H.I.K.E

WOW!
what an incredible weekend!
God is faithful.
Friday night, Pastor William and Pastor Maggie (who have adopted me as their first born daughter) came over to visit (AND BROUGHT SAMOSAS!) and informed me that I should go on a hike with the youth on Saturday because it would be great. I did not have a change to even think about it, they decided I would go.
AND AM I EVER SO THANKFUL!!!!!!!!
Yesterday (Saturday), I woke up at 6 and was ready to leave for Machakos with the youth form MCC to go on a hike. OH if I had only known what I was in store for! First I had to conquer a fear, something I had never done and honestly thought I could get away with never doing, I rode on my first public vehicle in Kenya, a BUS! oh man! It helped that I had some friends with me though! It was crowded and loud and very bumpy but I honestly loved it!
We got to Machakos and waited outside a Mulei store for what felt like forever.
Finally we were off!
We were onto our hike!
Pastor Benja led the way as we ventured on and he asked us to think about this hike in terms of our spiritual walk and how they are correlated.
At the beginning (for about 2 miles) it was really easy and really flat.
OH BOY was that over quick!
We soon began to trek upwards....straight and narrow.
I thought this may end and become flat again....at some point.....
OH BOY was I wrong!
I am pretty sure this hike was more than 8 miles (AT LEAST!) one way.
all uphill. all steep. all rocky.
ALL BEAUTIFUL!
and oh how I enjoyed the company, the laughs (how about that orange soda all over Pastor William! thanks Benja!), and the exhaustion!! 
(SO SO SO SO SO MUCH LAUGHING AND SO MUCH JOY!)
FINALLY we got to the top....
and....
OH MY GOSH!!!!
It was the most beautiful place I had ever been!
It was breathe taking and wonderful.
we spent time just sitting, playing games, talking about the Lord, and enjoying each others company.
OH HOW WONDERFUL!
it was incredible and I am so thankful for this chance to spend time with these people.
then Pastor Maggie and I joined Pastor William at a Machakos Christian Chapel church plant meeting (a year later). It was SO incredible to watch this happen. I loved to hear their joy and faith in the Lord.
finally we got back to Masii
and I laid my head on my pillow...
and did not move a muscle (I couldnt even if I wanted to!)
until MORNING!
oh happy day Sunday morning!
If you have been blessed and have been able to come here you know that Sundays at Masii Christian Chapel are THE BEST!!!!!
Church was AMAZING.
Pastor Maggie preached about forgiveness and forgiving others...
*SMACK IN THE FACE*
then after church I joined the elders, Pastor William, Pastor Maggie, and the Sunday school teachers for a meeting.
We were given a delicious lunch and talked outside where there was BEAUTIFUL WEATHER! 
about 4 hours later
I went and had a lovely dinner with (other Mazungos) Michelle and Allison from Parkcrest at Paul's house!
it was wonderful.
and now I am ready to sleep
and WAKE UP READY FOR ANOTHER WEEK!

God is GOOD.
God is faithful.

(AGAIN) look at THOSE clouds

Bridge Girders :)

"mum" "brother" and "dad" I am thankful to be adopted into this family. I kinda love them a whole whole lot.

This is where we ended up!!! BEAUTIFUL!!!

Laugh.

love this. learning about time and reading clocks!

Favorite picture of the day <3

my 3rd grade class. 

"Jambo, Teacher Mwende!"

add about 10 or 15 more kids and that is about all the kids in the entire school!!!

 (ps. look at THAT sky!!)

my second grade class

I thought I could write text before that pictures after I upload them but I can't.

so here. 

wow these last two days have been so wonderful. 

yesterday:

yesterday was Wednesday. It was my day to help Pastor William in the church office. It was good. I helped Maggie (Pastors wife) organizing the papers, folders and books on the bookshelf. Then we went and looked the Greenhouse! WHOA! its so awesome! I loved it. Then we went back to the office and we have a prayer/worship meeting. whoa. I loved it! what an incredible experience! the whole room was completely filled/stuffed/blanketed with the Holy Spirit. It was beautiful. Then Maggie, Pastor William, Pastor Benjamin, and I all went to Pastor Williams house and made lunch together! oh man. I loved it. SO much laughing and joy. It was my favorite moment thus far. I love them alot. 

today:

whoa. Today was Thursday. It was my day to go to school. I dont think I can fully convey how wonderful today was. I went to school and I observed again (because I am so nervous and also I do not know exactly what to teach yet). All of the kids are beyond precious and beyond what I can even handle! At lunch time, I spent the whole time on the field with the kids. I took pictures, laughed, held hands, and laughed some more. I loved today. These kids are wonderful. Since its Thursday, after school they have game day, oh man! The boys (and male teachers) played soccer! OH MAN ARE THEY GOOD!!! (I was jealous!) Then Teacher Mwende (me) and all of the girls and smaller boys played....well something like "Only throw the ball to Teacher Mwende"....I did not understand this game but attempted to throw it to a different person each time. haha. If you have come to Masii before and recognize the scene of 10 kids running around with 8 Mazungus, imagine 20 little children running AT and WITH one single Teacher Mwende...oh Lord. It was perfect.

Today was perfect. 

I cant wait until Tuesday when I have more time with these children who have literally stolen my heart.

God is good. 

<3

(these are just some of my favorites from today....I ended up taking 60 pictures today!!) 

Clouds

Today was a great day. Today was my first day of school!  I got up and had to walk there all by myself which doesnt sound nerve racking BUT OH it was! I will be (eventually) teaching at Masii Academy RIGHT next store to Masiii Christian Church. Today, I did not teach, I just observed. Just being there was so amazing! When I got there at 8am, they were praying and being given announcements for the day (one which included, please speak English so Teacher Emily Mwende can understand you). Then I went into a third grade class they were revising an exam they had taken the week before. There were 9 children in this class and the teacher was very kind. Than around 10:45 it was break time, I went into the staff room and had some tea and bread with the other teachers. It felt a little awkward but it was really neat. After the break, I went and observed a second grade class. I loved this class. They were SO cute and sweet, and the teacher was really helpful. Today was really awesome. I cannot wait to go back on Thursday! The weather was beautiful today. It was still pretty hot but the breeze was breathtaking, the clouds were perfect they almost seemed fake (it took me 30 minutes to walk back to the Mulei building because I was staring at them), and the grass was so green, the landscape seemed to be a painting rather than real life. 

 not sure why the pictures are out of order but you get the idea. haha

(I unfortunately did not take any pictures of the kids because my camera died, so dumb)

I also got my tentative schedule for the next three months:

Sunday-Masii Christian Church

Monday-Tumaini International Office

Tuesday- Masii Academy

Wednesday- Masii Christian Church

Thursday- Masii Academy

Friday- Tumaini International Office

Saturday- “day off”

Yesterday I was given the Kicomba name  MWENDE meaning Beloved. <3

Death

Its been three days, and it still feels weird to talk about. My dear friend Raegan Pratt is dead. Her heart no longer beats, her body is no longer at home, and her spirit is now with Jesus. She was an incredible person, a wonderful friend, and a humble follower of Jesus. What many people didnt know about Raegan was that she loved Jesus way more than she showed. Some might say that thats not true because she wasnt "living it" but oh how she was! She loved the Lord so much, she gave up things for Him, that most didnt know about, she worked to satisfy His heart before everyone else's and through that she put people before herself. How to I live with this fact that she is no longer here or where she was when I left to go 9,000 miles away? how to I live here in Kenya for 3 months, only to detain the inevitable that when I go home to California, she wont be there. How do I help my friends who are hurting over this and are 9,000 miles away? how do I walk through this with the one person who may understand how I feel, even though we are far apart? I spent all day yesterday praying (and begging God) that this was all a bad dream and that I would wake up and I could still call her to hear her voice and her laugh, but at the end of the day she is no longer here, and I think that will always break my heart. I know that she is pain free (for the first time in a long time) with Jesus but it still hurts my heart that she is no longer here with us.
I am living in a country where death happens every day, where I recently found out that cancer has become a HUGE killer. How to I wake up and recognize that all of these people who I walk by on the streets on my way to church, have witnessed this every day and still go on with their lives. The first night I found out that this happened to my dear friend, I didnt sleep at all. I got up and read and cried (alot) and called my sister. That next day I was supposed to go to a wedding and a funeral. I went to the wedding but couldnt bring myself to go to the funeral. As selfish as that may seem, I couldnt do it.
I am thankful to Brian Beeson for letting me call him when I want to cry or reminisce about all the things we all did together. I am thankful to be close enough to the both of them to be able to encourage him and express that she loved him.  And I thankful that he can do the same for me. We sit on the phone and cry about the times we could have spent with her and didnt, we laugh about the times that we all sat together and did silly things.
Raegan was someone who everyone should have at least met, and upon meeting one would quickly realized how much she loved life, people, and the Lord. She loved to listen to music (every kind), she loved to sing as loud as she could to whatever song was playing, she loved eating confetti cake out of coffee cups, she loved going to Mcdonalds, she loved to watch silly movies, she loved meeting knew people, she loved laughing at the stupidness of boys, she loved to talk about what the Lord was doing in her life, and she just loved living life.

so now I go on and try to live life in a country where death happens every day, yet I may never get over this death in my own life.

even through this, God is good.
-E

Dubai

(two days ago we were in Dubai, I am going to write it as if it were on that day)
We have finally made it to Dubai, after a very long 16 hour flight, which begun by us being delayed an hour. since our flight to Nairobi was delayed a day the airline compensated us and paid for use to stay in a hotel. It was called the Copthorne hotel. It was beautiful. WE arrived to the hotel around 2:30, we are lunch at 3, and then we went on a 4 hour tour of Dubai! It was breathtaking. We saw so many beautiful and different things. I noticed two things while in Dubai, 1. no two buildings are exactly alike 2. literally 75% of the adult population smokes, constantly.While on our tour we saw the Burj Al Arab, the beach, Atlantis resort, Jumerah mosque, the most incredible water show (!!) and so many shops literally filled with gold jewelery. When we went to this shops place, called the Gold Souk, there was about a mile or two of street and it was filled up and down with ALL entire gold and diamond shops! It was incredible. I even saw some food places that we have in America like, Subway, Burger King, Fuddruckers, and Baskin Robbins. It was VERY humid and hot in Dubai. When we got off the plane it was 106! After the tour (about 9pm), we cameback had dinner, showered, and went to bed. The room I stayed in (by myself!) was big and beautiful. The light situation was weird, I had to stick my room key in a socket for  them to turn on, that took me while to figure out!! I loved Dubai but I cannot wait to fly to Nairobi tomorrow!

(pictures from Dubai!)