pieces of jackson in Kenya

gosh, so long since i've written anything about jackson, which is weird because its still on my heart daily! its been funny to be here in kenya because in a weird way im continually reminded of my time in jackson...its not always because a situation or circumstance directly ties into something that happened in jackson...its often the way i process certain things or even the way i feel here that i vividly remember feeling in jackson.
the other funny thing about being in kenya is that one of the girls serving here is from jackson! (i know, so random!) unfortunately she just left, our trips only overlapped a few weeks, but while she was here it was so fun to share stories and hear her perspective of living in jackson. And from hearing her stories versus hearing mine, you would never guess we were in the same city, let alone the same state. i had never heard of any of the places she ate or hung out...and vice versa she had never been told about mine. We laughed when i told her she needed to try E&L's BBQ...she asked where it was, i told her, "on bailey" and she said..."im not even allowed on that street." later that night after kinda chuckling to myself about it i thought...how sad! not only is she missing out on the best BBQ in jackson, she just plain hasn't seen some of the cool things jackson has to offer, some of the places with the richest culture and history.
i do not blame or judge her for that...the sad truth is that the parts of jackson i was in were the more dangerous parts and so her and her families reasons are valid...but again, i see this divide between cultures and it makes me so sad. This is some of what i feel in kenya...its that same strong divide and it gives me that "pit-in-my-stomach feeling" that i hate! but it is interesting to be here and realize how much what i saw in jackson still shapes my thought process and is still a huge part of who i am. funny how god continues to use it in my life in various ways and in various places!