leaving yet returning

Today we left Katui and returned to the Pedro Arupe house in Nairobi. Although it was sad to leave- I had an incredible experience in the Village and am so grateful for the time spent there- the farewell/sendoff the community gave us was amazing. Traditionally, the Village gathers on the morning that guests/volunteers are leaving (because the Village is still in the initial stages, preparing for sustainability and self-sufficiency there are constantly volunteers coming and going) and has a Mass and sendoff for them...So, at 8ish (the Mass was scheduled for 8 and surprising started as promptly as about 8:15) we had mass in the community hall/ church, and Fr. Charles gave the sermon/performed the eucharist. The Mass itself was a powerful and spiritually moving experience for me, as felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in the children singing and in Fr. Charles' words. He spoke about the central meaning of the resurrection being that, regardless of what defeats or challenges we might face, we can overcome, because Christ has overcome, even unto death. All of the Christian symbols and all of the central teachings point to and respresent this hope...Additionally, the eucharist felt particularly sacred today and I think much of this was the context- during my time in Katui at the Village, I really experienced something special in the people I met and the land we worked on. I believe there is something holy about that place- God is in those people and that land is God's country. These feelings that I first began feeling about Africa in general and about African people, when I visited South Africa last spring, seem to be most fully present here. This seems to be the closest place we still have to an example of what life was intended to be like and how we were intended to live in relation to one another...The passing of the peace was also a very holy experience, of 'touching,' as I made a concious effort to intentionally and grace-fully touch each person I gave peace to. Sharing this with the children was particularly powerful...Finally, at the end of the service, Nicolas (the Village manager/guy who is overseeing everything) had all of us come in front of the community and they thanked us and sent us on our way. Afterwards, as we were packing up and getting ready to leave, I walked back to our guesthouse and was followed/mobbed by about 10 grandmothers and several children. The grandmothers were all holding my hands and speaking to me in Kicamba (the local language of the Camba tribe, native to the Kaitue region), of which I obviously couldn't understand. And the kids were just walking with me, not saying much. However, a teenager later translated and told me that the grandmothers were saying that they were sad to see me go and that they hope I return some day...Although I had been feeling that I was ready to leave the Village and there are certain things I won't miss (such as the lack of electricty or running water), this was the moment I really realized how much I will miss this place and how effected I have been by these people. When I look back on my experiences there this week, I am overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude for God speaking to me and loving me in the ways that He did, and I am struck by a profound sense of peace- a feeling of being a home...

The drive back was fairly uneventful (it was still awesome to see the scenery and to pass through the villages but we took the same route back that we used to get there, so there wasn't much of anything new), and we were all anxious to get back to eat lunch and shower (I hadn't washed my hair since Monday morning...Lunch was amazing- although it was still fairly simple, after four days of solid beans and rice, to have some meat was truly amazing. And then showering was refreshing...After getting cleaned up, although we were tired, Fr. Charles had yet another experience in store for us- going to an animal orphanage!

So, we spent the afternoon at this orphanage, which is a part of the Nairobi National Park. The whole place is sort of like a zoo, but the goal is to take in animals that have been orphaned and abandoned when they were younger, then to raise them and teach them skills, and eventually release them back into the wild...We got to see some cool animals, including Lions, and I learned quite a bit from our guide. And on the cool side of things, I got to feed an Ostrich and Grey African Parrot (both out of my hand), and then I got to pet a Cheetah (which is obviously tame and unfortunately will not be going back into the wild anytime soon)! Awesome!

After the orphanage we were all pretty exhausted from the week and traveling today, so we came back for dinner here and just had a low-key night, relaxing and playing cards. It's almost 1am now and I will have to wake up by 7:30 tomorrow, so I'm off to bed.