blessed

M is napping, J and E are playing nicely and quietly together, and Kevin just left to pick up some things in town. I sit here thinking about how blessed I am. This has happened more times than I can count since we've been here in Kenya. Whatever is going on and I am overwhelmed with a feeling of humility and love. I am so thankful for God's grace upon our family in this transition. We have said many times that we wonder when things will be hard and when we will want to leave, what will set us off, what will cause us to desire "home," what will make this place less enjoyable than it is now? We are feeling at home in Narok and enjoy life as it is here. Sometimes, I feel like it's not all that different from "home." I do wish I just knew Swahili, not because I'm not enjoying the learning part, but more because I see the benefit of speaking to friends and people in town in their language instead of mine. I have really enjoyed teaching the kids and being with them all the time. I wonder what it will be like when Kevin's working full-time in the office and I'm with the kids all day by myself (and w/ Jackline). I am in the midst of planning school for the next few months and I'm excited for what the kids will be learning. I am also looking into next year and what curriculum to use/order. I wish we had more books for the kids to read and for us to read to the kids....I wish we had a library! :) I am setting up the school room, trying to get things in the best place for the kids to use and enjoy. I wish we had bulletin boards to decorate instead of slanted ceilings although I have some fun ideas about what to do with those too! Well the kids' quiet playing has gotten a little louder and now involves tackling so I should go. I am so thankful for all of the prayers as well!

we are still here

thanks for checking out blog...we are still here.

we are on christmas break from both work and language. we find our days warmer this time of year...low 80's still, but the sun is intense. the days are warm and the nights are cool. it makes for a nice days.

we are spending a lot of time just relaxing these days. in the mornings we are not up as early as when we had class, but typically we are done with breakfast by 9ish. Then we get the kids ready for not doing a lot all day. they are absorbed with their gifts and occasionally a movie (as am I).

Danielle is working to keep us with clean clothes and dishes as we don't have jacklyn back until wed. I typically have tried to go to town each day both for the language, but also for the workout. For anyone who hasn't heard I am climbing a mountain come the middle of March. so now is when i need to get on a workout program. Being at 5000+ ft we have a bit of a jump on the mountain, but it is a 19,000+ ft mt so....I need to be in better shape.

Next week turns around for us as everything starts picking up as school will start and language as well. all the shops in town will be opening up for brisk business. And the new year will be faced with vigor. There seems to be a renewal of hope ...a common thought is that this year is going to be better than the last.

so there you go for now

Christmas differences...and similarities

so here is just a short comparison of Christmas in Kenya to the USA...

-in narok there are no santas.

-I haven't ever heard the word "reindeer"...except when listening to my kids music.

-I have seen fewer than 5 decorated trees...2 in personal homes the rest in the local supermarket.

-There is one 5 foot table with all the Christmas decoration the local supermarket has to sell.

-NORAD doesn't track santa here

-Santa ins't necessarily an old white man with a beard

-people in kenya don't expect gifts....some of the expectations that I have heard are: things to eat...meat, flat bread,soda...and many people want a new set of clothes. usually the gifts are reserved for the kids only and the adults are content.

-meat and transportation prices out of Nairobi double.

similarities...

-many people like to gather with their extended families.

-food and conversation are an important part of the gatherings.

-there is a big rush around Christmas...many people doing things and going places.

just a few thoughts

-

birthday

....so today is my birthday and I am finding that in kenya it isn't celebrated in the same ways as in the US. My family is still holding onto some traditions like giving gifts (a happy birthday poster and a rugby ball), special meals (I had B-cinnamon rolls, L-kenyan food, and D-Mummies hamburgers) and pie. In kenya, some people who have known expats seem to expect that I would be doing a lot more. What more they were expecting I don't know...but something more.

I will say that I did tell the kids that I wanted something special from each of them.

from e I wanted her to read me a book (she read two)

from J I wanted to play a game of skip-bo (we have played two so far)

from M I just wanted cuddles

...so far I have gotten more than I asked for...what a great family. What a great birthday!

this is the day that kenya celebrates its independence. or as the kids say "it's the 4th of july." then we add, "on the 12 of December".

Jamhuri day is celebrated to a much lesser degree that in America. Of the four or five perspectives that we have heard, the days celebrations range from, "everyone will be celebrating"...to ...."no one really does anything special". so what does that mean for our family...well, we slept in (office is closed). We are having people over for tea, and will likely have a day of rest at home.

no fireworks, cook outs or even flags.

happy

Jamhuri Day

E's new lesson

Last week, E and M were given "bangles" by our Indian neighbors. E and J sometimes play with kids that are visiting their house and E has admired the pretty bracelets the girls are wearing. Our neighbor's daughter lives in Nairobi and visits often and said she'd pick up some bangles for E, asking her what color she'd like. Well she came to visit last week and brought E some pretty pink bangles and M some pretty green bangles. E frequently reminded J that Indian boys don't wear anything special, only the girls.

Yesterday some friends of ours were visiting and the guy said he had a small gift for J. He asked if it was ok to give to him since he didn't have something for E. I said yes, that E and M got something last week and J was totally ok with it. He gave J a small, wind-up flashlight. E immediately asked what was for her. When hearing J was the only one to get a gift, E started whining and crying. It was nap time anyway and the kids were sent to their beds. E made several more comments yesterday about how she didn't get a gift.

Today, one of our teammates picked up her parents at the airport. Her parents brought her Chick-fil-a!!!! Seriously, AWESOME! One of our favorite family dates in Florida was going to CFA, mostly because of the playground. Anyway, Kevin was telling E about how our teammate's parents brought her Chick-fil-a. E started crying and saying that she really likes CFA and she should get to eat it, not our teammate.

I talked with her about being happy for others, but I think we'll have to keep working on that.

last day with elias

well, today is our last official day with elias our esteemed teacher of what I call..."intro to Swahili" . we have had a lot of good times and have by far spent the most time with him over our first three months. the kids are very fond of him (not just because he brings them mangoes from nairobi) as well so this will be a hard good bye for all of us. this is a chance that we could hire him on at some point for a quick refresher (a week or two at a time).

beyond Swahili, we have gained a lot from ellias's perspective on most things Kenya as well as some things American. We have gained from his insight in the war between kenya and al-shabab....the price of goods and services with in kenya....the relationships between family members as well as how the family plot of land is divided with each new generation. We have learned the three biggest towns of kenya (and found out that we don't know the three for the US). We know all of the presidents (and almost all of the VP's) of Kenya. We know a lot about corruption from ellias's perspective as well as stories of how he has avoided serious trouble is Nairobi. He has taught us about the high cost of cell phones and how carrying many cell phones is actually a savings plan.

he has spent many days learning and playing UNO with j and letting m play with his cell phone while he's trying to text during his breaks. he has also taught e many things in swahili and now both of our older kids know about the game snakes on the cell phone, while neither of us adults do.

Elias has had unending patience with kevin, correcting his mistakes...and always ends danielle's sentences (uncorrected) with "thank you very much".

so today we will have nyama (meat) for lunch in celebration.

things that I am getting used to....

1) not eating meat at every meal (and not missing it that much).....we haven't been eating any meat for lunch...and not eating meat every meal for supper.

2) not getting anything for the price I want at least at the first offering.....almost every time we go to buy something we are told a price that is about 4-10X what any Kenyan would pay. I don't blame the Kenyans for trying ...it works sometimes, just not with me.

3)not finding what I need....if it is a plug for the sink, or whatever...I will never find everything that I thought that I would "need"

4)being around the kids everyday...this one isn't going to happen for too much longer, but it is nice for now.

5) not getting to grill out....This is an attainable luxury, but just not right now. I am also finding that I am not missing american food as much as I thought that I might.

6)carrying 75% of the stuff that we buy back to our house. Even food or things to cook food in we have to carry it back to the house or pay for a taxi to do it. I often wonder on these trips back from the store if all people around the world would buy fewer things if they had to carry most of them home.

7)(perhaps related to #6) that my clothes are fitting differently....in the US it was getting to the squeeze point on some of my clothes. now I have room to spare.

these are a few of the things that I am getting used to...all of them have been easy to get used to may be because we have little choice except for our attitude towards it.

the beginning of imaginary friends

conversation:

E "daddy, Emma just gave you that plate"

ME "who is Emma?"

E "my classmate."

...last I checked J was her only classmate and he is not a girl....

Christmas tree...

This year we were going to have to buy a tree... no matter how much I(kevin) thought we might be able to just forget that we "needed"to have a tree this year, my family wouldn't let me forget.

So a few days last week I began thinking about a tree for Christmas. As you may imagine Kenya doesn't have a wide selection (not that surprising when many struggle to have enough food everyday, Christmas trees are luxury).

I started to look in the local store. they had a tree which kinda took me by surprise when I first saw it, then the price added to the surprise. I don't know what I was expecting but the range of the four trees in Narok were $10-$50 USD. They all looked like maybe they were china's rejected trees from last year or an overproduction of trees for Charlie Brown's Christmas performances. nothing like the large nearly tree-like ones that you see by the dozens in any walmart or target. these little trees ranged from 3-7 feet with the spread of about 2 feet across and the greatest point. looking at these, I figured that when I went to Nairobi, there would be a good chance to see what else might be available.

Nairobi wasn't that much better in quality size or variety, but in price they were a shade cheaper. So after making the all important call to Danielle to have her pick the tree that I would describe to her...we landed on a 4 foot 150 point tree for about $5. Our language teacher mentioned that they don't tend to last long, "you know about every three years I have to throw mine out and get a new one...they just don't last" and he doesn't have any kids living with him.

....And now we have a Christmas tree (at least for this year)...

I can stay in Kenya...

This last sunday and monday I (kevin) went to Nairobi. The purpose for this trip was two-fold. 1) to do a "shopping trip" for a car.. 2) get a mark in my passport.

1) the car shopping that I was doing was the very beginning of shopping just to see what was on the market. there is a market in nairobi that occurs only once a week (Sundays) and basically what happens is any number of people bring cars to sell. some of the people maker their living selling cars here others are just looking to unload a used car. there is a wide variety of vehicles from old used cars that should likely be headed to the junkyard, to slightly used BMW's.

I came with a short list of criteria, that eliminated all but about 15 of the cars of the hundreds there. of these 15 all but about 5 were eliminated by price....and of these 5 only one was even close to one we could live with and the price was too high. But now I know....

2) after a long process I was able to get my three year work visa. So my passport now says that I can be here for three years. This is wonderful because my first visa was set to expire in the next few weeks. While I was there, I was able to turn in paperwork for danielle and all of the kids. We should hear by Christmas that they have been accepted as well...at which point danielle and I will pay a chunk of cash and turn in our next bit of paperwork.

Glad to be back with the family not such a big fan of Nairobi as of yet...

Sunday part 3

I am making a little bit of a deviation from the plan....I was planning on writing this section, but then Danielle assigned E to a project that is similar to this for school so....I have made E and J the guest bloggers of the day...

"What did we do on Sunday?"

E: "we went out to the bush and saw lots of animals like zebras, wildebeests and dik diks and gazelles. at the manyata...there was fire inside...the house was not like our houses...it was actually made out of ground and grass. At the manyata while I was outside...as soon as one of the maasai girls picked one of the goats us I knew that I could pick one of the goats up too. I drank chai (tea). I went into a little thing with baby goat that didn't move very much they just laid on the ground they lived inside this fence of thorny bushes. I also played with sticks that didn't have thorns. and there was chickens."

J: "we went to the bush...we saw lots of animals, zebra, cows, goats, big birds. we went to a pinyatta (manyata is what he intended). I goed outside. I go with the goats. and there were lot of more friends that I saw. and there were lots of thorns. I also drank chai (tea)"

"What did you taste?"

E: "chai too"

J: "hmmm....chai"

"What did you smell?"

E: "I smelled the goat skin, and the chicken feathers...." inside the manyata? "fire and ashes"

J: "nothing...we didn't smell nothing.....I smelled the goats" inside the manyata? "smoke...I smelled the chai"

"What did you touch?"

E: " goats, other kids, sticks. I wish I could tough chicken feathers, but the chickens were too fast. I touched the parts of the house...the girl in the blue dress pulled some off so that I could touch it. the first one broke so she got some more, then I started picking up parts of the house, but there are sticks before the inside"

J: " I don't know...goats, I just touched one kid."

"What did you see?"

E: " I saw, everything that I looked at. we went both ways from where you were, to the goat one...I saw everything"

J: "I saw a basket, and my mouth. the house it had mud."

"What did you hear?

E: "I heard 'cock a doodle doo' and baby goats calling for their mommies 'ahhhh ahhh ahhh'. that is all I heard....I heard you and Jackson talking in the house. I heard kids, but I didn't know what they were saying."

J: "I heard birds, chickens"

this concludes the interview blog.......

and the thoughts on Sunday...unless you have questions :)

Sunday part 2...

....so as the kids desired to get a closer look at the wildlife, we took out our lunch that danielle had packed for us and began to eat as we walked out toward. After a bit we turned around and began to head back towards the church when we realized that wild life is actually wild and we were not going to catch any of it.

By the time we got back to the church building, Jackson (our translator and friend) had decided that we should go look at the water pan (an area of earth built up in an area of drainage to catch and hold water for times of less water). in this water pan (middle of an area that usually doesn't have much rain) were several turtles. One of which jackson caught and showed off to the kids.

After leaving this area we approached a set of maasai homes. Jackson now speaking Ma with a woman of about my age. we soon found out from Jackson that we were invited to take some tea. on our way to the home, we met up with this womans' husband and his friend. They were coming to join us for the tea

there is no way to describe the home itself, you must just experience this for yourself.

Upon entering this home (remember no electricity/running water/ windows/chairs/kitchen table/microwave/ carpet/paint/etc...) we all sat on low stools as the mama began to restart the fire.

I noticed that the kids of the village were no longer indie the home with us, so I asked jackson if it would be okay if J and E joined the kids outside. he said sure and they left...we could still hear them talking and playing as the men and jackson were talking about what all had been and was going on in the area. as the fire was getting going the men offered jackson and I some milk. This is an important part of the Maasai culture. As a cattle dependent people milk has always been a big part of their lives. They even have saying about the depth of friendship. a good friend is "one you drink milk with". I should mention that there is no refrigeration so the milk is stored in a kaabaash (sp?). storing milk using this method doesn't usually keep the milk from going a little sour (or a lot). before being served this milk...it is shaken within the kaabaash to break up the chunks... after the chunks are broken up...it is poured into mugs and served.

Jackson knowing that most Americans dislike "sour" milk, he said to the hosts that I didn't need any milk. Then, he proceeded to give me some of his Sour milk. I took a big drink...knowing that the taste will not matter if I took a little or a lot...if it is bad it will be just as bad no matter the amount. Jackson then asked if I liked it and in fact I told him that I did like it. It didn't have the sour taste at all, it did have some small chunks, but was really much like milk in flavor. After seeing that I liked it, jackson offered me some more. I asked him how much I could have and he said I could have half, but after the next drink, it was already well below half. so I handed the mug back to him.

Realizing, that I had drank most of his, he made some comment (in Ma) like, " oh the white guy does like sour milk...to which our hosts refilled his cup. shortly after that the tea was ready. we all had a cup and J and E both has partial cups as well.

we were in the home for about 2 hours...but what were J and E doing?

see part 3.....

Sunday part 1...

this sunday we J, E and I (keivn)...went out to the bush if you have read the previous post, then you know already that this was going to be a day of learning and adventure.

It started out with a walk into town...to our meeting place. we left out house 30 minutes before we were to meet our ride and I figured that it was plenty of time, but it wasn't. we hit the 30 minute mark before stopping at the Grocery store for some sprite (to settle the stomach a bit). then we still had 8-10 more of walking.

the best place for us to meet is at a local gas station where many people find it to be an ideal place to meet. in addition to this there are also 3 modes of public transportation that set this gas station as one of the best places to stop. So needless to say this place is always busy. Not just busy, but people are approaching us (strangers) in order to do one of a few things...a) ask us for money or food...b)welcome us to kenya...c)sell us some small trinket...d)ask us where we are headed so that they can get us to the proper vehicle (varied in destination from 1 km away to across the country). For A and C I often try to be polite and speak in swahili so that they realize that I am not a tourist. Group B is fun, only sometimes drunk, but often people just desiring to see you enjoy your stay. the D group is also fun when speaking to them in Swahili they enjoy the fact that I am at my destination and that I don't need them to take me anywhere.

so we caught our ride...and began the long trip to church. J and E (E feeling a little car sick and J feeling sleepy) both drifted near sleep. I was trying to hold one or both of their heads so that they didn't smash into each other or the hard plastic/ metal pieces of the cars interior as we were jostled about by the road.

we arrived at Church and were dropped off with our good friend Jackson. The car then left to go to another church (saves a great deal of gas). We were greeted by several of the people who were there (kids). and we were informed that there wouldn't be a large group because of the season of rain that we have been having and the need for some household tasks taken care of ( like to patch holes in the mud houses between the rains). so the number didn't grow so much, but we had two choirs, an organizer a translator and three visitors.

We sang, we danced and I was blessed to talk about the creation of the world and the problem of sin, the hope we have through salvation. It was a great service and it was a pleasure to be a part. The service broke and this is when J and E began to interact with the other kids. They played with the kids and chased young goats and generally had a great time.

After a while the kids from church needed to go home and J and E spotted some ostriches in the distance and decided to go get a closer look.

(continued on part 2)

to the bush...

this Sunday J E and I (kevin) are heading out to the bush for church. If you haven't heard the term "bush" is an interesting one as J and E both think that it is just a single stubby tree. what they don't yet realize is that it is a big expanse with wild animals as well as sparse vegetation.

this thought of bush became even funnier when e was worried about using the bathroom...Danielle may have said to just use the side of a bush. our kids are shy enough that they won't just drop and go, but it will be interesting if the need of this arises.

.....a bush or the bush.....

uno...a game of...

So J and E have really picked up the great american pastime of UNO. It started out as a way for J to lean his colors (at least four of them) and numbers. As we should have known, they have also taken a keen interest in skips. draw two's and wild draw fours...

just before a serious round of uno we were witness to the following conversation:

E "I want to win"

J "I want to win...I am going to skip you"

E "well, I am going to give you a draw two"

J "I am going to give you a draw two and a skip"

E "I am going to give you a draw four"

the good news is that they weren't upset, but it was trash talk none-the-less...

so look out for the competitive uno squad from kenya!

a big lady

M has been "potty training" since before we moved to Kenya. Her "potty training" has consisted of wearing underwear and me remembering to take to the bathroom every so often. M hasn't really initiated much until recently and even now, it's not really all that much. However, she is going long periods of time without going potty in her pants and is also having dry diapers after her naps and in the morning. We are thinking things are clicking for her and it won't be much longer before she starts telling us more. Today, she woke up from her afternoon nap dry and actually has been playing in her bed for awhile after waking up. I brought her downstairs and took her to the bathroom. I was telling Jackline that M had been awake in her bed and Jackline asked if she had a dry diaper. I said yes and that she was going potty now. Jackline replied with "she is becoming a big lady." Indeed, she IS becoming a big lady! :) we are proud of our big lady!

church...

today we went to early english service at church. After studying Swahili all week and needing a good bit of time to rest, we didn't want to cram our brains and day with a long service in Swahili.

so thinking that the english service was at 9:30 we left our house early for the service knowing that the english service is often short, we didn't want to miss any of it. however it started at 9am so we were "late". The sermon had just started and there came a few others after us. We did feel blessed to be there and always warmly welcomed.

What I didn't expect was the offer of the pulpit in the english service, then again by another pastor just a bit later the offer of the pulpit in the larger Swahili service. I was also offered any time that we wanted to hold classes or a workshop that we would be welcomed to do so. It was really a nice gesture, I didn't pursue it to see what this might look like as I have plenty on my plate.

so that was our morning...

we have no grandparents in kenya but...

this post is especially for grandmas and grandpas of our kids....

the one thing that grandparents do really well is to spoil our children. we aren't upset by this, but have come to know it as a fact of life.

now for a story....

I needed to go to the store and danielle was just entering her two hours for class. The plan was that I would go and leave the kids with our house helper (jacklyn). so I carefully explained in swahili what I was doing and that I'd be back in half an hour. she said "Okay" (this could mean about anything). and i left...

...found what I needed at a little store beside the road before I even got to town and headed back home....

once I arrived the kids were all happy and M especially so. I had left her with a banana for snack and she was sitting in her chair asking for more. so I put some banana on her tray and she picked it up and put it back on the table. the continued to ask for more. so I asked M what she wanted more of and was getting more sure it was not the banana. e & j were both working with school work and e lifted up her head just enough to look at me and say she thinks that M wanted more chapati (flat bread that jacklyn was making at the stove). J added that they had all had a few small pieces.

I don't know how much food the kids were given after "snack time". I guess that we will see how much they ate if they seem not interested in lunch.

so don't worry about the kids not getting some "spoilin" ...that is being taken care of!

the mt.

so There is one place in Narok that I had not been to that is a must for any red blooded north american. It is a small store in town that near the main road, across form the gas station. you might miss it, except for the one bit of refreshment that some of the guys on the team desire more than BBQ sauce...it is....MT DEW. up until this point in history, this sweet nector of north america has been limited in kenya to nairobi, but for only the second time in our knowledge, this little bottle of goodness has made its way to narok...only in the little duka in town. they seem to get about 10 plastic bottles in every month, but if they get them I know a handful of people who will buy whatever they can get.

today my friend stopped by and picked up the last 5 bottles for the carload of us headed out to the bush.

it doesn't have the same flavor...I don't know if it is more citrus, or if it is just that it is made with real sugar, but it doesn't taste like the stuff out of the can in the US. but it is a neat treat!

bush "church"

once a month AH tries to take as many people as they can out to the various rural areas to participate in the local community churches. Many of these churches are in areas that are not very accessible and have some connection to AH.

I was invited to go to an area where currently there is no church. There are a few believers, but not even many of those. I went with a national AH missionary names Steve. He has been working to build relationships in this community for a while now, but there is no established church.

The community is so rural, that government agencies don't even go there. There is a road to the place, but it is basically 2 tire tracks going off into the distant rolling hills. this community is at the end of this "road".

There has been rain in the region for the last couple of nights and this turned the "roads" into something much closer to mud pits. the mud here is extremely sticky. It is comparable to driving on ice after the mud fills in the tread of the tires.

we see the necessity of 4 wheel drive vehicles in traveling through the bush.

We had a paved road for about half the way to the community where we were headed. We sloshed and slid the remainder of the way. The vehicle that I was riding in had four of us...two were dropped off at a church on the way. Then Steve and I went on further for another hour or so... to the place the road literally ends (it actually fades into nothing).

Steve and I pulled up to one of the housing areas, the women were all working to get the sheep and cow pen cleaned out before the next rain storm. but they took a break to bring us tea and join us for a short service. we sang 1 song and then I was invited to speak (with steve translating) to the 6 ladies, one man and about 12 kids. Steve spoke for a bit, then steve had me pray.

our next service was at another house that as we were pulling up to we realized we were entering into a wedding celebration (just before it began for most of the people). There were kids surrounding one woman who was just beginning to butcher a freshly killed goat. Many men of this village came to hear what was going on...the women and children followed. Most of the people who attended were there because they know steve. this was to be a short service as I was asked to tell one short story (steve translated again). just as I was coming to the end of the story, one man began to make a big ruckus...he didn't see to like what he was hearing. He had also began the wedding celebration already with a lot of home brew. Steve talked after me, but much of what he was saying was directed at this man. I don't know what was said exactly. we then shortly afterwards left. as we were getting ready to leave once of the sober old men told me in swahili (his and my second language) thanks for coming.

then we began the trek back and even as only 1 hour had passed, there was a big difference in the road conditions. we were able to go quickly and only had to be in 4 wheel drive for maybe 1/4 of the time. we arrived at a meeting place where I and two of the people in my car were to catch a ride back to narok. Here we took tea and then met up with our ride, and headed out to narok before the heavy rain clouds let loose their loads.

Packages and Mail Info

Several people have asked about sending things to us, so we wanted to give out the following information. Please know that we can get everything we need here in Kenya, most of it can be found in Narok, and if not, Nairobi. We've come up with a list of things that would be great to receive and, if we don't, we'll be just fine. :) It has taken about 2 weeks to get letters and we're unsure about packages. We'd love to receive hand written notes as well!

Extra Special Goodies List

• J and E both LOVE puzzles, 40-100 pieces wo
  uld be best. Please remove from the box and cut the finished picture out. Put pieces and picture in a ziplock bag to mail
• Color Wonder books
• Books for the kids-paperback would be easiest to mail, E is reading easy-reader books, we'd LOVE non-fiction books as well
• Pecans
• Chocolate Chips
• Dried fruit
• Ranch Dressing Mix powder
• Parmesan cheese
• Any DVDs or CDs you think we may like
• Craft stuff for the kids
• Recent photos of family and friends!!!
• Kid snack stuff (goldfish, fruit snacks, graham crackers, dry cereal, granola bars, etc.)

Shipping Tips

The Kenyan Post Office charges us a duty or import tax on all packages we receive. Here are some things our team has found to keep that charge low.

• Send things in a bubble mailer. It costs you less to send and usually us less to receive. The flat rate boxes can also be used internationally, although they cost a bit more.
• On the custom form when it asks for the value of the package, instead of what you spent on it, you can put what the “yard sale” or “resale” value of the items would be.
• Also on the custom form check the box “other” instead of “gift”
• If you list all items on this custom slip and also include a list inside of the package, there is a better chance all of those items will get to us.
• So far everything sent to us has made it, but all packages but one have been opened and searched.
• Remove any DVDs or CDs from their original case and put in a disc sleeve or between 2 pieces of cardboard.

Our Address

Kevin and Danielle Foster (or E, J, and M Foster)

c/o Africa Hope

PO Box 847

Narok 20500

Kenya

EAST AFRCA

power 2

so on friday this last week...we noticed that we didn't have power. We realized later that in actually we had low power. So some lights would come on when you flipped the switch, just not as bright. There wasn't enough power to keep the fridge running or the small appliences in operation.

in the US we are used to the power being off or on, but not low power so we were unsure if it was just our house or if it was widespread. I opened the fuse box flipped the switches and nothing happened.

later we found out it was "low power" all over Narok.

power

so we often (1-3 times per week) lose power... (Swahili - stima). so it isn't a rare occurrence for us to be doing something and suddenly the lights go off followed by a shout of "no stima!!!"

This last weekend we had no power from about 9 in the morning until about 6 at night. most things went on like normal...shops still operated...we still had tea we cooked meals (gas stove and oven).

we came to find out today that this particular outage was do to a labor dispute at the electric company. there are more threats of country wide loss of power starting tonight at midnight (countdown from now is just over 4.5 hours). will it happen? who knows...it really doesn't changes our lives that much...we may go to bed earlier...we may not be on the computer, but not a huge change to our lives.

what we do

I was writing an e-mail to a friend in ft myers and thought that maybe I'd paste a copy of our weekly schedule here. just so you can picture what our life is like (chronologically at least).

our weekly schedule looks a little like this

M-F

7am wake up and eat breakfast

8am kevin starts class and danielle begins teaching the kids

10am tea time

10:30am danielle begins class and Kevin teaches the kids

12:30pm lunch break....our house help, Jackline, cooks lunch for us and our teacher every week day. It is a Kenyan meal and we really enjoy it.

2pm kids nap and kevin and danielle are both in class

4pm tea time

4:30pm danielle begin dinner preparations and kevin plays with the kids/ goes to the market

5:45pm dinner

6:30pm play with the kids

7pm M goes to sleep

8pm J and E go to sleep

then Danielle and I catch up on homework/e-mails/talking with people in the office/etc...

saturday

Morning- we have this as a time that we eat breakfast then we all walk into town and do shopping as well as work on our Swahili. We have really begun to enjoy these trips as we have begun new relationships with several people that we see each week.

Lunch- we are try to get back home so we can eat lunch and get the kids down for their naps.

Afternoon -kids nap while Kevin and Danielle do Swahili work...4:15 skype with family

Evening- eat dinner and play outside until dark

Sunday

morning- get up and get breakfast a little more relaxed. (right now we are mostly going to church close to town, so we have little travel time)

10:30 walk to church

1:30 or so Church is over and we walk home eat a quick lunch and get the kids down for their nap.

afternoon this is our Sabbath!!! late afternoon we might skype with family and Kevin goes to town

evening eat, then have fun, then off to bed for the kids…after the kids are in bed, then we get ready for Swahili class on Monday.

This is what our weeks look like in general at least for the next month or so….

slugs

We have been blessed with a lot of rain over the last few days. at times it has been a lot of rain quickly other times it has been more like a slow, deep, soaking rain. I have asked several people if this is what is expected for this time of year, and most people don't think this is normal. Some say that what we have been having is a complete random bunch of rain that we have gotten, not part of any wet season. Others think that the Short rains that we get in nov and dec have just come early.

we have no idea...the only thing that we do know is that we have had enough rain to bring out the slugs...3-4in blobs of slim that melt when salt is added.

Cards in 7...

so here we are in kenya and we caught the end of the game this morning...we started "watching" game 6 at 7pm (top of the 9th) via our computer and a sports website that continues to update as play unfolds. may less exciting than seeing it live, or maybe more.

so now the goal is how we can work out a way to actually see the game starting at like 3am friday morning...

kenya threat update...

so just a quick note concerning the violence around Nairobi over the last week. The Kenyan authorities have arrested a man who is suspected of carrying out the two bombings. This man has also confessed to these acts and seemed to have a store of bomb making materials.

school

We have been doing school with the kids for three weeks now. The schedule has changed a bit from week to week, but some things have stayed the same. Either Kevin and I begin language at 8:00am. Soon afterwards, we begin school. T

his week we have been starting with a time of singing and worship music, lead by youtube, and then we do our Bible lesson for the day.

M enjoys participating in worship time before going down for a nap.

Next, we do Calendar time, going over the days of the week, the months of the year, today's date, other important events coming up in the next few weeks, etc. The kids both participate and enjoy pointing things out on the calendar.

our homemade calendar

Here is where the schedule varies from day to day. We have a preschool book for John and a kindergarten book for both J and E. They usually do some work in these each days as well as other activities. J does work with letters, recognizing them, saying their sounds, and writing them. E is working on sight words and writing as well. E is easily distracted by whatever J is doing so sometimes it works to be in separate rooms. E can do a lot more on her own so J is usually needing encouragement and guidance. When J starts getting antsy, he gets to play soccer for a bit outside and go and find Jackline, our house helper, and talk with her for a bit. Some days, the kids paint or draw or make decorations or help bake something. This week, the kids put together a fall craft Nana sent and it's now hanging in our dining room. Today, I was wanting to make zucchini bread with them, but maybe that can happen tomorrow. I feel like one day a week is more relaxed and less gets accomplished. We usually spend about three hours doing school each day. Kevin and I both get time teaching them which I think makes it more enjoyable for the kids as well. We're fortunate in that the kids all nap in the afternoon while we have Swahili class for two hours.

Any craft ideas or fun activities for the kids are welcome!

kenya threat

the below is actually a note written by our teammate to all of our families who may be concerned about the current news of kenya and specifically the two bombings in nairobi.

"Greetings from our family in Kenya. You might have heard on the news that there have been two small bombings in Nairobi, Kenya in the last 24 hours. These bombings are likely tied to a Somali rebel group, a which has been threatening Kenya with such attacks over the last few weeks.

We want to let you know that we and the rest of our team are all safe in Narok. Fortunately, the area that we live and minister is far removed from Nairobi and other areas of potential risk. In consultation with a local security expert who has served with the U.S. military and a number of missions organizations, we as a team are taking a number of precautions to avoid risk. Please know that while the news is unsettling we do feel safe here in Narok. AfricaHope and New Mission Systems will continue monitoring the situation in the coming weeks and days.

For now we ask that you will please pray for the countries of Kenya and Somalia. Please pray for safety and security for Kenya and that God would free the people of Somalia from oppression."

hair cut

the other day I (kevin) was walking through town all by myself when I passes a barber shop. I walked up to the shop from which was coming loud music (maybe people don't like the sound of hair clippers).

ME: "how much for a hair cut?"

HE: "100"

ME "do you cut white peoples hair"

HE: "(he said something...but the music was too loud for me to make it out)" said while shaking his head in the nearly universal sign for "yes".

100 seemed a little high so I walked on. After a few more tasks kinda in a ally way I saw another barber and decided to ask what he would charge to cut my hair. He said 50 ksh. 50cents for a haircut I decided I couldn't pass up. So I stepped inside and got a hair cut. This hair cut wasn't much different from what you would imagine with the exception of instead of a brush to brush away the hair after completion of the trim, they had a brush made from an animal's tail (not sure what animal it may have been from).

As I was getting my hair cut, there was a crowd that gathered around...I'd guess that not may tourists get their hair cut here, and so I bet I was one of only a handful of non-African hair cuts that this man had given.

So there were a couple of small errors that he made...like one really short patch on one side. So danielle had to redo the do.

Will i try this again...I think that I will, but next time I will take danielle with me to show the barber how to cut my hair. I'd bet every time after that I would get a good cut for 50 cents.

bee keeping part 2

so I returned to the bee hunters today (Sunday)

this time the price started at 300 but quickly dropped to 250...Language wise this time it was mostly in Swahili. I spent the first bit of time convincing them that I was not just a tourist. After about 15 minutes asking for the honey to be 200...it came to pass. I left with the honey at a fair price.

bee keeping

As I am liking to do I will post an approximate conversation. This one is with a woman who is of a traditional honey hunting tribe in kenya.

I approached a stall were there were jars from small peanut butter sized up to 5 gallon bucket sized.

ME: "hello...(greetings)...etc..."

She "hello (greetings)...."

ME: " so is this honey?" With the number of bees that were present it was an educated guess.

She: "ah yes honey...do you want some."

ME: "Is this honey pure? does it have any additives" Adding water is a common way of stretching the amount of honey that you have.

SHE: "no no ...it is pure...do you want a taste"

ME: "Sure..." I said as in my mind I tried to think of any reason why I should,t have some of this honey...not coming up with any I held out my fingers. "Just a little bit." it came out slowly and I got a glob on my finger that contained not only honey, but also a leg of bee....then I ate it. Tasted like pure honey to me. so now for the price... "so how much is this bottle of honey?"

SHE: "this one is 600"

ME: "600!!?? Oh that is too much. What is a better price?" Always haggling with a smile)

SHE: "ummm you know I can give it to you for 500. You know we have to travel from far far away to bring this honey here"

ME: "500?!! you know I too have had to walk from over that hill over there...so you know that I am not a tourist...what is the real price? "

SHE: "ummm for this bottle I can do 400."

ME: "what about 300?

SHE : "300?!!!, you know we had to come from a long way off and we robbed the bees of this honey and....400"

ME: "oh okay...well, then I guess that I can not buy today" and I walked away without honey.

Heroes Day - Mashujaa Day, Oct. 20

Today is Heroes Day, or Mashujaa Day. This is only the second annual Mashujaa Day. It was previously known as Kenyatta day which was set-up by president Kenyatta as a day to honor himself. After the new constitution was passed, all days to honor previous presidents were abolished and instead, we now have Mashujaa Day to honor those who have fought for the independence of Kenya. I think it's kind of like our Veteran's Day.

During school, the kids and I talked about what a hero is. Our list consisted of:

- someone who saves people from bad guys

- brave

- good

- powerful

- nice

- uses God's help

- obeys God

I was impressed and surprised. They listed heroes they know or have heard of. E and J's heroes are:

Daddy

Matt

God

Jesus

Moses

Joshua

soldiers

They then drew pictures of heroes while I read them stories of Christian heroes. We read about Florence Nightingale, Jim Eliot, Mary Slessor, and Amy Carmichael.

breakfast

...with Madelyn unable to eat milk and we are finding even eating things with milk in them seems to not be so good. Danielle tried a pancake recipe she had found that didn't require milk. they tasted good...john really thought they were great so he ate 6 pancakes.

today is also heroes day in Kenya ...most kenyans get the day off...but we do not. I start language school in 9 minutes and the kids start school in a little over an hour. I do hope to figure out a little more about heroes day as we really don't know much about it....

fried foods

so we are realizing with our kenyan lunches that the use of cooking oil is high on the list of ingredients for any and every meal. At our traditional sunday night treat of Mummies fast food is all deep fat fried...the fries, the samosas and the sausages. this week on my mummies stop I saw some things that looked a little like doughnuts. but as with my experience on other "treasure hunts" I have learned to ask questions to gain understanding. so here is the conversation....

ME "ah sir"

HE" yes..."

ME "I was wondering what these things here are (pointing to good sized round objects)"

HE "doughnuts"

ME "oh" still not totally convinced, "so it is like just bits of dough that you put in there" Pointing to the deep fat frier that would make a small MacDonalds proud.

HE "yes...yes."

so there you have it...I will tell you that it looked like the doughnuts may have been in the display case for a few hours and having filled my weekly quota of grease for the week already at lunch, I passed on trying one....this time.

kids

here's a new favorite picture of the kids. enjoy!!

language learning

We began formal language learning on Monday, October 10. Our teacher, Elias, normally teaches at a school in Nairobi. He has been teaching kiswahili for 19 years. He came to Narok on Sunday when Kevin met him at the guest house and showed him how to get to our house. This week, our schedule has been me meeting with Elias from 8-10am, breaking for chai from 10 to 10:30am. Kevin meets with Elias from 10:30-12:30pm. We have a lunch break from 12:30-2:00pm. Jackline cooks Kenya lunch for all of us and we eat then have time to put the kids down for naps before starting back up at 2:00pm with Elias. Both Kevin and I meet with Elias from 2-4:00pm while the kids are mostly sleeping. At 4:00pm, we have chai before Elias returns to his guest house for the night. Kevin has been doing school with the kids form 9-10am and then I finish up from 10:30-12.

We have had a couple opportunities to get into town and practice as well. We're looking forward to going to town on Saturday and getting some things taken care of as well as practice what we've learned this week.

After our brownie failure last Friday, the kids and I made snickerdoodles today and are hoping for a better turn out. We seem to be going through flour a lot faster here then we do in the States. I guess that's not surprising though. However, I have found that before making pizza dough for dinner tonight, I'm going to have to make a trip to Naivas for some flour.

This week has been good. It's felt productive and we seem to be closer to knowing Swahili than we were last week. We'll see how much we remember come Monday!

Treasure Hunt

I was dropped in town....

From this point I began my "treasure hunt" for a sink stopper for the kitchen sink. Stop 1. small shop that is labeled "hardware"...

(greetings)

ME "...so I was wondering if maybe you have a rubber stopper for a sink drain...it is something that will hold water in the sink and not allow it to go down the drain..."

HE "ahhhhhh...do you need the whole sink?"

ME" no...all that I need is something that will stop the water from leaving the sink."

HE " ahhhh yes we have." then he motions to a fellow worker who he directs as to where the box of stoppers is all in Swahili. Once this guy finds the right box in the stack of boxes, he pulls some small stopper.

ME"...okay, I was thinking of maybe one that is bigger...do you have anything like that? "

HE "ahhhh no"

so I say my farewell and leave shop #1...

Walking down the street I find hardware shop # 2 just opening for the day

(greeting everyone there as I am not sure who is the actually person at this shop who could help me)

ME "....so who is the owner of this shop?"

SHE (no english only swahili)" ....it is me"

ME" ...so I was wondering if maybe you have a rubber stopper for a sink drain...it is something that will hold water in the sink and not allow it to go down the drain..."

SHE (blank stare) "aaaaaaa...the name of it is?"

ME "all that I need is something that will stop the water from leaving the sink."

SHE (seemingly relieved that another man was joining us in the conversation) " he will show you"

HE "yes yes...I will take you"

and he does take me to shop #3

I walk in...

HE "ahhh yes what do you need?"

ME"...so I was wondering if maybe you have a rubber stopper for a sink drain...it is something that will hold water in the sink and not allow it to go down the drain..."

HE " yes, we have....what size do you need?"

ME " I need a bigger drain plug if you have it"

HE "like maybe 4 inch"

ME "sure...let me see it"

he motions to a man who brings forth a plastic cap to cap off a 4inch pipe

ME " no no...ahhh...this is not it...I am looking for something that is made of rubber that you place in a sink so that water will not drain from it."

HE "oh... oh... ya, we don't have."

so the search continues.....

small town

I caught a ride into town from jordan who was headed to work...he dropped me in the middle of town. At this point I started my "treasure hunt" (separate post on "treasure hunt"). Shortly after the treasure hunt, I was walking down a street when I saw a nice Surf (this is a car). It looked like one of maybe 15 in narok...but nicer than 90% of the cars in narok so I looked around for who may be the owner. That is when I spotted Tim...So of course I greeted him and conversed for a few minutes. And he was able to send me in the direction of Lorna's shop that we had been looking for 4 or 5 times never finding it until today. so I stopped by there for a few more minutes of conversation and then went off to the local super market.

monkeys again

yes it happened again about lunch time there were monkeys out of our kitchen window. They took the next hour and a half to go across the edge of the yard and several began playing in a tree that was close to our yard. we put the kids down for a nap....and about 20 minutes after they went to sleep we hard them jumping on our second floor porch. so danielle and I went to go check them out...took some pictures....and then realized we were "the exhibit" as the monkeys were free and we were in the glass and rock enclosure.

will the monkeys get old? Well maybe...

we also had a walk into town today with the family and the kids did really well...J and E both got a sausage from Mr.super duka. we also found some chili peppers and saw some huge carrots. all in all about 2 miles of walking . the kids only started complaining in the last half mile...good job to them.

We are thinking that we may go to an english church service...it will be earlier in both the start time as well as the let out time so it may work better for our schedule, and we are thinking that we'd like to understand a bit more of the service that we have in the last 4 Sundays.

sweets

Sweet things are less common here in Kenya. If you know me (Danielle), you know I have a sweet tooth. So, it shouldn't be too surprising that only after being in our house for a few days, I was making a cake. E and I had bought a pineapple at the market so Pineapple Upside-down Cake seemed like a good option. I began making it when our house-helper, Jackline, asked me what I was preparing. I invited her to help me which meant she read the recipe and watched me. I also offered her a piece when it was finished so she good try our creation. I usually don't measure precisely when I'm baking except for things like baking powder/soda. Also, some things are a little different here, like brown sugar, so I will probably measure more than "normal" for a bit until I get used to things here. While I was measuring the baking powder, Jackline told me that Africans think that's a waste of time, the measuring. Well, actually, I do too but I want my cake to turn out, so for now, I"ll measure.

The pineapple upside-down cake turned out wonderfully and we were able to share it with our teammates Tim and Liz on Friday night during out scheduled electricity outage. We couldn't see it real well, but it tasted wonderfully!

I also got some zucchini at the market so zucchini bread is sounding pretty good!

the weekend...

this weekend was a nice, slow, relaxing time.

On Saturday Kevin, E and J all went for a hike with Jordan and B as well as Tim and Liz. the destination was the river that runs thru town...but upstream from town where it is still a little cleaner. Upon our arrival we waded into the freezing cold water. Tim commented about the fact that it was African water at the temperature that you would imagine to be closer to Canadian water. this didn't stop B from stripping down and getting in. Tim, Jordan and Kevin rolled up our trousers and waded in and E pulled up her skirt enough to get her knees wet. J and Liz took to eating the bananas that we had brought and sitting on the bank watching the rest of us. Eventually, J stripped down to his shirt and stepped into the water for a minute. After about 45 mins of fun we hiked back.

On Sunday we went to church...the Swahili service so that we can work on picking out words that we know as well as get the pace and tone of the language. There were about 75 people in this service and one of a handful of visitors. each of whom get the chance during the service to introduce ourselves to the congregation and be welcomed. it is at this point everyone know how little Swahilli we can speak and often a translator is provided for us (as well as being told about the English service that they have). So the 10:30- 12 service ended about 1:15 or so and we walked home to get PB and J sandwiches and get the kids down for a nap. After lunch there were about 8-9 monkeys that were playing on our fence that we took a little bit of time to watch.

What to eat for meals this is still a little bit of a challenge for us as to having the right stuff and working in the time to make it (with what is locally available). So we had an evening meal from Mummy's Fast Food. Kevin walked to town (30 mins) did a bit of quick grocery store shopping for the things needed for breakfast on Monday. Then to Mummy's....the ordering is the fastest part...samosas 8....chips 3....sausages 2. then the line to pick up the food (15 mins). on the way home Kevin saw the banana guy (bananas in his wheel borrow) and bought bananas. headed back home uphill (45mins). not noted with in the trip are the people who wanted to talk to Kevin, or the friends that Kevin saw on the way (45mins) so Mummy's Fast food only takes about 2.5 hours.

all in a weekend...

in kenya now

it has been so long sice updating that now we are in kenya and doing well. We are in what many call the "honeymoon period" where everything is new and automatically good and wonderful. Over the next few posts, perhaps you will see the highlights of our lives in Kenya.

highlight number 1: the animals-

Even on our way out of nairobi to narok, the kids and danielle got to see baboons, various birds and several herds of dom

esticated animals...all of which drew a lot of excitement and anticipation of the next sighting.

Just after moving to our home here in Narok, we spoted some monkeys just up the street...how good and wonderful. a couple of days later...they were right on our front porch.

Our new home has a great view, we can see across the river, but in a lot of ways it is nearly resort quality views of plant life. with such wonderful plants and trees, there is a draw for the birds. And the variety of the birds is amazing.

We have even spotted several animals that we don't know. one little guy that we have seen a couple of times is a furry little fellow that is about 4 inches tall at the shoulder and about a foot long, with fur and four legs. could it be a ferret? or something else?

So in all of this we are amazed by our surroundings, but fully aware of the need for us to get back to studying. Our formal language teacher isn't arriving until the 10th of OCT so for the present we are self teaching. Our focus has been on vocab as nearly anyone will correct how you say something so our helpers are nearly endless. we anticipate a time when we will get more interaction than flashcards and will get to begin to understand the grammar of Swahili.

leaving

Tomorrow we board a plane and head for Kenya (actually, for Detroit, then Amsterdam, then Kenya). All of our checked bags are packed and weighing 50-52lbs each. All that is left will/should/hopefully fits in our carry-ons and hopefully doesn't weigh a ridiculous amount. We left our house on Wednesday, Sept. 7th and have been spending time together as a family on a vacation of sorts. We are staying in a hotel, doing some fun things like going to the beach, using up gift cards, going putt-putt, swimming in the hotel pool, and watching movies. It's really just some emotional downtime between saying our goodbyes and our hellos. E and J are sharing the pull-out couch while M sleeps in a pack-n-play in a closet. Kevin and I have a separate bedroom. We have been making phone calls, saying our last goodbyes, and skyping with the grandparents for the last time this side of the pond. It's still a bit surreal and hard to believe we're moving to another country. It'll eventually sink in though, right?

goodbye

We find ourselves in the place where we are just weeks from leaving and the family have had their last visits. For the foster side this means that we will chat on the phone, use skype and look forward to a non specific time in about 2 years time when we will be in the same room again as Grandpa and grandma...not an idea of when we may see the aunts and uncles and cousins. For the Ladd side it is looking to be a hard transition as well. Nana has been able to fly down every few months...just to see the kids as they grow. we look forward to seeing them in a year or so...

this is the first time that I (Kevin) have felt like this "chosen" life has been a sacrifice.

we miss you Foster and Ladd families even as we know that we have your full support and sadness as we leave.