So. Here it is...My story so far. :) I am not a very good 'blogger' at all...but sometimes I need to vent a little..even if nobody reads it!
Many of you have asked me about how and why I decided to head off into the wilds of Africa. It began as a young girl, maybe around age 10. I used to dream about Africa and always wanted to go and 'live in a treehouse' and play with the animals. I borrowed the same library books about Africa...over and over again. In my heart I longed for Africa. So I went...and boy did it change my life!
What the past 5 years has taught me is...I can't turn my back on this place. This enchanting, heartbreaking, life-affirming place. Africa. Where people are so honest, down-to-earth and joyful. Where singing and dancing is a constant source of existance. Where the lady selling lollies and phonecards on the street-corner becomes a dear friend. Where children love unconditionally. The place where I now have 170ish children who I love more than life itself.
In December 2007 I decided, much to most of my family and friends absolute horror and fear...to head off to Kenya for 1 month. I spent 2 weeks in Mombasa on the coast of Kenya volunteering with orphans at a children's home. I then travelled around Kenya and Tanzania on an Intrepid Travel tour for 2 weeks. During my time in Kenya the country was holding their presedential elections. It turned out to be a very unsettling time for Kenya and violence erupted after the results were announced. For me, at the time, I was worried but not fully aware of the actual state of the country I was travelling around. I now know that over a thousand people lost their lives and many more were displaced from their homes. I returned to Australia only partially aware of what I had left behind.
In 2008 I was living in a remote outback town called Quilpie. I longed desperately for this year to be back in the dust of Kenya. I wanted to have dirty feet a tired body and so many hugs each day that I couldn't hug any more. I was lucky to have had a taste of a world so different from my own and I wanted more. SO...I made a plan to return to Africa for 6 months in 2009! I saved as much money as logistically possible and bought tickets, insurance and everything else I needed for a big adventure away. I took a years leave from my teaching job and I planned on a huge piece of sticky-taped paper...places I would travel too, things I wanted to see, children I wanted to hug! I planned a giant trip to begin in Kenya and to then travel to Uganda, South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Botwsana and Zambia. My 6 month trip turned into an 8 month trip. After 8 months I was in no way, shape or form ready to return to my life. I had run out of money and my visa couldn't be renewed that much anymore. So...it was with a sad heart that I washed my dusty feet again...and hopped on a plane 'home'. That word for me is now a difficult one. They say that home is where the heart is...and for me...my heart was in Kenya. The reverse culture shock I experienced was completely encasing. There was no way that I could return to the life I had known for the past 24 years. The excess in my culture was too much to bear. I vividly remember several occassions quickly leaving a shopping centre with tears streaming down my face. Coping was difficult. Explaining what I'd seen...even more so. How do you sum-up 8 months away? I still wrestle with this.
So in 2010 I moved back to the coast. And started teaching at a new school. It was fine...but nothing like I had experienced away...so again, I struggled settling. I also began studying International and Community Development. This was to be able to place my mind in Africa, whilst still being in Australia...and to see how and if it was possible for me to in some way help the cultures I had fallen in love with. In June of 2010 I returned to Kenya for the third time. This was just a winter holiday break for 2 weeks to see whether this was really where I was meant to be long-term...or just a nice holiday! So, again...I spent a lot os my savings and flew back. The air as I stepped of the plane was intoxicating...and my heart said to me 'You're home'. I was calm, peaceful and fully excited for the 2 week adventure. I had a wonderful time and realised exactly where I was meant to be. I returned to Australia after the two weeks and on the first day back at work...told my boss I was taking 2 years leave starting in December!
So...again I started making plans. Plans I wasn't sure about and often doubted...but moved forwards with a bit of courage.
In January of 2011 I moved to Kenya. I lived there for 10 months. 10 of the best, most difficult, most rewarding months of my life. Moments full of joy, peace, laughter, love, anger, wrestling...every possible emotion. A beautiful existance where I loved and laughed every day. In my everyday life I miss laughing.
So this is my story....If you've ever been to Africa you'd know that from the minute you wake up in the morning and place your feet on the floor...they are dusty. You walk in the village and the dust covers your entire legs. You walk on the street and it creeps up. For me...life is all about having dusty feet. Having the courage to step out into the dust and walk along a road that you've never been on. Having the faith to trust that everything works out in God's way and at His perfect time. For me...I've decided that wherever I am in the world I want dusty feet...ALL the time. Not just sometimes. I want to walk along roads that I'm unsure of, with Jesus holding my hand. I want to take risks and to fail and to learn how to get back up again.
But most of all...I want to walk on dusty roads with each one of my 170 children. I want to see their beaming faces and continue to watch them grow up. I want to keep taking them to their soccer matches and tucking them in at night. I want to show them love and to give their precious bellies hugs. I want to laugh so hard with them that I feel physically sick. I want to cry with them as they share the stories of their life. Is that too much to ask for? I'm not sure...but my feet aren't dirty enough yet... ;)
Sarah Waithera. x
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