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