His Hands and Feet

The past two days of my time here in Africa have been some of the most challenging and most rewarding of my trip. On Wednesday and Thursday, we visited the Missionaries of Charity home for teenage girls with disabilities and the Visionary Mothers daycare center in the slums of Karibangi. In the United States, we see pictures and hear stories of kids in need in Africa, but all of those pictures and stories fall very short of seeing the need firsthand. When you are able to see it, hear it, touch it, and smell it, you are affected in a completely different way. I had to fight back tears as I watched girls who never knew and will never know what it feels like to walk, babies who will never see because of a bad case of the measles as an infant, and kids who musculoskeletal deformities will keep them from every escaping a wheel chair. But despite their challenges, more joy filled the rooms of those two places than a banquet room full of high flying CEOs enjoying a nice meal in a Ritz Carlton hotel.

For me, their challenges were paralyzing. For the first time in my life, I could not “fix” someone’s problem. In my mind, nothing that I did or could do over those two days would make any significant change in their lives. I experienced moments when all hope seemed lost. And then the Lord reminded me of a few simple truths. I don’t have to “fix” everything. All I can do is empty myself on a daily basis and share the love and hope that only He can provide.

I'll never forget what I saw the past two days. My emotional tank was on empty every night, but my experiences will be ones that I will continue to think about and process even after I return home.

I’ll never forget how I was touched by their smiles, their tears, and their laughter. I’ll never forget how the kids’ faces lit up when we delivered new toys and games to each of them. I’ll never forget their smiles when we put shoes on their feet for the first time. I’ll never forget how friendships were forged by the comfort of a new stuffed animal. And I’ll never forget how grateful they were for the things we brought, but even more grateful for the time and love we offered.

YOU MAKE THE CALL?

In an earlier post, I talked a little about my first matatu ride on my first day in Kenya. Without a picture, it was very hard to describe. My friends suggested I compare it to a minivan (i.e. "mv") back in the United States. I'm bringing it to a vote by my Running the Race blog readers. Here is a picture of a matatu in Kenya:

Matatu or Minivan?

(please respond in the comments section)

(click on image to expand)

A Birthday to Remember

This afternoon, we returned to Nairobi from our white water rafting trip. What an incredible way to celebrate a birthday! My day started with a wake up call – a melodious rendition of “Happy Birthday” sung by my friends, Chad and Jill. Jill made breakfast bread which was nicely decorated with 3 candles that I could not blow out on the first try – the first sign of aging.

After breakfast, we met our river guide at the local market and drove about 2 hours north to the campground where we stayed over night. We were very fortunate to be the only 3 guests at the campground and the only 3 people on the river yesterday. We had it all to ourselves.

I can’t even begin to put into words our trip down the river. In fact, I’m not even going to begin to try. Suffice it say, we maneuvered through some tough class II, III, IV rapids and even one class V rapid. It was an incredible adventure. We also “surfed” a rapid in our raft which was awesome until yours truly took one for the team and went overboard. (Side note: I later found out from our guide that the entire boat would have turned over if I had not willingly given my body. I’m just trying to remain humble. He also gave props to Jill and Chad for pulling some of the best surfing he had seen in a long time.)

Before we ended our crazy river trip, we plunged off a 30 ft waterfall. I’ve posted a couple pictures below. In my opinion, the pictures do not do any sort of justice to the height of that jump. It was VERY HIGH!! I enjoyed it so much that I did it 3 more times. Jill and Chad also participated with several jumps of their own.

A Moment of Reflection: As I was climbing the cliff time after time, all I could think was how the Lord created us for “adventure.” Now maybe plunging off 30 foot waterfalls is not your idea of adventure, but I do feel like He created us for something bigger than only what our mind thinks is possible. And along those lines, I think He delights when we experience that “adventure” and all of the joy that comes along with it.

Our trip down the river was huge success due in large part to our awesome guide, Jordan. This guy is a jack of all trades – a trained EMT, wild fire fighter in the U.S., white water guide, volunteer medic at a hospital in Kenya, and B.A.S.E. jumper (which he demonstrated for us last night) – at only 22 years old. He really gave us the insider’s trip down the river and allowed us to experience some things that most big groups don’t get to do.

When we arrived back at camp, we had an amazing lunch and dinner, some down time to sit and chat, a couple competitive games of UNO (the Draw Four Wild Card got me every time), some star gazing, and a surprise birthday celebration. A huge THANK YOU goes out the entire staff at Savage Camp and our new friends -- Harriet (our hostess) and Jordan. They really went above and beyond what we could have ever expected.

ULTIMATE!! - Day 2 of my Kenya Experience

It’s almost 10 p.m. here in Kenya. And since it is lunch time in the States, I thought I’d provide some great reading material for you during lunch.

We began the morning with a nice 15-20 minute walk to church -- Mamlaka Hill Chapel. We were led in worship by the S.A.L.T. college praise team (shout out to my small group back in Fort Worth). I think I clapped and danced more in our hour of praise and worship. It was authentic and true worship. It was incredible. I absolutely loved the freedom with which all the members of the congregation praised the Father. During that time, I had the opportunity to praise the Lord for the first time in Swahili. What an incredible experience!

After church, we returned home to a nice breakfast – homemade omelets cooked by our very own, Chad Olsen. They were superb which is why I’m giving him a public shout out. And then, we settled in for a nice afternoon nap. Life moves a little slower here in Kenya. It was refreshing to just be at home instead of having a million things to check off the to-do list before another week begins. At home, I normally rest by moving as if putting more stuff on my plate is actually rejuvenating. Today, I learned a great lesson that it is okay to stop and rest. The world doesn’t need me to keep going.

Later in the afternoon, we jumped in the car with some fellow ex-pats and headed northwest to the International School of Kenya for a friendly game of Ultimate Frisbee. Wait….friendly? Let me rephrase that – friendly and competitive game of Ultimate Frisbee. About 20-30 ex-pats from the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain get together every Sunday and play some “disc” and these guys and girls are good. They were not messing around and even have their own name (Nairobi Ultimate Frisbee Club), T-shirts, and discs with their club logo. We played for 3 solid hours stopping for only a total of 20 minutes for water breaks. I had a phenomenal time, but I’m completely wiped.

I have one final story that my friend wants me to share with you. After Frisbee, we visited the supermarket for some groceries and I had to use the public facilities (i.e. restrooms). I want share in depth details of that experience, but I will tell you I heard a song on the loud speaker that I’ve never heard in a public restroom before – “It Is Well With My Soul.” Interesting….very interesting. I might add it was comforting as well.

Tomorrow, we off to white water raft for a couple days. I will probably not be able to post again until we return midday on Tuesday. I’ll look forward to sharing more with you then.

Kwaheri (Goodbye in Swahili),

Burke

My Trip to Kenya - Day 1

I don't know how I did it, but I have safely avoided any and all side effects of jet lag. I woke up this morning refreshed and ready to go. We took it easy this morning, enjoyed some Kenyan coffee and some great "catch up" conversation.

About noon, we headed to a local cafe for another round of Kenyan coffee before walking over to the Maasai Market. The Maasai tribe is one of many here in Kenya and they set up a "market" in downtown every Saturday where you can go and buy arts, crafts, jewelry, and everything in between. I had a blast interacting with the Maasai people, bargaining with them, and walking out with some great gifts at great prices. And the fun was just beginning.

Then, we took a matatu, a van that is supposed to seat 8 people, to the local grocery store. Did we put 8 people in that van? No. We put about 14! WOW! I'm sitting here blogging and my friends are comparing it to a mini-van back in the United States. If you know me, I have a serious problems with so-called "mv." I'll take a picture in the next few days and post it for you to decide. I doubt you will respond with "mv."

After our matatu ride and grocery store visit, we returned back to the apartment complex where I met some really cute Kenyan children. We played frisbee with them for almost 3 hours and I loved every minute of them. McDonald even taught me how to do a Tanzanian dance. I'll post our debut dance video later in the week when I get some more bandwith. Until then, enjoy pictures of me and Rose (age 4), who loved when I picked her up high in the air. "Again, again," she would say. You will also see a picture of me and my dance partner, McDonald, after we got through breaking it down. I'm sure you can't wait to see our video.

Finally, we had dinner at Habesha, an Ethiopian food restaurant. I've never tried Ethiopian food in my life, but it was yummy in my tummy. We shared a plate of food along with the shekla. To eat the meal, you unroll the shekla like a paper towel, break off a piece and then pick up some of the many delicacies on the plate. I'll make sure to post some pictures of our meal later this weekend.

I can't believe I'm here for 11 more days. Tomorrow is church which should be absolutely incredible.

HOWDY from Africa!

It's current 8:30 p.m. local time here in Nairobi, Kenya and my body and bags have arrived safely. Back in the States, you are probably enjoying a nice Friday lunch.

Here are a couple brief notes on my travel experience before I sign off for the night to visit with my friends and get a good night's sleep.

• International travel is not as difficult as I was expecting. It's different, but not too unnerving. I did have to show my passport about 15 million times from the time I left Houston until I arrived in Kenya. I wanted to plaster that thing to my head I was having to show it so much.
• KLM Airlines are a bunch of rock stars. They served two meals on each flight and a dessert and tea. It was great. I didn't have to spend a dime of money from the time I left Houston.
• I traveled from Amsterdam to Kenya alongside a very nice European lady. She giggled every time I said "yes, ma'am" or "no ma'am." Her comment was "ohh, you Americans are so cordial and polite." (in a really neat English accent) I took that as a compliment.
• I flew into Kenya in the dark so I can't comment on the landscape, but I can comment on the unbelievable, out of control, heart stopping driving and traffic situation. It was incredible. You might be asking -- are there any traffic lights? Yes. Are they in working order? Yes. Do they follow them? Nope! We ran more than 5 red lights on our way to the apartment from the airport.

Well, my friend is about to beat if I don't shut this post down so I'm going to log off. I can't wait to share the rest of my visit to Africa with you.

Escalating Excitement

I feel like a little child on Christmas Eve. I can't explain how excited I am right now. I'm less than 24 hours away from embarking on an adventure that I'm sure will drastically change the way I view life, others, and the world I live in. Here are a couple things I'm really looking forward to:

1. Seeing Chad and Jill's faces when I arrive in Kenya on Friday
2. Working at the children's orphanage and loving on some little Kenyan kidos
3. White water rafting and the safari
4. Being stretched and challenged throughout the entire trip
5. Arriving back in the U.S. tired, changed, and ready to tell you all about my experience

I'm going to try to blog throughout the trip as much as I can. As you can imagine, Internet access is a little limited, but I'm going to do my best.

Looking forward to sharing this experience with you

A Chapter Closes; The Journey Continues

I've had one of the most stressful weeks, but it has also been one of the most rewarding weeks. I entered the week thinking to myself -- how am I'm going to get everything done? And I'm ending the week amazed at the strength I found through Christ to get through it all.

Today, I finished a chapter in the book I call "The Journey." My FINALS are now complete and I've turned all my focus to my trip to Kenya in ONE WEEK!! I'm so excited about my trip (and there will be plenty more on this blog about my trip), but I wanted to take a second and look back on the past year.

In two weeks, I will celebrate my 28th birthday. This past year, the Lord has taken me on one heck of ride. I remember sitting on a mountaintop in Scottsdale, AZ last year with my best friend trying to figure out where I could use my gifts and talents most effectively. He suggested the medical profession. I suggested that was the most "off the wall" idea I'd ever heard in my life. Now one year later, I've completed two semesters of intensive pre-requisite coursework for Physical Therapy school, I'm working at a sports rehabilitiation clinic, volunteering at two local hospitals, and getting ready to start working on my applications for PT school.

It has been an incredible journey. A journey where I've seen God's faithfulness, His plan for my life, and how He alone is sufficient when I struggle and when I succeed. I'm so excited to see where the journey continues and can't wait to continue sharing it with you on this blog.

What a difference a year makes?

Happy Mother's Day, Momma

She loves me and my family unconditionally. She models Christ's love on a daily basis to everyone around her. She is quick to serve and slow to take credit for the work. She has courage in the face of adversity. She raised two boys and knows more about the game of baseball than most women will ever know. She is always willing to put a hot meal on the table when I come home to visit. She is a scheduler and planner and has managed to pass that personality type down to her son. She loves people and chances are you will meet someone who knows her every time you go out in public. She always knows when to make a timely phone call or send a letter to let you know she loves you when you are having a bad day. She is willing to stand in support of her husband and two boys through thick and thin. She loves being a grandmother and never misses a chance to pick something for her granddaughters when she goes to Target. She bleeds maroon and loves being an Aggie mom. She is always on the move and doesn't show signs of stopping soon. She is always willing to go above and beyond what you normally expect. She is my mom. She is one of my biggest fans and she means the world to me.

I thank God every day for the blessing she has been in my life.

Momma, I love you more than words can adequately express!! Happy Mother's Day!!

No Plan, No Agenda

Recently, my life has been governed by my day planner. Everyday chalked full with school, work, volunteering, studying, social engagements, etc. And although I find a therapeutic benefit to having my life in order, I sometimes want to break out of the mold and do something spontaneous. So yesterday morning, I strapped on my running shoes and took off. I planned on going out for a short 3 mile run, but instead, end up running about 6 1/2 miles at a sub 8 minute mile pace. It was, by far, the biggest stress relief of my week. It was so much fun to run freely in the Keller countryside without an iPod, taking in the scenery, listening to the birds and roosters crowing, and sorting out life along the way.

I think we need times like these. Times where we can unplug and disconnect from the world, even if it is 45 minutes on a run through the countryside.

How do you "disconnect"? Do you find it freeing to get out and do something spontaneous every once in a while or does that drive you up a wall?