First of all, THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU to Emily, for setting up this blog for me! You are incredible. (Emily offered to make a blog site for me, because she knew that I hadn't set one up prior to leaving Canada...and she has first hand experience with Kenyan internet connections. They're a little on the slow side most of the time.)
So, I am Candice Veale, and for those of you who don't know already, I am currently in Kitale, Kenya. I'm with a team of four other people, and we are primarily here to volunteer in Mercy and Caring Children's Home, which is a school and orphanage for kids who come from the Kipsongo slum on the outskirts of Kitale.
Dane and Trudy Ruck are the 'leaders' of the group, and they have been to Kenya twice before. Nancy Miller is a recently retired school secretary, and David Williams just graduated from high school. (In the same class as me) We're calling ourselves an odd little makeshift family for now, with Dane and Trudy as the parents, Nancy as the grandma, and David and me as the kids. We're staying with a Kenyan family (the Ochanas) who live about a ten minutes drive away from Mercy Home. They are a wonderful, welcoming and incredibly hospitable group of people, who insist that their home is our home, and that we should make ourselves totally comfortable. There is Geoffrey and Helen, their son David (34), their nephew Laban (24) and their neice Stella (15) who are all living at home. Altogether there are 10 of us in the house, which makes for big happy family dinners!
We've been here since Sept.24th, and we're all beginning to adjust to life in Africa. It is so amazingly different than life in Canada, that I have no idea where to begin explaining it. The way of living is different, the way of communicating is different, the food is different, the idea of time is different, and the way that I'm beginning to see God is different. We've only been here for a little over two weeks, and already, I am starting to find that my views are being altered, and my normal is being shaken. We're planning to be here for 3-6 months, so it'll be interesting to see the effect that that amount of time will be able to have on my general outlook of life.
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3 comments:
ah candice! I am so glad you have a blog so I can follow your adventures!
I am very glad you are there safely. Love you lots.
Hi Sweetie, this is exciting, your own blog page...I will be watching it constantly for word from you...I love reading what you have to say about your time there..ttys..love Gramma♥♥♥
Hi Candace, I'm a friend of your Gamma & Grampa here in Kamloops and your Mom was part of the youth group in Gibsons that I worked a bit with. I will be following your adventures in Kitale and praying for you. If you have any special prayer needs, you can just post them nd I'll put them on our Sunda prayer list so you know you will be constantly covered in prayer. Are the children at the orphanage from AIDS families? Lord blss you as you minister thre.
Babs Ennshttp://candiceveale.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-first-ever-blog-post.html http://candiceveale.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-first-ever-blog-post.html http://candiceveale.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-first-ever-blog-post.html http://candiceveale.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-first-ever-blog-post.html
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