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!

Camp!!

The school terms here in Kenya run on a different schedule than they do at home. Kids are in school from January to March, then they have the month of April off. Then it’s back to school from May to July, with August having no school. Then it’s the last three months of school from September to November, and December being the last month off. During the months of holidays in April, August, and December, a lot of the kids go to camps. We got to go to the camp that the kids from Mitumba slum went to! It was great! Pastor Shadrach asked us to come for a day to speak to the youth during one of their sessions. It happened to be during the time that Mom and Dad were here, so they got to come along…it was actually their first chance to meet the youth and kids from Mitumba.

The kids spent the week at a high school (which is also a boarding school) in Ngong Hills, which is close to Ngong town. (which is also not far from where we live!). One of the things that struck us the most about seeing the youth/kids at the camp, away from the slum, is that you would never picture them as growing up and living in a slum. They are such beautiful young people, so incredibly well-mannered, so welcoming and inviting, with futures so bright it’s almost blinding! Their environment does not determine who they become!! Their past does not determine their future!! It just really rang true all over again, that the possibilities for these youth are endless. They have hope in Jesus Christ, they are getting a good education, they are being counselled and encouraged in the Lord, they are gaining courage and confidence. They have had to work so hard, they have come so far, and will have to continue working harder than many people to get past the many obstacles in their life, and to not let their past determine who they are going to become. But it is happening!! Aahh I get goosebumps just thinking about it! :o)

Going to camp is such an incredible highlight for them. They get to leave the slum, ride on a bus (which is a novelty!), and spend the week sleeping in dorms, eating great food, learning more about God, sing and dance, play a ton of games, and just get renewed and refreshed. When we arrived on a Thursday, they were all so hyper and excited and I don’t think that the smiles ever left their faces!!

The topic that we were given to speak about was “Friends and Peer Pressure”. We had touched on these topics before during our youth Bible studies, but were able to go into a bit more depth at the camp. We really enjoyed the chance to speak to them. What we did not realize was that after our session was over, the youth would be given a chance to write down questions and we would have to go up immediately and answer them with no time for preparation or research! It was slightly scary, and I have to say, I was a little relieved when our time was up and they had to save some of the questions for another day! They have so many questions, though, and I am so glad they are getting good and safe places to ask them and have them answered from the Word of God.

The rest of our time there was spent just hanging out with the youth, watching their games and relays, taking pictures of them, catching crickets, running around, playing basketball and all sorts of other fun stuff. We joined them for the meals of ugali, sukuma wiki, and stew, which was Mom and Dad’s first chance to try Kenyan food!


We had a really great time (but were scolded by some of the youth that we did not come for the whole week! We are hoping that we can spend more time at the camp with them in August..). I think seeing them in a different environment, out of the slum, helped us to understand them better, and see who they really are. We are finding that our hearts are getting more and more attached to these youth, which makes the thought of leaving them unbearable. We love them so much.

The Beautiful Maasai Mara

Wow, so much to say about our last few weeks! We had a great time with my parents and were able to cram a lot of events and visiting into our 2 ½ weeks with them! It was so nice to be able to sit in the same room and talk and laugh, and also to be able to experience fun things together. It’s amazing how easy it is to take quality time together for granted until it’s not an option anymore! It really was such a fun thing for us to have family here again. There were definitely a few highlights of their time here, so I will elaborate on those.

We all splurged a little, and went on a safari to the Maasai Mara for the weekend! Trevor and I hadn’t been there since our trip to Kenya in 2006, and Mom and Dad had never been on a safari of any kind, so it was well worth it! We hired a safari company to pick us up at our house, drive us there, and also do the game drives for us. Our driver, Jackson, was here at 6:30 am Friday morning, and off we went!
It was Mom and Dad’s first trip out of Nairobi, so they got to see The Great Rift Valley and other parts of the beautiful Kenyan countryside as we drove about five hours to get to our Lodge. We stayed at the Sarova Mara, which is a tented camp in the Maasai Mara…and if by the word tented you think small tent, no lights, outhouses, camping…think again! These are luxury tents, with running water and flushing toilets! The coolest surprise was when we got there and got treated like royalty with hot moist cloths to wipe our dusty hands and faces after the drive, and were given fresh passion juice to drink…they said they were very happy to inform us that they upgraded us to the Club Tents!!! It was great! Two men carried all our bags and we followed them, past the swimming pool, past beautiful groomed trees and shrubs, on a bridge over a small lake, past the tents we thought we were going to be staying in, and straight into the doors of our amazing tents with a gorgeous view of the Mara!! Oh wow!! It was incredible! It was like staying in the best room in a fancy hotel, except here, we look out the windows and see trees and birds, and we walk out of our doors and see the endless Maasai Mara!

So, after exploring our tents and freshening up, we went for lunch, which was the first of many delicious meals there, and then started our first game drive at 4:00 pm.

We are in our rainy season here in Kenya, which is wonderful…except when you’re talking about going on a safari, then it can be not-so-wonderful! Jackson (our driver) said a few times “let’s just hope for the best” when talking about what animals we were going to see. If it’s just so rainy, then the animals don’t come out much, it can be hard to find them, and visibility is poor. We were feeling a little worried…coming all this way and paying all this money, and mom and dad’s only safari, and then not seeing very much and just hoping for the best??? But we didn’t say anything to them and just prayed! :o)

Our first game drive was incredible…so many animals were out! Zebras, Cape buffalo, lots of elephants (and a few baby elephants!!!), a lion, a leopard (!!) lying in a tree, tons of cools birds, more and more and more elephants…and we ended the game drive with a view of the sun setting on the African landscape. Perfect. We came back in time to have supper, and talk about our awesome first day!
The next morning started early, with a game drive at 6:30 am, after a cup of hot chai. To be out in the middle of the Maasai Mara as it’s waking up is amazing. The sun rising, sending a fiery glow on all the trees and animals, feeling the cool air on your face, and just being able to enjoy God’s wonderful creation is something that can hardly be explained. We love Africa.
Giraffes were the highlight of our morning. We saw a mama giraffe with her baby…so cool! Along with that we saw ostriches, hyenas (so funny-looking!!), all kinds of deer, buffalo, and more giraffes!
We returned from our morning game drive in time for a scrumptious breakfast, and some time in the sun to warm up!! We had a relaxing afternoon, time to explore the lodge grounds, time to sleep, and time just to hang out.

Our evening game drive also held some exciting promises for us…we saw all of the animals we’d already seen, plus warthog after warthog, after warthog!! What interesting creatures…have you seen them run before?? Their tails go straight up like an antenna…it’s hilarious!! But the best part about this Saturday evening game drive was seeing a whole pride of lions!! Unreal! They were eating a zebra in the bush, and we got to see the male lion fighting with another lion…it was awesome! After that we also saw hippos in a river, and over forty baboons! Add to that another captivating African sunset, and you have a pretty perfect day!

Sunday morning. Our last morning game drive before we had to start the drive back to Nairobi. We saw a few of the animals that we had seen the previous game drives, but the best part was seeing three cheetahs relaxing in the bush!
The scary saying of “let’s just hope for the best”, turned into “we saw ALL the animals except the rhino!!” Our weather was absolutely perfect, our days were filled with exciting things, we saw God’s magnificent creation up-close and personal…what a weekend!! It was as close to perfect as you can get!

The Maasai Mara…you just have to experience it!

Recent News..

We have been so busy these last few weeks...with going away for Easter, regular busy life, and moving into a new house! The house we were staying in was only temporary until the missionaries who usually live there came back from Home Assignment...so last week we moved into a new house! It's on a neighbouring compound, so we still have the same neighbourhood, which we are glad for. So...we moved from (half of) this:

to (half of) this:

Yes, it's MUCH smaller, but we prefer it and are feeling more at home there than we ever did at the other place! It's "cozy"!!

And on to even more exciting news....my parents are coming to Africa TODAY!!! We are so thrilled and can't wait to see them! It should be a good 2 1/2 weeks with them! So if I don't blog for awhile it's just because we're too busy having FUN!! :o)

I also want to let you all know how very much we appreciate all of you...you have no idea how much your encouragement, support, comments, prayers, and everything else means to us. We have felt so incredibly blessed having you as a part of our team and want you to know how much we love you!
We have also figured out a system for checking our emails as well, so please feel free to email us at either one of our email accounts...we would love to hear how you are doing and what is going on in your lives. Being so far away causes us to feel quite disconnected with home and friends, so we would really appreciate hearing from you!! Thank you again for being such wonderful friends! We could NOT be here without YOU!!

Easter...In a Mud House

**now updated with pictures!**

One of the greatest ways you can honour your Kenyan friends is to accept an invitation to visit them in their up-country home. Many Kenyans live here in Nairobi just so they can have a job and make some money to support their families who live up-country. One of Trevor’s friends and co-workers, Benedicto, lives in Nairobi, in Kibera Slum, but his wife and five children live in Western Kenya, in a place called Kakamega. So Benedicto goes home as often as he can, and invited us to spend Easter with him and his family in their up-country home. We accepted his invitation without hesitation, but we felt nervousness and apprehension along with excitement. Even though we have made quite a few trips up-country already, this was the first time we would not be staying with a missionary family.

What a weekend we had! I wish I could bring each of you to a place like that! In order for you to really know what it’s like, you need to be able to smell the air, to walk on the soil, to hear the voices in other languages, to taste the food, to shake all the hands, to see the vast and beautiful landscape…put all of your five senses in gear at the same time and EXPERIENCE it! Close your eyes and try to imagine all of what I will try to describe to you (while you read, of course!! :o) )


The first step was to pack up the vehicle for the drive out there. We borrowed a Pajero from some friends of ours, and went to their house on Friday morning to load it up. And loaded it was!! We had extra passengers besides us and Benedicto…we gave a ride to Benedicto’s cousin, and also to Sammy (another one of Trevor’s co-workers), and Sammy’s son. Benedicto was bringing a lot of stuff home to his family…we had a table, a gas cooker, a mattress, a couple jerry cans, a bike for his children and numerous other items strapped to the top of the vehicle!! And that’s not mentioning all the stuff and bags we crammed into the inside of the vehicle!! By the time we were ready to leave, we looked like a matatu! But we all stuffed ourselves in, and were ready for the long drive.

Our full vehicle! Benedicto, his cousin Matthias, Sammy's son and Sammy! Good times were had by all!! :o)

There is something amazing about driving through Kenya. It’s almost like God has taken scenery, climate, and landscape from many different extremes, and placed them in one country! The trip was many things, but it was NOT boring! There is so much to see. The distance is only about 400 km, but we drove through the Rift Valley escarpment, to thick forests of tall and mighty trees, to a barren landscape with Yellow Fever trees, to vast lands dotted with Acacia trees, to lush farmlands and rolling hills in the Rift Valley, to green, green, green tea plantations, to Lake Victoria in the distance, to more rolling farmland with mountainous horizons…are you getting the picture??? All this, in 400 km! Over and over again, Trevor or I would have to comment on how unbelievable Kenya is! I should also mention that this trip took us close to 9 hours…! We would often stop to buy fruit or vegetables from vendors along the road, so as you can imagine, the vehicle got more and more crowded the farther we drove! We passed some Internally Displaced People camps…people who are still not settled from the post-election violence in early 2008. We also saw some reconstruction happening in different towns where they are trying to rebuild from the destruction that the violence caused. It was quite the drive.

One of the markets that we stopped at to buy fruit and vegetables.

So, after dropping our other passengers at their destinations, we arrived in Kakamega after dark. We had to stop along the side of the road a few times so Benedicto could buy a few more things…and that’s when we realized that we would be quite the spectacle all weekend! It was like a message had been sent that the wazungu (white people) were in town, and people flocked to our vehicle, pointed at us, pressed their faces and hands to the windows to get a better look. (remember, it’s dark out already, and we are in a place completely unknown to us, so I felt a bit nervous!) But at last, we finally arrived at Benedicto’s home. It was then that we knew we would have a wonderful time. As soon as we drove onto his yard and parked the vehicle in front of his small mud house in the shelter of banana trees, his wife, Nancy, and children Jacob (14), Anna (12), Daniel (9), Joseph (5), and Glarene (2), came out to meet us, shook our hands and with beautiful smiles on their faces welcomed us and expressed over and over again how happy they were that we came to their home. We felt overwhelmed with the display of immediate hospitality. The kids were giddy with excitement to see their dad, and to see these white people!

We walked into the dimly lit house and tried to mentally adjust that this is where we would be staying for the next few days. In a mud house. I looked off to my right and saw a Bible open on the table with a lit candle beside it. To my left I saw chairs and couches covered in white and flowery doily-like fabric, specifically laid out to make the home as pretty as possible for us. We were asked to sit down, and were immediately brought hot chai and bread. After we had finished that, I whispered to Trevor that I was glad that Nancy had not prepared a huge meal for us because it was already so late and it would have been a lot of work. Just after I finished saying that, Nancy and the kids started bringing out dish after dish after dish of food! It was unbelievable!! She had made chapati, ugali, sukuma wiki, stew, chicken, potatoes, and salad…I’m telling you that you have never seen such giving and warm hospitality until you have been to Kenya! We were given their master bedroom for the weekend…this is how our time in western Kenya began.

Benedicto and Nancy's house. Mud walls and a mud floor, with a mabati (tin) roof.

The "shower" building...another interesting experience!

A view of the house and other buildings...

There is so much we could tell you about this experience, but I’ll just try and touch on the highlights. We had so much fun with the kids throughout the weekend…they LOVE to laugh, and we just had a great time getting to know them. It was also great for us to see Benedicto with his family and to see where he comes from, and to understand his life a little bit better. He is so proud of his home and shamba (garden, or farm). He has about two acres where he has planted maize, tea and some cassava. He has also planted many trees around his home and yard, making it a beautiful place. Wouldn’t you like to have bananas and pineapple growing in your yard??! :o) Benedicto has started a tradition of asking visitors and special people in his life to plant a tree in his yard. Trevor planted a tree there Sunday morning, “Trevor’s Tree”. Benedicto wants his family to always have a memory of us being there, and for us to have left something at his home. We will always have that connection.

Trevor planting a tree in the yard. (with Benedicto beside him and a neighbour, Boniface, looking on.)

Saturday we explored the area and were finally able to see it in the daylight! Kakamega receives a lot of rain, and it was evident in the trees and grass and fields! The colours were intoxicating…the unbelievable green vegetation meeting with the deep red dirt and the stunning blue sky…we LOVED it there! There were people everywhere, many carrying firewood on their heads, many on bikes (bodas) and motorbikes (boda bodas), which are used as taxis, many carrying water, many selling fresh fruit and vegetables. As soon as anyone saw us, we heard the excited sound of “MZUNGU!!” We would wave, they would laugh. Yes, quite the spectacle we were. And the climate in that area is so nice…the mornings are quite cool, the afternoons get nice and warm, and it rains a lot. So nice…





Benedicto bought sugarcane for all of us to chew on…again, another interesting experience! You should all try it. :o) Chew and spit, chew and spit…
(the picture is of Joseph, Daniel and Anna, chewing on sugar cane in the vehicle!)



We spent quite a few hours on Saturday at Kakamega Forest, one of the last remaining natural forests in Kenya, and the only rainforest. What a beautiful place! We saw monkeys and birds and amazing trees and greenery. It was so nice to spend the time with Benedicto and his family. Hiking and climbing are quite the feat if you are wearing a wrap-around skirt that has issues staying “wrapped around”…!!

All throughout the weekend, people were constantly stopping by the house for chai and a visit. A lot of them came to see Benedicto and welcome him home, and a lot of them also came because they heard there were wazungu staying there. We spent a lot of time just sitting outside with a bunch of the local people, many of them being Benedicto’s neighbours, listening while they spoke in their mother tongue, Luhya. Often we would all sit together in silence…but to our Kenyan friends, that was time well spent.

We loved Western Kenya…the beauty, the culture, the people, the climate…often Trevor or I would comment…”I wish we lived here!” We know that God placed us in Nairobi for the time being and are okay with that…but we still wish we lived there! :o) Maybe one day…

Benedicto's wife Nancy with their youngest daughter, Glarene, in the kitchen.

Benedict's two youngest children, Joseph and Glarene, using the crate as a wagon and having the greatest time!!

Hanging out with the kids.

I also have to tell you about our time in Church on Sunday. We were heartily welcomed into Church (are you seeing a pattern here of welcoming and hospitality??!) and given the front row seat. The service was all in Kiswahili and Kiluhya. We were asked to share a few words with the Church, and Benedicto translated. After that though…are you ready for this??…they asked Trevor to share the message! That’s right! My Trevor is a preacher! :o) He did a wonderful job, and God really gave him words to speak. Later an old man with no teeth came up to Trevor and shook his hand and said “You have been called.” He asked Trevor to come preach again one day, and repeated “You have been called!”
The Church service was longer than we are used to…we arrived at about 10:30 am and didn’t leave until after 3:00 pm! Many people went up to share or read scripture or preach or sing. We were constantly watched and everything we did was noticed, which is quite unnerving after awhile! Such is being a mzungu up-country!

We learned a lot over this Easter weekend…it was unlike any Easter we have had before, and we felt blessed more than we can explain. To be treated like royalty by a wonderful African family living in a small mud house, to have Nancy make so much food for us, to have her heat up water every morning and every evening so we could have a “shower”, to have the children bring chairs outside so we could sit down (constantly!), to have them wash our vehicle the morning we left, to have Anna, Benedicto’s oldest daughter, wash my very dirty feet and sandals, to be given the best room in the house to sleep in, to hear them say over and over again how happy they were to have us in their home…I could go on and on, but you get the point. Such selflessness and joyful servanthood should be a lesson to all of us.

Anna washing my feet...


All of us together in front of their house (along with a few other neighbours..)

As we were saying goodbye, seeing little Joseph’s tear-filled eyes brought a lump to my throat. We were sad to leave them, and they were sad to see us go. They will be forever in our hearts…we will never forget them.

Finally!

So you may notice some changes to this blog...I have been trying unsuccessfully to make these changes for a long time with much frustration...So today I came to the TAM shop with Trevor and the internet is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G here!! :o)

Since the internet connection is so fast I also decided to put up a few more pictures of our lives here...so enjoy!!

Trevor with Benedicto, Steven and Mark at the TAM shop.

Mark

Benedicto

Trevor and Steven

A typical lunch at the school in Mitumba slum. It is only by God's grace and the concern of His people that they can provide this kind of nutritious food to the kids!!

One of "our" girls, Rose, getting her hair done in the corridors of the slum.

The girls who live in the Home, proudly displaying their teddy bears!


Piles and piles of garbage litter the slum and surrounding area...and the ever-present goats picking through it. Usually you can also find kids looking through the trash and playing on the piles.

Trevor with one of the youth, Evans. After the Bible Study was over Evans had some more questions for Trevor so they spent some time talking and reading the Bible together.

Some of the girls in my youth Bible study.

Amo (a boy I wrote about in a previous post)

Hanging out at Java House with our brother-in-law Joe when he came to Kenya!