for a bathroom.
Albert and I