An Unexpected Journey

When I look back at the past 24 months of service, I don’t really feel like I have done much.   Okay, well, that’s a bit of a lie.   I have spent a lot of time trying to partner with people to carry out different activities.   But of all of the endless meetings that I have had with these potential partners, very few activities and projects have come out of them.   I can’t say for sure what exactly went wrong – their busy schedules, unmet high expectations of working with a mzungu, agreeing to work with no intention of following through – but I had so many fruitless meetings that I had to drop those who weren’t truly invested in working with me.   Sure, I could have gotten a lot more work done alone that would have been just as good for communities and given me a more scheduled work plan.   But I couldn’t do it because I knew that these activities would ultimately be for my own pleasure and I wanted to build something with people through our mutual d...

I wake to the sound of her music The crowd chants “Jesus, Jesus” But Jesus is only there for one of us And I know it’s not me Not this early The first sound of the day Is the screaming voice inside of my brain Breathe in, breathe out I break to the sound of his crying Oh baby Who cries as if life has already wronged him You will learn life’s cruelties And cry again The second sound of the day Is the peeved voice inside of the my brain Breathe in, breathe out I wait for the sound of her knock She said she would come at ten But will she? At first a faithful friend Now an unreliable helping hand The third sound of the day Is the pleading voice inside of my brain Breathe in, breathe out I walk through the sound of men The boda drivers offering rides And the strangers who think I don’t understand “Helllllooo…MZUNGU…how are youuu…?” Say all the ones with bad intentions The fourth sound of the day Is the hollow voice inside ...