Beggars and New Friends..

As I was walking home from New Life Home the other day, I was met by an old man walking towards me. I noticed his tattered and shabby appearance, the strong scent of alcohol wafting towards me, and his pleading eyes. As he came closer, he started talking to me…most of what he was saying I couldn’t make out because he was mumbling and near tears. Something in my heart went out to this poor man, so I stopped and waited for him to repeat himself. He asked me for directions to a place I didn’t know, and started telling me a story of why he looked the way he did…said that the police had taken him, taken all his ID and money, roughed him up..and now he had no money and didn’t know where he was. Now, whether this is true or not, I don’t know, but as he was telling this story the man started to cry. He asked for 3o shillings, which I didn’t have (and as he was already smelling of alcohol, I wouldn’t have given it to him even if I did have it), so I kindly told him that I didn’t know the place he was talking about, and also had no money on me to help him out, but told him that someone else would probably know the area better than I did, and to ask them for directions. He thanked me a couple times, and went on his way.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this man. You know, this isn’t a new thing. We are constantly stopped on the street by different people asking for money, with all kinds of stories, and you kind of just get used to it. But something about seeing this man in such a sad state, crying, eyes looking hopeless…it opened my eyes again to the sad plight of so many people here. Realizing that whether his sad story was true or not, his life most likely is full of pain and hardship. Trevor and I have often talked about this…what should our response to these situations be?? Please pray for us as we come into contact with needy people every day.

I also was given a good reminder of first impressions, and how they are not always right!! There was a new Kenyan lady who started working at New Life Home last week…my first impression was that she was rude, and very difficult to work with. She never smiled and I felt very uneasy being around her. Because of that, I didn’t make a very big effort to get to know her either. Then, a few days later, Trevor came to NLH with me as it was a holiday and the shop was closed. I introduced him to all the ladies there, and told them he was my husband. This lady looked at me and said “you’re married??”…I told her that we were, and she just kind of smiled. Then a few minutes later, she came to sit beside me, and said she’s been looking for someone to ask for some advice on marriage, and asked if she could ask me some questions!! I immediately agreed, and we started talking and it was so cool! The reason she hadn’t really talked to me the other day was because she was scared of me because I am white, and she thought most white people were snobby and unapproachable, and she was scared to talk to me!! Go figure!! So we chatted for quite awhile, and exchanged phone numbers. I am so thankful that God brought this lady into my life, and taught me a lesson through it.

There is this man we have gotten to know…his name is Peter, and he sells things like bowls and carvings outside, on the Nakumatt parking lot on the weekends. We met him about three months ago, when we first arrived in Nairobi, and often go see him when we go the Nakumatt. We have only bought some things from him once, the other times we just go to say hi to him and visit for awhile. He is very friendly, and will come to greet us from far off as soon as he sees us! The other weekend we met his son who wants to go to university in Canada, so we talked to him for awhile. Peter told us that he has 11 children, and when we exclaimed about that, he said, “yes, but I also have 2 mamas!!” ….meaning he has 2 wives in a polygamist relationship!! (which is very common here). So we talked for a while longer, and he invited us to his home to eat with him and his family sometime…we were very touched, and hope that we can do that soon. It is so neat to meet people, and begin to build relationships like this, and begin showing them the love of Christ through our lives.

Last Sunday, our Church service was led by a youth/young adult group called Mission Driven. They are a musical group made up of very talented Kenyans, who minister to the youth in Nairobi through music and rap/poetry. They have such an amazing passion to reach this generation, and God has given them unbelievable musical talents!! We were so incredibly blessed through their program. Most of this group goes to our Church, and we feel privileged to attend this Church who reaches out so much to their fellow Kenyans in the city. We spoke to some members of the group after the service and exchanged contact information…it would be so neat to get to know some of these people who are our age (youth here goes to age 25, so we’re still youth!!).

So…that’s a glimpse of the people we get to meet here, and the experiences we are having…God has blessed us..

Koros and I at New Life Home..

Trevor feeding Shania in the ICU..

A Christmas party for the AIM IS staff..

Glory to God, Glory to God in the Highest...

Christmas in Kenya…it’s a different experience for us! We’ve been trying to get into the Christmas spirit, and to feel like it’s only a couple weeks until December 25, and yet it’s been nearly impossible!! It’s just getting warmer with each passing day, the sun is getting more intense, and we are in a country not our own and away from all things familiar. But it is okay…it’s been interesting, and we are trying to really enjoy it and take it all in. We have borrowed some decorations to make our house feel more festive, and are listening to Christmas music any chance we get! We were also given a Nativity scene made out of banana leaves, which we LOVE!!
The kids at the AIC Ngong Church presented a Christmas program on Sunday morning…it was so cute! They did such a good job…and man can those kids sing! They were so dramatic and all dressed up in their costumes…we really enjoyed it!! The title of the blog “Glory to God, Glory to God, in the Highest, in the Highest…“ is from a song the kids were singing, and it has been in my head ever since I heard it on Sunday!!
Yesterday we had our AIM IS Christmas party at the Han Kook Korean BBQ restaurant…we ate Korean food outside under umbrellas, wore flip flops and short sleeves…it was the coolest Christmas party we’ve ever had! It was a very nice evening of fellowship with new friends and fellow missionaries, singing Christmas carols, and hearing from the Word of God. That was when things started to sink in for me a little, realizing that it doesn’t matter where we are, the story is the same. Jesus Christ came to earth as a baby to be our Saviour and Redeemer…that doesn’t change no matter where we are during this Christmas season!!

Trevor seems to just be continually busier at the shop these days!! There is so much work coming in, and not enough time to do it! But this is a real blessing, as he recently found out. Last week he went out for lunch with some of the guys from the hangar, and one of them told him that before he was here to run the shop, the shop was not doing very well…hardly anybody brought their vehicles in anymore, people had had bad experiences with bringing their vehicles to the TAM shop, there wasn’t enough work for the guys in the shop…and now there are line ups of vehicles waiting to get worked on, Trevor has to turn people down because their days are completely booked, all the guys are busy, and people are happy and satisfied with the work that is being done on their vehicles!! Wow!! It’s so encouraging to hear that…to see it from that point of view!
He constantly gets comments from other missionaries, telling him that we have to extend our stay, that we have to return for good, that he can’t leave the shop…he is in high demand!! :) Yesterday at the Christmas supper we won a door prize, and later, Allan Masters (he is the director of AIM IS), told both Trevor and I that winning a prize means we have to stay on for at least two more Christmas parties…he said “I’m already working on the paperwork, all you have to do is get your extension. That‘s how it works, anybody who wins a prize is meant to stay.!!” He was joking, of course, but the truth is that Trevor is needed here, and that is good to know!! God is using him in so many ways, and we give Him all the honour and glory for that.
Another way that God has been using Trevor here is to continually encourage his guys in the shop, especially Mark, the refugee from Sudan. As I mentioned awhile ago, Mark’s life has been so difficult…so many of his family was killed in the war in Darfur, he had to flee to Kenya, but life is not easy here either for him…he is not from the “right” tribe, and that means so much when you live in Africa. He has faced so much rejection and pain, and he struggles a lot. Awhile ago I mentioned that he was saving up to buy a bike…well he was able to finally get enough money to buy one, and not long after that it was stolen from him. This may seem like a small thing, but when that bike is something that you have saved up so long for, and you have already lost your family and home and country and it was one thing that was finally yours, well to lose it is a big, big thing. He came to Trevor with some questions the other day…deep, difficult questions about God, life, pain and struggles…and Trevor was able to sit and talk with him and try to encourage him. He has a real burden for Mark. Please pray for this young man.
Trevor has also had to deal with some conflict in the shop these last few weeks, and had to make use of his “conflict resolution” skills! Things worked out well, and we just praise God for that. It was definitely another learning experience for Trevor, as so many things have been!!

I have been going to New Life Home these last few weeks, and really, really enjoy it! God has really answered my prayers and given me new excitement and energy and passion to be here! I have been getting to know the other Kenyan ladies who also work at New Life, and have already learned so much about them and about Africa through them. I love getting to know them and becoming friends with them…being able to laugh and joke with them…sharing our hears with each other…it’s been so encouraging. And the babies and kids that live there fill my heart with joy, oh I love them so much already. Getting to know their different personalities, helping them when they’re sick, cuddling them and playing with them…it’s so fulfilling. So many babies are getting adopted, and at least 4 have already gone to their new homes since I’ve started there…4!!!! That’s so exciting! Last week the paid staff had Christmas party there, so I, along with a few other volunteers, held the fort down until their party was over. A new friend of mine, Shiro, and I were in the ICU nursery, and it was such a neat experience! Taking care of the smallest babies was so much fun! I am so thankful for the opportunity to work at NLH, and for the experiences I am having through being there.

So that’s a bit of an update…And life in Kenya goes on…

Babies, Babies, Babies

New Life Home.

This kid's name is Koros...for some reason he LOVES anybody with white skin! As soon as he

sees me he'll get to me as fast as he can and demand to be picked up...and he will CRY and cry if I don't pick him up right away!!! It's so funny!!

One of the toddlers...(I can't remember his name...!!)

Benson...probably one of the brattiest kids I have ever met, but oh so cute!

Casey...this was the first baby I got to hold and feed at New Life Home...she's so sweet!!


And this...this is Bernard. He has already become my sweetheart..

Crispin. He's getting adopted really soon...so exciting!!!

One of my new friends, Evelyn, holding baby Joe.

The Day room ...through the glass windows/doors you can see where we take the babies outside every day to get some fresh air and sunshine.

Our Life Lately...

It has been a LONG time since I’ve updated…or at least that’s how it feels! As we settle into life, I sometimes forget to keep everyone up to date with what’s happening around here.

Well, I was sick for almost two weeks…let’s just say it wasn’t the most fun I’ve ever had!! I had the stomach flu (which I was worried was malaria, but it turned out not to be, Praise the Lord!!), then I got a really bad head/sinus cold…and when you’re sick it’s sometimes really difficult to see the positive side of things!! It was a rough time for awhile, but thank the Lord I feel much better now!! I had planned on starting to volunteer at New Life Home the week I got sick, so I also had to postpone that, which was frustrating!! (see the previous blog on New Life Home.)

Trevor has been really busy at work…it’s been quite stressful some days, with the pressures of getting the vehicles fixed for the missionaries who have to get back up-country, and not being able to get them done because it takes so long to get the right parts… There is no such thing as a “Norpine” here…everything is sold separately!! There is a store for nuts and bolts, a store for filters, a store for some tools, and another store for some other tools…you get the picture!! Also, the pace of things is just different, slower and more laid-back, which we knew beforehand, it’s just that those are the things that can really be hard to deal with when there’s a time crunch!! There has also been a lot of paperwork and admin type things that are his responsibility, which can also be difficult when the system works so differently than in Canada.
A lot of up-country missionaries are in Nairobi right now because of the AIM conference they just had, and so a lot of them are bringing their vehicles into the shop…plus there’s been a service special on at the TAM Shop, so that also brings in vehicles. This is all really good for the shop and for customer relations, it just makes things really, really busy!!
So all this has been a real challenge for him, but he is learning A LOT, and God has been so faithful throughout the whole process. At times, when it gets difficult for him to see the big picture and why this is important, then that’s when it seems like God just puts someone in his path to remind him that he is working for God, and that’s all that matters, and to put his focus back on the Lord. It has been a real stretching experience for him already, but we know that God is in control, and that He is teaching us so much.
He also had his 26th birthday on November 10!! It felt strange to celebrate by ourselves (and this was also the day that I was awfully sick, so it wasn’t much of a celebration!!), but he also got lots of birthday wishes from family and friends, and received a package in the mail from his family!! That was really, really exciting!! So we weren’t alone, but had many loved ones celebrating with us, just not “with us”!!

We also had the privilege of having some new friends stay with us for about five days!! We met them when we were up in Kurungu, they are two guys from Australia who are missionaries with AIM, and have lived in South Horr (which is close to Kurungu), for the past year and a few months. They needed a place to stay in Nairobi for a few days, and since we have more than enough room for them, we offered our place, and are so glad we did! It was such a nice time of visiting and lots of laughter!! They were so encouraging to us, and it really felt like we made two new friends. We also spent time with other friends on the weekend, and had a bunch of people over for cake and a movie! It was so refreshing!! We really thank the Lord for giving us that time with new friends, and for giving us that time of good conversation and building relationships.

The other day we went to the store, and as we walked up the steps from the parking garage, we heard the sounds of music, and the closer we got, we realized that we recognized it! It was Boney M Christmas!!! It felt so strange to hear the music from both of our childhoods, and get that “Christmas feeling”, and see the decorations all over the store….and then realize that we are feeling very warm with the hot sun beating down on us, and that we are in Kenya…we laughed!! It will definitely feel even more strange the closer it gets to Christmas!!
We also had another interesting time…as we drove up to another place, Yaya center, and were looking for a place to park, we had to wait for two white tourist vans to unload all their passengers…and as we watched them with their huge cameras, huge gaping purses, wearing big sun hats…I looked at Trevor and said “We don’t look like that anymore, do we??”…it was really funny, because as we were watching them, we were grouping ourselves in with the nationals and staring at all these wazungu…!! At that moment we felt more at home than we had yet!! We are not tourists anymore, and we don’t feel like we are either!! YAY!!

Oh, and on another note…our youth Bible clubs in Mitumba have been postponed for the next couple of weeks because the kids are on a break from school, and it won’t work very well to have the clubs right now…so that was disappointing, and kind of felt like a set back. But we really hope that we can get them going again not to long from now.

I have also felt pretty low for awhile…trying to figure out why God brought me out here…what my purpose is. I see how God is using Trevor and his skills to bless other people and further His kingdom, but I was losing sight of MY reason for being here. God used the time that I was sick and sitting at home to show me that I, first of all, need to be here for Trevor. He has brought both of us out here together, and I need to be a support to him, especially when he is feeling so tired and stressed, and has so many responsibilities. That should be my priority, and I need to be the helper that God has asked me to be. The second thing that God showed me is that I am not here to DO all these things for him…I am still here to worship God with my whole life, and to be the person He has called me to be. I’ve been caught up in the feeling of not “doing” enough…but God really showed me that it’s not about that. He has just asked me to trust Him, and to give up all the great expectations I had about all the things I was going to do here, and to just give that up and be willing to listen to His voice. It has been a real learning time for me already, and God has proven Himself to be faithful, just like He promised. I will be volunteering at New Life Home for a few days a week, and getting involved in Mitumba again whenever we can start up the club again, but that may be all. That leaves me time to be home and keep things going at home, and not be involved in so many different things that it feels like Trevor and I are living two separate lives.

So we would appreciate prayer for all of this, and please just pray that we would continue to be open to hearing God’s voice, and obeying Him. Please also pray for Trevor in his daily responsibilities at work, and that he will remember what and Who he is working for. Pray also for wisdom and guidance for him as he deals with the challenges that continually come his way. Please pray for me as well, that God would give me contentment and fulfillment in the things that I am involved in and in the time I spend at home. We know that God has a purpose and a plan, and that we are just here to do the one small task He has asked of us.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and encouragement…we can’t tell you how much it means to us when we hear from you…you have been such a blessing in our lives, and we are SO thankful. God has used YOU to encourage us, and to give us new excitement and perspective. We are all in this together!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!!

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

New Life Home!!

I am excited to report that I have started volunteering at New Life Home, which is a baby orphanage not far from where we live! I have been wanting to do this for a long time, but I hadn’t yet been able to yet with the way things worked out. So I went yesterday for the first time…it was a great day! I kind of felt like I got a new excitement for being here, and it was really encouraging.

I walked to New Life, which takes about a half hour. It was a nice walk, and I only have to cross one busy street, so that’s bonus too!! I met a lot of friendly people, (some a little too friendly, maybe!), but it was not as intimidating as I expected, and was actually quite enjoyable!! Just being outside in the wonderful Kenyan sun, and seeing the local people go about their day…

The orphanage is run by Kenyans, and staffed by Kenyans, so that was part of the draw for me to get involved here, so that I can get to know the local people. They were all so welcoming and excited that I was there to help out, and I am so looking forward to getting to know the ladies there.
The babies are split into four different groups…the older toddlers, younger toddlers, babies and sick ICU babies. I helped out with the babies for most of the day…and while they napped helped out with the toddlers.
It is an excellent orphanage…it is very organized, the kids are all on a schedule, they get fed really well, and the staff are very loving and really do all they can for the kids living there. I was very impressed by what I saw, and am very glad to be able to help them out.

I am planning on going there three days a week for now, and see how things go. The day was filled with feeding babies, holding them, loving them, comforting them…playing with the cutest kids ever, breaking up fights, getting peed on…!!! It really was great!! I know that God has a deep concern for the fatherless children, and I am convinced that we need to help them as much as we are able. It truly was a joy to be there, and to get to know the most vulnerable ones in society, and show them the love of Christ.

"I'm No Longer the Same..."

...That was a phrase in a song that some of the teenage girls were singing the other day at our Bible club in Mitumba Slum.. “I’m no longer the same…” and this is true…

Last Saturday Trevor and I went to our first Bible club out at Mitumba. We had a really great (and tiring!!) time! It had been raining off and on all week, and Saturday morning it was pouring, and so we were prepared with an umbrella and rubber boots to battle the mud and rain!!
We walked to the Ngong road, and waited there for Pastor Shadrach to pick us up, and then went to Mitumba. The slum was even more mucky and muddy than last time…everything was so incredibly dirty…and yet the kids were happy and joyful with huge smiles on their faces…what a contrast..

We just sat in while Pastor Shadrach told the smallest kids (there were close to 100 of them) a Bible story, and they sang some songs. We were amazed at their singing, and how he just asked if they could sing a few songs for us, and one of them started them off, and they were all trying to compete in volume and expressiveness with each other! It was really cute!!

We waited till some of the youth showed up, and met with them for awhile. (There were about 15-20 youth.) It was a neat time of visiting and going through a short Bible study with them…but we do realize that it will take awhile before they completely trust us enough to really open up and have real discussions with us. That was why I was shocked when a few girls hung around after most of the youth had left, and asked Trevor and I a lot of questions…like “where did God come from?” and “Why doesn’t He always answer my prayers?” “…it was so awesome that they felt free enough to ask questions, especially after only the first time we had met! After we talked for awhile, then the girls started whispering amongst themselves, then whispered my name to get my attention…it turns out that they had SO many questions that needed answering, and wanted to ask with no boys around!! So we went to sit in a quiet corner, and they asked questions about life, relationships, boys, puberty, kids, HIV AIDS…the list goes on and on! I couldn’t even finish answering one question, then another girl would have another question…it was so awesome! I was so excited to be able to have this chance to interact and get to know them on a deeper level…already!! One of them asked if we would ever come back to Mitumba, and I told her that yes, we were planning on coming back most Saturdays…the girls all looked at each other, grinned, and the questions stopped! They realized that they did not need to get all their questions answered in such a hurry, but they would have time to ask me another day if not today…it was funny, and yet broke my heart at the same time…these teenage girls are in such need of role models, of women in their life who will be there for them, and give them Godly and Biblical answers to their very real struggles…and so many of the questions they had were so basic, and yet they did not know, because no one had ever taken the time to tell them. They blessed me so much just by their willingness to be open and honest with me, and I just pray that God will give me the answers to their questions, and the love that these girls need. A lot (or maybe even most) of them have made commitments to follow the Lord, and yet a lot of them don’t really know what this means, and struggle a lot with different issues…so please pray for these girls…
In the meantime, Trevor was meeting with the boys (we had not intended to split them up, but now see that it was really good that it happened), and they also had really good discussions about abuse (what to do if they or their family members are being abused), how to handle it when a friend wrongs them, and questions about if they will go to Heaven right away when they die if they are believers. They had really good, deep discussions, and a lot of questions, and Trevor was able to help, counsel and encourage them with God’s Word. It was so incredible how they opened up so soon, and are just hungry for advice and for someone to take the time to listen to them and their stories! These young men need a lot of prayer, as they are facing so many pressures and struggles…their lives have been so difficult.

Some of the beautiful children who live in Mitumba Slum.

A little history on Mitumba…the name that has previously been used for it is “Sodom and Gomorrah” because of all the immorality and sinful things that happened there… it’s people were viewed as cursed and demon possessed because of the slum’s appalling immorality. Parents would give their children alcohol to daze them, and would teach them crime…there was no law and order. Many, many other sad and awful things were normal in this place…but things have changed somewhat now…since Pastor Shadrach and his wife Violet felt the call of God to help these people six years ago, God has done GREAT things in Mitumba slum, and is changing lives, one by one!! They are counselling adults, and being able to influence the children through the school and Bible clubs…Pastor Shadrach says that now, as the children learn about morality in school, they will act as their guardians’ moral keepers, and not tolerate “misbehaviour” at home. There is still so much need, and so many lives that are still caught up in the bondage of sin, but we do know that God is in the business of changing lives, and that is what He is doing in Mitumba Slum!! All glory and honour goes to God!!

Korr...

This past week was another one of intense temperatures and interesting experiences. We spent a week up country in Korr…a small desert village in northern Kenya. First of all…it was hot. Not warm, or comfortable, or sitting and tanning kind of heat. Hot, like sweat constantly dripping off your body like water, drying wet laundry in a few minutes, temperatures upwards of +50 C, NEVER dropping below +30 C in the afternoons…hot, hot, hot!!! Even the lightest, thinnest clothing is not light or thin enough. We had never experienced the direct heat like this before! Nothing grows…vegetation is sparse…the sound of rain is so waited and prayed for…This was Korr.

We arrived in Korr on Saturday morning. The purpose for our trip was to help the missionaries who live there. They had some vehicles in need of repair (this is an understatement…all the vehicles up country are in such bad shape…Trevor has been astounded over and over again at the beating the vehicles get on these “roads”!!) and pleaded for someone to come and help out, and Trevor was more than willing to volunteer!!

There are three missionary couples who live in Korr, and we were thoroughly amazed and challenged to meet them, and see there unselfishness and willingness to serve in such a difficult place. One couple, Nick and Lynn Swanepoel, have served there for 28 years!! They are translating the Bible into the Rendille language for the Rendille people who live in the area. Another couple, Grant and Loki Swanepoel, (Grant is Nick and Lynn’s son), and their two daughters have lived in Korr for almost 5 years now, and they are working on getting a Bible school up and running. The third couple is Jim and Laura Propst, and they have been in Korr since May of this year, but both Jim and Laura grew up in Africa, and have now been missionaries for more than 20 years, and just moved to Korr. They are in charge of building projects, and any other “hands-on” type of work.

There is so much happening in Korr…God is working mightily, and doing wonderful things in the lives of the people who live there. The Rendille people are nomadic, and have quite a few similarities to the Samburu people that we met in Kurungu a few weeks ago. They live in small huts, travel with their animals, live on a diet of mostly goat/cow/camel’s milk mixed with blood, walk miles and miles to fetch water, find food for their animals, get to school…some will walk 55 km to get to the hospital, or walk 15 km with babies and small children just to attend a Bible study, and then walk back in the dark the same day!! The Swanepoels have seen a lot of progress in the ministry…they have started literacy classes to teach the Rendille people to read, and through that are able to present the gospel, and many lives have been given to Christ through this program!! Nick and Lynn are constantly handing over leadership and responsibilities to the Rendille, who are now teaching the literacy classes, and teaching in the Christian primary school, and preaching in Church…it’s amazing!

The Rendille are a “begging” culture. They pride themselves on their begging, and will beg and beg until they wear someone down enough to get what they want. They all beg…the “rich”, the poor…they beg from each other, and they beg from the missionaries. The missionaries will have people outside their door and in their house EVERY DAY…begging, begging, begging. There’s a story that’s told of a Rendille man who died, and at the funeral, the tribute to him was “He was a good man…he knew how to beg.” Nick also went to visit a family while we were there, and the mama asked him “Are you Nick?” and when he said he was, she replied, “I’m coming to beg from you tomorrow!” This is every day life for them, and it’s very, very tiring. Yes, the need is there, and it’s a great need. So many people are starving and completely destitute, with NOTHING to feed their babies, and NO WAY to get ahead. They told us of a time in the 1980’s when the people were going through a famine, there were sometimes 3000 people camped outside their house, begging for something, anything. So the missionaries do what they can, and leave the rest up to God.

“We Fear the Dark…”

Saturday night was interesting…there was a seminar that was happening all day Saturday for a bunch of the Rendille Christians…and they had walked to Korr from their manyatta villages in the morning to attend. Some walked for 15 km with babies on their backs!! They were all going to walk home close to suppertime, and had yet to fetch water and firewood to make some supper for their families, and it was already getting dark. So Swanepoels decided to drive them home, and we tagged along. Let me remind you that this is the desert…at night it’s completely DARK…there are no roads…very little vegetation or landmarks…the odd scraggly acacia tree and some bushes and shrubs, tons of very hard lava rocks scattered on the sand, and the “luggas” (dry riverbeds) to mark the way. As we were trying to find these villages, Lynn commented, “we fear the dark…”, and it didn’t take long for Trevor and I to understand what she meant. It’s so easy to drive around in circles and completely lose your way. It took awhile, but we finally found the manyattas with the Rendille ladies’ help…but after we dropped them off we were on our own. Just us and the dark…and the occasional African rabbit getting confused by the headlights and running in front of the vehicle…we were trying to follow our tracks to find the way back…but the tracks were so faint that they were very hard to see…it was very disorienting…We eventually made it back, but now in Korr, we now fear the dark as well…

We visited with this family outside their hut one evening...despite the huge age difference, they are a married couple with their first child. (She is still in her teens, and he is over sixty years old!). She shared her testimony with us (in Rendille, and Nick translated into English)...how she was forced to get married to him when she was basically still a child, how she longed for a baby...she then attended the literacy program, heard the Gospel and gave her life to the Lord...she prayed for a baby (in the Rendille culture, having babies is the highest calling for a woman), and after a few years the Lord answered her prayer. She loves God so much, and gives Him all the honor and glory for blessing her with a child. It was interesting, because her husband takes care of them so well, and was doing laundry while we were there...which is VERY unusual for a man to take on those responsibilities. He loves his little baby too...he is not a believer, but has not stopped his young wife from talking about God or serving Him.

Cockroaches…and other Creepy crawlies…

I hate bugs. I hate snakes. I hate anything that moves too fast for me to run out of the way. I hate things that fly at me. I hate things that buzz and bite. Well…all of these fears and dislikes of mine were challenged during the week!! First thing we had to deal with…the cockroaches in the outhouse. This outhouse hadn’t been used in awhile (a fact we did not know at first), and so we used it without really thinking twice…until the inhabitants who were there first got irritated at us! I was closing the lid and happened to look down and make eye contact with a monstrous cockroach! It was so big and ginormous…(yes, that’s a word!)…the size of a cat! (ok, exaggeration, but it really was huge!!!) So I ran to get Trevor to save the day…and he sprayed Konk-like stuff around the edge of the hole while I stayed a safe distance away..and all of a sudden the outhouse was FILLED with cockroaches of every size, trying to get away from the killer spray!! GROSS!! My first thought was…”now how am I going to get away with not using the bathroom for the next week…I can‘t do this!!” We were both thoroughly disgusted!! But all was well when we found out that there is another outhouse that did not have the bug problem…whew!
Next…the scorpions. When walking after dark, you have to make sure you are carrying a torch (flashlight), and keep your eyes on the ground ahead of you to watch for the scorpions. They are very difficult to see, as they are the same color as the sand! This makes for a very paranoid Andrea!! But…thankfully, we killed the ones that we saw, no one got stung, and all was well!
The room we stayed in had many spiders in it, and at night, when the flashlight was on, also had many moths and other creepy bugs…so, needless to say…we were constantly surrounded by the scent of konk, and slept much better for it!
Some of the men killed a snake one afternoon…they said that this snake, although it wasn’t very big, was very deadly…if it bites you, you start to bleed from your nose, eyes, ears, etc….and you die within the hour. Not really something we wanted to contend with!
So yes..there were many bugs, and many more than what I’ve mentioned here…just a small taste of what it was like for us to conquer some of our fears!!

The Vehicles

Trevor had his work cut out for him…it’s a whole different story fixing vehicles when you live in the middle of nowhere, and have to fly the parts up to you (and fly the mechanic up as well!!). They say that driving a vehicle for one year in up-country Kenya is like driving it for 10-15 years in Canada!! The vehicles are also so needed in a place like this…they need them to haul water, both for their homes and also for the schools there. They also need them to bring teachers to the literacy classes, and to the preschool and primary schools. And because so many of the Rendille villages are so many km away, they need the vehicles to be able to effectively keep up with visitation and ministering to the people who live in these villages. So when the vehicles are out of commission, it really affects the entire ministry and daily living becomes a challenge. There were a few Christian Rendille men, Joshua and Rafael, who have taught themselves a lot about fixing vehicles, so Trevor worked together with them. They worked on Nick’s land cruiser for the first day or two, then while we were there, their other land cruiser broke down! Trevor was able to get parts for that vehicle flown up on an AIM Air flight, and fixed it the day we left (finishing about a half hour before our plane was supposed to leave!!). There were a few days that he was waiting for the parts to come, and so he was able to fix a couple problems on Grant’s Land Rover as well. It was an eye opening experience for Trevor to fix vehicles in Korr…to not have access to proper or specialized tools, to have to get parts flown in, to have to be very creative in how the vehicles get fixed…It was a challenge as well for Trevor to work in the intense heat, wearing shoes and coveralls!! And another thing was that as he was working on the vehicles, there were always other Rendille guys hanging around, watching, visiting…all day. They have nothing else to do, and so if there’s something happening, well it’s better than sitting in their huts, so they may as well be where the action is! So he had a constant audience!!

A Rendille Child...

We were supposed to leave Korr on Wednesday, but due to miscommunication, we ended up missing the flight…and there wasn’t another flight scheduled till the following week! It was frustrating for us at first, but after realizing that we didn’t have a choice, and that when you live in Africa, you HAVE to be flexible with your plans…so we decided to just make the best of it. We prayed about it, and gave it to the Lord. It was neat, because God knew what He was doing all along (of course!!) and Trevor was able to get more work done on the vehicles, and get them fixed properly! The way we ended up getting home was interesting…Friday morning, Loki, Laura and I were going to spend some time in prayer, and one of the things we were praying for was a way for us to get home. But before we even started praying, Trevor came over to where we were sitting, and said that he just heard that there was a plane coming that afternoon that had room for us! God is so good! He was also able to get some more parts flown up in the plane as well! What we didn’t realize at the time was who was on that plane…a bunch of big shot Kenyan government officials and MP’s were coming to Korr to have a celebration for the Rendille people because they voted the new MP into power…so we flew back with all these important men! Very interesting!! They had chartered four planes and a helicopter…I don’t think that Korr has ever had that much traffic on their airstrip before!!

So, it a nutshell…this was our experience in Korr…a land that is not so immediately beautiful, but if you look hard enough, and let yourself get to know it’s culture and people, you begin to see a raw, natural beauty that comes through. We experienced just a taste of what life looks like there…and know that the missionaries serving there need so much prayer to keep going, to press on in the task that God has called them to. It is not an easy life, but through their stories we sensed the call of God on their lives, and the joy they find in serving Him in Korr…it truly was amazing.

~A

American Elections...

Well, even though we are half way around the world in Kenya, we have heard more news about the American Presidential elections than ever before. Why, you ask? Because Barack Obama is one of Kenya’s own, or at least they like to think he is, as his father is Kenyan. (We have just heard that Obama's brother actually lives in Kibera slum as well..) Everywhere you go, you can find Obama t-shirts with his picture on it, or the saying “Kenya says, YES WE CAN!”… you can find beaded bracelets with the Kenyan colors of green, red and black, and Obama’s name on it…posters suggesting people write to Obama…and the list goes on and on! People on the street or in the stores will assume that we are American, and ask who we are voting for…in Church people talk about and pray for the American elections…it’s all been pretty crazy! Most people here have NO idea what Obama stand for, they only know that he is half Kenyan and assume that Kenya will be a priority for the US, and that they will be able to get visas easier…won’t they be disappointed when they realize that things don’t work that way in the rest of the world. It makes sense for them to think that, because here in Africa, it’s all about tribes. They vote for their president based on what tribe he’s from, not based on what he stands for, or what he will do for the country. The tribe that is represented in the presidency is automatically given special privileges…it’s just how it works here. Remember the election violence in January??? It was tribal, not political. So for the Kenyans to now be so excited that AMERICA is going to have a Kenyan president??? It just couldn’t get any better than that!
There was even live coverage here in Nairobi for all those who wanted to watch the elections and voting coverage today! Extra police were called in to parole the streets of Nairobi in the event that Obama would win the presidency…and now that he has won…President Kibaki declared that tomorrow is a holiday in Kenya! No joke!! Nobody is working tomorrow and everybody is partying because the United States elected Barack Obama as their next president!! What??? So, we are on holiday tomorrow as well, here in Nairobi, and all for the new American president…

Mitumba

I just returned from a visit to Mitumba slum. I went with the intention of seeing the ministry there, and seeing about my possible involvement in children’s ministry. It is interesting to me that after having mentioned this place to quite a few people here in Kenya, nobody had even heard of it! They didn’t even recognize the name as a place in Nairobi…the word mitumba actually means “old clothes”. It is a place that is hard to describe if you have never been there to actually see something like it, but I will try my best.

It has been raining here in Nairobi for awhile (we are in the spring rainy season), and so everything is a mess…muddy, dirty, messy, smelly…any and all of those words apply. Diana and I drove to Mitumba and met up with Pastor Shadrach. He is a Kenyan man who, along with his wife Violet, have seen the needs of the children in this slum, saw them eating dirt and chewing on used condoms… and have stepped up to the plate and have given themselves to helping the children. He walked us into the entrance to the slum, and pointed out that he liked my shoes because they have good traction to walk around Mitumba…I understood what he meant as soon as we ducked through and around little tin buildings, and sloshed around the puddles and muck, and dodged garbage and waste. I thought I was prepared after walking around Kibera, but in Kibera we didn’t actually go into any houses, and didn’t veer off the main “road”. Mitumba is a much smaller slum than Kibera with only about 17 - 20 thousand people calling Mitumba their home, but a slum is still a slum. It’s not pretty. When the unwanted breeze picks up, it fills the air with smells of waste, sewer, animals…and makes you not want to breathe in… So we go through the maze of tin shacks, on trails only wide enough for one person, and get to a small opening in the middle of a few buildings…and we have arrived. It is a school for the slum children, from preschool age to grade seven. Pastor Shadrach is so proud of what they have accomplished, and at first I could not see any accomplishment. All my mind comprehended was that everything is so dirty, there are so many children crammed into such a small area, and I’m supposed to work here??? I just kind of got this buzzing in my head, and missed some of what Pastor was saying…I must admit I was in somewhat of a panic mode, and maybe still am.
We walked into a few classrooms, greeted the children and the teachers, and then walked into a tiny office off one of the classrooms to discuss what is happening at this school, and where I could possibly get involved. After Pastor Shadrach and his wife Violet began talking and sharing what the Lord is doing in their ministry, I could really see that, yes, great things are happening!! The school has over 270 children, most of whom lead very difficult, young lives, and all of whom need much love and care. They are able to give the children good education, meals, clean water, and a healthy, loving Christian environment. They have also started a couple of small businesses to first of all employ some people who live in the slum, and also sell what they make to raise money for the orphanage they have started…which begun when they realized that the reason so many children were falling asleep in class was because they had no place to go at night and would just sit in the corridors of the slum walkways and rest their head against the tin buildings. So there are many things that God is doing in this place, and is using very dedicated people like Pastor Shadrach and Violet to do it.

In my conversation with them, it is clear that they need a lot of help and support…there is so much work to be done there. So please pray for us as we seek the Lord’s guidance on possible ministry opportunities here…Trevor and I are going to start going to Mitumba on Saturday mornings, and running the youth program there! It was really neat, because at first Pastor Shadrach really wanted me to teach, and I sort of agreed because I didn’t feel that I had a choice…but after praying about it, realized that I felt no peace about that, and called him to discuss this with him…when I mentioned that we would be free to help on Saturdays, his voice lit up and said “I have been praying for this for a long, long time. You can run the youth club, and counsel them, and get to know them and their struggles.” I feel such peace, and so excited that Trevor and I can minister to these broken youth together.

But at the same time, I am also feeling terrified and completely out of my comfort zone… The slum is not a “nice” place to be, and yet the need is so great. Meeting the children was wonderful, though…they are so excited and beautiful, wearing their bright red sweaters and navy blue pants/skirts. My heart breaks when I think about them, and the pain and sorrow they have faced in their short lifetimes…
So please, please pray.

We are also leaving for Korr tomorrow…a desert village in Northern Kenya…we may be staying until Wednesday, unless Trevor needs more time to fix the vehicles there, then we would catch the next flight back, possibly with AIM or with MAF…maybe Friday or maybe the following Tuesday…Please pray for this as well, for wisdom and knowledge for Trevor as he works on their vehicles, and that we would be a help and encouragement to the missionaries living in Korr…

Much, much love,
~A

This and That...

One of the most difficult things adjustments for us has been the feeling of always being new, always having to ask questions, not knowing even the simplest things…and one of the ways that this has played out has been in the area of finding a Church. We have been very spoiled at home with such an amazing church family, good solid teaching, worshiping together in music that we really enjoy, and knowing everyone, and knowing how everything works! Going to different Churches here and trying to find one that we want to stick with has been very interesting and enjoyable, and good to see how people worship here, but it’s difficult at the same time. When you’re always the visitor and have to stand up and introduce yourself, when you never see a familiar face…it’s tiring! Trevor and I really want to find a church that we feel God is really working in, and where we feel we can contribute and fit in somewhat. This past Sunday was the first Sunday where we weren’t the newcomers, and when they asked the visitors to stand and say something, we could stay seated!! It was wonderful!! We decided to attend the AIC Ngong again for a couple of reasons…first of all it’s so close and it only takes a few minutes to walk there (and we don’t have a vehicle yet), second thing, it’s small and cozy, and third and most important, we really enjoyed it the last time we attended, and felt very welcomed, and felt that this may be one where we could attend on a regular basis. It was nice that we went again, because it was quite different from the last time we attended! If you’ll remember reading about it a couple of weeks ago, they had the choir lead the singing, accompanied by kids playing violins. This time, the power wasn’t out, so they had a power point for the lyrics for the songs, they had a worship team consisting of a guy playing the keyboard (phenomenal musician!!), a guy playing drums (again, really, really talented!), another man playing base guitar, two ladies singing, and the worship leader also singing and dancing all over the stage! He was very excited and energetic!! It was very enjoyable, and really neat to be a part of their worship service. They sang songs in English, and also sang some Swahili songs, so that was really neat as well!! There are only a handful of wazungu missionaries there, and yet we still didn’t feel out of place. The teaching was good too, solid and Bible based. They also do a thing where they pray for the kids before they go off to Children’s Church, so all the kids go up to the front and someone prays for them and their “service”. All in all…we like it there a lot, and although we have heard about a couple of other churches that have been recommended to us, and may try them out, our goal is not to try every church, and see them all, but our goal is to find a “home” church quickly so that we can get to know people, and become a part of a church family. So we would really appreciate prayer in this, as it will really help to get involved and get to know our Kenyan brothers and sisters in Christ. Something else that made last Sunday feel a little more like home was that on our way home from church, we were just walking out of the parking lot and onto the street, and a missionary lady working with AIM stopped us and asked if we wanted to come over for some chai! It was fun…a spur of the moment invitation to go visit after church…so we went to Ted and Liisa Rurup’s house for chai and soup, and visited with them for part of the afternoon!

Monday was an extremely exhausting day!! It was a holiday (yes, another one! The month of October has a lot of holidays…this one was Kenyatta Day. Every president seems to have their own day here!), and so Trevor and I, along with six other people went on an adventure to climb Mount Longonot! We got up early, and the plan was to meet everyone at 7:30 am, and leave the city shortly after. Well…as this is Africa, nothing ever happens that way!! One of the girls who came with us, Joanne, was going to just leave her car at the ABC place, which is a shopping plaza, and we would pick her up from there. We met her there, she parked her car, and got in with us in Judith’s car. As we were about to leave, the guard flagged us down, and asked why her car was staying there. She told him that she was just leaving it there for a few hours, and would be back to get it. He very adamantly replied that that was NOT allowed, and she was not to leave it there as something could happen to it. This dialogue went on for a while, until she realized that he just wanted a bribe. Well, she was not about to give him one, and so asked for the management's number and for his name so she could report him. He quickly turned his name tag around, and refused. She asked for it again, and…he refused again…this went on for awhile, until we all realized that nothing was going to change, and he was not going to give in until he got some money, which we would not give. Finally, we just left, and she parked her car somewhere else…it was quite the ordeal! But more than that, gave us a first hand look at the corruption and the way a lot of things work around here. We were also worried as we were driving out of town that we would get stopped at the various police checkpoints set up…marked by rows of barriers lined with sharp spikes to deter anyone from just driving through the check stops! The police randomly decide which vehicle to stop, and can really make your life miserable if the smallest thing is wrong, and will then jump into your vehicle with you and demand that you go to the police station (remember, the policemen do not have cars here!), or if it is a holiday, like yesterday was, then tell you have to go to court, and wait in jail until the court date! There’s no such thing as a ticket, it’s the police station, jail, court, or all of the above! Pretty intimidating! So we prayed about this before we left, and finally got on our way!! And…praise the Lord that we passed by quite a few check stops and didn’t get pulled over at all, not on the way there or on the way back!! We were very thankful!!
So…anyway, we drove to Mount Longonot National Park, which is about a 1 ½ hours drive, saw the majestic Great Rift Valley along the way, saw an overturned semi truck that held up traffic, so we just down into the ditch to get around the accident…!! Aahhh..good times!! We had to pay to get into the park…and now that we are Kenyan residents, we only had to pay 500 ksh each (which is a little over $7), and non-residents had to pay 1500 ksh each (which is a little more than $20)!! It was an exciting day!! We drove to the base of the mountain, got our backpacks ready, and started the trek. It was crazy…we hadn’t even climbed for 10 minutes, and we were all wheezing and out of breath!! We felt a little ridiculous, until we were reminded that we were at a much higher altitude, and that was a big part of the reason for not being able to catch our breath. (it made us feel a little better!!) It was a long, hard climb, made even more difficult by the thick ash we were walking on as we got closer to the top. Mount Longonot is an old dormant volcano that erupted many years ago, and the evidence of that can be seen by the ash on the ground, the lava rocks, and seeing the amazing greenery fuelled by the lava flow. It was pretty neat! As we climbed higher, and got more tired, I kept hearing the advice we were given about climbing the mountain playing in my head “it’s really difficult, and you’ll just want to give up, but trust me, keep going because it’s worth it! The view is incredible!” So…we kept climbing, and kept climbing, and kept climbing…it took close to two hours to get to the top, and as I climbed those last few steps that felt like a hundred, and collapsed on the ground, I looked down the other side…and it really was incredible!! There’s a ridge all around the edge of the mountain, and in the center is a HUGE crater made by the eruption many years ago!! It was amazing! They say that there’s wildlife that lives in the crater…we didn’t see any, but it was very far down, and covered in thick greenery, so it probably would have been impossible to see any animals anyway.
We ate our picnic lunches that we had packed, rested, and took in the beauty of God’s creation…we could see Lake Naivasha, beautiful trees, other mountains, the valley…it is almost impossible to describe the beauty!! After we had finished our lunches, then it was suggested that we hike around the ridge of the whole mountain…and everything in me protested!! My body screamed “NO”!!! But we went anyway. Most of it wasn’t as hard as climbing up the mountain had been…there were many more areas of flat ground, or even walking downhill. We had trekked a little more that a quarter of the way around, and saw the dark rain clouds coming our way, and realized that we couldn’t see the valley anymore for the rain. If the mountain would get wet, all the ash and fine dirt we were walking on would turn to slippery mud, and we had to get all the way back down the mountain before that happened!! So half of us started back, and the other half wanted to keep going. We made it back to the place where we had eaten our lunch with only a few drops of rain, and started on our way down. It was much easier doing that than going up had been!! We were making pretty good time, and then saw some Kenyan kids who were RUNNING down…and thought “what crazy kids! They are going to kill themselves!” But…the clouds were getting darker, and walking down a mountain is extremely hard on your feet and legs because you constantly have to brace yourself and slow yourself down…so we decided we may as well go with the mountain and run! And run we did!! It was fun…a little scary when the momentum would get the better of us and make it really difficult to slow down…but fun anyway!! We were so thankful to get to the bottom and see the vehicles, and the not-so-sturdy picnic tables, and just crashed there until the rest of the group made it down. On our way home it started pouring rain…so yet again God answered our prayers!! It was a wonderful day, and so neat to see more of Kenya, and to experience and appreciate another part of the world that God has created.

As many or all of you know…I have been feeling a little anxious and impatient to get involved in kid’s ministry, and have had to continually pray for God to give me patience and wisdom, and give all control over to Him, as His timing is always best. So it excites me to tell you that on Thursday I am going to be going to Matumba Slum with Diana Schmidt (her husband is in charge of short term ministry for the Eastern Region division of AIM)!! We are going to be meeting with Pastor Shadrack who is running an informal school for the slum kids of all ages. This slum is really close to Wilson Airport where Trevor works everyday, so that would make getting there really simple. I am really excited about this possibility, and also really scared! First of all, teaching is not my strength, and I know that the conditions and stories I will come in contact with will be difficult and hard to handle. But, we have prayed about my placement here, and I know that many of you have prayed for this as well, and so I want to trust the Lord with this, and know that He will often take us to those places where He can stretch us, use us, and so that everyone can see that it is ONLY Christ doing the work, and that we are just His vessels. I am confident that He is in control, and that He has brought me here for a purpose.
So please pray for this placement, that God would show me if this is where I should get involved, and that the meeting on Thursday would go well. Please pray for Trevor as well, as this week is going to be a little stressful for him because James is gone all week, and we are hoping to go to Korr (another up-country village) this weekend so he can fix a missionary’s vehicle, so Trevor has to try and make all the arrangements himself, and get all the parts in time, and figure out all the logistics of travel and all that.

Oh, and another interesting bit of news…we have a house helper! This concept seemed really strange to us at first, and we just thought that we don’t need anybody to do the housework, so why would we get a house helper?? But the more we talked to people, the more we realized that getting Kenyans to come and work for you, whether it be in the house, or outside doing yard work, or whatever it may be is a real blessing to them, and gives them a good job that they would not otherwise have. It’s expected here…even the Kenyans have house helpers, and it’s often just to help out someone who is even less fortunate than them. So we decided to get someone to come one day a week, and she started yesterday! Her name is Salomi, and she makes amazing tortillas!! It was a good day of getting to know one another, and she has already told me a bit about her life and struggles, and I’m excited to continue to build this relationship with her! She’s a very sweet woman! We also have a man named Elli come and do the yard work and cleaning outside, and he works for us one day a week as well.

Anyway, I think that's it for today...till next time..
~A

Thanksgiving in Kurungu

Tribal. Isolated. Hot. These are a few words that explain our Thanksgiving weekend. We had the opportunity to go up-country to Kurungu (a village close to South Horr) with James..and what an amazing time we had! Even though it was not Thanksgiving here, it was a long weekend, as Friday was Moi Day..so we left early Friday morning and flew out with AIM Air. Even that was so neat..to see the Kenyan countryside as we flew by in the small plane, the mountains, the trees, the lone roads here and there..Trevor got to sit up front with the pilot, so that was pretty cool as well! It took 1 ½ hours to fly what would have taken 2 days to drive! We landed in a valley with mountains on either side…small dirt airstrip…greeted by the missionaries that we went to visit, along with some of the local Samburu people who came to see who had flown in. The view was incredible!!
We stayed with Walt and Monica Middleton and their three kids…they have lived in Kurungu for about two years. There is also another missionary couple who has been there longer, Rick and Carrie Maples, and they have two kids. The whole weekend was filled with so many different things..a lot of visiting, exploring the area, learning about the culture…Trevor also got his hands dirty and helped fix their vehicles, so that was a huge help to them, as the roads here do a lot of damage to the vehicles!! We also went into the town of Kurungu to get some sand to bring to the preschool (the picture on the left shows the guys loading sand...they only had three shovels, so that is the reason there are so many guys just standing and watching!!), and joined in other little projects here and there to experience the daily life of the missionaries who live there.

Trevor with some of the local kids who live in the town of Kurungu. They LOVED being on pictures!!

Sunday afternoon...a bunch of Samburu people heard there were more wazungu (white people) who had arrived in Kurungu, and so they brought many things to show us in hopes that we would buy something...In the picture I am trying to barter with a drunk man...it was an interesting event! We ended up buying some neat items from a few different people..

Kids filling up their water jugs at the well...beautiful, beautiful kids..

The people that the Maples’ and Middletons are minstering to are the Samburu people..a nomadic tribe who travel with their goats and camels, and live very simply. Most of them speak only Samburu…some speak Swahili, and very few speak English. Only the boys go to school, and it is only those who are considered “useless”, who have no desire to herd the animals and live the nomadic lifestyle. This lifestyle is considered the highest calling, and those who are not interested are sent to school, and suffer problems from their people for it. For a boy, to become a Moran (warrior) (Morani - Warriors) is the greatest achievement…there is a lot of ritual and tradition that comes with it, and it is after the boys are circumcised when they reach adolescence that they can start to go through the process to become a warrior and start their journey into manhood. The Moranis hold their positions for 14 years, until they marry and become elders. The women marry as soon as they reach adolescence, and are in charge of building the huts, collecting wood, water, and cooking. It is a very interesting culture..one that is hard for us to understand. The Samburu are very tribal in dress and tradition…they wear a lot of big beaded necklaces, bracelets, earrings…their clothing consists of big pieces of brightly coloured cloth wrapped around them, often in colours of pink and red…their hair is mostly shaved, with the exception of the warriors who have long red hair that is then shaved in a tribal ritual…many of the children are naked, but still wear bracelets and necklaces … everything was so unique and foreign to us, and we were constantly asking questions of the missionaries..”what does this mean? why do they do this? “ and on and on the questions would go!
Their ministry with the Samburu is very exciting! Because most of the people are illiterate, they are going through the “storying” technique, which means they are going through the Bible, starting at the beginning and picking stories in chronological order that point the way to Jesus Christ, and then telling these stories to the people. This is the way that the Samburu have kept their history and stories, by telling them to each other and passing them down throughout
the generations…no books, no “technology”. The people are memorizing these Bible stories now, and really, really know them well! There have been many people who have come to Christ, and have a solid foundation of what they believe. It’s so exciting!! The vision is for them to one day be able to have thriving, growing Churches without the foreign missionaries there to constantly lead them, but for them to lead their own people. It is a very challenging ministry, as the Samburu are nomadic, and so they often only stay on one area for a month or two, and then move on to find more grazing land for their animals. Pray for the missionaries working with them…they need a lot of wisdom!
We had the opportunity to go to a Samburu “night Church” on Monday night…amazing, amazing, amazing!!! We left after dark, walked over two kilometres on dusty, dirt roads with the moon as our light, arrived in the village to the sounds of Samburu singing, praising the Lord…were greeted by many kids who were so excited that we were there…joined in the clapping…sat under African Acacia trees…were surrounded by camels, goats, and little Samburu manyattas (huts)…and took it all in as they told the story of Abraham taking Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice him…everything was told in the Samburu language, by a Samburu man who is a strong believer in the Lord. Sitting there in the dirt, surrounded by kids…both Trevor and I could hardly believe that we were actually sitting there, witnessing something like that! We could hear the sounds of goats and donkeys, the sound of fires crackling, the sounds of babies crying and their mothers comforting them, of children giggling as they touched our white skin, birds of every sort chirping loudly…seeing the silhouette of the mountains on either side of us, seeing the huge centipede crawling on Trevor’s leg..!!! Looking around I could see the women with babies on their backs, soaking in the Word of God, and remembering the stories so well, and understanding them because they are told in their heart language. I saw some of the men who are rising up and taking responsibility, and one of them walking over four kilometres just for those few hours to tell the people about God, and then having to walk back that night…we were so blessed to be able to be a part of that. What an amazing God we serve!!
The next morning we also had the chance to go to this village by daylight..and got to go into one of their manyattas (huts) to see what it’s like inside! The manyattas are portable huts made up of mud, hide, grass, and blankets/tarps, etc. First they wanted to clean it up for us, so we waited for awhile, then they said that they were ready for us, so we ducked through the tiny opening, turned a little corner, and sat down on the mat they provided for us. It’s just tiny, with a fire inside for cooking, goats wandering in and out, the mats that we were sitting on was where they would sleep at night…they were so excited to have us come in, and when I would take pictures, they would want to see them, and would laugh and laugh when they saw themselves!! It was really neat to sit with them…Walt was the one who took us there, and he has learned to communicate well with them, so that was really neat to see as well. (the camping tent in the picture is Walt's tent...he set it up in their village so he could stay with them sometimes...and the other huts you see are the manyattas.)
Throughout the weekend, we also got a glimpse of the daily life of the missionaries living there. The people come to them for a lot of things…we saw a man who’s head was cut open, a baby who had an infected sore on his head, a man with an infected finger, a boy who had a gash on his leg, another guy who got something in his eye…and on and on it would go!! The Maples and Middletons would stop what they were doing and help whoever was the one in need, spend time with them…it was really interesting to witness. Another thing we noticed was just how much work it is to live there…the town of Kurungu can’t really even be called a town…it’s just a road going through with huts on either side (the pictures on the right are of downtown Kurungu!!)…so they can buy camel milk from the people, some honey, and maybe a few other things, but most of their groceries have to be purchased when they go to Nairobi once every 6-12 weeks!! That’s a lot of planning ahead, saving, being very resourceful…I have so much respect and admiration for anyone who can live like that!! It’s pretty amazing! And another thing is the isolation and loneliness that they face…it’s very difficult when there are only two missionary families living there together…and “getting away” means travelling for two days on difficult and sometimes dangerous roads…it really opened our eyes this weekend to see this way of life and the many sacrifices these people have made to work with the Samburu people.
By the way…our Thanksgiving meal was camel meat! It was cooked over an open fire, and really very good! And on that note, Happy Thanksgiving to each one of you…we are so thankful for you, for your prayers, your support, and so thankful to God for all His provisions for us…We serve a great God!!
Oh, and another cool thing was that some Samburu people rescued a baby dik-dik from the mountains on Sunday morning and brought it to the Middleton‘s house!! (a dik-dik is a very small deer, the smallest of the deer family). It was so tiny, just a few days old, and the size of a small cat! The Middleton’s are now keeping it and feeding it milk with a syringe…it was so cute!! And we also saw a couple of chameleons, baboons, monkeys, and a toucan! Just backyard animals when you live in Kurungu, Kenya!!

Stories..

We went to the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage last Saturday...it's in the outskirts of Nairobi..and it was a really fun afternoon! They bottlefeed the baby elephants...!






One of the entrances to Kibera Slum...the other day when I said it was the biggest slum in Africa...well it's actually the biggest slum in the world!

Markets set up beside the road...I apologize for the bad quality of pictures...these are taken while driving past!

~I think we, when we moved here to Nairobi, had to go through more than just culture shock due to moving from Canada to Africa. I think we have gone through culture shock moving from small town Canada…to big city Africa!! There have been so many adjustments just due to moving to a city…I mean, we’re both small town kids…hey I’m a farm kid! There have been so many adjustments!! And then there’s all the things about Nairobi that are not so pleasant…the corruption, the violence, the smell of burning garbage everywhere…We have heard some interesting comments from different people here…describing Nairobi:
-“it’s like a pit.”
-“it’s a dark hole…”
-“you don’t come here for anything but work.”
-“it’s all business, no pleasure”
And finally…my personal favourite.. -“as soon as you come into the city limits, the matatus (mini-buses) try to kill you!”
Haha…no, before you think that this is completely negative and cynical…we don’t feel all of these things ourselves (except maybe the one about the matatus!!). We are feeling quite good about living here, but do realize that we need to take those times to get away before we go crazy!! We’ve had other interesting conversations with people here as well, that perhaps capture the struggles people have living here, and how difficult it really can be…these are some of the tidbits of conversation that we’ve had with people who have either grown up here (Kenyan) or people who have lived here for a long, long time…
…you don’t trust anybody. Nobody. Everybody is out to get you. You look out for yourself. Never trust a cop…if you have a choice between running into a thief or a cop, choose the thief…it’ll be better for you…
It’s hard hearing this type of mentality…we’re here to minister, and yet everyday you run into situations that just make you shake your head and say “are you serious??” Another example of the differences here is the village justice type of mentality…because the cops really are not here to help the people (by the way, a big reason for dirty cops is because they get paid next to nothing, and so are expected to do their own business on the side…like ask for bribes, steal, take advantage of people in any way that will benefit them financially…and plus, they don’t have cars…so if you need to report a robbery or are in trouble or something…you actually have to go and GET the cops and bring them back to “help” you…!!) anyway, because the policemen don’t help the people, the people feel that they have to get justice themselves…the other day we heard a story of people in the village who just burned two thieves to death last Saturday…or if someone steals from you, you better think twice before yelling “mwezi!” (thief) or the mob will go after them, attack and often kill them right there in front of you…can you imagine??? It’s pretty crazy…but we have been learning a lot!! If God can use two people like us here in Nairobi, two people with no experience with this sort of thing…then I think He can use anybody!!
As Trevor has been getting to know his co-workers, he has been learning a lot about their stories, and what they have been through and come out of. There’s Benedicto…an older man who’s family doesn’t live in Nairobi with him, they live in their up-country home, and he just works here in the city to make enough money to support his family, and goes home when he can…while he’s here he lives in Kibera Slum because he can’t afford anything else…the other day when he came to work he told Trevor that he was really tired and hadn’t gotten much sleep…and when asked why, he replied that during the night there had been a fire in the slum very close his house, so he had taken some things out of his house to save them from getting burned…the fire didn’t get as far as his house, but it burned a huge section of Kibera, and he was up most of the night because of it….this is life for him. He does it to support his family, who he doesn’t get to see very often…
And there’s Steven…a younger man with a wife and daughter…he is Kikuyu, and she is Kamba…during the election violence, he had to run for his life because of the tribe he belongs to…rioters came to his apartment building looking for any Kikuyus…they asked the landlord’s son about the Kikuyus in the building, and when he wouldn’t give them any information, they beat him to death…meanwhile Steven took his daughter and ran into the forest and hid until it was safe…this is his life…
And then there’s another young man…a teenage boy from the Darfur region of Sudan, where all the atrocities are happening…he had to flee his home…spent time in refugee camps, and is now living in Nairobi…he speaks his tribal language, and Arabic, and also a little English…Trevor is spending a lot of time with him…helping him with his English, being a support to him…he is a great kid, a really hard worker…trying to save up to buy a bicycle…his life has not been easy…
Trevor is really enjoying getting to know these people..hearing their stories..hearing about their faith in God..trusting God in the midst of these awful and trying times…faith so strong…it’s pretty amazing. God is raising up good, good people in this country, people who have been through so much hardship, and yet can still say that God is good…
So in the midst of living in a sad, corrupted place…it is so encouraging when you get to meet the heart of why we’re here…for the people…for those struggling to get by…for those needing encouragement…for those who work so hard for their family…to be able to be God’s hands and feet…to make what may seem like a small difference, and yet in one person’s life, it may be all the difference…What an honor.
~A