Coming to a Close

Our time here in Kenya is quickly coming to an end. I'm not exactly sure where the time has gone. It has been a busy two and a half weeks since the first team left. Last Monday we hit the road for Tanzania. There is a language school in Morogoro, Tanzania that Clayton will be attending next summer. He wanted to visit and so seven of us took public transit to Tanzania. After crossing the border and making several stops, we completed the all day trip to Morogoro. Tuesday we visited with a teacher from the school and went into town that afternoon to do some touristy things. The language school was located at the foothills of a beautiful mountain range. The scenery was breathtaking. I almost wish that I could enroll in the school next summer with Clayton. On Wednesday, we started our trip home at 5:00 A.M. and completed our 17 hour trip late that night. Tanzania was a beautiful place and had a very different feel from Kenya. In Kenya, tribalism is still very important to citizens. Tanzanians have more of a sense of national pride and were extremely kind to us as visitors. 

Thursday was the 4th of July. Six or seven American missionary families that live near the coast of Kenya came and spent a day or two with us to celebrate the 4th of July. It was a blast getting to hang out with some Americans and celebrate by grilling hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, and much more. Most of them left on Friday, while one family stayed until Monday to have to family vacation time. 

July 2nd was Brittany and my's 3 year anniversary. Because we were in Tanzania, we weren't able to do much to celebrate. Saturday night we decided to go out for a nice dinner. James and Kenya told me about a place called Driftwood that is a buffet basically on the beach. I had no idea how nice it was going to be before we arrived. We had a good time having some time away and to ourselves for our 3 year anniversary. 

This week was spent getting ready for the team, which arrives today. Monday we went to Miritini (the village where we are doing the basketball camp) and put two poles in the ground so we can attach basketball goals. On our way back, we stopped in Mombasa and watched Monsters University in 3D. Tuesday and Wednesday we spent most of our time getting tents and sleeping bags ready and finishing anything else before the team arrives. Thursday was our last day off before the team comes. We had decided that we wanted to go to Gertrude's home. Gertrude is the lady who teaches our Swahili classes. She is a member of the church in Malindi but can only come occasionally because she lives outside of town. We spent all day at her home looking at her farm and just enjoying her company. She is a very sweet lady and we loved visiting her home. Thursday night was our nice dinner out with the Taylors. We went to a restaurant called I Love Pizza. It was a great night for us before the team arrives and everything gets crazy. Each of the Taylor kids made a card for each of us interns, as did James and Kenya. They are all incredible people and it will be hard to leave a week from Monday. The next week and a half will fly by, especially with the team being here. We will spend 4 days in the village, show the Jesus Film twice, go snorkeling, and go to a game park. It will be a wild ride, but I can't wait. After that, we come home. It's exciting but at the same time very bittersweet. 

From Bad to Good

Another week has passed here in Malindi, and it was the most exhausting one thus far. Monday we went snorkeling, or at least attempted to go snorkeling. We arrived to the ocean where a boat was waiting for us. We got on and waited for a few minutes while our guides got all of our snorkels and flippers. It began to rain and it was rather cold. Once we started moving, the sun finally popped out and it began to warm up. After a short ride, we arrived and jumped in. The coral was really pretty and it was a good snorkel. We got to see lots of fish and even a sea turtle. We snorkeled for about thirty minutes and then the wind and waves picked up. At that point, we all decided that it'd be best to get back in the boat. All twenty of us got back in the boat, and we began driving down the coast towards our lunch spot. It started raining again and it wasn't a pleasant ride. We rode for what seemed to be an hour down the coast, and finally our guides picked a spot for lunch. I'm not sure why we went so far because any spot on the sand would've done. We parked and all got out and ran under a big rock overhang to try to stay dry and warm. The rain kept coming down and it was pretty cold. A few of us attempted to start a fire, and after about thirty minutes we succeeded with the help of a local woman. As soon as we got it going, our guides told us to get back on the boat (which was covered) because they were about to serve lunch. For lunch, we feasted: all kinds of fish, lobster,  and shrimp, as much as we could eat. It was delicious. During lunch, the rain stopped and the sun occasionally peaked out. After about an hour and a half for lunch, we were ready to head back out for more snorkeling since our morning got cut short by the rain. We all got ready to go, and then our guides informed us that the tide had gone out too far. Our boat was sitting in just a couple inches of water, and we would have to wait for the tide to come back in. So we got out and played in the water and sand. An hour later, the tide had gone out even further. The boat was basically on dry ground. We knew that this wasn't good and that we weren't going anywhere anytime soon. That was around 3:30 P.M. Kenya looked up on her phone when the tide was supposed to come back in. Bad news: It wouldn't go fully out until 5:45 P.M., and then it would start coming back in. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't somewhat frustrating. James called our bus driver and told him where we were. After another hour, we grabbed our stuff and abandoned ship. We started walking inland and about half a mile down the dirt road, we saw our bus coming. Overall, the snorkeling and food were good, but the rest of the trip was pretty tough.

Monday was to be our day of rest and relaxation while snorkeling before heading to the village. Needless to say, it was far from that. Nonetheless, we got back to the compound Monday night and packed our bags. Early Tuesday morning, we hit the road for Singwaya. It was about a two hour drive to the village down the dirt roads. Tuesday through Friday we did a basketball camp at the primary school in Singwaya. We'd have one class in the morning and one in the afternoon. The groups varied anywhere from about 40 to 150. Brittany and I were at a station of passing and defense. We were given a sheet of drills and games. We used some and made some up as we went. On Friday afternoon, we played a game against each grade. The whole school of almost 600 kids plus teachers came out to the dirt court that we made throughout the week. We played a short scrimmage game for guys and girls for every class from 2 to 8 (basically 2nd to 8th grade). It was exhausting but was a fun time for the kids to see how the game is really played. After playing all the kids, we scrimmaged the teachers. The kids laughed and screamed and cheered as we scrimmaged the teachers. They loved every bit of it. Afterwards, we had a closing assembly where we donated two basketball goals and several basketballs to the school. The students and teachers were very appreciative of our donations.

Friday night we set up a screen and showed the Jesus Film in Giriama, the local language. Although it was hard to tell, there seemed to be anywhere between 300 and 600 people there. One of the national pastors led an invitation, and 34 people came forward for salvation. Their information was given to the pastor of the church there in Singwaya. Hopefully the church will see much growth as a result of the basketball camp and the Jesus Film. The church has been meeting at the school, but recently bought a plot to put their own building. This morning the 20 from our group plus about 20 from the church cleared off about a half-acre of land so that they can begin their building. Wangiri, the pastor, was extremely appreciative of our efforts throughout the week as were the other church members. We have been praying that the Lord would grow the church in Singwaya and that many people would come to know Jesus.

It feels good to be back in Malindi and have a nice shower. The food in the village was rough for me. Luckily, I brought enough food to survive the week. We slaughtered a goat on Thursday and ate the good meat Thursday night. For lunch of Friday we were served what the locals call "matumbo." It is goat intestines, liver, kidneys, etc. chopped up in a soup. No, I did not eat it. Friday nights here at the Taylors are usually Taco Nights. Since we were gone last night, tonight will be our Taco Night. I can't wait to eat a full meal for the first time in several days!

Samson, Serah, and Singwaya

The past few days have been a blur in preparation for the first short-term team to arrive.  Wednesday we finished as much as possible around the compound. Thursday was our day of rest. All the girls went and got massages and pedicures while James, Josiah, Samuel and I stayed at the house and watched movies all afternoon. Our theme was natural disasters; first we watched Twister, and then we watched The Impossible.  Friday morning we got up and headed to Mombasa around 10 A.M. to pick up the teams. We arrived at the airport around 12:30, expecting the flight to land at 1. They didn't arrive until almost 3, and so we spent a couple hours in the airport waiting on them.  We ordered some pizza and just waited on them. Once they arrived, we made a stop in Mombasa and then headed to back to Malindi. We had some bus issues on the way, and so the drive was around three hours instead of two. We finally got back to Malindi, and after a few snacks everyone pretty much crashed.

Today we got up and Gertrude came to the house for a Swahili class this morning for the group. The interns sat in on the class but we weren't too involved since we had the lesson two weeks ago.  About an hour into the lesson, James called us and said he wanted us to come to the church property because some kids were there for choir practice.  The four of us loaded up the van and went to the church. I've been driving a few times this week and I'm starting to get used to it. It's a little different since here you drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. Also, there are cars, motorcycles, bikes, and pedestrians everywhere and they typically aren't too concerned with getting out of your way. It's been an adjustment to say the least, but I love learning to drive here. Julie, Brittany and Ashley had choir practice with the kids at the church. James and Clayton had a fire going and we were just watching it burn. Most of the time there I spent talking with a 17 year-old kid named Samson.  He regularly attends the church here in Malindi but I'm not sure if he is a believer.  James has briefly talked to him but isn't sure if he is saved or not. I'm hoping to grow closer with him so that I can talk to him about salvation.  He speaks decent English but it is still hard to communicate. I'm praying that we will be able to understand each other when talking about God.

We came back to the compound for lunch and then everyone went back to the church to hand out invitations to church along with the books of John and Romans. We handed out about 1,200 total  invites to church in about an hour and a half. I was in a group with Brittany, a girl named Ally, and Godfrey, a member of the church in Malindi. I had some really good conversations with Godfrey this afternoon. His two month old daughter, Serah, was born blind. She was supposed to have a cornea transplant a couple weeks ago, but the doctor would not do it because she was so young. On Tuesday, they are taking her to a different doctor in hopes of them cutting holes in her cornea so that she can have partial vision. Godfrey seemed a little nervous because he is not sure what the doctor will say on Tuesday. The church has been praying for Serah, and so we will see what happens on Tuesday.

Tomorrow, we will be at church in Malindi. Afterwards, we are getting everything packed up to go to Singwaya for the basketball camp from Tuesday until Saturday. Monday will be a fun day. We are going snorkeling and possibly going to a crocodile farm. Then early Tuesday morning we will head to the village for the basketball camp. Friday night we will show the Jesus Film in the local language. Afterwards, I'll be giving a short message and we'll have an invitation. Our hope for the week is to see souls saved and the church in Singwaya to grow.

Two Weeks In

Well, I've been here in Malindi, Kenya for almost two weeks now. It's crazy that we have less than six weeks until we return home.  So much has happened since we arrived in Kenya. A few days after we arrived in Malindi, James took us four interns on an adventure across the country. We got to see some of Nairobi, and then went to Mt. Longonot.  After climbing the inactive volcano, we spent the night with the Hoppers, missionaries who have been in Kenya for 25 years.  The next morning we went to a mall, ate at Java House, and got to do some bartering at the Maasi market. Then we made our two day trek back to Malindi.

We got back from the trip on Thursday and rested Friday. A missionary family that recently moved to Mombasa spent the weekend with us. They arrived Friday afternoon and left Monday morning. We enjoyed a good weekend of fellowship with them. Sunday morning I preached at the church here in Malindi. It was a new and difficult experience preaching with a translator.  Philippians 3 and knowing Christ was the focus of my sermon.

The first short term team arrives on Friday and we have been trying to get as much done as possible in preparation for them.  This morning, James, Brittany, and I went to Singwaya to put two poles in the ground for our basketball camp in the village next week. Thursday will be a day of rest before the team arrives on Friday.

Life in Kenya is good. It's hard at times, but it's still good. It's been a blessing to see how James and Kenya do life with their family here in Malindi. I've already learned so much about culture, churches, and relationships. On the mission field, it is so easy for me as an outsider to see the needs here in this order:
1) Physical
2) Moral
3) Spiritual

However, as Christians, it is imperative for us to see it the other way around.  It's sad when someone is poor and hungry. But it's tragic when one dies without Christ.

Grace and Peace,
Logan

One Wild Week

Well, it's been a little over a week since I've last blogged so I thought it was about time. Last Sunday, a group of us went to a place where they had some hot springs. They had 20 different pools with temperatures between 90 and 150 degrees. There were 3 water slides that emptied into a pool. They looked like normal water slides, but were hands down the fastest slides I'd ever been on. One went straight down. Once I hit the water, I skidded about 15 feet before coming to a stop. Our tour guide took us on a little safari tour through the jungle. We drove and saw a few birds, but nothing more. This concluded our weekend and it was back to school on Monday.

Monday I was informed that everyone was going bungee jumping on Wednesday. I had to decide if I wanted to go or not. If I didn't go, I knew it would be something that I would regret, so I went. We were driven to the bridge on Wednesday. We began to walk onto the bridge and immediately looked down. About 300 feet below was a river that, from this height didn't look like much, but was probably pretty large. I was the 4th person in our group to jump. They strapped me in, and told me to get onto the platform and put my toes over the edge. Everyone counted down from 5, and I jumped as far as I could. The 3-5 second free fall was probably the most exhilarating thing I've ever done. I bounced about halfway back up, and dropped again. A crane pulled me back up, and it felt amazing to be back on land.

Thursday after class, we headed for Manuel Antonio. My friend Phillip told me that Manuel Antonio had recently but rated as one of the top 10 beaches in the world. Expectations were high. We arrived in Manuel when it was getting dark on Thursday. We were a little confused about where our apartments were, so we just started walking. We past a hotel and met an American woman that walked with us for about 10 minutes to show us where our rooms were. We got settled in, went out for dinner, and called it a night. The next morning was time to hit the beach. Upon arrival, we were a little disappointed. The beach was pretty rocky. Only a small strip of it had grayish sand. We got in the water, the waves were massive, probably 7-10 feet all weekend. Friday we spent all day on the beach, body surfing, boogie boarding, throwing a football/frisbee, and hanging out. Saturday morning, Phillip, Justin, Mason and I went on a little fishing trip. Our taxi driver pulled up to the shore, where a little pink boat was waiting on us. We got in, wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. We were about a mile off the coast the whole time. We got completely soaked on the ride to our fishing spot. The water was fairly warm but the air was freezing. The first hour and a half were pretty boring. No fish, just sitting and waiting. Justin and Phillip got motion sickness. The waves were probably 10-12 feet tall. We were constantly bouncing up and down. Phillip caught the first fish, a jack, a pretty good sized fish. I had a monster on my line that I reeled in for about 3 minutes. When he got about 15 feet from our boat, he got off. I was so mad. I didn't see him but I knew he was huge. Everyone got their turn catching fish, Mason, Justin and I all caught needle fish. They were about 2 feet long and extremely skinny. Not long after, it was time to go. Our boat passed the beach where we were supposed to meet our friends, so we asked if our guides would drop us off at the beach. Our driver said the closest they could get was about 40 meters. We said we'd give it a shot. He pulled in as close as he could. We turned around and it looked like a wave was about to swallow our boat. Somehow, it didn't. The guide told us to get out as quickly as possible. I had a bag of things that we had to keep dry. We jumped out, me holding the bag above the water, and started swimming as fast as possible. Luckily, no waves broke on top of us, and we made it to the beach safely. The rest of the day consisted of enjoying the beach. We went out to dinner, and then a few of us called it a night. I went to sleep around 9:30, and woke up around 8:30 this morning. It felt glorious. Today we came back to San Pedro. It feels good to be home.

Only two more weeks of school. It is crazy that we are halfway done with classes here. Two weeks from today I will be flying back to Atlanta to meet up with Brittany. I am really excited to be back, but I'm enjoying every minute of being here.

Costa Rica: Pure Vida

With living abroad, there are chances that one must decide whether or not to take. One of those chances is eating at an "American" restaurant. The guys decided to go to Taco Bell Thursday for lunch. It is right next to campus and looks delicious. It was, hands down, one of the best meals I've ever eaten at Taco Bell. However, I regretted it later. Let's just say that I had some stomach problems and anything I ate went straight through me. I got up Friday and felt pretty bad. Didn't want to go to school. I ended up going but felt pretty weak and didn't want to do much. We went to Walmart for lunch. I couldn't hardly eat anything. My host mom walked me down the street to the pharmacy where i got some medicine.

Also on Friday, I had a 20 minute Spanish group presentation in my Conversation class. Luckily I had my new friend Mandi, and also Tyler and Kristin to talk with as well. It went fairly well if I must say. Friday night, I had to eat mashed potatoes for dinner while Justin and Mason had some wonderful food. I also couldn't drink any milk that night. Sad day.

Today was the trip to Tortuga Island. It was definitely the highlight of the trip so far. We got up at the 5 a.m. to make it to school by about 5:45. We left the school around 6:15 for a 2.5 hour bus ride to the coast. The drive was beautiful! We drove through all kinds of mountains to get to the Pacific Coast. We got to the coast and ate breakfast at a restaurant right on the ocean. Then we boarded a boat and headed for Tortuga. The ride to the island was gorgeous. We passed tons of mountains that were right off of the shore. Beautiful scenery everywhere I looked. We got to the island and it was perfect! I jumped in the water as soon as I could. Within about 3 minutes of being in the water, I feel my right arm starting to sting really bad. After a few minutes of stinging, my arm begins to break out with red bumps on it. I realized that I had been stung by a jellyfish. I talked to our tour guide about what to do. I've always heard people say to urinate on a jellyfish sting...well, i'm not really sure I wanted someone going on my arm. They ended up rubbing some sugar on it and it went away within the hour. The bumps are still somewhat visible but much better. We had lunch on the beach, played some volleyball, rode a banana boat, and finally went for another swim. Within about 5 minutes of the second swim, my other arm starts stinging. I looked down and saw a tentacle-like substance on my arm, pulled it off as fast as I could and got out. Another sting. This time, I knew exactly what to do. Got some sugar, rubbed it on, and it felt better within the hour. Shortly thereafter, it was time to leave. The boat ride was about an hour and a half, then another 2.5 back to the school. Had dinner at the mall and then finished off with the first warm shower in about a week and a half.

On the boat ride back to the shore, I spent some time enjoying creation and the Creator. I kept seeing the beautiful contrast of the mountains next to the ocean. I can't imagine that being an accident. I wish I could've been there in the beginning when God spoke the world into existence. From nothing, into this earth. I'm in awe that nature obeys His words. Just like when Jesus calmed the storm, the disciples wondered who He was that even the winds obeyed Him. I'm excited to open up to Acts 4 tonight to read about Peter and John before the Sanhedrin court. Peter: "For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." I want this to be my attitude about the Gospel, that I can't help but talk about what I've seen or heard. Unfortunately, I don't think I could say that right now. Could you?

Costa Rica-Day 6

Well I have been in Costa Rica now for almost a week. I am loving every minute of it. Sunday we went on our first excursion. First we saw an active volcano, and a little lake kind of next to it. Later that day, we went to this zoo/waterfalls. The zoo had lots of birds, butterflies, monkeys, snakes, cheetahs, etc. The waterfalls were beautiful as well! The park had a buffet that was SO good!

Monday came around, and reality set in: time for class. I went to my first two days of Intermediate Spanish 1 and I didn't learn a thing. I was a little disappointed to say the least. My professora was very nice, but she mumbled alot and what we were learning I knew by heart. I went to the language office and switched into Conversation and Composition. I went to these classes today and loved them. They will be much more challenging but i will learn so much more from them. They are both in all Spanish, so they will be pretty tough.

For the 4th of July, we went to a little restaurant/bar where the bartender told us there would be fireworks shot off. Our group all ordered a dessert or something and waited for the fireworks. People started showing up, but the fireworks never did. I'm pretty sure the bartender just said that to get people there. It worked. Well played, Bryan.

On Monday, some of the guys that we hang out with bought a membership to the university gym. We are trying to work out at least a couple days a week. Today after class, we went to eat lunch at a Mexican restaurant, and then went to the gym for about 45 minutes. Afterwards, we went to the mall in order to see a movie (Wednesdays, they have 2 tickets for the price of one). Unfortunately, all the movies within 2 hours were sold out. We ended up just shopping and walking around the mall for a couple hours.

On Saturday, I am going on a school sponsored cruise to Tortuga Island. I have no idea what we will do once we get there, but we can horseback ride, kayak, snorkel, play beach volleyball, or just bum around on the beach. Sunday, a group of us are going to this resort/spa place. I'm not too sure exactly what is there but I hear it will be fun. Apparently The Bachelorette was filmed there...must be important. Monday will be "back to school, back to school, to prove to dad that I'm not a fool."

Adios