Homeward Bound, Son!

1-27
Good day. Went to town with Kamotho. Got another crutch. Two crutches make moving much easier; imagine that. Went to the market where I made my purchases that I’ve been promising for the last 12 weeks. I tried getting all the people I talked to some business from me. I think I did a decent job. I said my goodbyes to those guys. Once again email and facebook will come through for me so I can keep in contact. I bought some stuff from the curio shop. The guys at the market and curio are great. Everybody asking how I am, what happened, and wishing me well. Went to Guava with Kamotho. Got chicken tandoori wrap and a milkshake. Hopped on the internet. Kamotho also took care of some internet business while we were there. Went back to the town office and ran into some street kids. I bought them some French fries and talked to them. A bunch more came over as I was talking to just the two. Among them was a former Rohi kid named Job. We had a good talk. Later on Job told Joseph, another former Rohi kids to come talk to me. Both of these kids ran away and are now staying on the street. It’s cool that they still remember me. Job remembers me showing them how to do a back flip in 2008. He says he ran away the day we left on that trip. Joseph remembers me with my video camera. They asked for some food. I, and Kamotho, struck a deal with them. I gave them 50 shillings as an up front pay for some work they were going to do. I told them the other 50 would come if they kept up their end of the bargain. I asked what they were good at. Joseph said singing. Job said math. So I told them that they had to show up at street church for the next two weeks and do their work, Joseph said he’ll sing. Job said he would get there early and pray. These kids have to learn to work for their money, even if it is small responsibility. It’s pretty cool knowing that one back flip caused Job to remember me. The other kids at Rohi remember also. Simple things like that make an impression on kids. I’m gonna miss being here.

1-28
Kamotho called me this morning while I was still in bed. He said they were having an appreciation thing for me. So I got over there. We did the usual morning prayer. Then Eston, the school nurse, gave a presentation on HIV. He read a letter at the end that was given to him by one of the primary school students. That was sobering. She said in the letter that when she went home for break (not sure if it was this last break) she was basically abused by her brother and cousin. Abused, as in sexually. It caused her some medical issues. My heart is not good writing this. There are so many thoughts that go through my head. There are other similar cases. I will leave it at that. We then switched gears and everybody said something about me. I have to admit that it felt good. There were times being here where I felt useless. But everybody is so appreciative of me. Ah man, I’m gonna miss these people. They are so loving and caring. I don’t know how I am going to show my appreciation for them. I felt like crying when Troy was saying something. What they all said tells me that what I do in life is not in vain. It is very good to get that reassurance once in a while. I think this one will last a while. I pray that I will carry out good stuff and stay motivated when I get back home to do some of the things I wanted to do. I don’t want it to wear off.
I have said many times before and kinda use this as a motto to remind me of my actions, “What we do in this life echoes into eternity.” I thought that I kinda came up with that or took some stuff from other things I heard and put it together. But I was at Troy’s house when I was laid up and watched “Gladiator” on my laptop. Russel Crowe says it. That made me kinda sad. But at least I got it from a good movie.
Eston gave a talk to the kids about STDs. It was complete with pictures. Gross.
Another good day. Just sat with kids at different times and talked to them about my ankle showing them the stitches. Sat with some of the younger ones. They sang to me. I sang to them. They taught me kikuyu. You have to experience it to know the joy you feel to have a bunch of kids crowded around you just being kids, asking questions, showing off, comparing hands, just staring at you exploring your features. It’s an amazing feeling. I don’t look forward to saying goodbye to them. I was talking to them about my home. I said that my dad wasn’t there, but was in heaven. One of the girls said her mom and dad were in heaven. And then another girl said it. I asked all of them and gave them all high fives because we were all the same, brothers and sisters. We are part of a very special, intimate club that no one wants to be a part of.

1-29
Last day at Rohi. Working on saying my goodbyes. Trying to help out with stuff in the office. Wondering if my bags are going to weigh too much. A log of olive wood I got is gonna put some weight on. I’m gonna try carving it. Not sure what it is gonna be yet.

1-31
Chillin in the Amsterdam airport. I have about 5 hours left till my flight. I spilled apple juice on my pants in the first hour. Then in the last hour I spilled orange juice on my pants. What is wrong with me? Saying goodbye is not always easy. Well, saying goodbye isn’t too difficult, but trying to communicate with them what they mean to you is hard. I actually wasn’t able to say bye to a lot of people for a number of reasons. It makes things a bit easier I guess. Tears got in my eyes a couple times. It is ok for men to cry! Unless it’s physical pain, then suck it up! So there’s other stuff along the way but nothing amazingly exciting, so I will spare you. Anyways, I will be home in about 17 hours. Woot baby! Hopefully my seat will be better than before. I’m not complaining too much, but my foot is a more swollen than before.