It took me 45 hours to get there. The journey was long and really the distance was great, both physically and emotionally. But some ways it felt just like home.

Once I finally arrived in Kenya early last June and met up with a group from Children's Rescue Outreach International (after several lengthy airline delays) I was definitely relieved to be there! Although I have traveled a lot, this was my first time in Africa. Our main objective was to meet with and encourage children living in orphanages supported by CROI in an around Nairobi. CROI, a Christian, non-denominational non-profit organization based out of Dallas, Texas, supports orphanages in Kenya, Nigeria and Liberia.

Nairobi is a city of over 4 million, many of whom live in "slums" or large neighborhood areas that have become populated illegally by the extremely poor. The largest slum in Africa, Kibera, is located in Nairobi. One day we visited Kibera and one of the orphanages there. Surrounded by poverty, raw sewage, shacks made of rotted wood, trash and smelling of alcohol, sat an old brothel that had been converted into a church/school for several hundred street children. The children welcomed us in, sang for us, danced with us and worshipped God with us while we were there. Several older ones recited poems and stories of being thrown out of their parents' homes or turned away when they got too old.

In another slum, Sinai, we visited a small Christian school and were introduced to more street children receiving free education because of the dedication of a small group of African Christians. As we approached the children chanted in Swahili "White Men, White Men" and we were told some had never seen white people before. The school children again recited poems, insisting on their right for education, health and food, and demanding that small children not be abused and girls not be raped.

In the middle of our trip we flew out to the Masai Mara on the edge of the Serengeti, still in Kenya. We spent some time going on game drives, but we were truly inspired by our visit to a Masai Tribe. We were welcomed into the tribal village by Chief Daniel who had been converted to Christianity recently. We were told that he had decided to donate part of his tribal land for a school since many of the children from his village and nearby villages had to walk so far to school and were often stopped by animals on their way. We were adorned with gifts from the tribal women, such as traditional wedding

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