Machakos School for the Deaf

Like I mentioned in the previous post, we are in Machakos. This past week was spent improving our Kenyan Sign Language, meeting children, meeting teachers, and learning about the education system of Kenyan, especially as it relates to the education of the deaf.

I mentioned earlier that we would staying in Machakos for two weeks. Well, the plans have changed --at least for Kristiann and me. We are going back to Loitokitok on Monday to join our fellow math and science volunteers. The Peace Corps will be sending a car for us Monday morning. I am excited to be reunited with the other volunteers. It is amazing how quickly we all bonded. But I guess it is expected, seeing how we have to travel to Kenya by ourselves. There was no Peace Corps staff to accompany us.

My time in Machakos has been wonderful. The children are full of so much joy. They have big hearts and made us feel very welcomed. This is why, when asked, "Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?", Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. . ." These children have made no assumptions about us, they welcome us with open arms, and are just so happy to be alive. They are not yet corrupted by the world. It really lifts your spirits being with such loving children. Even with sweaters with large holes and worn out shoes, these children wear beautiful bright smiles. They almost seem to know really what matters in the world: taking care of people (not to be confused with "person," namely one's self).

I know there are some people confused about me leaving my phd program to teach children in a developing nation. I'm going to try to explain it here:

I received my bachelors in 2006 and my master's in 2008. I started my phd when I was only 24. Because of this, I received a lot of praise from family and friends. But after a friend of mine was killed in a car wreck, I was slapped into reality. . . The reality being that I, and everyone else for that matter, is not guaranteed a tomorrow. Think about it; if all my goals are for the future, I'm not living in the now. If something happens to me, I wasted my whole life trying to achieve something that now seems pointless and superficial. I looked back on my friend's life and thought that he had an amazing life. He was kind, loving, and caring, and his life was proof of this. I thought about my own funeral. What would people say: "Beau sure was smart. He started his masters by age 21 and his phd by age 23."

You let everyone know what is important to you, not by what you say, but by how you live. My life told everyone that I really cared about mathematics and statistics. I was talking to my friend Sarah about this one day. She has worked with me for the past 6 or 7 years at a camp for children of all abilities, and more recently at a pre-school. So she knows more than anyone else that I love children more than anything. I told her that I didn't want people to say that I was smart at my funeral. She that I was being ridiculous because of all the work I have done with children, and my wanting to do more. I agreed that people know what kind of people I am. But I realized that my entire life needs to be a billboard displaying what is at the core of my heart.

I think ultimately, the decision to leave school to help a developing nation was due to a new understanding. People don't try to get to heaven and end up slipping and going to hell. People choose to be with their Father in heaven or they choose not to be. I will try to make it a little clearer. In the Lord's prayer, we ask for the "Lord's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven." There people who flat out do not want to earth to be like heaven. They want the flashy car. They don't want to take care of their neighbor. They look the other way when someone is in need. Therefore heaven is not a place they would enjoy. I don't think that hell will be a fiery furnace, not exactly at least. It is written that the flames of passion (and desires) will be fanned out of control (metaphor, even though some churches don't see it this way). I see God saying, "you want to live for yourself, and put yourself first? . . . ok, I will give you your own place. There everyone will be at odds trying to acquire superficial things and go after superficial desires. "

I also knew I had to pick one. . . . . Do I continue pursuing a peice of paper, then live a life of my own? Or do I listen to my Father and dedicate my life to something greater than myself?

Also, I knew I couldn't ride the fence on following Christ. I couldn't profess God with my lips and then deny him with my life. I can't pick and choose which teachings of Jesus to follow and which ones to ignore. Please don't think I putting a certain group of people down. This is just how I felt. I knew I had to decide once and for all to follow Christ with all of my heart, soul, and life, or not to follow Him.

This is how I came to choose to dedicate my life to serving people and my Father. I'm not sure what is after Peace Corps, but I'm not going to concern myself with that right now.

I hope this helps. I know that I will be just teaching math and science at a secondary school in Kilifi, but this will provide opportunities to preach the gospel by my actions and life. As St Francis of Assisi put it, "Preach the gospel alway, and if necessary, use words."

I hope this wasn't too scattered. I am not good at organizing my thoughts as they come.

Update from Loitokitok

Today marks one week that I have been in Loitokitok, Kenya. Loitokitok is on the border of Tanzania and Kenya. It is right on the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. Today was the first day that we could actually see the top of the mountain. Every day looked as though it were bringing rain but failed to see it through. But today. . . a clear sky. The mountain seems so close you can reach out your hand and touch the snow on top. It's hard not to be awed here. You look to the south and you see not just Mount Kilimanjaro, but three mountains. You look to the north and, because we are up on the foothills, you see vast amounts of Kenyan landscape.

My training class consists of 27 trainees. What a wonderful group of people of work with. Ever since we arrived in Africa, every trainee has had a positive attitude. I was a little surprised by this. Being from the US, every time you are in a large group, there always seems to be a "Debi Downer." When we arrived at AFRITALI (a hostel in Nairobi), everyone felt so blessed to be there. It wasn't the least bit fancy by American standards. . . but we finally had a bed after 20+ hours of traveling and sitting in airports. We spend three days at the hostel and had interviews with Medical. We had a lot of culture training from current volunteers and Kenyans. We were even introduced to the choo (CH-OH). The choo is the common toilette in Kenya. It is an outhouse with a hole in the ground. The floor of the choo is usually made of cement. The hole of about 5 m deep. There are some choos with dirt floors, but it is not uncommon for them to cave in after several years.

Each day we have language training for about 4 hours, then a variety of other trainings (ie health, safety, job assignment). The language training for me is not Kiswahili, but rather Kenyan Sign Language (KSL). After I demonstrate proficiency in KSL, I will be allowed to move on to Kiswahili. I believe this will benefit me greatly when I go to my site in January. I will be teaching at a deaf secondary school in Kilifi. Kilifi is right on the coast, about 1 hour north Mombasa. Kristiann and myself are the first volunteers in Kenya to be sent to deaf secondary schools. This will bring many new challenges to the Peace Corps, simply because it has never been done before (with PCV's).

Today is my last day in Loitokitok for two weeks. Tomorrow the deaf education volunteers will aboard a bus bound for Machakos. This is a bigger town with a large deaf community. The first week we will stay at a hotel, and the second we will stay at the school's dorms. We will see the school in action, how current volunteers are teaching, and meet the children and locals. We will continue to have language training throughout the week with our trainer Carol.

The people of Loitokitok seem to be confused regarding our presence here. The children shout, "Mzungu, mzungu!" which literally means "British, British!" Then they say "howww aaaaare you, howww aaaaare you," not knowing they are asking a question. This continues until we are out of sight. But I have learned that when this happens, I just ask them "habari za asubuhi" (how is your morning). The answered "mzuri sana" and are confused that we seem to know their language. The adults offer less interaction. What they do offer is stares. . . and a lot of them. In this region, the population is about 20,000. Before we came here, there was only one "mzungu." Because the region is large, we are the first Americans that some of these people have ever seen.

That is all for now. I will update again when I have access to the internet.