Ngorogiaoigio or something like that

We have an elderly Masai guard. He speaks no English and no Swahili. I can't remember if I have written about him before. I can't pronounce his name at all.
A couple of nights ago, I was in the house and it was dark and I wanted to take something to Mama Chico. I opened the door and walked right into him. He likes to look in the windows. I nearly wet my pants.
He's difficult to see because he is very dark.
Tonight, I was sitting at the computer and thought I could feel someone looking at me. Then I heard whistling which could have been a bird. And then I looked up and saw motion - it was his hand waving at me. He was just standing there looking at me and then I waved and he smiled.

Did I mention his eyes are crossed?

He does carry a bow and arrows. So far I have not been in danger. I suppose I should be grateful for his stealth.

George

In 2008 we made our first journey to Kenya. We helped with a medical camp that year. There were many Kenyan youths ( early to late 20's) who worked in the camp. They were interpreters and many other things. They were the people from  whom I learned a great deal about Kenya and what little Swahili I know as well.
George was one of those youths. Each year he came and worked with us and we came to know him better and better. George's mother died when he was small. And he has called me Mama for a long time now.
George works as a picki driver - he drives a small motorbike all around town picking up and delivering people and things. He has been saving his money for many years to purchase his own bike.
Today, George purchased that bike. He saved a large amount and we provided a small micro-finance loan for the purchase. George is already talking about how he can help others with his profits.
George could barely speak ... it was a dream come true for him. Our dream is that this man of God will become a leader in his church. We thank God for him and are happy that he will be able to earn a living and share his wealth.

This is George. I did not actually RIDE the picki.... my health insurance won't cover an accident on one.

Memorial Day in Kenya

We spent Memorial Day in Kenya at the funeral of a twelve year old. Here's what I remember in a sort free flow of thoughts....
Red ribbons are attached to the antenna of each vehicle in the funeral procession.
 At the mortuary at the public hospital, concessions are sold by men walking around - just like at a baseball game.
The sign at the mortuary gave fees for fresh bodies and had a chart that went up in price as the deceased age increased.
This mortuary smelled. Not exactly sure what the smell was, but I don't want to smell it again.
I realized I had never seen a child in a casket the moment I went into the viewing spot and saw his precious face in the small window that is open for viewing.
The casket was so small it was barely longer than a regular sized coffee table. It sat on the coffee table in the middle of nowhere where the burial took place in the middle of a shamba ( farm.)
You have to walk a long way to find a private bush if you need to tinkle and sometimes you have to pass about 5 sheep on the way and hope they don't follow you.
I have never seen a grave being dug, nor had I seen the casket lowered in to the ground and covered before today.
I do not like to see my brother Peter upset. He's a tough guy and this was very tough on him. Couldn't help but think "what if this were one of my nieces or my nephew?"
I love holding children. Noxie sat in my lap the entire way home and slept. He's seven and precious. And after a pretty long day, it was so peaceful to hold him.
There will never be a time that we don't "stick out" anywhere we go. And I hope soon, we will be treated like normal people. People here are so incredibly kind to us and there is no way to say thank you. Some of them we will never see again.
A christian scientist African preacher puts a Baptist preacher to SHAME when it comes to funeral sermons. This one lasted at least 2 hours....

So much for hot dogs and a dip in the pool. Thanking all veterans out there for providing my freedom.

God Bless America.

Worship

In Kenya, you don't ask someone where they go to church, you ask them where they worship. Hmmmm... stop for one moment as you are all heading out to 11 AM services that will last exactly one hour.
What portion of your service is dedicated to worshipping God? How many songs of praise do you sing or for how long? When it comes time for prayer requests, do you have more to come before the Lord with than a test coming up or a promotion? When you are asked for joys, can you come up with more than a birthday or anniversary.

In Kenya, life is simple. You either have what you need or you don't. And if you don't, I mean you REALLY do not. You rely on the Lord and on your neighbors.

And even in that culture where many church members do not have enough to eat or enough to send their children to school, the first thing on a list of wishes for their church is a place of worship.

This place of worship would be a place that would be used not just on Sunday but every day of the week. I think of how many US UMC churches have been sold or are just sitting idly. These christians would be thrilled to have those places. And yet, they request just a place to worship.

Did you worship today or go to church?

Family

I miss my family. Before we departed, we spent a lot of time together as a family. Both with my immediate family and with my extended, very large family.

Peter's nephew passed away this week. He was only 12 years old. His parents are Christian Scientists and as such do not believe in doctors and hospitals. He was sick for two days and then died. It is terribly sad. The law in Kenya frowns upon this as it does in the US. The family has been going through quite a lot. That said, yesterday all of the family gathered together at Peter's sister's house. It got very late and two of his aunts and one cousin came to our house to have a place to sleep for the night.

What a treat. They spoke little English. We spoke little Swahili or Kikuyu ( their native tongue) But it was like having two of my aunts ( say Aunt Frances and Aunt Rosie) and one of my cousins ( Janet) at our house. Even though they had had a very tough day they were laughing and giggling like small children. And they smiled the entire time they were here. They told stories ( I don't know what they were, but you could tell they were great tales) and they laughed until very late.

Here are my aunts Consolata and Margaret and my cousin Veronica.

A smile and laughter are indeed universal as is the love in a close family.

Life and death

In Kenya, there is a fine line between life and death for many. The water filters we are beginning to put into homes are really changing lives. Children are not getting sick from drinking unclean water. Water seems like such a small thing. But take just one day to recognize how much you drink. Don't even count what you use to bathe or for other purposes. Just think about how much you drink. And think about what would happen if that water was perpetually contaminated. When you  get sick in the US say from the flu, the doctor will say drink plenty of water. Hydration is so important to us.  What if your water came from something that looked like this.

Thousands of people all over the world are drinking water like this and it's making them sick and it's killing them. And yes, I know you have heard this before . I will however, keep saying it over and over and over until every single one of them has clean water.

Today we gave a demonstration to a potential partner for water filter distribution.

We are praying that this leads to many more households with clean water.

Accountability

Since we arrived, I have been keeping a spreadsheet of all of our expenses and keeping a very tight accounting of where each dime is going. I want to be able to be sure that I do our budget correctly but more than that, I want to be able to give an accounting to the many supporters of God's work in Kenya through us there are. My prayers each day are mostly for discernment. There are so many needs, so many requests.
Today as we talked with friends, we got a little closer to having them understand that when Len and I come, we come not with our own money, but by the grace of God and through the work of his servants at home.

We come because young children chose to save money in piggy banks. We come because families chose to use some of their "extra" money to send to Kenya. We come because our family has toiled beside us with oyster roasts, barbecues, and making oyster stew. We are here as stewards of that money. And for each project or step that we take, we must first go to the Lord for help and then we ask for your prayers as well.
Pray that we are the best stewards possible for His glory only.

The Children

Nope... this time I will not be talking about those sweet Kenyan children. Today I am talking about the children ( well, actually they are young adults) who are living and working in Kenya. I call them children , because they could easily be my children. All are in their early twenties. All are working at orphanages and other projects. All are doing exactly what Len and I are doing. Only they are doing this at a very young age.

They are prayerful. They are joyful and they are a delight to be around.
Last night Pastor Kephas came to greet us. Many of the children were here last night. Amy and Seth are from Georgia and North Carolina. Len made fried chicken ( Kephas had loved it when he visited the US) You should have seen how excited the children were. That fried chicken was some of the best I have ever had. It was a great family dinner.

They are also very funny and are a definite inspiration to us. God bless them all.

Cow.... again

Cute as a button. We picked her up near Lanet and delivered her to Gil Gil. She is 7 months old and was wet here. And yes... she's in the back of the van. Now, back to my love of cows. I still love them... close up. Absolutely not in my back yard. The back of this van smelled like... well, cow poop. And if we had one in the back yard, it too would smell like cow poop.

My desire to have a cow is over. I'll go pet Blessings at her new home.

Sam

Sam. I have been hearing about him for so long. We met him earlier this week. Sam was educated as a supplies manager and has managed schools and other thing. I would say Sam is the procurer of all things. He is bright, very smart and very kind. I say that alot. But the people God has given to us as friends are so wonderful.

Sam took us today to IDP camps ( internally displaced persons)  The government has given those who were in camps some land, a frame for a house  and a roof. The rest must be contructed.

 The have no latrines... not even a pit latrine. Their water comes from a river. Most people in the camp walk at least a mile if not more for this water which they drink, wash and do laundry with.

Chief Francis Kariuki

Today we met Chief Francis. He is one of the chiefs of police in this area. He is also a pastor. I have attached an article from February about his use of Twitter to catch criminals. In this picture, Len has brought him a copy of an article about him that appeared in our local newspaper. If you Google him, many things will come up. He was interviewed and that interview appeared on CNN.

Today I met the man - Chief Francis. The man who loves Kenya and loves God. He loves all people. He is kind and inquisitive and very smart. We had great conversations and visited camps where both water and latrines are an issue. We look forward to working with him.




http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/15/kenya-twitter-crime_n_1278514.html

COWS

All my adult life I have wanted a cow. I think they're pretty. I think they are sweet.
Our neighbors across the street have cows. And they are some kind of zero graze, use every part of their excrament etc etc cows.
I clearly do not understand it all. But I do know that the cow pee is diverted into the street. So... in the afternoons and when it is hot it STINKS!!!!  I mean really truly stinks.

I  hate cows.

The butchery

Many many times I have passed by the butcheries in Lanet or in Nakuru. The big slabs of animals hanging in the windows. I never got really close to them.
Today, we went into the butchery. Whoa... the smell.....
It was smoky and not well ventilated. And the flies were around EVERYWHERE. And then in a tub there were things I could identify as livers of some kind, and I saw what I thought was goat intestine. And then I saw this nasty black pile of something that was apparently cow intestine. CHAFU....

And for a minute, I had to walk outside. My stomach churned just a bit. My stomach does not churn when we see horrible burns at clinics or when we see a nasty sore... but the cow intestine . Whoa....
But I got myself together and we had delicious roasted pork and chips ( french fries) and I swatted flies... and guess what... I didn't die.  I love every minute of it.

This picture is of the leftovers... and this part was yummy.

And now a lesson in Swahili - CHAFU

Chafu = nasty

Example: You wake from a lovely night's sleep to Rooster poop in your living room floor.

THAT IS CHAFU!!!!

And to dust you shall return

Yesterday , we were honored to attend the funeral of the aunt of our dear friend Mama Chico.Rites and rituals are different all ove the world. Leah was a woman of God. In Kenya, when you die, you are taken to the  mortuary where you are frozen until someone comes and identifies and retrieves the body. On the day of the service, we all went to the mortuary.  A coffin was purchased and brought strapped to a Matatu to the mortuary. The family went in, identified the body, clothed her and put her in a very small coffin. There was a small window open on the casket . They placed the coffin on a concrete slab and we all walked around it for the viewing. Then we went to the burial place where the service was held. Many pictures were taken - different groups of family members. After the service, the ladies of the church carried the coffin to the burial spot and the coffin was lowered. Everyone put a small handful of dirt into the plot and then the hole was filled. Greenery was then placed by friends and family and a huge feast was held for everyone. We were honored to be there. Much of the service we did not understand... but we knew enough to know that she was sleeping with Jesus.

Being outside

In Virginia, I am a captive in my own home due to the types of pollen there. In Kenya, the dust can be tough but right now it rains often and is not so dusty. I have been sitting oustide all day. I had breakfast outside - chai twice. Once with my brother and then Len made his own to which Peter gave a big thumbs up.  Unpacking most of the day today... settling in. This is indeed home.
There are chicks everywhere.... cutest little things ever. And there is a very small one which is either the youngest, or not well, or perhaps just the runt. And now I will be obsessed with that one.
From where I am sitting I see mangos on the tree almost ready to be eaten.... a beautiful garden and I can smell sweet fresh wonderful rain.
Did I mention I am also sipping my second Stoney.. I am trying to pace myself. Went to the new Nakumatt... but although you can get anything you want there... it's too american. We'll be getting as much as we can from street markets from now on.
Mother's Day... the very first holiday since we departed . I am indeed missing my mother. But she is half of what I am today and how I leanred to serve others. God Bless my mother and all mothers.

And now to learn about stupid tired....

You know the tired where you stand in the middle of a room and turn around in a circle. The kind of tired where when you speak you sound as if you have been on a long drunk. The kind where you are digging for your toothbrush with it in your hand.... well, that's stupid tired. But what a wonderful day. Easy trip to Nakuru. I don't believe I will ever get over how beautiful the Rift Valley is. And I know that my exhuberance is somewhat less than the first time I saw the baboons on the side of the road and the zebras on the side of the road... but it's still cool.

Plus, having the chance to hold little Mephis who is such a sweet baby makes everything good. We met new friends and were invited for chai at Mama Chico's sister's house. Her name is Susan. We saw Jane and met Susan and Benjamin for the first time. And then Charity and Brianna came to visit and we all went out for Chinese. It was one big happy family. Seth is a delightful young man who is here as well. Tomorrow he will be teaching Sunday school.

Rachel and her husband Corey are here as well. She is a doctor and we were able to have a wonderful talk about similar experiences we had in Sierra Leone.

The house and compound are beautiful. It is a house full of hospitality and love and it is a place where God dwells and for that I am truly happy.

Now... this stupid tired girl must sleep.... La La Salama

Occupation

As I was filling out the visa papers on the plane, I tripped through all the questions very quickly. And then I got to..... OCCUPATION.....

And I stared at it. Because I can't put missionary on that.... and so I put.... drum rolll please.... housewife.

I have never been a housewife.... wow.....

Life is different now....

What Karibu really means

Len and I were blessed to have very little traveling issues. The line at Dulles to check in was excrutiatingly long but we had so many kind people to help. Flights were uneventful and we both slept very well. When we got to the visa desk, we were standing in line and a very nice young man asked us to come over to his line. He said, your passport is full of Kenya. And I said, I wouldn't want to go anywhere else. Usually, after you pay your money, they take your picture. But he said to me, we know who you are and have your picture many times.
On to baggage claim where we have enough bags for 6 people. We load up and head up to the counter to face the intimidating lady. She asked what the purpose of our trip was, and we told her to spend the summer with family. And we meant that. She asked if we bought gifts for our friends and we said yes. Then she asked what we brought and Len said peanut butter, a tent and I don't know what else . Then she looked at us very quizically and said " you have FAMILY in Kenya... and I said yes, I have a brother there.
After the usual interogation she smile and let us out.

And there they were.... Peter, Sarah and little Mephis with big happy smiles. They all took the luggage carts, I held sweet Mephis all the way to the car. What a beautiful baby.
The hugs with Sarah and Peter were filled with so much love and we were so happy.

We got into "the baby boy" ( start with one van) and I took my seat - next to the driver.

We settled in to make the drive... and then it happened. Peter popped open the cooler and there they were - STONEY TANGAWIZI . My brother is kind and generous and thoughtful. We popped the tops had a little toast and shared the "champagne." Karibu Kenya.