Before your lesson begins, Taryn wanted me to share a couple more Christmas stories with you. It seems that here in Kenya Taryn is just 18 years old – or, at least, that’s what the Ngamau women thought! Taryn sure was grinning from ear to ear when they told her that! Another highlight of working with the women in the kitchen was that she was given a Kikuyu name: Wanjiko. The women couldn’t tell her the exact meaning of the name, but they did say that it was an honourable name (it is also the Kikuyu name that was given to Glenda, Wachira’s wife).
Anyhow, let’s move on to the lesson. The last few days have given us some insight into what is commonly referred to as “Kenyan Time”. There are two spheres to this lesson. The first is that Kenyans are rarely on time. When you’re told to be ready by a certain time for a ride and you’re worried about being late, don’t fret because you can bank on waiting around for at least an hour. We can attribute this to the relational dynamic of Kenyan culture – whenever you see someone you know, you always stop to talk with them for a while. And in towns and villages where everyone knows everyone, you can imagine that this can take some time. The second is that Kenyans (so far as we can tell) do not understand the concept of “down time” and our inherent need for it. We think this is because Kenyans are a very hard working, patient people and have become accustomed to spending long hours doing everything from driving on the bumpy roads to working at their jobs. To illustrate these points, we’ll share some stories from Sunday and Tuesday.
Sundays for us are typically a day of going to church and then resting and relaxing, but in Kenya these are days that seem to be packed with multiple church services, lunches and other relational activities. This past Sunday, we went to the AIC church where Wachira preached on the importance of always praying – through good times and hard times. He spoke about the reality of suffering and the importance of persevering through it rather than complaining (which I will admit is something I am great at – complaining to God that is, not persevering). The service passed quickly and we were captivated by the wise teachings of Mr. Wachira. After the service, we went for mandazis, sausage and tea with a few friends and then we were called back to the church for a baptism service. Little did we know that we would first have to sit through the Kiswahili service before the baptisms took place. It seemed as though this service took much longer than the first .. only because we don’t understand the language. The baptisms were quite the sight as thirty people got baptized in an outdoor square shaped pool. They had to do the baptisms quickly since the weather was cool and the water was cold - they got all thirty people done in twenty minutes! Then we went in for a communion service which lasted about half an hour, though it seemed longer since again, it was done in Kiswahili. By this time it was pushing 3:30 and we got invited out for lunch with Wachira, Pastor Peter and their families. Then at 5pm, we left this gathering and went straight to Maina’s house for dinner with his family. We arrived home at 9pm.
On Monday, we went to visit Methenge and Ndegwa (both teachers at PACE) and their family homesteads, which are just over an hour outside of Nyharuru. We were picked up at 8am by our friend Nancy and she joined us for the day. We were supposed to arrive at Ndegwa’s place by 10am, but as it turned out the buses don’t move until they are full and ours didn’t fill up until 10:30am! So, we arrived at the cut-off for St. Lucia – which is where Ndegwa met us – around noon, and we still had a half our walk to get to the homesteads! We sort of had to rush through lunch with Ndegwa’s family so that we would still have time to see Methenge’s family (and his very cute new baby girl!!). Both families by the way were genuinely excited to have us in their homes and we enjoyed our time there thoroughly. One thing we have learned is that when we go to visit someone’s house to share a meal, it is expected that there will be no food left by the end – so we constantly hear the words, “Please keep eating! Have more food, please!” from the mammas of the house. Sometimes they will just pile more food on our plates and smile. It’s pretty cute.
We left the homesteads at 3pm and walked 45 minutes to get to the place where a matatu would pick us up. We ended up taking motorcycle taxis instead, which was a lot o fun. We passed by people and they would look at each other as if in shock and say, “Ooh, Muzungos!” We passed by one group of young children who literally went bananas when they saw us on the bike. They were hooting and screaming and pointing and clapping as if we were Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes! God bless the children! We arrived home at 7pm after a visit to the Nyharuru market where we discovered someone had duped Nancy with a fake 500 shilling bill – poor thing.
And just when we thought we’d get a day of rest, we were invited to visit with Irungu’s family which was another all-day event as we had quite the distance to travel. It was, however, delightful meeting his exceedingly happy father and mother, and some extended family. His parents were also thrilled to give us a tour of their 2-acre lot, most of which was used for their livestock (cows, goats, sheep, chicken) and crops (maize, orange trees, kale, onions, etc.) We made a couple stops on the way back, and so didn’t return until 6pm.
You must realize by now that Kenyans are very relational people, and we get the sense that “down time” for them is a time shared with others (aside from labour). Remember our camping story when we went tenting with 20 pastors and their families? That was down time for them, but definitely was not for us. Interesting isn’t it? We can totally appreciate how Kenyans spend their free time (within community) and I think it’s something that gets totally lost on our ruggedly individualistic culture. However, it is still good to have alone time between us and God, and to go to that quiet place where we are able to listen to Him without the distractions of life all around us (whatever they may be).
During one lengthy drive home (the perfect opportunity to just spend time with your thoughts), we once again realized how amazingly blessed we are. What we saw – as we sat in the relative comfort of a matutu - were children with the ends of their shoes cut out to allow their feet to grow, men using nothing more than old bikes to push an impossible amount of stuff up a huge hill (my guess is at least a kilometer), and women carrying buckets of water strapped to their heads as they walked along what seemed an endless road. We remembered that we can eat what we want whenever we want, travel at any time with fair ease, and generally have an abundance of everything. It doesn’t seem fair when we see people struggling just to survive, but especially because we also know that there is extreme wealth here in Kenya. During one visit, we looked at wedding pictures of one of our friend’s brothers who works for a multi-national corporation in Nairobi. This (Christian) wedding cost nearly US $20,000, and yet our friend struggles to make ends meat doing very respectable work. Our friend told us that his brother spent more on a pre-wedding dowry reception than he makes in two years of work. But this is a reality here in Kenya – you have a very small number of people who are unbelievably affluent, and a minute middle class of small business owners. Everyone else struggles just to make it day-by-day it seems, and with the increase in price of the staple foods, the struggle worsens constantly with no help from government officials. So this experience served to re-iterate to us that as human beings we tend to seek our own good first. But we are taught that as a community of Christians, we should always first seek the good of others. If all Christians sought the good of one another before themselves, I wonder what kind of world we would live in?
Here is a section of scripture that has touched us this week:Romans 12:9-21
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
More Pictures from Christmas
Taryn's supper plate - overflowing; The Ngamau women feasting; Wachira, Glenda & Family
The Ngamau men debating before dinner; Happy kids; Eating some maize
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Christmas Photos
Here are a few - internet as usual is very slow so we'll try again tomorrow to post a few more.
Joanie having a laugh; The kids singing Jingle Bells with the card; Banana Nose Kid
The outdoor Kitchen;Taryn helping the women make Chipatti; Dinner is Served!
Joanie having a laugh; The kids singing Jingle Bells with the card; Banana Nose Kid
The outdoor Kitchen;Taryn helping the women make Chipatti; Dinner is Served!
Friday, December 26, 2008
A Kenyan Christmas
Taryn and I once again are spending Christmas away from home. And as much as we miss our family and friends, Christmas dinners, and visiting relatives, being away from home has helped us experience Christmas through another culture.
Though we didn’t have our families to celebrate with this Christmas, God provided us with two more families, and two different pictures of what Christmas is like here in Kenya. Our first Christmas experience was on Christmas Eve. We had gone into town to pick up some groceries and meander about through the sprawling markets of Nyahururu. On our way back, we met a man named Mr. Maina (we have discovered that there are many Mainas here) carrying a mattress and five chairs, so we assisted him on the walk to his house which is just around the corner from where we are staying. He invited us in, and we talked for a while about Kenya and Canada and the differences in our cultures and way of life. He invited us back that evening to meet his family and we accepted. Little did we know as we walked over around 6:30pm that this was going to be a very long Christmas Eve. We arrived promptly (which Maina made note of later, as promptness is something most Kenyans don’t value as we do in the west) to find just an elder lady and a few kids at the house, none of whom could speak English. So, we spoke broken Kiswahili using some notes Taryn had compiled until Mr. Maina returned. We then spent much of the next five hours listening to the family talk back and forth in Kikuiu and Kiswahili, and occasionally Mr. Maina would ask us 101 questions about how to get to Canada and if we knew of any sponsors. Interesting, we thought. Most of that talking is a blur, but we tried to explain to Mr. Maina how good he actually has it in Kenya since he and his wife both have small businesses, send their children to a good private school, and they own their house. He was pretty focused on how developed Canada must be and how much money there is in Canada for him if he were to go there and be a veterinarian.
Well, truth be told, we tried to leave around 10pm as our tummies were very hungry and our eyes were struggling to stay open. But, Mr. Maina and his mother said they would be insulted if we left without being blessed by their food, and so we stayed. What we didn’t realize was that we were waiting for a couple of his brothers and their families to arrive from Mombasa – over eight hours away by car! The crew finally arrived at 11pm and it was a blessing to see the grandmother’s joy as her grandson came into the room - she broke down into tears as she hugged him for several minutes, and he too shed tears as he embraced his grandmother. Around 11:30pm dinner was finally served and we filled our bellies with ugali, cabbage and chicken cooked over a wood fire (just cabbage for Taryn … she isn’t as brave as Ryan). For about twenty minutes there was complete silence! Christmas greetings, singing, and prayer followed dinner and kept us there until after 1am! Even though we didn’t know anyone there or speak their language, it was still a very special evening. Mind you, one thing did make us quite uncomfortable, and that was the fact that we (as muzungos) were honored more than Mr. Maina’s family that had spent much of the day traveling! In fact, at one point, Mr. Maina made everyone in the room stand up, greet us, and tell us how thankful they were that we had joined them that evening. Now, as you can imagine, this was a bit strange as most of them had just met us and many were only able to speak broken English. But, one fellow turned it into a sales pitch and gave us a taxi card – funny!
The next day we got a 9am wake up call from Joanie, as Wachira was sending someone to pick us around 10 to take us to his mother’s house for the Ngamau family Christmas. We were like zombies walking around trying to quickly get ready. I, Ryan, especially felt like I had gotten a lobotomy and couldn’t even put coherent sentences together. A very strong cup of Tim Horton’s coffee (thanks Nicky!) got me going and the tiredness passed.
Christmas with the Ngamau family reminded us of summer family reunions when we would gather (for Ryan, at the cottage, for Taryn in Eerie) to swim, play games, drink soda, and have long conversations. Wachira’s mother’s homestead is set on a beautiful farm that lies on a 75 acre spread, with acres of maize fields, and cows, chickens and geese wandering about freely. Wachira’s family is gigantic, and there were over 60 people at this gathering! Before dinner, most of the men sat in couches that had been placed under a large tree, chatting and debating about the nature of humans and God. Meanwhile, the women were hard at work cooking for the large group. Even Taryn provided a helping hand in the “kitchen”, rolling out over fifty pieces of dough that were used to make chapatti (a very yummy type of flour tortilla). The dinner spread was quiet extensive – pig, goat, boiled potatoes, rice, mixed vegetables, chapatti, salad, and a mixture of fruit. And it was delicious! After dinner, we were entertained by the children who had put together little skits that related to Christmas (or general Christianity – it varied). My favorite was when two Rwandan girls that the Ngamau brothers have taken in sang two songs - their sounded like angels! After this, the Wachira’s eldest brother (Kaheka) shared a message about the importance of God and family in opposition to mainstream culture’s value on money, and then the gathering ended.
One thing that really tickled our funny bones was a card that Taryn brought to the farm that was given to us by Phil and Wendy Sheldon. When you open the card, it sings a round of “Jingle Bells.” Taryn started showing it to the kids and they went bonkers for it! They were all laughing and giggling – children and teens alike. One young boy claimed ownership and took the card around, opening and closing it for all the children to hear. By the end of the day, all the kids were humming jingle bells. It was awesome!
Our day at the Ngamau homestead ended with a tour of the family farm. We saw a forest of trees that Wachira’s brother Ben has planted, miles of maize (corn) fields, the bee-raising farm, and a family who were displaced earlier in the year that Wachira is supporting. Here is a very important truth that we learned from our time at the Ngamau Christmas celebration – Christmas is not a once a year reality! First and foremost, time with family should be cherished. Plus, the reality of Jesus is with us all year long and we cheat ourselves when we only do extravagantly other-centred things (like giving the gift of clean water, providing shelter for a family, or visiting the lonely and left-out) during this one brief season of the year. We are called as Christians to always search for ways to reach out to the marginalized, displaced, lonely, and hurting people and bring them healing because it is through these things – these acts of friendship - that we are able to bring the Kingdom of God near.
The day ended on a very happy note, with us hearing the voices of some loved ones back home …. Even the choppiness and long lags couldn’t diminish our spirits!
Though we didn’t have our families to celebrate with this Christmas, God provided us with two more families, and two different pictures of what Christmas is like here in Kenya. Our first Christmas experience was on Christmas Eve. We had gone into town to pick up some groceries and meander about through the sprawling markets of Nyahururu. On our way back, we met a man named Mr. Maina (we have discovered that there are many Mainas here) carrying a mattress and five chairs, so we assisted him on the walk to his house which is just around the corner from where we are staying. He invited us in, and we talked for a while about Kenya and Canada and the differences in our cultures and way of life. He invited us back that evening to meet his family and we accepted. Little did we know as we walked over around 6:30pm that this was going to be a very long Christmas Eve. We arrived promptly (which Maina made note of later, as promptness is something most Kenyans don’t value as we do in the west) to find just an elder lady and a few kids at the house, none of whom could speak English. So, we spoke broken Kiswahili using some notes Taryn had compiled until Mr. Maina returned. We then spent much of the next five hours listening to the family talk back and forth in Kikuiu and Kiswahili, and occasionally Mr. Maina would ask us 101 questions about how to get to Canada and if we knew of any sponsors. Interesting, we thought. Most of that talking is a blur, but we tried to explain to Mr. Maina how good he actually has it in Kenya since he and his wife both have small businesses, send their children to a good private school, and they own their house. He was pretty focused on how developed Canada must be and how much money there is in Canada for him if he were to go there and be a veterinarian.
Well, truth be told, we tried to leave around 10pm as our tummies were very hungry and our eyes were struggling to stay open. But, Mr. Maina and his mother said they would be insulted if we left without being blessed by their food, and so we stayed. What we didn’t realize was that we were waiting for a couple of his brothers and their families to arrive from Mombasa – over eight hours away by car! The crew finally arrived at 11pm and it was a blessing to see the grandmother’s joy as her grandson came into the room - she broke down into tears as she hugged him for several minutes, and he too shed tears as he embraced his grandmother. Around 11:30pm dinner was finally served and we filled our bellies with ugali, cabbage and chicken cooked over a wood fire (just cabbage for Taryn … she isn’t as brave as Ryan). For about twenty minutes there was complete silence! Christmas greetings, singing, and prayer followed dinner and kept us there until after 1am! Even though we didn’t know anyone there or speak their language, it was still a very special evening. Mind you, one thing did make us quite uncomfortable, and that was the fact that we (as muzungos) were honored more than Mr. Maina’s family that had spent much of the day traveling! In fact, at one point, Mr. Maina made everyone in the room stand up, greet us, and tell us how thankful they were that we had joined them that evening. Now, as you can imagine, this was a bit strange as most of them had just met us and many were only able to speak broken English. But, one fellow turned it into a sales pitch and gave us a taxi card – funny!
The next day we got a 9am wake up call from Joanie, as Wachira was sending someone to pick us around 10 to take us to his mother’s house for the Ngamau family Christmas. We were like zombies walking around trying to quickly get ready. I, Ryan, especially felt like I had gotten a lobotomy and couldn’t even put coherent sentences together. A very strong cup of Tim Horton’s coffee (thanks Nicky!) got me going and the tiredness passed.
Christmas with the Ngamau family reminded us of summer family reunions when we would gather (for Ryan, at the cottage, for Taryn in Eerie) to swim, play games, drink soda, and have long conversations. Wachira’s mother’s homestead is set on a beautiful farm that lies on a 75 acre spread, with acres of maize fields, and cows, chickens and geese wandering about freely. Wachira’s family is gigantic, and there were over 60 people at this gathering! Before dinner, most of the men sat in couches that had been placed under a large tree, chatting and debating about the nature of humans and God. Meanwhile, the women were hard at work cooking for the large group. Even Taryn provided a helping hand in the “kitchen”, rolling out over fifty pieces of dough that were used to make chapatti (a very yummy type of flour tortilla). The dinner spread was quiet extensive – pig, goat, boiled potatoes, rice, mixed vegetables, chapatti, salad, and a mixture of fruit. And it was delicious! After dinner, we were entertained by the children who had put together little skits that related to Christmas (or general Christianity – it varied). My favorite was when two Rwandan girls that the Ngamau brothers have taken in sang two songs - their sounded like angels! After this, the Wachira’s eldest brother (Kaheka) shared a message about the importance of God and family in opposition to mainstream culture’s value on money, and then the gathering ended.
One thing that really tickled our funny bones was a card that Taryn brought to the farm that was given to us by Phil and Wendy Sheldon. When you open the card, it sings a round of “Jingle Bells.” Taryn started showing it to the kids and they went bonkers for it! They were all laughing and giggling – children and teens alike. One young boy claimed ownership and took the card around, opening and closing it for all the children to hear. By the end of the day, all the kids were humming jingle bells. It was awesome!
Our day at the Ngamau homestead ended with a tour of the family farm. We saw a forest of trees that Wachira’s brother Ben has planted, miles of maize (corn) fields, the bee-raising farm, and a family who were displaced earlier in the year that Wachira is supporting. Here is a very important truth that we learned from our time at the Ngamau Christmas celebration – Christmas is not a once a year reality! First and foremost, time with family should be cherished. Plus, the reality of Jesus is with us all year long and we cheat ourselves when we only do extravagantly other-centred things (like giving the gift of clean water, providing shelter for a family, or visiting the lonely and left-out) during this one brief season of the year. We are called as Christians to always search for ways to reach out to the marginalized, displaced, lonely, and hurting people and bring them healing because it is through these things – these acts of friendship - that we are able to bring the Kingdom of God near.
The day ended on a very happy note, with us hearing the voices of some loved ones back home …. Even the choppiness and long lags couldn’t diminish our spirits!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Spreading some Christmas Cheer
First and foremost, we want to wish you all a wonderful and very blessed Christmas season. Early in the new year we will get some more pictures up so that you can see more of Kenya and PACE. We also wanted to take an opportunity to thank everyone who has been so faithfully praying and so generously giving to support our mission in Kenya. It is through your faithful support and prayer that we are able to minister here.
We had another opportunity to minister yesterday as we visited the local prison in partnership with Wachira’s church. Our first visit was with the 26 female inmates (and 5 babies). Here in Kenya, if you are incarcerated and have a baby under the age of 4, the baby goes with you. I, Taryn, can’t even put into words how blessed I was to be able to join in fellowship with these women. I began by explaining how the women from our church had gathered to make Christmas cards for them and I apologized for not having enough cards – the head female officer informed me just as we were about to distribute them that more women had been brought in that day and so the numbers would be greater than I had anticipated. But, as I came to the last woman I still had one card in my hand! That was nothing short of a miracle!! I later discovered that not one of these women had ever received a Christmas card before, and so it meant so much to them that women so far away had thought to give them something so special this holiday season. I then handed a small rattle-toy to each of the five children, and we heard rattling and playing from them for the remainder of our visit. We also contributed bags of fruit with 2 bananas, 2 mangoes, 2 passion fruit, and a handful of small plums for each woman and child. I could see tears begin to roll down the cheeks of some of the women as the bags were being distributed. Wachira followed by distributing milk, bread and diapers for the babies. To show their gratitude, the women sang three beautiful songs for us.
We then visited the men’s section of the prison, which houses over 600 prisoners. We have to admit that we had some fear walking into the main compound which, though much larger than the female section, was still very small for the number of people. It seemed there were men in every direction we turned. Little did we know, many of the men weren’t even in our presence yet. As they prepared for the church’s introduction, building doors and fences were unlocked and hundreds of additional men came streaming out. It was unbelievable. We were saddened to see not only so many prisoners, but so many young faces and the fragility of many of their bodies. These men do not receive what prisoners back home do – the goal of the prisons here is to simply keep the prisoners alive and nothing more. This is supposed to serve as a deterrent for crime, but as we could see, harsh economic conditions and desperation trump people’s fear of prison. The men were each given a bar of soap – a luxury here. Again, the joy and thanks were written on many smiling faces.
We left the prison humbled beyond belief. These simple things that really cost so little brought an abundance of joy and hope to each prisoner. It makes us wonder how many of us would smile from ear to ear if we received a bar – just one – of soap for Christmas? How many of us would cry tears of joy upon receiving a Christmas card that had been made by a stranger thousands of miles away? It is our wish that we’ll keep these men and women in our thoughts and prayers over the holidays and throughout the year ahead, and that we’ll never forget or take for granted how much God blesses us.
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord…. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. (1 Corinthians 10:24)
In this world you will have trouble, but be brave! I have defeated the world. (John 16: 33)
We had another opportunity to minister yesterday as we visited the local prison in partnership with Wachira’s church. Our first visit was with the 26 female inmates (and 5 babies). Here in Kenya, if you are incarcerated and have a baby under the age of 4, the baby goes with you. I, Taryn, can’t even put into words how blessed I was to be able to join in fellowship with these women. I began by explaining how the women from our church had gathered to make Christmas cards for them and I apologized for not having enough cards – the head female officer informed me just as we were about to distribute them that more women had been brought in that day and so the numbers would be greater than I had anticipated. But, as I came to the last woman I still had one card in my hand! That was nothing short of a miracle!! I later discovered that not one of these women had ever received a Christmas card before, and so it meant so much to them that women so far away had thought to give them something so special this holiday season. I then handed a small rattle-toy to each of the five children, and we heard rattling and playing from them for the remainder of our visit. We also contributed bags of fruit with 2 bananas, 2 mangoes, 2 passion fruit, and a handful of small plums for each woman and child. I could see tears begin to roll down the cheeks of some of the women as the bags were being distributed. Wachira followed by distributing milk, bread and diapers for the babies. To show their gratitude, the women sang three beautiful songs for us.
We then visited the men’s section of the prison, which houses over 600 prisoners. We have to admit that we had some fear walking into the main compound which, though much larger than the female section, was still very small for the number of people. It seemed there were men in every direction we turned. Little did we know, many of the men weren’t even in our presence yet. As they prepared for the church’s introduction, building doors and fences were unlocked and hundreds of additional men came streaming out. It was unbelievable. We were saddened to see not only so many prisoners, but so many young faces and the fragility of many of their bodies. These men do not receive what prisoners back home do – the goal of the prisons here is to simply keep the prisoners alive and nothing more. This is supposed to serve as a deterrent for crime, but as we could see, harsh economic conditions and desperation trump people’s fear of prison. The men were each given a bar of soap – a luxury here. Again, the joy and thanks were written on many smiling faces.
We left the prison humbled beyond belief. These simple things that really cost so little brought an abundance of joy and hope to each prisoner. It makes us wonder how many of us would smile from ear to ear if we received a bar – just one – of soap for Christmas? How many of us would cry tears of joy upon receiving a Christmas card that had been made by a stranger thousands of miles away? It is our wish that we’ll keep these men and women in our thoughts and prayers over the holidays and throughout the year ahead, and that we’ll never forget or take for granted how much God blesses us.
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord…. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. (1 Corinthians 10:24)
In this world you will have trouble, but be brave! I have defeated the world. (John 16: 33)
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Moving In
Jambo!
Here is an update on our living arrangements…
Some of you will know that moving into the basement apartment at PACE has not been our first choice for accommodation since we first saw it a few weeks ago. The musty odour mixed with the smell of gasoline, the low ceilings (Ry has hit his head on the concrete cross-beams a number of times), and the utter emptiness of it (almost everything – including lightbulbs – had been removed) made it less than appealing! And, the more we enjoyed the comforts of Joanie’s house, the more we wanted to stay there. But, the plan was for us to live in the basement so that is what is going to happen. So, we less than joyfully started to clean out and organize our little (by our standards, but it could house a family of ten here!) apartment this afternoon. Most of that was ok and it actually started to smell nice near the end, but it would be a snowy day in the saharra before Taryn was going anywhere near the bathroom. Can somebody please tell her why some men can’t get their business IN the toilet instead of on or around it?! On a good note, we were able to round up some odds and ends and will hopefully get a few more things from Joanie later so that we’ll be able to keep our apartment “start-up” costs less than $100. Our biggest expense will be a new mattress, which is a necessity as the ones we’ve seen are VERY used and VERY uncomfortable! All in all, we’re growing quite happy with our little dwelling. It isn’t move-in ready yet, but hopefully after Christmas we’ll be settled in. And, I’ll have some pictures posted shortly after
Something Kenyans are known for is their hospitality and their eagerness to have you in their homes. For this reason, we’ve already enjoyed two Kenyan-style dinners with a couple of PACE’s teachers – and we’ll be eating another tonight! The amazing thing is that we felt so blessed and honoured to be invited into their homes, and yet we discovered that having a white person in a Kenyan home brings great honour to that family. When we were visiting Teacher Anne on Wednesday, her grandfather got word from some of the local children that muzungus (white people) had entered his compound – oh boy, was he pleased! He popped in for a friendly visit to make us feel welcome in his home and country. How cute! Aside from the wonderful food, it has been such a joy being able to get to know the teachers outside of school. Plus, Taryn has been promised Kenyan cooking lessons after the holidays, so she is very excited to learn how to cook with the local foods.
Speaking of muzungus, The responses we get when people see us are extremely diverse. One thing is for sure though: We are always being watched wherever we go! Even today we saw a girl staring at us from inside a bus, and another yelled out, “Look! Muzungus!” from a bus that was driving past us. Fortunately, muzungu is not derogatory, like “Gringo” sometimes is in Central America. Generally, people – especially children – are very excited to see us since many have not seen white people before (aside from in movies). Many of the children will run to us, or yell, “How ah yooouuuu?” at us from afar. And some will even walk right up and shake our hand. The cutest was a young child – maybe a year or so – who started greeting us in her high-pitched baby voice. By the way, “How are you?” is a phrase/greeting that all Kenyans seem to know and greet muzungus with. At first, we figured they thought this was how all westerners greeted each other, but we’ve since discovered that it is the direct translation for the standard Kenyan greeting, “Jambo”. On the flip side, there are many people who fail words and simply stare. And if you want to see their eyes bug out, just say, “Jambo!” …. it’s like they’re shocked that we can speak their language. (by the way, we can’t – which makes it extra amusing).
So after a long day today of running errands in town, setting up an apartment, and solving computer troubles, our bed is looking more and more inviting. Plus, we need to rest up for our visit to the prison and hospital on Monday. Taryn had also hoped to spread some Christmas cheer at the orphanages, but it turns out that most orphans visit extended family during the holidays and so most of the facilities will be empty. Oh well, we’re sure she will find other ways to spread the good cheer!
And as a final note - we promise - we wanted to thank all of you for your continued prayer support .... last week Taryn was fighting off a cold and struggling with back pain, and this week she's feeling great!! Thanks so much!
Lala Salama (good night)
(slowly but surely our Kiswahili vocabulary is improving)
Here is an update on our living arrangements…
Some of you will know that moving into the basement apartment at PACE has not been our first choice for accommodation since we first saw it a few weeks ago. The musty odour mixed with the smell of gasoline, the low ceilings (Ry has hit his head on the concrete cross-beams a number of times), and the utter emptiness of it (almost everything – including lightbulbs – had been removed) made it less than appealing! And, the more we enjoyed the comforts of Joanie’s house, the more we wanted to stay there. But, the plan was for us to live in the basement so that is what is going to happen. So, we less than joyfully started to clean out and organize our little (by our standards, but it could house a family of ten here!) apartment this afternoon. Most of that was ok and it actually started to smell nice near the end, but it would be a snowy day in the saharra before Taryn was going anywhere near the bathroom. Can somebody please tell her why some men can’t get their business IN the toilet instead of on or around it?! On a good note, we were able to round up some odds and ends and will hopefully get a few more things from Joanie later so that we’ll be able to keep our apartment “start-up” costs less than $100. Our biggest expense will be a new mattress, which is a necessity as the ones we’ve seen are VERY used and VERY uncomfortable! All in all, we’re growing quite happy with our little dwelling. It isn’t move-in ready yet, but hopefully after Christmas we’ll be settled in. And, I’ll have some pictures posted shortly after
Something Kenyans are known for is their hospitality and their eagerness to have you in their homes. For this reason, we’ve already enjoyed two Kenyan-style dinners with a couple of PACE’s teachers – and we’ll be eating another tonight! The amazing thing is that we felt so blessed and honoured to be invited into their homes, and yet we discovered that having a white person in a Kenyan home brings great honour to that family. When we were visiting Teacher Anne on Wednesday, her grandfather got word from some of the local children that muzungus (white people) had entered his compound – oh boy, was he pleased! He popped in for a friendly visit to make us feel welcome in his home and country. How cute! Aside from the wonderful food, it has been such a joy being able to get to know the teachers outside of school. Plus, Taryn has been promised Kenyan cooking lessons after the holidays, so she is very excited to learn how to cook with the local foods.
Speaking of muzungus, The responses we get when people see us are extremely diverse. One thing is for sure though: We are always being watched wherever we go! Even today we saw a girl staring at us from inside a bus, and another yelled out, “Look! Muzungus!” from a bus that was driving past us. Fortunately, muzungu is not derogatory, like “Gringo” sometimes is in Central America. Generally, people – especially children – are very excited to see us since many have not seen white people before (aside from in movies). Many of the children will run to us, or yell, “How ah yooouuuu?” at us from afar. And some will even walk right up and shake our hand. The cutest was a young child – maybe a year or so – who started greeting us in her high-pitched baby voice. By the way, “How are you?” is a phrase/greeting that all Kenyans seem to know and greet muzungus with. At first, we figured they thought this was how all westerners greeted each other, but we’ve since discovered that it is the direct translation for the standard Kenyan greeting, “Jambo”. On the flip side, there are many people who fail words and simply stare. And if you want to see their eyes bug out, just say, “Jambo!” …. it’s like they’re shocked that we can speak their language. (by the way, we can’t – which makes it extra amusing).
So after a long day today of running errands in town, setting up an apartment, and solving computer troubles, our bed is looking more and more inviting. Plus, we need to rest up for our visit to the prison and hospital on Monday. Taryn had also hoped to spread some Christmas cheer at the orphanages, but it turns out that most orphans visit extended family during the holidays and so most of the facilities will be empty. Oh well, we’re sure she will find other ways to spread the good cheer!
And as a final note - we promise - we wanted to thank all of you for your continued prayer support .... last week Taryn was fighting off a cold and struggling with back pain, and this week she's feeling great!! Thanks so much!
Lala Salama (good night)
(slowly but surely our Kiswahili vocabulary is improving)
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Pictures! Finally!
Here are a few pictures from our trip to Maralal. We had hoped to put many more, but it's taken over half an hour to upload these small ones alone!
For anyone who is interested in getting email notifications when we post updates, please click here
For anyone who is interested in getting email notifications when we post updates, please click here
Two Weeks In
So, it's time to finish the rest of our story. We returned from Maralal on Sunday evening
and the next morning we were off to Naivasha for the pastors' retreat. We learned one
valuable lesson from this trip: we are no longer on American/Canadian time but African time! Though we arrived at PACE at 10am - bags packed and ready to go - we didn't leave Nyahururu until 1:30pm since many of the pastors and their families were not ready! To make matters worse, many of the cooking supplies were not pre-purchased, and so we had to make multiple stops along the way. Needless to say, our arrival to Naivasha was pushed back many hours! But, we did thoroughly enjoy the drive to Naivasha - the mountains, the zebras, and the small communities in between. And, we arrived at Lake Naivasha Panoramic Park with just enough time to quickly check out the beautiful grounds (array of tropical vegetation, monkeys, hyrax) and panoramic views of the surrounding lake and mountains, and set up ten tents before dark - so that was a blessing. One thing to point out is that the tents and their poles were stored together in a heap and so setting them up with the correct poles was very difficult - and in most cases impossible. In fact, we were surprised the next morning to see that none of these mismatched tents had collapsed during the night!
Anyhow, the retreat was a real blessing for the families that joined us, as pastors here do not get holidays and rarely have free time to spend with their families. It was a joy to see the fellowship that took place! We also got to eat traditional meals prepared over the fire, including more goat and sheep. We visited a local pool which was a treat for many of the adults and children as for some it was their first time swimming in a pool! And after that we enjoyed a beautiful drive around much of Lake Naivasha, and even stopped to see some lazing hippos and thousands of grazing flamingos - what a sight! Unlike Maralal, we did find that some of the children seemed a little hesitant to interact with us. We wondered if this had to do with the colour of our skin, or the fact that our skin (face and neck) was now blotchy and peeling after being horribly sunburned!? Ryan said a couple children actually thought we were suffering from a skin disease – but he set them straight. (Ha ha!) On the way home, we saw more zebras and baboons along the side of the highway (amazing, eh?!) and again marveled at the beautiful landscape around us. While the families were being returned to their homes, a few of us joined some new camp attendees at Nyahururu's Thomson Falls.....not Niagara Falls, but still very picturesque.
As much as we had enjoyed our time in Maralal and Naivasha, we will admit that we were eager to get back and stay put for a while - all this traveling had taken its toll on us! We spent part of Thursday helping with the camp and with Joannie off to Nakuru, Ryan was put on photo duty. His first assignment was joining the teenagers for their driving lesson. This exercise, however, proved to be more than he bargained for because the truck broke down twice and he ended up inhaling a lot of diesel smoke. Meanwhile, I had organized a dress up relay race for the younger kids and it was a hoot to see! They loved it! None of the kids had done anything like that before – it was neat how their skepticism turned into complete joy and excitement. After lunch, we hopped in the bus again and ventured off to a nearby lake so that the kids could fit in some rafting/boating (again, something many of these kids had never done) before dinner.
Upon our return, we quickly vacated the premises and found refuge in our house (we're currently living with Joannie, just a stone's throw from PACE) - for that evening and the whole next day! What a treat! But, the unfortunate part is that I (Taryn) have been trying to fight off a cold for the last couple of days and so for much of our time off I wasn't feeling very well. We did, however, enjoy the solitude and rest - even though we had computer issues to contend with, a huge pile of laundry to be hand-washed, and some cleaning to do. And as I (Taryn) sit here writing and waiting for PACE's doctor to arrive (Wachira insisted!) Ryan is off purchasing some much-needed groceries. We've had very little free time to run errands, so when we're not with the locals eating goat, rice, stewed potatoes, cooked cabbage, and ugali (corn flour mixed with water ... a local favourite because it tastes great – ok, actually it’s quite the opposite – it just fills the belly) we're at home eating hot cereal and peanut butter toast. Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration ... we did feast on pasta three nights in the last two weeks! One local tradition we thoroughly enjoy is morning tea, where fresh chai and mundazis (sort of like donuts) are served - yummy!
As a final note, we ask that you would keep us in your prayers as we continue to adjust to this very different culture and way of life. We also ask that you would remember us as we begin our servitude here, and pray that God will direct us into the roles He intends for us and that we will be a blessing to the people around us. We also request your prayers for our safety and health, and also for the continued healing of Taryn's back (without a chiropractor at hand, she has struggled in the last couple days with back pain). Please also keep the Kenyans in your prayers over this holiday season, as the increase in cost of living has become an added burden to these people.
Verses that have spoken to us this week:
You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4: 7-8)
The sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his sheep by name and leads them out. (John 10:3)
and the next morning we were off to Naivasha for the pastors' retreat. We learned one
valuable lesson from this trip: we are no longer on American/Canadian time but African time! Though we arrived at PACE at 10am - bags packed and ready to go - we didn't leave Nyahururu until 1:30pm since many of the pastors and their families were not ready! To make matters worse, many of the cooking supplies were not pre-purchased, and so we had to make multiple stops along the way. Needless to say, our arrival to Naivasha was pushed back many hours! But, we did thoroughly enjoy the drive to Naivasha - the mountains, the zebras, and the small communities in between. And, we arrived at Lake Naivasha Panoramic Park with just enough time to quickly check out the beautiful grounds (array of tropical vegetation, monkeys, hyrax) and panoramic views of the surrounding lake and mountains, and set up ten tents before dark - so that was a blessing. One thing to point out is that the tents and their poles were stored together in a heap and so setting them up with the correct poles was very difficult - and in most cases impossible. In fact, we were surprised the next morning to see that none of these mismatched tents had collapsed during the night!
Anyhow, the retreat was a real blessing for the families that joined us, as pastors here do not get holidays and rarely have free time to spend with their families. It was a joy to see the fellowship that took place! We also got to eat traditional meals prepared over the fire, including more goat and sheep. We visited a local pool which was a treat for many of the adults and children as for some it was their first time swimming in a pool! And after that we enjoyed a beautiful drive around much of Lake Naivasha, and even stopped to see some lazing hippos and thousands of grazing flamingos - what a sight! Unlike Maralal, we did find that some of the children seemed a little hesitant to interact with us. We wondered if this had to do with the colour of our skin, or the fact that our skin (face and neck) was now blotchy and peeling after being horribly sunburned!? Ryan said a couple children actually thought we were suffering from a skin disease – but he set them straight. (Ha ha!) On the way home, we saw more zebras and baboons along the side of the highway (amazing, eh?!) and again marveled at the beautiful landscape around us. While the families were being returned to their homes, a few of us joined some new camp attendees at Nyahururu's Thomson Falls.....not Niagara Falls, but still very picturesque.
As much as we had enjoyed our time in Maralal and Naivasha, we will admit that we were eager to get back and stay put for a while - all this traveling had taken its toll on us! We spent part of Thursday helping with the camp and with Joannie off to Nakuru, Ryan was put on photo duty. His first assignment was joining the teenagers for their driving lesson. This exercise, however, proved to be more than he bargained for because the truck broke down twice and he ended up inhaling a lot of diesel smoke. Meanwhile, I had organized a dress up relay race for the younger kids and it was a hoot to see! They loved it! None of the kids had done anything like that before – it was neat how their skepticism turned into complete joy and excitement. After lunch, we hopped in the bus again and ventured off to a nearby lake so that the kids could fit in some rafting/boating (again, something many of these kids had never done) before dinner.
Upon our return, we quickly vacated the premises and found refuge in our house (we're currently living with Joannie, just a stone's throw from PACE) - for that evening and the whole next day! What a treat! But, the unfortunate part is that I (Taryn) have been trying to fight off a cold for the last couple of days and so for much of our time off I wasn't feeling very well. We did, however, enjoy the solitude and rest - even though we had computer issues to contend with, a huge pile of laundry to be hand-washed, and some cleaning to do. And as I (Taryn) sit here writing and waiting for PACE's doctor to arrive (Wachira insisted!) Ryan is off purchasing some much-needed groceries. We've had very little free time to run errands, so when we're not with the locals eating goat, rice, stewed potatoes, cooked cabbage, and ugali (corn flour mixed with water ... a local favourite because it tastes great – ok, actually it’s quite the opposite – it just fills the belly) we're at home eating hot cereal and peanut butter toast. Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration ... we did feast on pasta three nights in the last two weeks! One local tradition we thoroughly enjoy is morning tea, where fresh chai and mundazis (sort of like donuts) are served - yummy!
As a final note, we ask that you would keep us in your prayers as we continue to adjust to this very different culture and way of life. We also ask that you would remember us as we begin our servitude here, and pray that God will direct us into the roles He intends for us and that we will be a blessing to the people around us. We also request your prayers for our safety and health, and also for the continued healing of Taryn's back (without a chiropractor at hand, she has struggled in the last couple days with back pain). Please also keep the Kenyans in your prayers over this holiday season, as the increase in cost of living has become an added burden to these people.
Verses that have spoken to us this week:
You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4: 7-8)
The sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his sheep by name and leads them out. (John 10:3)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
A Mission Trip Within a Missions Trip
(Can it be true?? Was it just a week and a half ago that we departed? With all that we have experienced, it seems more like a month!)
Before we jump into the details of our trip to Maralal, we want to add a couple of points to our last post. The first is in regards to hand-holding. If you recall, we pointed out that many locals find it offensive for couples to hold hands in public. However, it is common for two men or two women (as friends) to hold hands. The next is an addition to our lake story. Shortly after arriving we could hear a noise in the distance and at the same time saw all the boys quickly kneel to the ground. We followed suit – and it’s a good thing we did since a swarm of bees (hundreds!) passed us overhead. Now that’s something that doesn’t happen every day!
Now, on to our first mission trip within a mission trip – Maralal. The 6.5 hour journey down the windy, and incredibly bumpy dirt road to and from Maralal definitely wasn’t easy on the rump, but it enabled us to see the contrasting landscapes of Kenya – from the lush and green pine-like forests near the mountain tops to the dry and desolate savannas of the lowlands, which are dotted with stunted trees and rather large (and flowering) cacti and aloe plants. Most interesting were the forests of cacti trees which can tower to over fifty feet tall! We saved ourselves from having to pay for a safari, as we were able to see camels, zebras (lots!), antelopes, gazelles, buffalo (large herd of at least a few hundred), pelicans, beautiful blue birds, lizards, and a group of giraffes eating from some trees! Most animals were a distance away, but some of the zebras we passed were a mere 20 feet from our bus! Of course, we were very enthusiastic which made the local boys and girls on the bus chuckle. The long drive also gave us an opportunity to see many little towns and villages along the way. For many of these remote communities, seeing a muzungu (white person) is pretty much unheard of and so when we got off of the bus for a break, all eyes were on us. Of course, this also meant that we were business targets for every street vendor and beggar.
That being said, the highlight (and majority) of the trip was our time in a small tribal community just outside of Maralal. The Samburu tribe, who live similar to the Masi people, are still very traditional in their dress, the way they live, and their cultural roles. They have only recently been ‘evangelized’ (August 2008), and this evangelized group represents less than 1.5% of the total tribe. The rest of the tribe (numbering around 1000) are spread out across the northern plains of Kenya and have never heard the name “Jesus”! And so, about a month ago, PACE met up with a couple of missionary families to build churches in another area on the outskirts of Maralal, and in the process were introduced to this tribal community. PACE discovered that their church services were being held under a tree, which gave little protection from the scorching heat of the sun and the heavy rains. PACE decided they would return to help build a permanent covered structure – a church – for the over 100 women and children who come to worship.
PACE requested that each woman attending the church collect one or two logs before returning the following month to assist in the building process. After talking with the local women, we discovered that some of these pieces of timber were carried down from a mountain at least a kilometer away! And to think Taryn thought she had it rough carrying logs for just a couple hundred meters. Ha! Although the women faithfully collected the required timber, there was still a sentiment among them that the promise of a church would not be carried through. So, when the PACE bus arrived and we began working, the elder men, women and children came to greet us and their joy was overflowing. Led by Irungu (pronounced ee-run-goo), Maina (pronounced My-na), and Ngmau (pronounced ga-maow), the team (us and about 20 youth) pulled off a miracle in building the 100 foot tin covered structure that now serves as the gathering place for these Sumburu Christians…. all in the matter of a day and a half!! While I helped the men (and some women) build, Taryn was off interacting and chatting with the local women and playing with the many children – which, in her own words, brought her “great joy”! By the second day, the children were very comfortable around her and weren’t shy to touch the things that intrigued them … which turns out to be pretty much everything about Taryn: her hair, skin, hair band, hair elastic, watch, chapstick, socks and runners, etc. If it was on Taryn, the kids loved it. Even the older women in the tribe got a kick out of watching all the children circled around Taryn! Another highlight for her was when she joined the children as they sang and danced in the old church – she fit in there like an old shoe and it was great to see.
The people in this small community have really touched us through their joy and hospitality. Before leaving, we received a tour of the community, and some home doors were open to us so that we could see the way in which these people live. Each home - called a “manyatta” – is occupied by one male and several females and children. As a quick description, these homes are made of logs and sticks cemented together with cow dung, and typically have just two or three rooms. The homes that we saw barley exceeded four feet in height (though some had tin roofs and were taller), and relied on natural light through one or two tiny holes in the walls and ceiling. The women construct these homes very simply, and they possess very little so that they can quickly pack up and transport their belongings with just a single donkey or camel. “Where are the men?” you ask … most of them are out in the fields, sometimes up to a hundred kilometers away tending to herds of sheep and goats that can number in the hundreds. It was, however, a blessing to see some of the elder men join us for the Sunday service held in the new church just before we left.
As a final note, Wachira shared Isaiah 25: 4 with the group just as we were preparing for the mission ahead, and it’s a verse we wanted to share because we felt it was very fitting not only for this trip, but for life in general: “You (God) have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm, and a shade from the heat.”
Before we jump into the details of our trip to Maralal, we want to add a couple of points to our last post. The first is in regards to hand-holding. If you recall, we pointed out that many locals find it offensive for couples to hold hands in public. However, it is common for two men or two women (as friends) to hold hands. The next is an addition to our lake story. Shortly after arriving we could hear a noise in the distance and at the same time saw all the boys quickly kneel to the ground. We followed suit – and it’s a good thing we did since a swarm of bees (hundreds!) passed us overhead. Now that’s something that doesn’t happen every day!
Now, on to our first mission trip within a mission trip – Maralal. The 6.5 hour journey down the windy, and incredibly bumpy dirt road to and from Maralal definitely wasn’t easy on the rump, but it enabled us to see the contrasting landscapes of Kenya – from the lush and green pine-like forests near the mountain tops to the dry and desolate savannas of the lowlands, which are dotted with stunted trees and rather large (and flowering) cacti and aloe plants. Most interesting were the forests of cacti trees which can tower to over fifty feet tall! We saved ourselves from having to pay for a safari, as we were able to see camels, zebras (lots!), antelopes, gazelles, buffalo (large herd of at least a few hundred), pelicans, beautiful blue birds, lizards, and a group of giraffes eating from some trees! Most animals were a distance away, but some of the zebras we passed were a mere 20 feet from our bus! Of course, we were very enthusiastic which made the local boys and girls on the bus chuckle. The long drive also gave us an opportunity to see many little towns and villages along the way. For many of these remote communities, seeing a muzungu (white person) is pretty much unheard of and so when we got off of the bus for a break, all eyes were on us. Of course, this also meant that we were business targets for every street vendor and beggar.
That being said, the highlight (and majority) of the trip was our time in a small tribal community just outside of Maralal. The Samburu tribe, who live similar to the Masi people, are still very traditional in their dress, the way they live, and their cultural roles. They have only recently been ‘evangelized’ (August 2008), and this evangelized group represents less than 1.5% of the total tribe. The rest of the tribe (numbering around 1000) are spread out across the northern plains of Kenya and have never heard the name “Jesus”! And so, about a month ago, PACE met up with a couple of missionary families to build churches in another area on the outskirts of Maralal, and in the process were introduced to this tribal community. PACE discovered that their church services were being held under a tree, which gave little protection from the scorching heat of the sun and the heavy rains. PACE decided they would return to help build a permanent covered structure – a church – for the over 100 women and children who come to worship.
PACE requested that each woman attending the church collect one or two logs before returning the following month to assist in the building process. After talking with the local women, we discovered that some of these pieces of timber were carried down from a mountain at least a kilometer away! And to think Taryn thought she had it rough carrying logs for just a couple hundred meters. Ha! Although the women faithfully collected the required timber, there was still a sentiment among them that the promise of a church would not be carried through. So, when the PACE bus arrived and we began working, the elder men, women and children came to greet us and their joy was overflowing. Led by Irungu (pronounced ee-run-goo), Maina (pronounced My-na), and Ngmau (pronounced ga-maow), the team (us and about 20 youth) pulled off a miracle in building the 100 foot tin covered structure that now serves as the gathering place for these Sumburu Christians…. all in the matter of a day and a half!! While I helped the men (and some women) build, Taryn was off interacting and chatting with the local women and playing with the many children – which, in her own words, brought her “great joy”! By the second day, the children were very comfortable around her and weren’t shy to touch the things that intrigued them … which turns out to be pretty much everything about Taryn: her hair, skin, hair band, hair elastic, watch, chapstick, socks and runners, etc. If it was on Taryn, the kids loved it. Even the older women in the tribe got a kick out of watching all the children circled around Taryn! Another highlight for her was when she joined the children as they sang and danced in the old church – she fit in there like an old shoe and it was great to see.
The people in this small community have really touched us through their joy and hospitality. Before leaving, we received a tour of the community, and some home doors were open to us so that we could see the way in which these people live. Each home - called a “manyatta” – is occupied by one male and several females and children. As a quick description, these homes are made of logs and sticks cemented together with cow dung, and typically have just two or three rooms. The homes that we saw barley exceeded four feet in height (though some had tin roofs and were taller), and relied on natural light through one or two tiny holes in the walls and ceiling. The women construct these homes very simply, and they possess very little so that they can quickly pack up and transport their belongings with just a single donkey or camel. “Where are the men?” you ask … most of them are out in the fields, sometimes up to a hundred kilometers away tending to herds of sheep and goats that can number in the hundreds. It was, however, a blessing to see some of the elder men join us for the Sunday service held in the new church just before we left.
As a final note, Wachira shared Isaiah 25: 4 with the group just as we were preparing for the mission ahead, and it’s a verse we wanted to share because we felt it was very fitting not only for this trip, but for life in general: “You (God) have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm, and a shade from the heat.”
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Just Getting Started
Our sleep cycles are still a bit wonky from the time change. In fact, we were both up at 1am after only 4 hours of sleep – wide awake - and it took nearly two hours for our internal clocks to reset and for us to fall asleep again. Later that morning, Taryn was quickly woken from her sleepy state when she closed the door of the bathroom and prepared to have a shower. Falling into the toilet has a whole new meaning here! Let us explain: the bathroom in our current residence is, in essence, a cubicle with a shower hanging overhead (hot water switch just outside of bathroom) and a “toilet” (really, it’s a urinal in the floor) just a few inches behind. So, as you can imagine, Taryn was worried she’d accidentally put a foot through the toilet or drop her bar of soap down it (which she was not willing to dive in after). Please pray that a foot or bar of soap never slip into the abyss.... :) P.S. Though we "joke" about the state of our bathroom, we in fact are VERY thankful for the amenities we have as they are considered extravagant by most of the locals.
Yesterday was also our first full day at PACE. We got a call at 9am that we needed to get over to PACE pronto – Wachira had some work for me to do on his PDA – which is basically his lifeline to the world. As I was sorting out the issues with this difficult device (or should I say not sorting anything out and banging my head against the wall for 3 hours), Taryn attended a meeting with the teachers where they were discussing the details of next week’s youth camp. She also received a guided tour through PACE from Wachira’s eldest son.
This is an exciting and busy week at PACE. Pastors from around Kenya are here for a week long intensive course on church leadership, and there are around 50 twelve to fourteen year old boys that are partaking in a right to passage into manhood. We joined the latter group as they went down to a nearby lake to do some rafting, which is really paddling around a small lake in a rubber raft. Nonetheless, many of the boys had never seen the lake nor been in a raft, so it was a fun time for all! It seemed like most of the locals around the lake had never seen such a sight either, since a dozen children, women and men gathered to watch the boys paddle and splash about. The ride to and from the lake was slow and bumpy, but it gave us the opportunity to appreciate the rolling hills and tall pine trees all around. Kenya really is a beautiful country and we enjoy sharing our appreciation of it with the locals, whom have so much love for their country – so much so that our words light up their eyes and make them smile from ear to ear. It’s wonderful!
Speaking of bumpy rides, fifteen of us went for dinner at Wachira’s – the van we took was so low to the ground that every last bump we hit, the van bottomed out. By the time we arrived at Wachira’s place there were several new sounds coming from the van, one of which was a grinding gear shift. I think we will take some pictures of the road and post them so you might appreciate just how bad the roads are. But in contrast to the roads you have incredible food … and Glenda (Wachira’s wife) knows how to cook with the best of them and somehow (miraculously) pulled off dinner for 15 in a little over an hour! After dinner, we lounged in front of a fire, sipping fresh Chai and chatting with other PACE staff and pastors that are taking the course. During this fellowship time, we also made a new discovery – the young teens that were pointing at us earlier that afternoon were not shocked by a female wearing trousers (we can no longer call them pants, as that is how Kenya’s refer to their underwear) as we had originally thought, but were shocked to see a couple showing affection – through the holding of hands – in public. Our initial reaction was to do as the locals do, but Wachira said he would have none of that! For one, he said we shouldn’t go through withdrawals from each other just because the locals don’t hold hands. Plus, he said he hoped we would encourage locals to do the same; however, the local fellow sitting across from us said that is something he will never do.
As for today, we didn’t spend much time at PACE. I started the day by doing some odds and ends around the office while Taryn helped organize some games for next week’s camp – scavenger hunts and dress-up relay races are completely foreign here, but the locals are intrigued! Then we spent a couple hours in the afternoon purchasing some groceries for ourselves and for the group leaving for Maralal tomorrow (short term trip to help build a church). Visiting a local supermarket, Spears, and the local markets were definitely the highlights of the day! Like Central America, the streets overflowed with pedestrians, bicycle taxis and stalls selling absolutely everything under the sun. There’s never a dull moment in Nyahururu - that’s for sure!
As a final note, we just wanted to forewarn our mothers (and others) that we won’t have internet access while we’re in Maralal, but hopefully we’ll get a chance to give a brief update on Sunday evening before we head off Monday morning to Nivasha for a pastors retreat.
Yesterday was also our first full day at PACE. We got a call at 9am that we needed to get over to PACE pronto – Wachira had some work for me to do on his PDA – which is basically his lifeline to the world. As I was sorting out the issues with this difficult device (or should I say not sorting anything out and banging my head against the wall for 3 hours), Taryn attended a meeting with the teachers where they were discussing the details of next week’s youth camp. She also received a guided tour through PACE from Wachira’s eldest son.
This is an exciting and busy week at PACE. Pastors from around Kenya are here for a week long intensive course on church leadership, and there are around 50 twelve to fourteen year old boys that are partaking in a right to passage into manhood. We joined the latter group as they went down to a nearby lake to do some rafting, which is really paddling around a small lake in a rubber raft. Nonetheless, many of the boys had never seen the lake nor been in a raft, so it was a fun time for all! It seemed like most of the locals around the lake had never seen such a sight either, since a dozen children, women and men gathered to watch the boys paddle and splash about. The ride to and from the lake was slow and bumpy, but it gave us the opportunity to appreciate the rolling hills and tall pine trees all around. Kenya really is a beautiful country and we enjoy sharing our appreciation of it with the locals, whom have so much love for their country – so much so that our words light up their eyes and make them smile from ear to ear. It’s wonderful!
Speaking of bumpy rides, fifteen of us went for dinner at Wachira’s – the van we took was so low to the ground that every last bump we hit, the van bottomed out. By the time we arrived at Wachira’s place there were several new sounds coming from the van, one of which was a grinding gear shift. I think we will take some pictures of the road and post them so you might appreciate just how bad the roads are. But in contrast to the roads you have incredible food … and Glenda (Wachira’s wife) knows how to cook with the best of them and somehow (miraculously) pulled off dinner for 15 in a little over an hour! After dinner, we lounged in front of a fire, sipping fresh Chai and chatting with other PACE staff and pastors that are taking the course. During this fellowship time, we also made a new discovery – the young teens that were pointing at us earlier that afternoon were not shocked by a female wearing trousers (we can no longer call them pants, as that is how Kenya’s refer to their underwear) as we had originally thought, but were shocked to see a couple showing affection – through the holding of hands – in public. Our initial reaction was to do as the locals do, but Wachira said he would have none of that! For one, he said we shouldn’t go through withdrawals from each other just because the locals don’t hold hands. Plus, he said he hoped we would encourage locals to do the same; however, the local fellow sitting across from us said that is something he will never do.
As for today, we didn’t spend much time at PACE. I started the day by doing some odds and ends around the office while Taryn helped organize some games for next week’s camp – scavenger hunts and dress-up relay races are completely foreign here, but the locals are intrigued! Then we spent a couple hours in the afternoon purchasing some groceries for ourselves and for the group leaving for Maralal tomorrow (short term trip to help build a church). Visiting a local supermarket, Spears, and the local markets were definitely the highlights of the day! Like Central America, the streets overflowed with pedestrians, bicycle taxis and stalls selling absolutely everything under the sun. There’s never a dull moment in Nyahururu - that’s for sure!
As a final note, we just wanted to forewarn our mothers (and others) that we won’t have internet access while we’re in Maralal, but hopefully we’ll get a chance to give a brief update on Sunday evening before we head off Monday morning to Nivasha for a pastors retreat.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Day That Wouldn't End
You might be thinking, “How is it you say that there could be a day that does not end? Don’t all days come to an end?” Yes all days do come to an end, but when you are awake for long stretches of time, it can seem to stand still and when you are on a bus for hours upon hours after being on an 18 hour flight only two days prior, you get the sense that the day will not end. For this day in particular, on top of not ending anything that could go wrong did go wrong. So what we ended up with was a bad day that wouldn’t end.
But it started out as a pretty good day, as most days do. I woke up early and let Taryn sleep in, made some weak coffee (because I still can’t work the little thing-a-ma-jigger that lets me make coffee) and did some reading and meditating. As I meditated, I felt strongly that I should pray for safety and security for the PACE bus that was picking us up and dropping off the Rolands (James, Heidi and 4 children) at the airport. The Rolands have been working with PACE for over 4 years, so it was a somber time though the people on the bus still found every reason to laugh and be joyous. It was eye opening to see that.
As for my early morning meditation experience, it turns out there was a very good reason for the inclination to pray for safety and security. Joanie called from onboard the PACE bus at 1:30pm and informed us that they would be an hour late due to some mechanical complications. “No problem,” we said – we were wandering around the lovely campus of a bible college and really had nothing better to do than hang out, so that was fine. When the bus arrived around 3pm, we quickly understood that there was some gravity to the mechanical failings – the bus needed a rolling start for it to start at all. As James explained, the two batteries that make up the 24-volt system on the bus had fallen out of their compartments somewhere along the highway and were lost. This meant three things: 1) We can’t start the bus if it stops, 2) we have no lights, and 3) the trip just doubled in price! We had to stop in Nairobi to buy batteries and then somehow get them installed, drop the Rolands at the airport, get Joanie to a hospital so that she could pick up some medication that isn’t available in Nyahururu AND get back to PACE before nightfall. Now this was getting interesting, since Kenya is not the place you want to be driving at night – especially without lights!
We got to Nairobi and began looking for the two 12-volt car batteries, cables and tools we needed and with no luck after the first hour our driver, Maina, took us to what is effectively “spare parts for anything with wheels” street in downtown Nairobi. But of course, we were in rush hour and things were so painfully slow that we didn’t reach the auto parts street until close to 5pm - which is when everything closes! Two men went off with cash in hand to try to beat the closing times, and just after dark, they struck gold and found exactly the batteries we needed! Great! Except that it was after dark and we still needed to get them installed. To compound our situation, traffic had gotten ridiculous since sundown. In fact, we can say with certainty that it was the most insane traffic we have experienced … ever. I can’t even begin to explain the insanity of a Nairobi traffic jam … but to give you an idea at one point, we had two of our men on the street stopping cars so that we could get into the middle lane and make an exit, but divers crossing on the perpendicular street had completely blocked traffic. So, traffic flowing in our direction had filled up all lanes of the road so that traffic flowing in the opposite direction had nowhere to go and spilled out every which way onto connecting roads. To further worsen things, a taxi had stalled in the middle of our street facing oncoming traffic and a group of five or six people were working at pushing the taxi away, except they had to push it slightly up-hill and were basically getting nowhere fast. There was also a huge coach bus in front of us trying to get through, but of course the road was completely jammed up so the driver laid on the horn continuously for about an hour. It was quite a spectacle.
We finally broke free of the traffic madness and drove to a spot where we could stop, now in complete darkness, and install the batteries. People immediately crowded around the bus … “uh oh”. Luckily Maina knew a mechanic who happened to be one of these people! The mechanic got his tools, another 2 hours passed and we were finally back in business with two working batteries! When the bus started – and the lights came on - everyone cheered! By this time, it was around 8:30pm and we were supposed to be in Nyahururu by 7pm. We made it to the airport, unloaded the Rolands, said our goodbyes and started off for home.
But, within 30 seconds of driving away we were stopped by the police – Unbelievable! Apparently the bus had been parked in a “no waiting” zone, so there were going to be some repercussions. The police told us all to get off the bus, and they got in. The deal was that they wanted to impound the bus and take away Maina’s license to drive. They also gave us the option of paying 5000 shillings (about $60 US) for the ticket, in addition to taking Maina’s license (no driver, but we could keep the bus). So there we were…12 adults and about 9 kids (the youngest of which was 6) standing at Nairobi airport wondering if we would be sleeping on the pavement. Maina and another of our men went with the officers, and as it turned out, the police decided that we would only have to pay 2000 shillings and they would let us keep the bus and our driver with his license. We’re thinking that their “generosity” in the end was because a receipt wasn’t provided and so they were able to pocket the ticket money. Oh well! It was now 10pm and we were just excited to leave.
We were on the road again and we had yet another beast to contend with: checkpoints. We have never seen so many police checkpoints in all our lives. I think in total we passed through a dozen of them – and each time, we would wonder, “Is this cop corrupt, too?” Thankfully, they were more of a nuisance than anything … we had to slow down to a crawl to make it through the maze of spikes layered across the road, but the police let us through with little to no hassle.
We (thankfully) got out of Nairobi and were on the home stretch. At least we thought we were. We traveled for about an hour, turned down a horridly bumpy dirt road, the kind that sometimes makes the bus tilt on a 30 degree incline, and then we stopped. Some of the men got out, and came back with a couch which they hoisted on top of the bus. “What in the world is going on?!” we asked each other. We found out that the man replacing James Roland was moving to the PACE compound that same day, and our bus was responsible for getting his things and picking up his wife from his old house. So, I joined the group of men and carried some chairs and boxes to try and help speed up the process. Within about half an hour they had everything tied down up top and we were on the road again. Now I should point out again that car jackings are common in Kenya at night, so every time we saw a car stopped ahead of us, Maina would stop well a head and turn on his high beams until the car took off. He kept mentioning how ‘this section’ or ‘that section’ of highway was not safe … we began to wonder if any section of the highway was safe at all! But we were safe – I truly believe after this experience that God had his hand on our bus the entire time, and every time it looked like a situation was going to be bad, something would happen to completely dissipate it.
So twelve hours after we were picked up by the PACE bus on a journey that was supposed to take four hours max, we finally arrived at the PACE compound - a little tired, but alive, safe, secure and happy.
We got to sleep in today until noon, had a relaxing day of meeting people, drinking Chai and getting settled in and we are looking forward to acquainting ourselves further with PACE tomorrow.
John 17:11 - Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.
John 17:15 - My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.
But it started out as a pretty good day, as most days do. I woke up early and let Taryn sleep in, made some weak coffee (because I still can’t work the little thing-a-ma-jigger that lets me make coffee) and did some reading and meditating. As I meditated, I felt strongly that I should pray for safety and security for the PACE bus that was picking us up and dropping off the Rolands (James, Heidi and 4 children) at the airport. The Rolands have been working with PACE for over 4 years, so it was a somber time though the people on the bus still found every reason to laugh and be joyous. It was eye opening to see that.
As for my early morning meditation experience, it turns out there was a very good reason for the inclination to pray for safety and security. Joanie called from onboard the PACE bus at 1:30pm and informed us that they would be an hour late due to some mechanical complications. “No problem,” we said – we were wandering around the lovely campus of a bible college and really had nothing better to do than hang out, so that was fine. When the bus arrived around 3pm, we quickly understood that there was some gravity to the mechanical failings – the bus needed a rolling start for it to start at all. As James explained, the two batteries that make up the 24-volt system on the bus had fallen out of their compartments somewhere along the highway and were lost. This meant three things: 1) We can’t start the bus if it stops, 2) we have no lights, and 3) the trip just doubled in price! We had to stop in Nairobi to buy batteries and then somehow get them installed, drop the Rolands at the airport, get Joanie to a hospital so that she could pick up some medication that isn’t available in Nyahururu AND get back to PACE before nightfall. Now this was getting interesting, since Kenya is not the place you want to be driving at night – especially without lights!
We got to Nairobi and began looking for the two 12-volt car batteries, cables and tools we needed and with no luck after the first hour our driver, Maina, took us to what is effectively “spare parts for anything with wheels” street in downtown Nairobi. But of course, we were in rush hour and things were so painfully slow that we didn’t reach the auto parts street until close to 5pm - which is when everything closes! Two men went off with cash in hand to try to beat the closing times, and just after dark, they struck gold and found exactly the batteries we needed! Great! Except that it was after dark and we still needed to get them installed. To compound our situation, traffic had gotten ridiculous since sundown. In fact, we can say with certainty that it was the most insane traffic we have experienced … ever. I can’t even begin to explain the insanity of a Nairobi traffic jam … but to give you an idea at one point, we had two of our men on the street stopping cars so that we could get into the middle lane and make an exit, but divers crossing on the perpendicular street had completely blocked traffic. So, traffic flowing in our direction had filled up all lanes of the road so that traffic flowing in the opposite direction had nowhere to go and spilled out every which way onto connecting roads. To further worsen things, a taxi had stalled in the middle of our street facing oncoming traffic and a group of five or six people were working at pushing the taxi away, except they had to push it slightly up-hill and were basically getting nowhere fast. There was also a huge coach bus in front of us trying to get through, but of course the road was completely jammed up so the driver laid on the horn continuously for about an hour. It was quite a spectacle.
We finally broke free of the traffic madness and drove to a spot where we could stop, now in complete darkness, and install the batteries. People immediately crowded around the bus … “uh oh”. Luckily Maina knew a mechanic who happened to be one of these people! The mechanic got his tools, another 2 hours passed and we were finally back in business with two working batteries! When the bus started – and the lights came on - everyone cheered! By this time, it was around 8:30pm and we were supposed to be in Nyahururu by 7pm. We made it to the airport, unloaded the Rolands, said our goodbyes and started off for home.
But, within 30 seconds of driving away we were stopped by the police – Unbelievable! Apparently the bus had been parked in a “no waiting” zone, so there were going to be some repercussions. The police told us all to get off the bus, and they got in. The deal was that they wanted to impound the bus and take away Maina’s license to drive. They also gave us the option of paying 5000 shillings (about $60 US) for the ticket, in addition to taking Maina’s license (no driver, but we could keep the bus). So there we were…12 adults and about 9 kids (the youngest of which was 6) standing at Nairobi airport wondering if we would be sleeping on the pavement. Maina and another of our men went with the officers, and as it turned out, the police decided that we would only have to pay 2000 shillings and they would let us keep the bus and our driver with his license. We’re thinking that their “generosity” in the end was because a receipt wasn’t provided and so they were able to pocket the ticket money. Oh well! It was now 10pm and we were just excited to leave.
We were on the road again and we had yet another beast to contend with: checkpoints. We have never seen so many police checkpoints in all our lives. I think in total we passed through a dozen of them – and each time, we would wonder, “Is this cop corrupt, too?” Thankfully, they were more of a nuisance than anything … we had to slow down to a crawl to make it through the maze of spikes layered across the road, but the police let us through with little to no hassle.
We (thankfully) got out of Nairobi and were on the home stretch. At least we thought we were. We traveled for about an hour, turned down a horridly bumpy dirt road, the kind that sometimes makes the bus tilt on a 30 degree incline, and then we stopped. Some of the men got out, and came back with a couch which they hoisted on top of the bus. “What in the world is going on?!” we asked each other. We found out that the man replacing James Roland was moving to the PACE compound that same day, and our bus was responsible for getting his things and picking up his wife from his old house. So, I joined the group of men and carried some chairs and boxes to try and help speed up the process. Within about half an hour they had everything tied down up top and we were on the road again. Now I should point out again that car jackings are common in Kenya at night, so every time we saw a car stopped ahead of us, Maina would stop well a head and turn on his high beams until the car took off. He kept mentioning how ‘this section’ or ‘that section’ of highway was not safe … we began to wonder if any section of the highway was safe at all! But we were safe – I truly believe after this experience that God had his hand on our bus the entire time, and every time it looked like a situation was going to be bad, something would happen to completely dissipate it.
So twelve hours after we were picked up by the PACE bus on a journey that was supposed to take four hours max, we finally arrived at the PACE compound - a little tired, but alive, safe, secure and happy.
We got to sleep in today until noon, had a relaxing day of meeting people, drinking Chai and getting settled in and we are looking forward to acquainting ourselves further with PACE tomorrow.
John 17:11 - Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.
John 17:15 - My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.
Monday, December 1, 2008
First Impressions
We are listening to Josh Grobin’s Christmas CD (not by my request) and drinking Kenyan Chai tea while we sit and chat with our friend, Julia, next to a roaring fire in what is a surprisingly cool environment.
Let’s back up a bit first, though to Friday, November 28th: We left our home in St Catharines at 1pm for a flight that wasn’t suppose to leave until 6pm, but didn’t actually take off until 7pm – an hour late because that’s how long it took to board all of the families with small children! We made a final stop at Tim Horton’s, gave the bank a bunch of extra money (yes, that sounds nice, but really it was the expensive US dollars) and then turned our van into a mini-rocket. The whole time we were in the car, frankly, I was wondering “What’s the rush … we’ve got, like, hours!?” After all, according to the airline’s website, we didn’t have to be at the airport until 5pm. But God knew what we didn’t – that we had (ok, I had) read the wrong page for our baggage allowance and we would have to spend close to an hour shedding 18 kilos from our baggage! I began to unpack all of the heaviest or most obvious things I thought we could do without, while Taryn stayed completely calm and collected. For those of you who know Taryn, or if you are Taryn’s mom, you’ll appreciate the humour in that last part … poor Taryn didn’t want to part with anything she had brought for the children! But thankfully, this was the most difficult part of our journey. The airline provided us with 4 delicious meals and multiple snacks (including ice-cream), hours of on-demand movies, plenty of coffee and soda, as well as friendly service throughout the 18 hour trip. Unfortunately, sleep and bodily comfort were reserved for first class only – my knees were scrunched up against the seat in front of me and it nearly hit me in the nose whenever the person sitting in it would lean back (which was often).
Within an hour of being off the plane (we arrived at 9:30pm on Saturday), we hit the road to spend a couple nights with our friend, Julia, at the Backenhurst Convention Centre in Timuru, which is just outside of the capital, Nairobi. En route, we got a tour of down town Nairobi, saw a traffic accident, and went on a hair-raising hour-long taxi-ride that was reminiscent of the many life altering taxi rides we experienced in Central America. The only marked differences were that the driver sat on the right hand side of the car and we drove on the opposite side of the road. There were many times I was sure we were going to get into an accident – but it was me that kept forgetting that they weren’t driving on the “wrong side of the road”, but were actually on the correct side. Thank goodness for that! We also noticed that no one uses their signals here – everyone just inches their vehicles into the spot where they want to be. This makes for extra adventurous highway driving since all of this happens at ‘ridge racer’ speeds.
We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at our destination, partly because of relief, but mostly because of the lovely country house overlooking Nairobi and the surrounding tea fields. This takes us back to the beginning of our story ….. as it turns out, we stayed up until 2am visiting with Julia and then slept in a comfortable warm bed until 1:30pm the next day! Taryn was like a child on Christmas morning as she took her first look out of the gated windows to see what she couldn’t see the night before ….flower garden after flower garden!! To no surprise, it didn’t take her long to run out and start snapping away. Julia also took us to a beautiful spot overlooking the Rift Valley, where we got to snap more pictures and visit some local businesses (or rather, they came running to us!). After that, Julia took us to a mall that was all decorated up for … Christmas! We ate at a Thai restaurant owned by some friends of hers where we ate whole fried Tilapia! Yum! Another night in the country home on a comfy bed and now we are getting ready for PACE to pick us up and bring us to our destination in Nyahururu. We thank God for providing us with this little piece of refuge, and we are looking even more forward to meeting our new friends at PACE in just a couple of hours!!
Let’s back up a bit first, though to Friday, November 28th: We left our home in St Catharines at 1pm for a flight that wasn’t suppose to leave until 6pm, but didn’t actually take off until 7pm – an hour late because that’s how long it took to board all of the families with small children! We made a final stop at Tim Horton’s, gave the bank a bunch of extra money (yes, that sounds nice, but really it was the expensive US dollars) and then turned our van into a mini-rocket. The whole time we were in the car, frankly, I was wondering “What’s the rush … we’ve got, like, hours!?” After all, according to the airline’s website, we didn’t have to be at the airport until 5pm. But God knew what we didn’t – that we had (ok, I had) read the wrong page for our baggage allowance and we would have to spend close to an hour shedding 18 kilos from our baggage! I began to unpack all of the heaviest or most obvious things I thought we could do without, while Taryn stayed completely calm and collected. For those of you who know Taryn, or if you are Taryn’s mom, you’ll appreciate the humour in that last part … poor Taryn didn’t want to part with anything she had brought for the children! But thankfully, this was the most difficult part of our journey. The airline provided us with 4 delicious meals and multiple snacks (including ice-cream), hours of on-demand movies, plenty of coffee and soda, as well as friendly service throughout the 18 hour trip. Unfortunately, sleep and bodily comfort were reserved for first class only – my knees were scrunched up against the seat in front of me and it nearly hit me in the nose whenever the person sitting in it would lean back (which was often).
Within an hour of being off the plane (we arrived at 9:30pm on Saturday), we hit the road to spend a couple nights with our friend, Julia, at the Backenhurst Convention Centre in Timuru, which is just outside of the capital, Nairobi. En route, we got a tour of down town Nairobi, saw a traffic accident, and went on a hair-raising hour-long taxi-ride that was reminiscent of the many life altering taxi rides we experienced in Central America. The only marked differences were that the driver sat on the right hand side of the car and we drove on the opposite side of the road. There were many times I was sure we were going to get into an accident – but it was me that kept forgetting that they weren’t driving on the “wrong side of the road”, but were actually on the correct side. Thank goodness for that! We also noticed that no one uses their signals here – everyone just inches their vehicles into the spot where they want to be. This makes for extra adventurous highway driving since all of this happens at ‘ridge racer’ speeds.
We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at our destination, partly because of relief, but mostly because of the lovely country house overlooking Nairobi and the surrounding tea fields. This takes us back to the beginning of our story ….. as it turns out, we stayed up until 2am visiting with Julia and then slept in a comfortable warm bed until 1:30pm the next day! Taryn was like a child on Christmas morning as she took her first look out of the gated windows to see what she couldn’t see the night before ….flower garden after flower garden!! To no surprise, it didn’t take her long to run out and start snapping away. Julia also took us to a beautiful spot overlooking the Rift Valley, where we got to snap more pictures and visit some local businesses (or rather, they came running to us!). After that, Julia took us to a mall that was all decorated up for … Christmas! We ate at a Thai restaurant owned by some friends of hers where we ate whole fried Tilapia! Yum! Another night in the country home on a comfy bed and now we are getting ready for PACE to pick us up and bring us to our destination in Nyahururu. We thank God for providing us with this little piece of refuge, and we are looking even more forward to meeting our new friends at PACE in just a couple of hours!!
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