Ketchup

Wow, Christmas has come and gone.  This past week has been full of activity for us, so I’ll catch you all up a little. 

Dec. 22-I stayed up until 11:30 at night (I usually go to bed around 10-10:30 here) popping 3.5kg worth of popcorn kernels.  It took 2 hours.  For goodness sake that was a lot of popcorn.  And the lid didn’t fit on the pot, so I had to hold it the whole time.  And the handle was loose.  But, it was fun because they had Christmas carols playing in the next room, where the rest of the team was putting the popcorn into 100 bags for the children at Mercy Home.

Dec. 23- I went to the Street Children’s outreach at Faith Community Church again.  I’m not sure if I’ve written about it, but I’ve been once before (In Oct.) It was their special Christmas party.  The street kids are one of my favourite parts about Kitale, so it’s awesome to hang out with them all at once.  This time, I was on baby-washing duty.  Only one of them cried because she was being washed by a ‘mzungu.’

            - Then I took a matatu out to Mercy Home where the rest of the team was, to join in the Christmas/Birthday party that was happening there.  Most of the kids don’t know their actual date of birth, so they just have one day of the year to celebrate.  There was a talent show, special lunch, and organized games.  I got recruited into the 100m race, which really shouldn’t have been a problem for me...I was wearing a skirt, so the girls got me a pair of shorts to change into.  I am ashamed to say (but will tell you anyway because it’s funny) that I did a face plant in the first 20m.  And pretty much EVERYBODY was watching.  Good one.  A little bit embarrassing, but mostly just hilarious.  I have never had so many people come up to me and say “Sorry” in my life.  I was telling my family on the phone that I feel like I’m about 6 years old, because my knees are totally gross and scabbed over. 

Dec. 24- David and Trudy slept over at Mercy Home, Stellah left to go and visit her Grandma, and Geoffrey has been sick for the past week or so, so it was a fairly subdued Christmas eve.  Nancy and I decided to go outside and stand by the “bonfire” which was actually a pile of burning garbage in the corner of the yard.  It was very enjoyable, we sang silent night and took some pictures.

-          We all sang Christmas carols and read the Christmas story together in the evening.

-          Nancy and I hung out in her room and made “sausage rolls” (because we missed the traditional appetizers of home) This might sound impressive, but, in reality, it was crackers, with tiny bits of leftover sausage extracted from the stew in the freezer.  We never actually ate them, but we convinced Dane that they were good, so he ate them. 

Dec. 25- CHRISTMAS!  I woke up around 7am.  It felt so strange, because I was super excited even though everything was so different than Christmas morning usually is.  Helen had prepared a nice breakfast for us, so I waited until Dane and Nancy got up, so that I could eat with them.  Then I called my family.  It was sad to be away from them at such a special time, but it was great to talk to them.  And also, now I know that next year I’ll be able to appreciate everything that Christmas at home is even more! 

            -After nearly 2 hours of being awake, (this is proof that I am growing in maturity over here in Kenya) I took about an hour and a half to open up all the letters and gifts that had been sent to me in various packages from friends and family.  (THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYBODY!)  Even though Christmas is so much more than gifts and cards, I’m not going to lie, it made it extremely exciting. 

            - Then I went out to Mercy Home to hang out with the kids for the rest of the day. 

            Alright, I’m going to close this off now.  There is a lot more to tell, but I can only type for so long.  All in all, I had a wonderful Christmas season, though very strange and different from what I am used to.