Addition to last post

After hitting the Publish Post button on my last post I realized I forgot something very important! I am asking you to please pray for Margaret and her family. You'll have to read the next post to find out why and how. Thanks so much!!

What we take for granted...

Several months ago a gate guard told me that the mom of our gate guard, Evans, was very sick but that he was having trouble coming up with the money to get upcountry to see her. He said he had helped Evans as much as he could, so Robb and I decided to give Evans some money so he could visit her. Last month Evans handed us a letter that he had had someone write for him (he did not get to go to school so he speaks very broken English and does not know how to read or write English.) His brother had died and he again needed money to go upcountry for the funeral. Of course we gave him money again. Not only has he been wonderful with Micah and all the other kids but these were the only two times he has asked us for money. We have been bombarded by some people with various "needs", so there is always the question of when to give and when not to give. As a book is aptly named, "When Helping Hurts", always giving when asked is not always helpful.

I recently learned that Evans is married but his wife lives upcountry. I do not know if he has kids. When in Nairobi, Evans lives in Kibera slum. He often works 6 days a week, 12 or 13 hour days, and goes home to visit his family every three or four months! It is quite common for people to leave their families and move to Nairobi with the hopes of getting a job. They then send almost all the money they earn to their family upcountry. It is most sad for me to hear of single moms who must leave their children for lengths of time in order to make money to live on, as one of our neighbor's house help lady shared with me.

Lastly, and most sad, is our friend Margaret (or Mama Samaki [fish] as she often calls herself) who sells us tilapia fillets. She also leaves her family upcountry to sell fish here in Nairobi, and also lives in Kibera slum. Anyway, she had a baby boy last August or September and named him Dick after an American pastor/missionary who was here for several years. I believe Dick was her 6th biological child, giving them seven children. (Margaret and her husband took in a young homeless boy about 10 years ago and made him part of their family.) Margaret was concerned when she found out she was pregnant first of all because she had been "closed up" after her last child, but also because she is in her mid-40's.

Dick's delivery was fine for the most part. Margaret however was "paining" internally for months after the delivery as she had had a "student doctor" who did not perform something correctly (probably also the problem with her supposed hysterectomy.)

Margaret brought Dick to Nairobi last November, which is when I got to meet him. He was a very alert, happy, smiley baby. She had also brought two of her daughters and one son to help her with the baby and selling fish.

Margaret called me last week to tell me that Dick was gone, he had died. Since she was calling me from upcountry I could not hear her well so I do not know exactly what happened to him. Margaret is a very strong believer and we have had some wonderful conversations about the Lord and His Word! Margaret was trying so hard to be strong, saying that "the Lord knows", "He is still good", etc. When I finally asked her how she is doing she said she is not strong and to please pray for her to be strong.

These few incidents caused me to reflect on the things we take for granted. First of all, we typically do not have to leave our family in order to earn money to survive. Secondly, we can usually find money somewhere to go visit a sick family member or attend a funeral. Also, we rarely give a second thought to the quality of medical care we receive. Training to become a doctor here requires far fewer years than training to become a doctor in the US. Lastly, when we or a family member gets sick, we typically have insurance and/or the money to see a doctor, and we have access to specialists, like a pediatrician. Here, if you do not have insurance or money to go to a non-profit or private hospital you must go to an overcrowded clinic or a state-run hospital where you do not have a choice as to which doctor you see, licensed or not.

What I have often seen in people like Margaret is a strong, unwavering faith in God. It seems that the harder life is (from my perspective!), and the fewer conveniences and benefits and opportunities one has the more room there is for the Lord. Not only to trust Him to provide regardless of what that looks like, but also to rely on Him more, to know Him more, to truly live in Him, and especially to experience His love in a way far different from how we might in America. What a lesson, and conviction, this has been for me!

Giraffe and Fruit of AIMs labor

Two weeks ago Robb and I went to Naivasha which is in the Rift Valley about two hours north of Nairobi. We cleansed our lungs with clean, fresh air, and got reacquainted with quiet. We ventured out to Crescent Island Wildlife Sanctuary, which incidentally hasn’t been an island since 1988 when Lake Naivasha’s water level dropped enough so that the island was then connected to the mainland! It is a sanctuary for wildebeest, gazelle, water buck, zebra, giraffe, buffalo, hyenas, aardvarks (did you know that aardvarks live only in Africa and are nocturnal? I love the internet!), over 200 birds, and many others.

This post is not intended to be a geography or history lesson, but I thought you might enjoy a few fun facts! Before I go into the intended topic of this post I must say a little something about the animals! Joshaphat, our guide on the island, walked us around for about two hours during which time we were up close and almost personal with wildebeest, gazelle, zebra, water buck, and…giraffe!!

We certainly didn’t get close enough to the giraffe for them to eat out of our hands like at the Giraffe Center in Nairobi where the giraffe are more or less tame. I’m sure the giraffe on Crescent Island have grown accustomed to seeing people walking around, however they’re still wild! We watched four adolescents eating leaves from acacia trees then observed very big Mama Giraffe emerge a little way off and just stand there glaring at us as the “kids” ran to her. What an amazing sight!!

Back to the point of this post! In addition to asking Joshaphat, our guide, many questions about the animals and the island, I also enquired about him! Is he married? No, but he has a girlfriend whom he will be marrying next year. Is he from Naivasha? No, he comes here from his village up north every two months to work. What tribe is he from? Maasai. I mentioned that we see many Maasai in Nairobi still wearing their various patterned red shukas (coverings or large cloths) with a rungu stick hanging from their waists and some even carrying a spear. Joshaphat laughed as he told us that we wouldn’t recognize him if we came to his village because he dresses completely traditional when he is at home. (Unfortunately, we only have a picture of his back!)

Because it was a Sunday and we could hear a church service across the lake, I asked him if he has to work every Sunday and miss church. eHe said Yes. Somehow the conversation turned to AIM and the AIC (Africa Inland Church). When Robb explained the relationship between AIM and AIC, Joshaphat excitedly shared with us that he belongs to an AIC church which is one of three AIC churches in the area of his village which were all started by an AIC Kikuyu missionary.

Robb and I were encouraged on several levels. First of all, the missionary who planted these churches is from here – not only an African reaching Africans but a missionary from the Kikuyu tribe reaching the Maasai tribe! This is one of the very things about AIM that we appreciate. Not all positions allow for this, but as Robb likes to say, “western missionaries should work themselves out of a job”, by training, equipping, and moving on!

The second encouraging thing was to hear that the AIC church is successfully raising up national missionaries and sending them out. Lastly, AIMs ultimate goal is being fulfilled: Christ-centered churches among all African peoples. It was not a coincidence that Joshaphat was our guide!

Clothe yourselves

I've realized that lately I'm spending more and more time standing in front of my closet deciding what to wear. This is the result of not bringing a lot of clothes when we moved here, many of them are now really stretched out and/or faded from hanging on the clothesline, and only buying a few new-to-me tops from a market since we've arrived.

As I read this verse the other day, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience" Colossians 3:12, I got to thinking about the process of clothing myself. How does the time I spend choosing clothes for the day (especially when I go to Tumaini) - what matches, what is appropriate for my plans for the day, what is appropriate for the weather, etc. - compare with the time I spend clothing myself according to Colossians 3:12?

How much time do I spend putting on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, and if I do put them on, how long before I either change them or forget that I am "wearing" them? How do I present them to others (do they match and are they appropriate), and how do they come across to others? Do I "wear" them for everyone, just for certain people or when I feel I should or have to? As I consider each item, which do I neglect to put on or which do I change for each "event"?

On examining these, I observe that, while they all have definitely been "worn", patience and kindness are not showing as much "wear". I have come to realize that the times I am usually without these items is while driving, when people unexpectedly come to my gate (often while I'm trying to get something done), and when I am tired or frustrated! I am of equal opportunity, so while Robb and even Micah may experience me without these, others are not exempt!

I am one of God's chosen, holy and dearly loved! Hallelujah!!! However, I am His chosen one, holy and dearly loved ONLY by and through the sacrifice of Jesus! Does how I present myself to others outwardly not pale in comparison to how I should present myself to others inwardly?

Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Are these not attributes of Jesus? Therefore, I must clothe myself with Jesus every day!! Thankfully, I know that the next time I stand in front of my closet deciding which clothes to wear, I will first clothe myself with Jesus, and try my hardest never to remove Him!

"Mommy, look!"

The other day Micah stepped out the back door and said excitedly, "Mommy, look! A new flower moved in!"

A Day Trip to Machakos

As many of you probably remember, way back in July 2009 we went to ABO (Africa Based Orientation) in Machakos. This is a small, busy little town that is actually kind of fun so about a month ago we decided to head over there for a Saturday family outing .
One of the main roads in Machakos.
As we were heading to a big outdoor market we saw boxes of cute, fuzzy, little chicks! Micah LOVED them! I think he picked up at least 20 of them, talked to them, and gave them little hugs!
The very bright, very busy market.
Typical boy, Micah was enthralled by the arrows he found. A few booths away...a goat-skin covered quiver! Now he was all set to try out the wood and rope bow a missionary kid passed on to him before he left.
It seems that everywhere we go someone always gives something to Micah. He has 4 or 5 beaded or leather Maasai bracelets, he's been given mangoes, bananas, "sweets" (candy), "biscuits" (cookies). etc. On one particular street Micah took interest in some people putting together flower arrangements. So of course, they gave him a flower!

A fun, long day!

Reverend Robb??!!

About a month ago some Kenyan friends (Harrison and Mary Makau) who live in San Diego came here to visit their families and friends. We got to spend some time with them and many family members the day of their arrival, and they said it would be fine for us to join them when they would be going to the village where Harrison grew up.

When Harrison called to let us know when and where to meet them he also asked Robb if he would preach at the church (AIC Yakamete) where Harrison grew up. We have heard many times since we've been here in Kenya that you should always have a message ready to preach. To most people here, missionary=preacher, whether you are a preacher, a pilot, a doctor, or a Human Resource General Manager! Although this is way out of Robb's comfort zone, he graciously agreed.

Harrison asked us to meet at his brother's house where they were staying at 7:30am. We were about 20 mins late, which felt uncomfortable for us but we agreed in the car that we were just on Kenyan time!

When we got there no one from Harrison's US family was downstairs yet so we talked with the others, ate a little breakfast and waited. They came down about 8:15am and Harrison was getting a bit anxious about the time. He said that we had to leave at 8:30 to get there by 10am when the service would start. Well, Mary had to have some tea and breakfast and talked him into leaving at 8:45am. We left a little after 9! Kenyan ways are not easily forgotten!

We got to the church at 10:30am, and could hear that they were all still worshipping inside. We entered the church and Robb was seated up front with the pastor while the rest of us were given a bench in the first row. The singing and dancing continued for another 20 minutes. After announcements, we were all brought up front and we introduced ourselves. Next was the offering, then the youth did some singing and dancing. There were more announcements, then they had a harambee or auction of items people brought for their tithes and offerings if they didn't have money. This was kind of fun, but it took 1-1/2 hours to auction off TONS of pumpkins, avocados, beans, corn, sugar cane, sweet bananas, cassava root, eggs, handmade ropes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and...chickens! Yes, live chickens! I'm kind of an animal rights non-activist so you can imagine the hard time I had with the chickens lying on the floor, feet tied together and shoved into plastic bags!

The elders and congregation were soooo generous and TONS of stuff was given to Harrison and his family and to us by people who had won the bids (it is also cultural to give to visitors). The Makaus had been given soooo much they had no idea what they were going to do with it all. We ended up with 3 huge pumpkins, a bag of tomatoes, a bag of bananas, 2 sugar canes, 3 pieces of cassava root, and a grocery bag full of sweet potatoes...and a chicken! All of this, including our chicken and a rooster were put into the back of our car.

We actually kept the chicken in our backyard for 3 days because we weren't sure what to do with it or how to tell Micah what the future held for it! It brought back many memories of my growing up as I brought it water and "cornmeal mush" (as my sisters and I used to call it!) twice a day. When the chicken poop all over the backyard got to be a little too much, Robb and I decided that we needed to give it to someone. We decided to give it to Evans, our "cul-de-sac" gate guard, believing he had the greatest need. He was shocked! The only condition was that he had to help me catch it!

Back to the Yakamete church service, after all of the items were auctioned off the youth did some more singing and dancing, and then finally Robb was able to preach! He didn't think he did very well, but I assured him that he did fine, especially considering that he had to wait for the pastor to translate each time he spoke!
Micah hung around outside, and as usual made tons of friends!

We got out of church at 1:45pm, and the pastor and some of the elders wanted us to stay for lunch. Harrison's family was already making lunch for us so they asked for us to at least stay for a soda! They asked Robb to come back soon, and incidentally the pastor has called several times asking when we will be joining them again!

We then drove to the property where Harrison grew up, and walked up to the church built on a plot of land Harrison's family donated in honor of their mom when she passed away. We met the pastor and elders there who also asked Robb to come speak at their church too! We then went back down to Harrison's house where we relaxed, ate lunch, and of course... drank chai!

We had the privilege of meeting Harrison's aunt, the oldest person in his whole family in her late 90's! Mary told Robb that this aunt wanted to "bless" him. She spit into her hand, rubbed it on Robb's forehead and then onto her chest. Next she stuck her hand out. Mary slyly handed Robb a 100/- shilling bill to give her. Words were exchanged in the tribe language, then Mary and the aunt started laughing hysterically! We all got a good laugh out of it at Robb's expense!


Micah had fun befriending a puppy
and some calves!

Somehow (heehee) it was 6:45pm when we got around to leaving, and we got home at 8:15pm! What a day, but also what an amazing experience! Thanks Harrison and Mary!