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!