Fun Things!

1. Amani Ya Juu. It means “Higher Peace” in Kiswahili. It is also the name of a center that employs sixty-two women from different countries in Africa, most of whom have fled due to violence and war in their own countries. These women are able to work here to feed their families and earn a living, while learning about the word of God and having the opportunity to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It’s a wonderful place.

The work they do is mostly sewing…making clothing, quilts, wall hangings, purses, dolls, among many other things!! And it’s beautiful stuff!! They also dye and print the fabrics and have a warehouse area where they export their products. They have shops there where you can purchase items to help support them, and also a café where they serve delicious food. We spent a good part of the day there, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! It’s really nice to be able to know where the money you spend is going, and to come home with a beautiful purchase in the process!

Eating outside at the cafe.

2. We took another trip out of the city, and that was north to Central Province, close to a town called Nanyuki. We went to a place called the Trout Tree Restaurant that we had heard a lot about. It started out on an interesting note, though. The day before, we heard some things about some unrest and violence happening in one of the towns that we would have to drive through in order to get to our destination. There is a gang here in Kenya called the MUNG1K1, that wreak terror and havoc anywhere they go. They had killed a bunch of people in this town the week before, so there was now a heavy police presence in the area. But since we had not heard any more recent activity, and were advised by some friends of ours that it would probably be okay, as long as we left before it got dark, we decided to go anyway.

The restaurant is so cool…it’s in a huge tree! You feel kind of like Swiss Family Robinson! They specialize in trout (hence the name!) and you can see all the ponds they have for the trout that they catch for you as you order! It was a really neat experience, and we’d like to go again sometime! We saw black and white colobus monkeys and little hyrax things (with really beady eyes!) that hang out around the restaurant and grounds.

The area is so beautiful too…on one side, you can see the Aberdare Mountain Range, and on the other side you have a view of Mount Kenya (well, a clouded over view, but still, it’s Mount Kenya!!). It was really neat to see.

From there it was only a few minutes drive to the sign where it tells you that you are on the Equator, so we had to go there too! We spent some time shopping at the curio shops there (or should I say Mom and Dad shopped there! They got a lot of cool stuff!!). We had to wait out an insane rainstorm there…it turned the parking lot into a lake within minutes! The shopkeepers set out chairs in their shops for us as we waited, until Trevor decided to brave the downpour and go get the vehicle!
Another interesting day, with no sign of the violence or gang anywhere…praise God!