Howdy!

I'm getting ready to board an overnight bus for a rather long journey to the boonies of Kenya for two weeks.  Therefore, I will not be sleeping well tonight and most likely be flying through the air a lot.  Cosmas sent me a text this morning reminding me not to sit in the very back.  It also means that I am going to be Mr. Stick Out Like a White 6'5 Sore Thumb for the next two weeks.  Hukuna shida (No problem), but I would appreciate thoughts and prayers over the next two weeks, especially for the above mentioned bo-jazz.  I like sleep and although I don't mind sticking out usually, after a week or so it starts to become more challenging.  So yep, also please remember to keep the entire African Evangelistic Enterprise staff in your thoughts and prayers as well during the next two weeks.

I am excited and believe this may be my most interesting trip in Africa yet.  We shall see.  Apparently, we are staying in Maasai huts with people in the area so that will be very nice.  I have taken all that I have learned from my many trips this year and hopefully packed intelligently.  (Good thing I typed that because I just remembered I need sunscreen where I'm going, thanks blog!)  Yeah, scratch that intelligent part...

I will hopefully be able to find an internet cafe so I can update you all, but probably no pictures until I'm back in Nairobi.  Please continue to write me e-mails and comment on the blog.  It is always nice when I return from a trip to have a full inbox and comments.  See you on the... internets.

My good friend, Julie, is in Nairobi with ten people from Austin working in Kibera for a few weeks.  I was lucky enough to spend a good portion of the day with her team and play Chicken Feet (a dominoe's game), getting in some good States time where I could reference movies, music, TV shows, and Austinite bo-jazz and they all understood me.  It wasn't as badly needed as previously because I'm just back in Kenya, but it was still nice.

Today, Julie made her way out to Karen and was able to see where I live and work.  Sometimes I forget how incredibly beautiful and peaceful it is out where I live compared to in the city. 

Julie and me in front of the Quonset Hut:


Mouse

We have a new friend in the Quonset Hut. (I haven't named her yet for fear of becoming attached) Before I left for my trip home, she had visited and starting eating a chocolate bar I had kept from Israel.  That was that and no more problems.  However, when I returned last week, I saw the little cridder climbing on top of my blinds, and she was cute... I thought at the time.  Then the next day as I was lying in bed, I felt something crawl over me which caused me to throw my covers off and she went flying.  No problems from her for a while, but today when I woke up the cookies which Josh and Laura had made me and put in a zip lock bag were gone.  Luckily, I had eaten most of them and only two or three were left.  She left crumbs all over my little desk though... eats my food and doesn't clean up after herself!  I thought that was that, but as I picked up my bread today to make a PB&J it was revealed that she had also taken a bite out of every slice.  So, I've moved my chocolate collection and other valuable food to a secure location which I can't mention because she's probably reading over my shoulder right now...

I am now a Candidate in the ordination process to become a Minster of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA)!  Bwana Asifiwe! (Praise the Lord!)

What I weighed the night I returned from Kenya:


What I weighed right before I headed back to Kenya three weeks later:


It's not ten pounds, but nine is pretty close, eh?  Familiar food is good.  My favorite moment during my weight gaining escapade occurred at Pizza Hut the first weekend I was back.  I had returned to the table with my third helping of pizza and my dad said to me concerned, "Let's not go overboard, Robert."  He then got up to get some more food and my mom leaned over and said, "Now, you just keep on eating because you're too skinny!"

Unexpected Blessing:
Listening to NPR (Sweet Jesus, I've missed NPR more than anyone will ever know) on the way home from Dallas to Tulsa, Rick Steves came on the radio for an hour session about airplane travel.   He had a flight attendant on who had written a book about smart travel and funny incidents he had seen in his 20 years of attending flights.  The main point that Rick kept making is that traveling by plane is a major blessing.  Whenever we start to have a grumpy moment remember that you are going to travel around the world at 700 miles an hour in a fraction of what it would take by land or sea.  Of course we all know this, but for some reason hearing it from somebody else made it sink in.  So, my three flights back to Kenya I was all smiles and happy even when the person in front of me leaned their seat back and my legs went crunch.  Thanks Rick and NPR!

Home:
I'm back in beautiful Kenya!  I've been having a party with jet lag... not really.  It is great to be back and I am excited about finishing my last month here with enthusiasm and energy.  Word.  Thanks for reading.

One of my best friends from college, Sam (pictured below), had his wedding last Friday. 

Sam's present to me at the rehearsal dinner (Amazing! Thanks Sam): 


Sam lived across the hall from me our freshman year.  Some how we weren't friends until about half way through our first semester.  Our mutual friend Rachel told me she thought we would be really good friends, so the next time I ran into Sam in the bathroom I told him, "Hey, my name's Robert and we're going to be best friends.  Rachel said so" and the rest is history which has not been written down yet...  Sam had asked me to be in the wedding last summer, but I told him that I would be in Kenya.  Well, things worked out to where I was home the same time as the wedding which was really nice because I had been stressing the entire year about having to miss it.

The morning started off with a full 18 holes of golf with the groomsmen and me.  I've played golf twice now, so you can probably foresee that I am an amazing golfer.  Hukuna shida (No problem) because I had an great time and made the putt of the day.  I wasn't on the green yet, but I still like to use my putter because I've played a lot of putt putt.

The Putt


The wedding was beautiful and I am so happy for Sam.  Sam is one of the nicest guys you're ever going to meet and so I was worried he wouldn't be able to find a gal of equal niceness, but he done did it.  Katie is as nice and positive as Sam and I do believe that he married up which I thought was impossible.  So, congrats to Sam and Katie.

At the reception I did some dance moves (and movements) I haven't done in a while and woke up the next morning reminded of said movements.  It was a fun night where I got to see many people I hadn't seen in a long time.  It was crazy as I thought the entire night, "I'll be back in Kenya in four days!"

The wedding photographer took all the good photos so I left my camera in my pocket, but here is a photo of me which sums up the dance night.

On my way down to Fort Worth for my good friend Sam's wedding, I was able to stop in Sherman and Allen for a short visit with two of my adoptive families.

While at Austin College, I was involved with Covenant Presbyterian Church all four years.  Their pastor is Rev. Neill Morgan and I spent a January term and semester serving as Neill's intern following him around everywhere and eventually preaching my first official sermon (non-testimony/non-my story) at Covenant.  During this time, I also grew close to Neill's wife, Nancy, and to three of their four daughters: Beth, Suzannah, and Tamara (Rachel was already off at college).  So, now whenever I have a chance I try to make it to the Morgan's for good home cooked food, to see which daughter has grown the most (Tamara), to talk and catch up with everyone (especially Nancy), play guitar with Neill (he has amazing guitars), and if I time it right to lazily listen to NPR in the morning.  Neill turned 50 in late May so I must give him a shout out...

HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY NEILL!!!

Neill and I playing guitar:


I then journeyed down to Allen to spend time with my other parents, John and Anne Gifford.  My last two years of college I served as the youth director for the First Presbyterian Church of Allen and the Giffords graciously took me in to live with them for the summer of 2005.  We are all Austin College alums and we continually have random connections through our shared alma mater.  Oh, so many stories to tell... let's see, one of my favorites occured the day I moved in with them.  I pulled up to their house, got out, and decided to take an enormous load of clothes in my arms with me as I made my way to the front door to save a trip.  I had called them to say I had arrived.  As I brought my hand up to knock on the door I hear one of them yell, "Robert!"  I turn my head to the left and about ten houses down they are frantically waving their arms and smiling.  I was getting ready to move into the wrong house...  That sums up our relationship well.

On this short visit, I had plenty of time to catch up with John and Anne, meet the new dog, sleep in my incredibly comfortable bed, watch The Bucket List (if you haven't seen it, please do), and be technologically nerdy with John.  It was a great visit and Anne made me an awesome "Have YOU hugged a Presbyterian today?" pillow.  Thanks Anne.  Before I knew it, our time was up and I was off to wedding bo-jazz.

John, Anne, and I (Anne is trying to be taller than usual):

My mom and I were driving home from one of my doctor’s appointments and she simply said, “It’s good to drive down familiar roads.”  We were driving down the main road that our neighborhood is off of in Broken Arrow, so we both had many memories along this route.  I pondered if she was thinking of a specific memory, “What makes you say that?”  She said, “A week or two after you were born, we had to take you to the hospital to have your liver tested because of all the complications with your birth.  Grandma had come down from Kansas and didn’t want to drive on the main roads, so we took this back route because she felt like she could drive on the back roads.  I remember holding you in my arms and how at the hospital they made me leave the room when they poked you because they didn’t want me to have to hear you cry.  Then we drove back home on this road again with you in my arms, slow and steady with Grandma.”  “I’ve never heard that story before, mom,” I said. 

Some roads are more familiar than we realize.

As I drove around the last corner, I saw the infamous chain-linked fence that has been a part of my life for eleven years now.  That was our signal when I was a camper that we had finally made it to Dwight Mission.  I could write a few hundred pages about Dwight, but some things can't be said in words (but since this is a blog, I'll use words).  My life includes four summers as a camper, three summers as a counselor, one summer as assistant program director, and a visit every summer since 1998 in some form or fashion.  Placed in the flint hills of eastern Oklahoma, it is one of the most beautiful places in my life.

My excuse to go to Dwight was to teach the new and old staff members a class about Presbyterianism.  I just wanted to be at Dwight... with the people, with the buildings, and with the memories.  I don't think I realized I was actually back at Dwight until I walked into the boy's dormitory, Washburn Hall, God bless it.

So... I took a picture when the realization occurred...


This is where I slept when I was an eighth grader (not in the hall, in the rooms), where I guided the sleepwalking camper back to his bunk, and my favorite of all, where Brian Coulter had to clean up the bathroom after one of my campers clogged up the toilet more outrageously beautiful than I have ever seen to date.  The camper believed that by repeatedly flushing the toilet everything would go down, wrong (Thanks Brian).  I know the dorm well because I know where all of the light switches are without looking or thinking about it.  After realizing where I was, I made my way around camp reminiscing of my memories in different locations.

Dwight has been the most life forming place for me.  It was my youth group when I was in high school, where I gained a lot of confidence in myself and leadership skills while on staff, where I learned how to play guitar, and my happy place when I'm elsewhere now.  Dwight is part of my being.

I think I've been avoiding blogging about Dwight because I can't appropriately blog it in words... yeah, well here's the link to my blog with John William's song about Dwight and below are some pictures of Dwight and Dwight related things in the nearest town, Sallisaw:

The Creek:


Wild Horse BBQ:
Some of the best BBQ ever!  In Kenya, I dreamed of this moment!  If you're ever in Sallisaw then please stop by.


Quiring and East Brothers: 
I'm very proud that my little brother, Patrick, is working his second summer on staff at Dwight this year.


Me, Josh, Tara, and E-Sharp


Life Goal #76:

Since I was in Austin, I wanted to visit the church I will be serving next year as an intern.  The service was very nice and creative and got me excited about next year.  However, this is the story of how I got to church.

Saturday, the conference ended and I began to plan for Sunday morning.  How would I get there?  I started calling around to no avail.  What would I wear?  I decided upon a suit, but was missing black socks and dress shoes.  As the night progressed, I knocked on my friend Chris' door and acquired shoes that were slightly too big for me, but beggars can't be choosers.  Then my lovely, beautiful friend, Allison, offered her car to me if I could get to her house.  So, I called my Episcopalian duo, Shyla and Eric, and asked for assistance getting the car.  They agreed graciously and I asked Eric if he had any black socks.  He had mismatched leftovers which I gladly accepted.  I went to bed Saturday night with everything miraculously straightened out, I assumed.

Sunday morning, I woke up, showered, shaved, and was putting on my suit when problem number 17 occurred.  I buttoned my pants and they fell right to the floor.  It is my dad's old suit which was slightly too big for me to begin with and I have lost some weight, uh oh.  I do the next logical thing and call my good friend, Mary Elizabeth, to ask where she stashes her belts.  She tells me and ends with the comment, "I'm not sure if they'll fit you."  To which I chuckle, I take out the only belt that could possibly work and it fits perfectly... aside from the fact that it is a round girlie belt buckle kind of belt.

So, fifteen minutes early, I arrive to this new church for the first time dressed in my father's over sized suit, Mary Elizabeth's girlie belt, Eric's mismatched socks, and Chris' big shoes.  Booyah world!

The belt:


The socks:

I was fortunate to attend the YAM (Young Adult Ministries) Jam conference in Austin this past week  (click here for conference blog). It was hosted at Austin Seminary and put on by Presbyterian young adult ministry people I have worked with for many years in the past.  We had three very good speakers with different styles, Ted Wardlaw (President of Austin Seminary), Bruce Reyes-Chow (Current Moderator of PC(USA)), and Carol Howard Merritt (who is the author of a book titled Tribal Church). Click on Bruce or Carol's name to see their blogs.

Worship outside:


Worship inside:


What happened when I found the gigantic box of goldfish:


What happened when I found Grandma's Sweet Leaf Tea:


What happened when we found Peanut Butter Moose Pie:



Back to serious Robert...

I have been hearing that the PC(USA) is dying my entire life.  However, I keep on seeing excitement and energy for our denomination.  One of the biggest obstacles the PC(USA) has is creating a space and program for young adults (however you define that term).  The conference focused on this idea and implementation into different contexts.  Any ideas on how to create a space and program for young adults in the PC(USA)?

One of the most interesting points made was that 80% of college students believe in same-sex marriage.  This has sent shockwaves through many evangelical and mainline churches.  Then the same church hears that 30% of college students do not have health insurance and the church doesn't make a noise.  Think about that... what does that say about the church?

Water

The water here is crazy!  I walk over to the sink, put my water bottle underneath, fill it up, and drink it.  My toothbrush also just goes right under the sink to be washed off.

Somebody asked me about the water in Kenya yesterday and I realized that I haven't really shared that here.  In Kenya, the water comes from wells which Kenyans call boreholes.  From these wells, all of the water is pumped into large water containers.  These containers are elevated and provide the water for sinks and toilets.  Outside my Quonset Hut we have two of these containers.  I use the bottom 500 liter container to fill up my one liter boiler doohickey, boil the water and wait for it to cool down, two hours, pour it into a ceramic filter, wait two hours, then have myself some drinking and toothbrush washing water.

It sounds more tedious than it is.  It has just become part of my life that I don't think twice about anymore.  Therefore, putting my toothbrush under the sink again is taking some getting used to and drinking water straight from the tap without any boiling or filtering is... well... crazy.

The most frustrating part of the water bit for me is that I have to carry around a water bottle with me all the time so that I know the water is safe.  I don't mind carrying a water bottle mind you, but it is when I am asked why I always carry a water bottle wherever I go that I feel misplaced, "Because the water here will make me sick."  Sounds easy enough to say, but this definitely comes across with the message I hate sending and feeling, "Your water isn't good enough for me."

Streets

The States' roads are amazing.  There's no other way to put it.  I hear people talk about how bad some road is here or how construction has been going on forever there.  I've been a complainer.  I think I'm going to be quiet post hence.

My favorite story about the States' roads occurred when I was living on Cosmas' Island, Mfangano (blog post about Mfangano here).  I stayed with his pastor who had been to the States before and would tell me about how wonderful the States are as if they were heaven.  One night at dinner, I decided to set the record straight.  "The States are not heaven, they are far from it.  Over half of our marriages end in divorce, our culture is the most materialistic in the world, we had slavery, segregation, ... (I continued my tirade for a few more minutes)."  I finish and feel that I have laid out a very thorough argument against the States being heaven to which the pastor replies, "BUT YOUR STREETS!!!"  Everyone has their own idea of heaven I guess.

Sidewalks

They're crazy.  Where my family lives (and a majority of us in the mid-west), we use our sidewalks sparingly.  In Kenya, a majority of the population walks everywhere, but no sidewalks. 

Bridges

There are a lot of bridges in the States.  I never really paid much attention to them unless one was unusual tall or artistic.  Now I am noticing the simple bridges and how amazing and expensive they are.  We have few bridges in Kenya.

Many of my friends were Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) before me and I got to hear all of their stories.  I remember hearing about the connection they had with fellow YAVers because of what they had been through.  However, I did not believe that it was a deeper connection than, "Hey, you went to Austin College too.  Cool."  Well, I've changed my mind after being back for a week.  I have been surrounded by many wonderful YAVs who listen very intently and understand, to an extent, what I am talking about and going through.  It's really quite wonderful, helpful, and any other -ful you can think of.

I guess that there is a difference from going through a pledgeship, which is supposedly to bring a group closer together, and moving to another culture/country for a year.  That's what sororities and fraternities should do if they really want their members to feel a bond.  I'm going to put the seven of you in another culture where you stick out so much that everybody stops and looks at you whenever you walk by.  When you come home and meet somebody else who has been through that there is something that exists between those two people, an understanding, which is more than I expected.

During my nine months in Kenya on long matatu rides and walks, I would reminisce about Kansas.  Both of my parental units are from stated state (huh huh) and I love going up to Newton and Frankfort to visit my relatives.  I'm a very family oriented person which is one of the main aspects which has drawn me towards pastoral ministry.  I had been dreaming about finding my way back to Kansas since even before leaving for Kenya.  I hadn’t been there since Christmas of 2007.  I was so excited; I wasn't really sure what to do with myself.  Do I walk around screaming the entire time, so that people realize how excited I am to see them?  Exnay on the screamnay... I settled with verbally informing my family how excited I was to see them.  Although, I don't think that they realized how incredibly happy I was.  The visits were too short and my brain too scattered to take it all in, but I am truly blessed with the family I have and hope that when I return to the States again I can make an extended journey up yonder.

My cousins Ada and Alfie with me:


Alfred, Alfie, Ada, me and Aunt Diana


My cousins Emily and Amy with me:


When I was introduced to the new John Deere Sprayer:


My cousin Bryce and me in the Sprayer:


I accidentally walked into a small grocery store with Bryce and the peanut butter aisle almost made me cry:


Gipper (Bryce's dog who enjoys waking everyone up in the mornin'):

Alright, my favorite band, the Dave Matthews Band has a new album coming out Tuesday.  I've traveled the country to see them 11 times, but tonight we all have the opportunity to watch them from our homes for free.  So, please do.

Dave Matthews Band live tonight 10:30 Central streaming on http://fuse.tv. On the tele at 8 Central on Fuse. I'll be dancin in front of the TV... no joke, we'll see if any pictures surface from said dancing.

Here be a informational session from CBS Sunday morning yesterday:


Here be a DMB video to help inspire the watching tonight: