Well it has certainly been a ride. Today is 8 months to the day that I arrived in Nairobi back in August. My last couple weeks here I've been able to put up a basketball hoop, buy art supplies, clothes, and finish painting. I also got to have a lot of fun as well, as seen here:
I've been to Nairobi, Kisumu, Eldoret, Mombasa, and Naivasha to name some of the bigger cities. I've seen most areas of Southern and Western Kenya as well as parts of the East Coast. I went to Uganda and canoed across Lake Victoria and the Nile. I went to Tanzania and climbed Kilimanjaro to the highest point in all of Africa. I've seen the government buildings. I've been in mansions and affluent beach resorts. I've lived and worked in the slums. I've seen fights and gotten robbed. I've made friends and helped raise money. I speak more Swahili than I did when I first got here, and I taught English. I've traveled by train, bus, car, matatu, plane, boat, raft, motorcycle, and bicycle. I've walked everywhere. I've eaten chicken and goat intestines. I've stayed out all night, and I've also been locked in the flat(supposedly by accident). I've had local beers and local liquors. I've danced with girls from all over Africa and even parts of Europe.
Things I won't miss:
People always asking me for money.
Bribes.
Goat Intestines.
People thinking my name is Morris or Harold.
Those dumb birds that wake me up every morning.
The rat that lives above my ceiling.
Mosquitoes.
Paying for Internet by the Megabyte.
Power outages 2 or 3 times a week.
Macon.(and yes I mean Macon. not Bacon)
Sukuma Wiki.(worst vegetable ever)
Windows with bars.
Things I will miss:
Cheap beer.
Transportation costs and availability.
Hospitality.
Walking across highways with impunity.
People thinking I have money.
Monkeys.
Celebrations.
Cheap beer.
Avocado Trees.
Mango Trees.
Banana Trees.
Did I say cheap beer yet?
Things I am looking forward to:
Getting food after 9pm.
Driving my car.
Speaking English.
ESPN.
Going to the movies.
Making money.
Seeing my friends' children grow up.
Playing basketball with my brother.
Watching football.
Getting a beer with my dad.
Getting a beer with my friends.
Shaking hands and hugging everyone without fear of a horrible disease.
I had difficulty sleeping last night. I'm not sure why. I had literally stayed out all night the previous night and i'd only been able to take a couple hour nap during the day. So when I went to sleep at 11, I thought it would be for the night. 4:30am came around and I woke up wide awake. I lied there for awhile. Finally, I got up and walked outside. I looked up at the sky. It had a few clouds strewn about. But that red glow was there. Doesn't matter the whether. Could be clear or cloudy or rainy or bright with moonlight. There is always a glowing red tint across the whole sky. I'm sure it has something to do with the city lights and the red dirt on the ground. I don't know. But I do know that I won't see that in America. There will be many things that I might never see again. Some I'll probably do just fine without, and others I might always long for. The best I can do is try to appreciate what comes to mind to appreciate. I want to thank everyone who followed me on this journey. At times when it was hard and I felt alone, I'd check my blog account and see that my previous post had over 200 views. After that, I wouldn't feel as weak or alone because I knew that I had a ton of friends and family keeping up with me. Thanks for the money you all donated. I was able to do a lot of good things like I mentioned above, and those were just some of the more tangible examples. Much of the time it just allowed me to spend time with different people in different places, like being able to work at a school in Uganda or the Great Rift Valley. The organization FOCUS uses the term "radical" to explain how much availability their missionaries are supposed to have on college campuses. Between your donations and your prayers, I gain radical strength and was allowed radical availability for the people here in Kenya. I've been able to make connections with onsite organizations here that people from Belmont Abbey will be able to use hopefully for a good long while.
At some points on this trip I had doubts whether I was doing enough or whether my time spent here was actually worth it. If compared to all the experiences and influences of everyone else in world then sure my actions have barely caused a single movement in the great ocean of things. But if I take my efforts and see how they've affected individuals here, I truly believe that I have made differences and even some of the slightest differences I've made I pray and hope can have a good impact on the future. My goal here wasn't to change the world. It was simply to give my time, and hopefully have the talents and skills to help the people here in a good capacity. I can't know for sure if I've done anything great, but I do know that I tried my best. And I'm happy with that.
Thanks again for all of your support. Going on mission was definitely one of the largest learning experiences of my life and absolutely worth it.
Signing off,
Harris Moriarty
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