Life in the Village

I want to start with a special Thank You to First Lutheran Church in Mount Vernon. To all of you who came to hear my story and show your support. It can sometimes get lonely out in a rural village in Kenya, but knowing you are all invested in my ventures motivates me to keep going. Thank you!

I had the most amazing trip back to America and it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be to get back on that plane. I think part of me appreciated the love I felt from all my family and friends and the comfort of knowing they would all be there for me when I got back after another year.

Back in Kenya it didn’t take long to get back to my usual routine. I had to sweep my floors and shoo away all the lizards that moved in while I was gone. My first day back at church in my community, some of the members asked if I would stand up in front and share a few words about my travels. They called me forward by my village name, Christina Akinyi, and the entire congregation of nearly 200 people applauded and cheered for my return. It was an amazing feeling to know this small Kenyan farming community felt such a strong connection with me that they celebrated my return and the chance to shake my hand again.

My students walked from school to my front door just to say hello and took me to the school soccer tournaments over the weekend and instead of hearing the typical calls of “mzungu” (meaning “white person”) throughout my village everyone was greeting me by name. We had a busy clinic day where we vaccinated over 160 babies in one day! We even had a celebration at the convent for the arrival of three aspiring nuns where we drank and ate ourselves silly with goat, chicken, and fish!

One day I was taking the 45 minute walk home from the school when it started to rain. I looked in front of me at the black sky opposite the lush green sugarcane fields and red dirt road and saw a full rainbow straight ahead. The rain started coming down at such a rate that I was soon walking through a stream where the road had been and I was soaking wet from head to toe sloshing around in my shoes. In a situation that should have been miserable, I couldn’t contain my smile and a feeling of pure happiness. They say the Peace Corps in the “hardest job you will ever love.” While it’s not always sunshine and roses, there isn’t a day that passes that I don’t feel thankful for my life and the people in my Kenyan village.