Catching Up

So much has happened in the past few days. It has been an absolute joy to have friends here, especially Danette and Nan. It's also been a tremendous blessing to get to know other team members better. They have blessed me by simply being here.

On Thanksgiving, Nan and I helped Richard (our cook) to prepare a wonderful Thanksgiving meal for the team and about 20 Kenyans. (Allison and Juli also baked some things for dessert.) We had a great Thanksgiving meal, complete with a turkey (baked in a charcoal oven), cranberry sauce (which I hunted down in Nairobi), and green bean casserole (made with spinach instead of beans!) My favorite dessert was Nan's pumpkin marble dessert. With whipped cream, even. It felt for a moment like we were somewhere in America.

This week, I received some very exciting news. I've been accepted into a graduate program at BGU and will start classes in February! It's a part-time program, and my first class will actually be offered in Nairobi. It's called "Signs of Hope in Africa." In June, I'll have to travel to Seattle for a couple weeks' classes. Most of the work will be by correspondence, though, so it's going to be a good challenge. A scary one in many ways, too, but I'm excited about the opportunity God has brought my way.

The week wasn't without it's challenges, though. Yesterday, as I was driving the team from Kipkaren to Ilula, I heard a knocking sound in my car's engine, and then it died. Since I had just had a major service two weeks ago, I hadn't thought of checking the water before the journey. But it turns out that the insulation between the radiator and the cooler was worn, and thanks to our incredibly uneven roads, the two had been rubbing against each other, causing the tiniest hole in the radiator. The water's been leaking without me realizing it. Bottom line: I spent all of today at the mechanics in Eldoret getting several things fixed. The piston rings had to be replaced, and the gasket head, and two other smaller parts which I cannot remember the names of. The good news, though, is that the engine is fine. The water and oil didn't mix. The pistons are fine. And I got the parts for $600 less than I was first quoted yesterday... In as much as I'm still upset about this unexpected expense, I am very thankful that it turned out to be cheaper than it could've been.

So while my friends were doing a women's conference today and playing with the kids, I was hanging out with the mechanics, staring into my engine for more hours than I ever care to do again. But since it was a new mechanic (though known to my colleague Maru), I thought it best to hang around and watch what they're doing.

Tonight, Melody (one of the team members) had a session for the adolescent girls. Jennifer, the team doctor, also joined, as did Danette, and we ended up fielding a plethora of rather intriguing questions which I won't repeat here. :) It helped that there was no power. In fact, I wanted to turn my lamp down a bit, too, and accidentally killed the flame in the process, but immediately realized the girls were much more talkative when we couldn't see their faces!

What else? I'm really praying that my colleague Mary will have her baby tonight! Jennifer and Danette are happy to assist, and Mary herself says she'd rather have them deliver the baby at her house than have to drive on our bumpy roads while in labor! That would be a fun treat to help deliver a friend's baby!

On that note, I need to head to bed. It's been a grueling two days, and I'd like to be coherent tomorrow.

With love from Ilula,
Me

A Walk in the Forest

A walk in the forest, originally uploaded by Boyznberry.

I'm back from the forest. After getting up at 5:30 on Thursday to make coffee for the team that was leaving, I got my things together, loaded the car, and took off for the forest with 11 other staff members from our home-based care ministry. This is the team that runs ELI's AIDS ministry, but also cares for anyone in our extended community who needs someone to walk the journey with them. People like the Sifunas, or like Hannah, or Lillian, the mom with the twins.

I'm not part of that team, but I went along to assist with facilitating some of the sessions. The purpose of the weekend was to rest, to reflect, and to plan ahead. And we did all of that, and more. We laughed, got to know each other, we ate good food and shared stories.

It was so much fun to discover what things my Kenyan colleagues simply weren't used to. Understandably, they had no idea which knives and forks to use, which side plate was theirs, or which glass. But everyone was keen to learn! They asked the waiters to teach them to fold napkins, and they wondered aloud about the strange dishes that showed up. In fact, on our ride home, Meshak wanted to know if it's really monkey meat we ate at breakfast. I assured him that bacon was from pigs, not monkeys like his friends told him... He--and several others--had never had bacon before. Nor salad, pie, or sauerkraut.

So it was quite an adventure for them. So much so that some are talking about saving 20/= a day all of next year so they can go back there by themselves at the end of the year... (That's just more than a quarter a day.)

I love it about this team. They had fun, and they had no qualms showing it. They worked hard, like they always do, and came up with even loftier goals for next year. They want to see more people tested for HIV, more people helped. Most of them can find higher-paying jobs in other places, but they choose to stay and serve here because of the immense job satisfaction. And it shows.

We played Jenga our first night, combining it with answering questions about yourself after you jengad. (Jenga is Swahili for build, so here, we use the word as a verb while playing the game.) And if someone toppled the tower, they were showered with any and all questions people may want to ask.

By the time the generator was switched off, we continued the game by candlelight and flashlight.

Same last night. They watched a movie (I went to bed early) and played Scrabble, Chinese solitaire and Uno till way after midnight.

This morning, we did some fun team building activities where I had everyone blindfolded, trying to make a square. It's always fun to do these activities, but what's even more fun is to do the debriefing afterwards. "Who was the leader? Why did others take over? Why did you not listen to that person's advice?" and so on and so forth. Learn through play.

Oh, and yesterday, Juli had us all go out and spend time reflecting on "Thus far, the LORD has helped us," (1 Sam. 7:12) by drawing stones with people or event names in them. And so, throughout the various events, people shared some of the stories from their stones, and I wrote the names from their stone stories on rocks I had collected from the forest. We brought them back as a reminder of what God has done.

We concluded our time together with a time of affirmation. Though we thought it would take perhaps an hour or two, we spent almost five hours (!) sharing what we appreciated about one another. I can attest to the difference it has already made in relationships, simply because people could share their hearts. In fact, during the ride home, everyone in my car was involved in a VERY heated discussion about Christ and culture because of something that was said during the afternoon session. It was exhilarating to be a part of the ride home, to hear people's hearts, to be able to share some of my heart with them, too.

By the time I dropped everyone at home tonight and Maru's children ran and threw their arms around their dad, my heart was smiling.

I had made some good friends this weekend. I got to know an amazing team, and they got to know me a bit, too. I discovered that some of them had been a bit afraid of me before, because, I'm told, I have high standards. But spending these days together, sharing, laughing, praying, eating, having communion, made us a stronger team. Even though I'm technically not a part of their team.

Click on the picture to see more photos from the weekend.

Eating Termites, Stuck in the Mud, and Team Time

There's been a team here from APU, so my days have been filled hosting the eight students. It's been an amazing time, both in working with my Kenyan colleagues as well as with the team from APU. They have brought much laughter to our compound! For example, tonight, during dinner, a termite kept flying around my head. I finally caught it, just as Laban was telling some of the girls how Kenyans love eating termites. So I put the termite by his plate, and he went right ahead and ate it, wings and all. This, of course, made everyone go "Eeeewww!" and within minutes, the guys on the team had caught and eaten their own.

Here are a few pictures of the team that I took on Sunday, as some colleagues and I took them to a nearby spot (Kerio View) for some R&R.

But this day had several more fun and exciting moments. It started with doing kick-boxing, thanks to Diana, one of the team leaders. She's a fitness instructor, and today's workout was the second morning session we girls have had. What fun. And torture. But I must admit, it feels good to get a good workout again! (I'm hoping she'll show me some stuff I can do on my own before she leaves.)

While the team was working on a project this morning, I took two other APU guests to town. George Bache (Director of the Institute of Outreach Ministries at APU) and his wife have been visiting some of the university's teams, and they moved on to Kipkaren today, to see what ELI is doing there as well as to visit their friend Kierra. I took them to the market to experience "Kenya behind the scenes" and then handed them off to the Kipkaren staff. By the time I left town, having picked up some of the people I had earlier dropped off at various spots around town, I headed home on a very muddy road and a not-so-heavy vehicle. Everything would've been OK, but there was a vehicle stuck in the mud, so I ended up having to back up in thick mud and pass on the shoulder of the road. It was the closest I ever got to being stuck so far! Phew!

And no, I still don't have my car back. I got a quote today for the repair of the gear box as well as other parts that are in critical condition: just short of $4,000. Ouch! I had budgeted $3,000 for car repairs for the year, and that was depleted in my first major service in January. I am really, really trusting that these two major services will be the last for a while. That's what you get for having an 11-year-old vehicle that's always been driven in extreme conditions. Selah.

About Flannel: Right now, she's finally calming down after what seemed like an hour of kitten extreme sports: dive bombing into my mosquito nets, running laps through my home, chasing anything and everything, scattering her cat litter all over my bathroom floor, chewing on my hands and on any cables she could lay her teeth on before I'd see and snag them from her.

It's time to sleep. The rain has finally stopped for a while. It rained for much of today, right now, you can hear tons of crickets outside my window. And frogs. What better sounds to fall asleep to.

Wise Words from the Elderly

The old man shuffled into the mud living room. I stood up to greet him, respectfully holding my right arm with my left hand as I shook his hand. He wore a suit for the visit. And a felt hat. We quickly made room for him to sit, but not before he shook hands with every person on the team.

I was on a home visit with the visiting team from APU, and we were at the home of two of our staff members, Mark Tarus and Sally. Sally's daughter Damaris introduced us to her grandfather. "He's 104," she told us. (Someone later said he's almost 100, so I'm not entirely sure how old he is. But he's old. Very old.)

The team started asking Agui (grandfather) questions, which Damaris translated back and forth.

"If you could impart any wisdom to us, what would it be?" Adriel wanted to know.

"Serve God. Live a good life."

"What should we eat to become as old as you?"

"Eat whatever you want. Enjoy life."

"Should we eat ugali?" Zach asked.

"You wazungu don't eat ugali."

We laughed at his spunk, and when Gogo (grandma) came in with three thermos flasks full of chai, she joined him on the couch.

"Tell us how you met," I asked.

Sally stepped into the room with trays full of cups. "They are old. In our culture, in their day, their parents decided who they will marry. Both of them have always lived in this area, so their parents knew each other."

"You mean to tell me," I joked, "it's not that you noticed the handsome young man tending cattle in the field?" Gogo croaked with laughter. Agui gave just a chuckle.

They told us about their wedding, about the years when she was brewing alcohol, of how she got to know Jesus and introduced him to Christ, too, how they've been serving God for the last 30 years.

We asked about their ear piercings, and Damaris was sent to fetch an old, wooden container with arrows in it. Gogo demonstrated how they used the arrows to cut their ears, and how they would insert wooden rings in them week after week to stretch the ears. "Some of my friends had ears that hung to their chests," she chuckled.

After we shared some Bible verses with them and prayed for their family, we walked home, blessed by the time in their home.

We were invited in to another house on our way home. "Adele, come on in!" I honestly didn't think I knew the neighbor, but we went in to meet his family. His name was Timothy, ("You can call me Tim-Tim.") and he wants me to come and preach at a youth event tomorrow.

"Maybe another time," I explained. "I have commitments with the team tomorrow."

And that was but a two-hour snippet from our day. It's been a good day. A day full of opportunities to bless and to be blessed.

Tuesday night in Kipkaren

The retreat in Rondo was incredible! I had considered doing all kinds of activities but went back to the question, "Why am I taking the management team on a retreat?" It was for us to get to know one another. And so we ended up just having fun. We arrived before lunch on Sunday. I told everyone that they could choose if they'd like to go on an afternoon hike after lunch. Two of the guys decided to stay behind and rest, but the other two gave them a hard time about it, so we all ended up hiking for about almost three hours. We saw lots of monkeys (black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, and red tail monkeys), tons of butterflies, even a donkey. (OK, the donkey was on its way home through the forest. But it was the biggest animal we saw.) Oh, and lots of ants, too. Cocktail ants (small ants that are poisonous) and safari ants (bigger ones that are very aggressive). We had a guide that told us about the different plants, which ones have medicinal value, how the olive baboons use some trees to communicate by using it as a drum, how certain fungi can help improve your memory... We really had a great time of laughing and relaxing despite the tough hike. Stopped about halfway. I had packed some cold soda for everyone, so we took a break and were refreshed.

Once we were back at the retreat center, we sat in the garden and prayed for one another, for the staff, and for ELI. It was a really neat time of ministry. After a really nice dinner, we headed back to our home for Jenga and Uno. I had printed a pack of questions, so everytime someone tossed a bean bag at you, you first had to draw a question, answer it, then jenga (build). (You could also choose to answer a question someone had drawn earlier.) If you let the tower fall, you had to answer a "Truth or Dare" question. We had a ton of fun! After that, we played Uno till the time that the solar power was turned off, and everyone headed to their rooms. I went to walk in the garden for a bit, just to appreciate the stars so deep in the forest. It's really breathtakingly beautiful!

I was the first one up and out of the door on Monday. The Kenyans really appreciated the opportunity to sleep in! I watched the sun rise, spent time doing my devotions in the garden, (hence the picture above) and once the gate into the forest was unlocked, I went to sit in the forest for a while, watching easily 100 red tail monkeys forage for food in the branches high above my head. One came down very close to me to come and pick up seeds from the ground... (They bury these seeds in one spot and let them rot a bit before eating them!)

After breakfast, everyone took time for devotions, where after we had a time of sharing. Many said how thankful they were to be able to get to know each other on a different level than they had ever known one another. Everyone wants to go back soon! (That won't be possible. It's very pricey!) I'd be happy to take them for day trips. Just can't sleep over as a group... :)

Had lunch in town, and then we all headed back to Kipkaren.

It was cool to run into some of the team on our grounds today, being able to relate on a level we've not related before. It was a good, good thing to go away with the team!

Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be heading back to Ilula.

Click here to see more photos of the time in the forest.

Thursday Night

I am heading to bed. Today, after we (the visiting team and I) got back from visiting a group of people whose lives have been transformed by God through ELI, I started feeling queezy. My body's aching and my tummy feels unpredictable. It may have been something in the chai or mandazi we had...

I'll upload pictures and stories tomorrow. Right now, I need to head to bed. I took some NightQuil. It should help.

The Juggle

This morning, after spending several hours in the office working on projects, I got to go and see my friends at the ELI Drug and Alcohol Rehab Center. I've been back in Kenya for a week now, and the times spent visiting and greeting people is far from over. Many others have invited me over for chai. I may have mentioned this before, but the driving value in Kenyan culture is relationship. (In the US? Entertainment/Leisure) So, unless you spend time visiting people and building strong relationships, your work might as well be in vain. It's simply not received well.

Let me tell you about the Ronos who are the directors of KAA (Kenya Anti-Alcohol). Pastor Philip (or simply, Rono) is younger than I, and for the past 8 years, he's been directing the KAA program. It started in 1999, when a visitor came. The man was a recovered alcoholic, and Rono was asked to take him around and be his translator. During that time, the visitor and others encouraged Rono to start an anti-alcohol ministry. He wanted nothing to do with it since he came from an house where alcohol was a problem. (He himself never was an alcoholic, though.)

But before the visitor left, God spoke clearly to Philip. “You’ll continue this ministry,” God told him. Philip says that he was scared at first, but God taught him and strengthened him. The first group to meet consisted of just 5 men and quickly grew to 18. When he started meetings across the river, there were 38 men who got saved from the grip of alcoholism. He then started meeting with officers at the nearby police station, and soon afterward, a group of soldiers at the Kenya Army Barracks.

Since that time, 1200 men and women have graduated from the Kenya Anti-Alcohol program. “But there are more,” Philip says. “Many of the men and women have helped others get free. I want to continue doing this ministry till the day I die. I have seen the hand of the Lord here. It is so moving to see the reconciliation between families when they come to visit for the first time after their husbands/fathers are sober!”

I love being able to work alongside people like the Ronos. They have an amazing heart to see people set free!

***
After coming back to Ilula, the team returned from Sudan. They were tired and ready for showers. I listened to their stories till our last visitor for the week arrived, a lady from Saddleback Church named Tammy. After dinner (and the usual post-dinner team meetings) I took Tammy to say good-night to some of the girls.

It was 10 by the time I got back to my home, and then I had to type up information from interviews (such as of the visit with the Ronos) for a project the home office is working on. It's after 11, and I'm ready to start heading to bed. I have a 5:30 am prayer commitment with Ruth, one of the moms at the home, 7:30 breakfast with the team, and then we're off to Kipkaren.

In Kipkaren, I get to track down the last of the staff whom I need to interview/photograph and will see what other opportunities God brings. If nothing (and if the team doesn't need my company), I have a very long list of tasks to tackle, including working on learning Swahili.

Friday we'll probably leave for Moi's Bridge/Natwana no later than 7:30 and we'll be at the AIDS campaign the ENTIRE day (and into the night), where I'll be taking photos and praying for those being tested.

I'll head back to Ilula early on Saturday morning, attend Laban and Angelina Rono's 25th wedding anniversary celebrations, whereafter I'm putting on the first-ever Ilula Birthday Bash. Since there are 100 kids, it's hard to celebrate birthdays. The moms had mentioned to me last year that they'd love to do a monthly celebration, but they're not sure how they can do it. We visited about it again last week and have come up with the plan to celebrate the first Saturday every month. Ruth (a mom) is baking a big cake. I've got cards for the 35 kids who've had their birthdays from January till April. And then we'll watch Happy Feet. Or Cars. Or Charlotte's Web. Not sure yet. The boys want to see "the movie about the cars that talk." The girls want to see "the one about the pig that can talk." I'm thinking I'm going to have to show them something else, just so no-one wins! :) And then I need to remember not to say much when the kids ask me what other movies I brought back... :)

In case you're concerned about me showing the kids movies and basing my relationship with them just on that, it's far from it. I was hesitant to start showing movies again right away, but the parents asked me to please show the children movies whenever I have time on Saturday afternoons. They say that the teachers at school have been commenting how good our children's English is, and what amazing stories they come up with for their creative writing assignments.

I've started showing the children one or two pictures I've taken of birds in the area. My goal is to create an awareness with them of the intricacies of God's creation, and show them what to look out for in identifying different birds. I'm hoping at least a few of them will realize what a wealth of bird life they have around them, and who knows, perhaps they might grow up to be game wardens in Kenya's parks. At least they'd know about the birds in this area, I hope. :)

Anyway, it'll probably be Saturday evening before I get to connect online.

As you can see, the lines between work and leisure are very blurred in my world, especially when teams are here. It's not like you can walk out of a late-night meeting or choose not to show up for early breakfast.

I'm babbling. It's late. I still need to pack for my 2 days in Kipkaren.

Lala salama. Or have a blessed day, wherever you may be.