Tutaonana Kenya!

Welp folks, I believe this will be my final Kenya update. My team has about one week left in this crazy fantastic place before we fly on home. We have started saying goodbye to some of our friends here and it is beyond weird to me to think it is already time to leave them. 
-Last Sunday was incredible. The church in Kijabe held an event called Cultural Sunday. Six different tribes were represented and they all performed songs and dances representative of their community and culture, while completely decked out in their tribal clothing. Awesome? Yes. After all of the performances and speakers and sharing, we were able to go around to each represented tribe and they shared some of their traditional food. Not only is the culture of Kenya itself so beautiful and different from anything I have ever before witnessed, but the variety and distinctness of each tribe and people group within the Kenyan culture is incredible. 
-This Tuesday a couple of us from my team spent time in the kitchen at the hospital in Kijabe. We were able to build friendships with the cooks there as we helped them prepare meals, as well as went along with them to the various wards serving tea and meals to the patients. It was really neat seeing that side of the hospital and getting to interact with the patients simply through serving them lunch or pouring them a mug of tea. I will also note that I received a marriage proposal from a man with a broken leg while we were collecting dishes one day...flattering, but the communication barrier would make things a tad bit difficult, I believe. We were all also given pretend Kikuyu names by our kitchen friends. I am now answering to Sarah Shiko. 
-That day before we left the hospital, our new friend Justina insisted we stay so that she could serve us milk and bread. Sounded harmless. We were given cups of hot, boiled, whole milk from an enormous vat with foam and other questionable collected films on top. One very serious thing we have learned here is that you must, must, must eat or drink whatever is served to you. It is beyond rude and insulting to decline or even not finish  what is served. The four of us downed that milk-ish substance like champs, trying so very hard not to smell or taste as much as possible in the process. I very soon regretted that decision to be polite and thankful for that thick, warm nastiness when I proceeded to be sick to my stomach for the next twenty four hours. I am forever indebted to Pepto Bismol tablets and Cipro. 
-Yesterday was our last day hiking to Kijabe town. We had been going to see a family ever week: Sarah was the mother, Uticus her mentally handicapped 13 year old son, and Sarah's 82 year old mother in law who was bedridden from meningitis. We had visited with this family for weeks now and just Monday found out that Sarah's mother had passed away. Yesterday, when we were in town, we joined in with not only her family, but entire town and community, as they made preparations for her burial. The guys were busy joining in with the men as they dug the grave and constructed the coffin, while the ladies joined with the women preparing the oodles of food for after the funeral. Similar to the funeral we experienced in Rare, the people we were surrounded by were so joyful. They were celebrating the life this woman lived, and they were doing it as a community. 
-Something I am realizing each day as we get closer and closer to leaving is how much my team means to me. When you spend every hour of every day with 15 incredible people, it is dang hard to imagine saying goodbye to them. We have all grown so close, experienced so much together, and learned so much from one another that it hurts my heart to realize that they will not be right by my side whenever I want them after we all return home. Lifelong friends have been made on this crazy and wonderful Kenyan adventure, that is for sure. I am so thankful. 
-So on the 31st (Happy Birthday Mommy!) we will all make our way back home. It is difficult for me to even begin processing what these last two months consisted of. It was such a ridiculous mixture of joy, learning, new experiences, awkward tan lines, questionable squatty potties, crazy amounts of love, laughter, eye-opening experiences, new friendships and stories, and overall thankfulness. I am so grateful for having the opportunity to be here, to learn from and to share life with these people. I have seen a new passion for life, for love, for God, in the hearts of these people and it is something unforgettable. I will carry these experiences and these people & their stories with me for the rest of my life. It is an incredible place, Kenya. It has opened my mind, eyes, and heart in new ways...and I so desperately hope that it continues to  wow me even as I sadly leave it. 

Here I come, America...see you soon!
Much love,
Sarah