Where there is love, there is life - Indira Gandhi

I had an AMAZING weekend!

Saturday morning the hut two crew got up at 4:30 a.m. to catch a bus to Kitale and then head to Mt. Elgon. Kitale is a town located two hours from Bungoma, but TIA (This is Africa). It ended up taking us three and a half hours. I use to think that two hours in the car was a long time and now it's short. If we can get to our destination in two hours everyone is cheering. Most places are five to nine hours away.

I took my backpackers pack with me on the trip because I brought a tent. Well once everything was inside of the pack it weighed about 60 pounds. I knew it was not going to be fun lunging that thing around. When we all got onto the bus it was practially empty so we each took a set of three seats for ourselves. That didn't last long and before I knew it I had my pack on top of me with the smelliest man I've met crammed next to me. I was fighting for fresh air! It didn't help that he stared at me for the hour he was riding on the bus. He finally got off the bus andwe are riding along peacefully when all of a sudden we hear mobs of people screaming. The Kenyan people on the bus all got up to see what was going on. Since they looked so worried I got really worried. The bus had stopped at this point and it was not a schedualed stop. We waited a few minutes and then we could see all of these people coming down the road and most of them were children. They looked angry and they were carrying sticks, rocks, and bows and arrows. As they passed the bus they were banging on it and trying to open the windows. Poor Julie looked out at one point and had a bow and arrow put up to her face. Her initial reaction was to flinch away and then the little boys started laughing at her, so she flipped them the bird. I told her that was the fastest way to get herself into trouble. Everything was fine once they passed and I'm still not sure what it was all about.

We again take take off towards Kitale. We were thinking everything would be fine and it would be smooth sailing from there on out. WRONG! This man gets on the bus about an hour outside of Kitale and starts preaching. The guy was going nuts. He had his eyes closed and then he would just stare at someone while his voice got louder and louder. I was in deep prayer that whole time. I just kept thinking "this guy is going to bless all of us and then end our world." If I'm going to go out in Kenya I want it to be doing something heroic, not by being a sitting duck on a bus with a maniac. Don't start freaking out Mom. I'm okay and I promise I will come home. It's more funny now than anything.

After that crazy ride we finally made it to Kitale. We found out once we arrived that we would not have access to any food when we got to Mt. Elgon. We quickly b-lined it to the grocery store to stock up on some peanut butter and bread for the weekend. Then we decided to sit down and eat a quick breakfast since we wouldn't be eating much over the weekend. The guy who owned the restaurant we ate at recommend a private taxi driver to take us to the mountain. That is how we met David, one of my favorite Kenyans so far. He drives a taxi all day but he is saving up to become a mechanic. He told us all sorts of interesting things about Kenya. He said he wanted to marry a white American woman. When I asked him why he told me that most Kenyan women just want a man for his money. If the men don't have any money than the women don't want them. I was really surprised by this, but after asking around I have found that many men here feel the same way. They see white American women as honest and hard working. They also haven't met many American people so it is very stereotypical. David was really great though and he said the most beautiful thing I have heard here. He asked if any of us were married and Julie replied "I'm not married but I have been with my boyfriend for five years and I know we will get married." Then David said "Marry the person your heart finds peace with." How beautiful! I've been gushing over it for days now. I couldn't believe someone said something like that, let alone a man. There is hope :).

It was an hour to get from Kitale to Mt. Elgon and it was great because we got to ride in an actual car with the windows down. Mt. Elgon is green, lush, and incredibly beautiful. We had a three mile hike to our campsite with our guide, Osongo, who carried a gun and wore camo. When we got to the site we were surrounded by Baboons. It was one of the most amazing things I have seen. They just sat around and watched us set up camp. I have some great videos and pictures of them. Once we set up camp we hiked for the rest of the day. We went to an elephant cave, but unfotunately saw no elephants. We did see thousands of bats which was really cool.

We had the campsite to ourselves so it was just the four of us. We managed to start out own fire, thanks to my baby sister who taught me so well :). The next morning we decided to go horseback riding which turned into another crazy adventure. The horses were untrained and mine ran off with me. I finally got the big boy under control and then he was nice. I led the group and at certain points I was pretty far ahead of everyone else. I sang songs to the big boy that he loved and we just bonded.

Everything in Kenya is always an adventure. The ride home from Kitale was no different. We had to take a matatu (van) back and all squeeze in with a ton of other people. My pack had to sit on my lap while it leaked water from the rain all over my pants. I was not a happy camper and extremely frustrated. Just when I thought I was going to have a breakdown I looked out the window as were passing a field of sunflowers. I was so excited! I LOVE sunflowers and that just made my day. That's how things usually work in my life. God always sends me a rainbow after the storm. I'm sure that happens for most people who never even see it. I'm so glad I was raised to see all of the beauty around me. After that we met a guy who has adopted four children on top of the three he already has. The children all lost their parents and none of them are related. It was really inspiring to listen to this man speak. It makes me think of the movie "Hope Floats". At the end of the movie Sandra Bullock says one of my favorite quotes: "Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it is the middle that counts the most. You need to remember that when you find yourself at the beginning. Just give hope a chance to float up.... and it will too."

Mom, I got my package today!!!! I can't tell you how happy I was to see popcorn balls. I shared with the other volunteers and they loved them. They told me to tell you, you have no idea how much joy you've brought them. I'm going to make some guacamole tonight. Thank you a million times over. I love you!!

"Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless."