Sunday, July 14, 2013

I Promise . . .

Hard to believe that it is nearly two months since I returned home from Kenya. Also hard to believe that I am still dragging out blogging about it. But I promise, these are my absolute final thoughts – part two of my final thoughts.

1) Always carry a supply of toilet paper and hand-sanitizer. I don’t know what the statistics are, and I honestly don’t want to look them up, but I bet that of the entire world’s population, more people don’t use toilet paper than do.

It’s a good idea to always carry a water bottle on you, too, because you just never know where you can find water to drink and you sure don’t want to drink it out of the tap.

2) Speaking of water, I generally drink a lot of it. Working in health care, I appreciate staying well hydrated. Water is about the healthiest thing to drink. Unfortunately, the more you drink, the more you have to go to the bathroom. In a third world country, you don’t want to visit the bathroom more than you have to. So it’s a trade-off, abuse my kidneys for two weeks or go to the choo on a regular basis. I chose to take the chance on making my urinary track mad at me. We both survived.

3) Hang your clothes on the line inside out. Because the sun is so much stronger in Kenya, near the equator, it will fade your clothes quickly. Oh, and don’t expect to throw your clothes in a washing machine. If you need to do laundry, you will wash your clothes in a bucket, by hand. Or you can always pay a kindly Kenyan woman to wash them for you.


4) Did I tell you about the brooms? These are the kinds of brooms everyone uses. Yes, you can buy a modern broom at the Nakumatt, but these are the only ones I saw in use anywhere.


5) For seven years now I have struggled with the prosperity we have in America versus the lack of everything in Africa. What can I possibly do to make a difference in the lives of all those kind, happy people living in poverty in Kenya?

It all comes back to the story of the starfish on the beach. You know the one. Where the person is walking down the beach and hundreds of starfish have washed ashore, so many that just one person can’t possibly throw them all back before they die. So you pick up the ones that you can and throw them back into the sea. No, you didn’t make a difference in the lives of all of them, but you made a difference to that one. And that one. And that one.

And you know what? A lot of those starfish you saved today are going to wash up on the shore again tomorrow. Sometimes all you can do is make a difference in one life for one day. 

3 comments:

Heluvsme said...

Thanks for the tips! My husband is taking his first trip to Kenya at the end of the month and I'm praying/researching about what I should send with him!

I really enjoyed your book, too. God bless you bunches!

Chris Loehmer Kincaid said...

Let me know, Queen Zara, if there is anything else you want to know about Kenya!

Crown of Beauty said...

Hi Chris
I came here from another blog where your book was mentioned. I finished reading this post in a few minutes and decided that I couldn't just leave. So I stayed a while...

Been here for nearly an hour already.

Visiting here and reading your words, browsing around your site, checking out your other blog... well what can I say? Or, how I say it? I try not to be too wordy when writing comments, but neither do I want to be restricted in saying what I want to say.

Well... what I really want to say is that it I sense it my being here is a God ordained thing. Let me explain. Maybe you know exactly what I mean. There are just too many beautiful blogs out there that I would love to keep visiting but don't have the luxury of time to do so. Because when I read someone's blog, I don't want it to be a mere touch and go event... reading the heart of someone who has taken time and effort to put together - with photos, etc. is precious. I know because I have done that with every single post I have written. Each of them is a matter of prayer and investment of time.

So I have decided that I need to discipline myself and choose only a few blogs to read regularly... and stick to those for a season. In many ways it is like living in a blog neighborhood... I like to spend enough time to get to know my neighbors.

Then once in a while, I venture out further and start looking around... and then once in a while, I get a surprise "find" - by landing on a blog that speaks exactly the words I want to hear, or tells a story that touches my a chord in my heart. And something in the way the blog writer puts her thoughts into words tells me that the world she lives in is worth discovering.

So here I am with so much joy at discovering you.

Eventually, I know I will get myself a copy of your book. It's not too difficult to do that these days anyway, even though I live halfway around the globe.

Meanwhile, here I am... and thank you.

I've added a link to your blog on my blog sidebar. Will be visiting you again one of these days.

It was a delight being here.

May Abba Father touch your life today... giving you a sense of His presence in a fresh, new way.

Shalom!
Lidia