Hello again. I know it has been a few days since I have posted anything but that is because I haven't done too much that would interest y'all. Until today. The boys and I spent about a week at the Tigoni Center getting to meet the monks there since we will be working at ministries that are extended from the priory at Tigoni. There is one monk that was exceptionally wonderful - Father Gabriel. He did his graduate studies at St. John's in Minnesota and immediately connected with us. His stories from his time in the States were so interesting and funny. He also took us into the city of Limuru to get a cell phone, Internet, and snacks. And yes, they do have Oreos - my saving grace. And yes, I do miss American food. I miss it a lot. Father Gabriel also took us to a bar called Hugz to have Tusker, the Kenyan beer, which wasn't bad. I got hit on by an African woman there - no big deal. 

Anyways, we left Tigoni on Thursday to move to the Amani Center, which is just outside Nairobi and will serve as our home for the rest of our stay. It is about a 3 minute walk to both Deborah (another missionary from Belmont) and a bar/butchery. You read that correctly - bar AND butchery. And it's pretty swank for Africa. We settled in a bit and then went to the bar with Deb to hear how her week went. 

Today, the guys and I went to Mathare slum, which is the second largest slum in Africa. It holds about 30,000 orphaned children in maybe a 3 km radius. It was dirty, reeked of garbage, and was just plain nasty. It is not something you would find, even in the worst parts of America. And of course, we got intense stares from practically everyone. The kids would shout "mzungu" and "how are you?" at us. Mzungu is translated as "white/brown person," though it is not a derogatory term. I actually found it endearing and I felt like a celebrity since all the kids were excited to see us and to shake our hand. In the slum, there is a school called St. Benedicts Children Centre that houses kids from 4-22 years old. Everyone was so friendly and joyful. I sat in a meeting with a group of people that live in Nairobi and clean the slums every week. These people are living saints. I am only here for 8 months to volunteer but these people live here and do so much more for the community than I could ever do or even imagine doing. I hope to work with them in the future. Hopefully, I will make it into Nairobi tomorrow to explore and grab some snacks. To be continued...

P.S. I just saw a monkey today. It was wonderful. 

Hello everyone! As you probably already know, I decided to leave the comforts of the US for the unfamiliar lands of Kenya for eight months. I hope this blog serves as a bridge between Kenya and everyone who would like to follow my adventures. Anyways, I wanted to introduce the title of my blog, The Matatu Diaries (a  matatu being a mini-bus that is a common mode of transportation in Kenya). My blog title is an adaptation of the title of the movie "The Motorcycle Diaries," which is a story of two people who travel on a motorcycle throughout South and Latin America. As they travel, they come to understand the identity of the countries and witness the life of the poor. It was the experience of a lifetime for the main character that eventually led to his major role in the Cuban Revolution. Now, I don't plan to go to Kenya to begin a revolution, especially not a Marxist one, but I do hope to impact the communities in which I will work. I do not know how much I will blog but I hope to post entries frequently because I will want to share my experiences with everyone and I hope people will want to hear about my travels. This first post will be longer than the others but I will try to be concise in the rest of them. 
Before the trip, I went on retreat at the Belmont Abbey monastery where I was living the life of a Benedictine monk. It was a nice week because I got to spend quality time with the monks. They are extremely excited about the trip and I am so blessed that I am able to go. I was not nervous but more giddy about the trip. Them, the day came when it was time to leave. I got to say goodbyes to the wonderful monks and some old friends from the Abbey. The day before, I got to have lunch and dinner with my family. Once all the goodbyes were out of the way, all I could do was look forward. It was a long trip, involving a barely-caught connection in Zurich, Zombieland, having my bags searched at security, and a most unfortunate chocolate incident on the last leg of the trip. But none of that mattered because I was finally in Nairobi! 
The girls went to their host convents and the guys (myself, Matt, and Anthony) headed to the Tigoni center, which is in the mountains north of Nairobi. It was colder than I had expected but the grounds were beautiful - filled with animals, tea plantations, and avocados. Since it has been quiet in Tigoni, I have been thinking about a statement that I can refer to when things get tough here (and they will get tough). I remembered a quote from the movie "The Tree of Life" that is especially moving and sums up the way I wish to live and work in Kenya: "There are two ways through life - the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you will follow. Grace doesn't try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. Accepts insults and injuries. Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Like to lord it over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it. And love is smiling through all things. No one who loves the way of grace ever comes to a bad end." This seems to be a great place to close my first blog post - all I ask is that you send up some prayers for me and my team and the Kenyans that we will be serving. Sending my love from Kenya!