My meetings and errands today took less time than I thought so I called Robb and asked if he had time to go to lunch, and he did! As we were headed down Ngong Road we reached the Create-a-Lane zone! This is where matatus and buses (and some cars and trucks) decide that they are more important than everyone else sitting in traffic so they make a second lane and drive down the middle of the road or even in the lane going in the opposite direction. First, we hear a knock, knock, knock on the side of our car. Directly next to us is a bus and the tout (man in vest who takes your money) is standing on the bus steps knocking on our car (yes, it was that close) and motioning to Robb to move over. Robb intentionally drives as close as possible to the line down the middle of the road (Robb vs. the buses and matatus!) and it ticks off the bus and matatu drivers and touts. Robb grabs the rungu stick (carved wood stick with bulb at the end that Maasai warriors carry) that we leave in the car and bangs on the bus a few times. The tout laughs as the bus moves into the opposite lane and pulls ahead. One minute later we hear a small scrape, the driver's sideview mirror pops in, and there is a bus literally inches away! Robb grabs the rungu stick again and pounds on the bus a few times. (Please note: This is not road rage, it is merely road survival, though I prefer to use the horn!) Ahhhh, driving in Nairobi where it is each man or woman for him or herself!
I had several interesting incidents happen today that I just have to blog about. Unfortunately, I do not have any pics to help you visualize. Angie, Candace, and I (and Micah) headed out to Karen this morning to a 2-family sale. Typical of most family sales that I have gone to Micah "made out like a bandit" (to use the words of my since passed on grandfather)! I was hoping for household items, small furnishings, etc. I did though buy a set of queen sheets for $4 (in really good condition), a red (my color!) spatula/scraper, and a Sony DVD player for $33 (the woman selling it said that it works fine, they just have quite a few of them, this one was their son's and he's getting a new one and his own TV for his birthday! These missionaries are living better than we did at home!). Now we just need a TV! After that I took Micah to Tickles, a play place at Crossroads Mall in Karen where we often went during our homestay last July/August. I went into a couple of stores while he played for an hour, and as I approached Tickles to pick up Micah I realized that I did not have enough money to pay! This is the first incident of my day. Thankfully Joseph, the guy running Tickles, remembers us from our many visits last year, so I told him I needed to go to the ATM to get some money. I trek to the other side of the small mall to KCB bank only to discover that their ATMs are "being serviced" (as I was told by the security guard). As I look closer, servicing in this case meant a complete overhaul as the two ATMs were no longer in the wall! I tried my card in the three other bank ATMs at this mall but it was not accepted. By this time Micah is sitting on the stairs (with Joseph) waiting for me. I tell Joseph I could not get money so he directs me to the bank ATM I need in another building across the way. He tells me he trusts me since we've been coming for awhile. Thankfully, they don't hold your kid(s) ransom if you can't pay! We found the ATM and returned to pay! The next incident occured at the same mall when I pulled up to a fuel pump and waited, and waited, and waited for the attendant to come out. (You don't pump your own fuel here.) I finally got out and asked the men working in the service bays if they were pumping fuel today and they told me I needed to go to the other end (of a row of about 6 stand alone pumps.) The fuel attendant finally came out and told me the same thing so I moved my car to a pump at the other end and told him I wanted to fill up. He proceeded to wash my car windows as I commented to Micah that it sure would be quicker if he were also pumping fuel into our car at the same time! (FYI: It costs $46 to fill up the tank of our Subaru Forester - around $4.40/gallon! Yikes!) We finally headed back toward our neck of the city and stopped at Java House (a great coffee place) at Junction Mall (bigger, nicer than Crossroads) to get a bag of decaf coffee. As we headed back to our car I noticed that one of the front tires had a huge yellow metal wheel lock and chain on it! My mind began contemplating all the reasons why this might be, the most logical one (which means nothing here!) is that I shouldn't have parked where I did (even though it was a parking spot!) I go and find a security guard (every parking lot has many) but he tells me he just got there and that I need to go the small, one room security building at the entrance to the mall. On the way I come across another guard and question him. He motions to another guard who walks me the rest of the way to the security building. This guard says I drove on the landscaping on my way into the mall, and they think I was just in a hurry and didn't care, and drove through the landscaping! (I almost laugh as I picture me and Micah driving up over the curb, through the landscaping -plants flying, back down the curb and then tires squealing through the parking lot, just to get my decaf coffee, but I don't!) The guard tells me I need to go talk to the mall "caretaker" and apologize. I explained to the caretaker that I did not intentionally drive up the curb and through the plants (which, incidentally, was only the edge of some ice plant). I told him that I misjudged how much room I had when I was trying to pass a van which was stopped at the mall entrance and so accidentally went up onto the curb. I was sorry for crushing some plants. He asked the guard, "What is the damage?" Again, I want to laugh but am respectful. He decides to go see the damage himself. The guard comments to the caretaker that he thinks the plants will be fine once the landscaper comes out. The caretaker had me write my name and phone number on a piece of paper, and told me that if the landscaper decides the plants will not survive the damage they will call me and I will have to pay! I did take a couple of pics with my cell camera. On the way back to my car the guard mentions me that because I "had the right response" everything should be fine. He then tells me that if I had responded differently, if I "was yelling", then they "would have had to discipline me." Thank goodness I controlled myself, from laughing! All that because of a few "damaged" ice plant leaves, when I often see people walking through the landscaping! Par for the course! After removing the wheel lock (I so wish I had a camera!), the guard then said that he hopes I will continue to visit their mall to which I responded, "I guess it will depend on whether or not they make me pay for the plants!" Micah commented as we were driving away, "Whew, well that took a while!" Our last errand was to bring a scanner to Robb that he bought last weekend for HR. Thankfully this was uneventful and without incident! While we were in Robb's office though I noticed the view out his window looks at a huge billboard...advertising Guinness, Robb's favorite beer! (which he cannot have because we both signed a contract stating that we will not drink while serving with AIM!) How ironic!
Just finished Beth Moore's "A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place" today with the Bible study group I'm in. I'm not real keen on video Bible studies but I endured and was really challenged today. The premise of this study is learning about the Old Testament tabernacle and how it relates to us today. As you most likely know, the OT tabernacle was made up of the outer courtyard, the Holy place, and the Holy of holies where the ark of the covenant was kept. This last section was separated from the others with a huge veil, the veil which was torn when Christ died on the cross, making the final and ultimate sacrifice for all! Beth Moore wrote, "My friend, how He beckons you. How He longs for you to enter through the veil He tore for you. We have only this one experience to know Him as mortals. We can live our lives on the outer perimeters of our salvation, in Christ but not with Christ, or we can accept the challenge to enter and behold His glory!" "Can you live with the mediocrity of life in the outer court when you have been invited to dwell in the excellence of the innermost place? If you dare enter, you will never be the same. Nor will anyone around you." These are the words that challenged me, that have caused me to examine my life and realize that I have just been living day by day rather than embracing the life I have in Christ, and accepting and receiving all that He has for me. Sure, it's nice in the outer court. It's comfortable, and it's safe. As I consider dwelling there though, I see that for me it is a place of being lukewarm. It is where I spend my time looking around rather than up! We know what God says about being lukewarm!! I have a choice! Will I continue to allow my precious days to pass, leaving behind all of the blessings God had for me each day but I missed because I was busy just getting through the day, or will I choose to leave the comfort of mediocrity, pass straight through the Holy place and enter into His presence? "How deep you will allow God to draw you into His dwelling place is a choice only you can make." (Moore)
This is actually about yesterday, which was one of those days! I realized that so many missionary letters and blogs, including mine, are typically positive and fun, as if we are just shiny, happy people all the time! Well, believe it or not I am not shiny and happy all the time, but in fact, often feel dull and unhappy! (I am not sharing this to cause any kind of concern; I have more shiny, happy days than not!)
My flowers above perfectly illustrate my day! They were beautiful and smelled wonderful when I bought them THE DAY BEFORE! The pic above is what they looked like by the next afternoon! Now I know I shouldn't complain, they cost me all of $2.80! However, that is not the point! My day was not horrific, nothing catastrophic happened. Just enough little things to make it a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day (yes, we have a 4 year old!)
On the way back from driving Micah to school, I played a couple of games of chicken. You see, I just didn't have it in me to tolerate an inpatient, VIP (in his own mind) flashing his lights at me to move over as he is heading toward me in my lane because there is traffic in his lane! I decided I was not going to move over and he would just have to figure out some other selfish plan to get himself to wherever he was in such a hurry to get!
Now this one I'm tired of every day, but yesterday it seemed especially bothersome to me that all of my clothes are stretched out. I could embrace it and convince myself it is because I have lost weight so my clothes no longer fit, however that one doesn't fly when I am looking at sleeves that fall past my hands! Thankfully, I don't wear long sleeve shirts very often.
I went outside to check on Micah and saw Gigi riding Micah's bike, AGAIN!! First, let me provide you with an explanation. It appears to be a cultural thing here that all the kids just share everything, for the most part, until they break. If you are not riding your bike, or playing with your ball, or using your outside toys, it is free game for whoever wants to use them! Most of the kids in our cul-de-sac area have a bike, bought here, and I have seen them one by one break down, get repaired, break down again. We bought Micah's bike from a missionary family who was leaving, and it was bought in the states. Micah LOVES his bike and rides it every chance he gets. He has learned to ride without training wheels, and is even learning to do tricks (like a scramble, emphasis on the "-ble"). I do not want Micah's bike to get broken, nor do I want to continually bring his bike to be repaired and get shafted on the cost because I am not from here.
Well, considering my dull, unhappy kind of day, when I saw Gigi on Micah's bike I was done being Mrs Nice Guy and yelled at him, in front of all the kids. Now before you start feeling sorry for this kid, let me enlighten you! I have asked MANY times, in my shiny, happy way, that he (and others) please not ride Micah's bike. It is quite obvious that Gigi knows he is not supposed to ride it by the way he quickly jumps off when he sees me. He even goes so far as to tell Micah that he will be Micah's buddy if he can ride his bike! (Gigi is 5 or 6 years old, and Micah thinks he is the greatest thing on earth!) Lastly, Gigi has his own bike!
I absolutely believe that God is sovereign, He is in control of all things, He can do anything! As many of you know, our plan was for me to provide counseling at Tumaini once we got settled in and Micah is in school. Being an intern, I need a CA licensed supervisor to supervise me and sign off on my hours. It has been quite the roller coaster ride trying to figure out how I will receive supervision from across the globe!
I finally have secured a supervisor, and received a discouraging email from her yesterday. We are going back and forth with the Board of Behavioral Science as to whether I am indeed eligible for supervision via videoconferencing. They are not sure if I qualify since I am in a different country, not just a different state! It is not my burden, though I carry the frustration!
I am a missionary living in a city in a third world country, far away from family and friends, and chocolate chips, and good parmesan cheese, and smooth roads, and clothes dryers, and same pricing for everyone, and strong, consistent internet, and good black olives, and, and, and...
Well, I guess that's enough sharing of little things that contributed to my dull, unhappy day yesterday! I am pleased to say that today has been much better, I bought beautiful, healthy lavendar and white field daises (for $1.30), and tomorrow is Friday!
