Christmas trip
I realise that I kinda disappeared from the blogging world. To some extent that has been purposeful. I’ve missed it. I’ve also had a lot going on, and several things in life have been frustrating and I haven’t wanted that to take over my blog. I’ve been journalling (yes, with a notebook and pen) again a lot more. This has helped me get some of my thoughts in order and I feel a little more like if I decided to blog about them, they would be less of a rant and more thoughtful for the sake of my readers.
Anyway, moving away from that subject, but don’t worry, I will come back to it at some point…
Evan and I are going to Kenya. To Nairobi and surrounding areas in December/January. We need to book tickets this weekend, but we plan to leave December 26th and return January 10th. This came up at the last minute, because there was a trip going and several people cancelled, so my boss asked Evan and I to go.It will be a great trip. E91 currently supports a couple of projects in Kenya, and we will get a chance to see two of those. We will also see a number of other projects that we do not currently support, and so this trip is a number of things for E91. It is a chance to see the outcome of some of the money we have sent over, and a chance to consider new projects.
Here are two things I am excited to see:
The CMF Hope Partnership -this is work taking place in the Mathare slums in Nairobi. An area of less than a square mile with more than 1million people living in extreme poverty.
The second is a remote village, Mbita, that will take a day of travel to get to, but there is a school and orphanage that E91 gave $1500 to renovate the school for the children. These kids were sitting on a dirt floor, getting bitten by bugs day after day, just so they could learn. Simply giving $1500, they were able to put in cement floors, so the bugs can no longer get in through the dirt and each child now has a desk and chair to sit at while they do their work. The school was also able to build a kitchen to provide better meals for the children. We now want to establish a way for them to become more self-sufficient by providing a chicken coop and chickens for the eggs that they can eat and sell to other local villages.
Evan and I need to raise around $3500 for this trip. We are also taking over childrens tylenol and vitamins for the orphanges we will be visiting. I am excited. Not just because Kenya has been on my ‘to visit’ list for a long time, but because I have been hearing about these projects for the last 18 months, and I can’t wait to see them first hand. And now, I definitely want to get a Digital SLR Camera for Christmas! Hopefully, I can save enough before we leave to buy one!
However, he is still on the vent…and their hope is for him to come off hopefully by Monday. We will see… will keep you all updated. Thank you all for your prayers and support. 
