Hello from Kisumu!

Hello!

      It’s been quite a few days.  Mt. Kenya was beautiful and the hike was hard.  Without our guide Richard I would not have made it to the top.  I did not know that taking malarone at altitude makes you sick.  Richard is from the Kikuyu tribe, and when he isn’t climbing the mountain, he is growing carrots, kale, and cabbage on his plot of land.

We arrived in Kisumu last night, and Anna and Fr. Chris were there to pick us up.  We learned a lot about the culture in the area.  There are still tribal factions here, and while I thought Nairobi was poor, Kisumu is extremely poor, and the students at Our Lady of Grace come from hard backgrounds.  The school is divided into a secondary school and a primary school.  Secondary is the equivalent of our high school and primary is the equivalent of our K-8.  The school day starts at 6 AM with the rosary and mass, and then proceeds to classes.

We received our assignments today, and for the remainder of this week, I will be teaching Class 4, or the fourth grade, in the primary school. I will also be teaching physical education and Creative Arts, or music!  We are cataloging the donations tomorrow and might be giving some of it to the students tomorrow as well.  All of the equipment will reach the students, but the school wants to give it out on an immediate need basis, and not just hand it all to them all at once.  In addition to teaching and working with the equipment, I am scheduled to go to the market and pick out food with the cooks. 

On a separate note, the number of churches here amazes me, as well as the number of people who display their faith so proudly.  I saw a motorcycle with a sign under the number plate that read something along the lines of “I thank the Lord for all He has done for me.”  There were numerous signs up all over Nanyuko declaring that With God, all things are possible, and many taxi cabs had signs on them that said “Glory to God” among many other things.  It amazes me that a people that has so little can have such great faith. 

I will put pictures up tomorrow when I get a chance. Thanks again for reading!

God Bless,

            Kevin