From Kenya to Colorado...

Today is our last blog post from this side of the world. We are currently in Nairobi at the home of our friend from Finland David Korpela. Our journey back to the USA starts tonight and we arrive back in the Rocky Mountains on Wednesday afternoon.

The guys at the world famous Iten stadium

We are looking forward to meeting with people and discussing our hopes for a project to support the Grace of God Children's Center and Cheptigit Primary School in Kaptagat. We'd like to start a site with a link for people who want to support the needs and continue the relationship we have established as representatives of UCCS. The options to serve and contribute are endless.

It's been a busy time since our last post on Friday. Below are the closing thoughts from each of us:


Robert "Whaleback" Scrivner

I'm not quite sure where to begin. The last 3 weeks have been indescribable for all of us. Not one of us was truly prepared for what we would experience here. Kenya is far from what we expected- and so much better than we could have imagined.

Kids from neighboring homes come to the
childrens center on Sunday mornings
for sunday school.

I can say for myself that I desperately needed this trip, for so many reasons. God has done so much in my heart since left the states. Ironically, I was given the book "Crazy Love" as a gift before I left. The words in that book, combined with our experiences here have really opened my eyes to fully understand how wealthy we truly are, and how incredibly blessed we are to live in the USA.

I will always remember watching men on bicycles riding for miles to Eldoret with enormous loads of wood stacked over 8 feet high on the back of the bike. These men perform this wildly difficult job, only to receive a small sum of money at the day, probably around  $7-$10. In Kenya, the poverty line is at $1 a day. Anyone who lives on more than $1 is considered pretty well off. Only 9% of the people in Kenya have electricity, and few have running water.

In spite of all of these things, the Kenyans are so full of life, joy, and compassion. They are so willing to invite strangers into their home for tea, or even drop whatever they are doing to go and guide you around town. We were blessed to stay at a children's home with the most patient, wise, and compassionate man I have ever met- David Koros. These children were all selected to live in the home because they came from the most needy families. For these kids, it is a HUGE honor to move in to a place like GOGCC where food, clean water, and education are all provided to them. The center has applied for electricity and running water, and will be like a nice hotel when it is finished! The kids at the home are the most well behaved, hardest working children I have ever met. Every day they sweep and mop the entire home, clean their own bedrooms, help cook meals, and do countless other tasks-- all without any complaining. I never saw any of the children cry the entire time we were there, even though one of the girls broke her collarbone during our stay! They are tougher than nails, and so full of love. I walked away with a folder full of letters from the kids, wishing us a safe journey and recounting the fun times we had together.

GOGCC is fully supported by sponsors in the USA. Unlike many other homes like it, Grace of God  doesn't receive support from a larger program like Compassion International or World Vision; rather, they receive all support through their website. I would like to personally ask anyone who is reading this now to go and visit www.graceofgodchildren.org and support the home in whatever way you can. They have more rooms available to bring in more children, but cannot because they don't have enough sponsors to provide for more kids. I would love it if we could just overwhelm them with sponsors and funds. You can buy them livestock, buy building materials for new projects, or just send money for general use- all online with a credit card. Our blog has over 2000 views since the beginning of January.  That means that if every single person who viewed the blog sent $1 each time they looked at the site, the home would have enough money to buy 6 cows, and have money left over to sponsor one kid for a month. Seriously, go and look for yourself: www.graceofgodchildren.org They would be so grateful just to know that you visited their website!

Thank you, for your interest in our trip. It has been absolutely life changing for all of us, and I truly hope that anyone reading this can at some point experience a trip like this for themselves.

David "Rooney" Marino 

Kenya: Where people walk slow and run fast, where being 30 minutes late is acceptable but not being awake and dressed 30 minutes before a run is an excuse to shake you awake, where kids from an orphanage are better behaved than the kids that come to Sunday service, and where roads riddled with potholes can magically lull you to sleep. I know that I haven't written much on the blog, but every time the opportunity came up, I froze. Simply trying to chose what to write about would take too long. Obviously we all will take a different perspective with everything that happened during our time here, but one thing is for sure: the people here are incredible.

For example, my parents and I sponsor a child through Compassion International who so happens to reside in Kenya. From the United States, a child in Kenya, Europe, China, Malaysia, may seem so far away because they're out of the country, across the world, over an ocean. Simply, some boundary separates child from sponsor. It's rare that a sponsor actually meets his or her child, but it does happen.

Lake Victoria, on our trip to Kisumu.

In short, he lives in Kisumu and I called Compassion before we left the States trying to set up an arrangement to meet him. Compassion (basically) said no, and I left it at that. While in Kenya, Coach Misch told me to give the name of my child to David Koros reassuring me that the "Way things are run in Kenya are way different than in the States." and they sure are. David made a few calls, recruited his brother Matthew to drive us to Kisumu and got us as close as a 3 hour pothole-ridden wild goose chase could get us. The thought that I got closer than most sponsors keeps me positive. The fact that these men went out of their way to drive for an entire day... and they were genuinely altruistic about the whole ordeal. I am so thankful.

Everyone wonders why the Kenyan runners are so great. Everything from a mythical extra muscle to being born at altitude have been suggested, but how many researchers have gone into the homes and ran a training cycle with these people? This isn't some American high school team where half the kids are unmotivated and just sticking it out to add one more thing on their college applications. When a family is chopping wood for 10 Kenyan shillings a log and riding their bikes on the highways to the cities to sell them, money is not exactly readily available. Kenyan colleges don't give out running scholarships, but American colleges do. A Kenyan runner has a better chance trying to make it into the U.S. off a running scholarship than trying to pay for college in Kenya. In some circles this is already known, of course, but it's just something to think about.

Knowing this, getting out the door to put in a morning 8 miler isn't a decision to get faster in their respective event, or to loosen up their legs before their afternoon session, it isn't even a lifestyle for them. They are literally chasing the dream, and the dream is just out of reach. Training with the David's and Paul and their tales of 3 hour training runs, 3 a day sessions, and races won against rivals had a different ring this time around.

18 days away from home, on the other side of the world immersed in a different culture... it's hard to choose words to describe the experience. When Skywalker, Whaleback and I talked at the end of our stay in the Grace of God Children's Center, I told the kids that because of them I would return a changed man. The kindness and compassion shown by the people we stayed with is hard to find. Thank you all for following the blog, taking interest in our trip and even donating to our trip. It truly has been a wild ride, and we all come home as different people.

Luke "Skywalker" Dakin

Hey All,

I think the guys above me summed up our trip pretty well but in closing I would like to add a few words. I really appreciate all of the support that we have received from our friends and family. It is pretty special that we have so many people interested in our trip and following our blog. Thank you all for the support. Also, to all of those that contributed money and support to make this happen, thank you so much. Your support has made possible the experience of a lifetime.

The crew before departure

On a trip like this it is difficult to sum up the highlights because there aren't really any big highlights. The reason a trip like this is so amazing is because of all the little moments that add up to one life changing experience. A kid sincerely telling you that he likes the soccer cleats you got him, a casual conversation on a terrifying three hour car ride that completely changes your outlook on something or just being able to relate to someone who has a completely different life-story than you. These are all examples of experiences that I have had on this trip that are very difficult to put into words but when you have these experiences almost hourly over the course of a couple weeks, it is pretty powerful.

Thank you all so much for this opportunity and I hope you all will be as blessed as I was to have had these experiences.

Harambee

Mark "The dog whisperer" Misch 

We are about an hour away from leaving David’s home to start the drive to the Nairobi International Airport.  It’s been a pretty relaxing day of running, packing and getting caught up on returning e-mails from the past couple of weeks before tackling what is waiting back in Colorado.

Yesterday I went with Peter (the taxi driver) down to the Soweto Slum District to meet with John Mbogo and several of the young people who are a part of his ministry. I first met John in 2007 when we were in Mombasa where he is from. It was so encouraging to meet with some incredible kids who have such a strong faith and positive attitude regardless of the circumstances they have had to overcome. It was humbling to be their guest and welcomed with open arms and unconditional joy, much the same as the wonderful people from the Grace of God Children’s Center in Kaptagat.

Speaking of the Grace of God Children’s Center, it was tough to say goodbye to those incredible people. In all of my life I have never been honored the way I was the day we departed. To have a tree planted in your name and to be part of a very special ceremony and receive personal gifts and letters from the children goes beyond anything I can put words to. Without a doubt it was a very  special experience that I will never forget.

Well it’s time to wrap this up and get ready for the long journey home that awaits us. No more running without a shirt in January, the snow awaits in Colorado!

Misch

The kids planted trees with us right before we left for home. Nick and Adam had already left, but they both had trees planted in their names as well.