Disconnected

I've had this post ready for a while, but surprise!, I haven't had my computer for two days! Wow, how did I survive, you ask? Gilmore Girls, lesson planning, and cleaning my room helped. Although now with lesson plans spread all over my bedroom floor, you would never know it had been cleaned... Anyways, here is the long awaited update!

Friday night was the first "Caring Community" night. All of the 7-12 graders are split up into groups of 8-10 (give or take a few) and sent to a staff house for about 1.5-2 hours to play games, eat, chat, do extra homework (ha..), etc. Jenny and I decided to do a Caring Comm. group together since.. two is better than one? And we decided to have our 8th grade girls, so 6 of them came over to my house, helped me build my first fire, and fried some flying ants before playing a few games and chatting just about nonstop

The Ants...

With the Butter...

Sizzle Ants, Sizzle...

dundundun...

Yumm :)

How did I obtain all of these bugs, you ask? Well, you know how in the States students bring the teachers apples? (Well not really, but let's pretend that it actually happens.) Here, my students have found out I eat bugs on occasion, so one of their favorite things to do is bring me bugs. These are flying ants, which are actually quite the popular treat around Kijabe! Apparently during 3rd term (May-Julyish) EVERYONE eats flying - you just stick them in oil, fry them, sprinkle some garlic or salt over them, and pop them like popcorn! Anyways, one of my 7th graders brought me a whole jar-full last week, so we put them to good use! :)

Saturday night was Variety Night - staff splits up and holds different events that the students can choose to do. Jenny and I hosted Rugby on the Upper Field. I've never played rugby in my life! We had originally planned on just playing game, but a rumor got out that it was rugby, so rugby we played! And let me tell you, it is quite the game!! I LOVE it. I'm craving it right now, in fact...

Skip forward to today. Exciting news, Daddy! You see, he's been wondering why I haven't taken any great pictures of monkeys with this monster lense he sent with me. I explained that every time we go to take pictures of monkeys, they're hiding. And every time we see them, our cameras are hiding. Well yesterday the world finally synched together, and I got some pictures of a monkey eating out of our trashcan! Not as close-up as we might like, but good enough for today :)
In case you're wondering, I'm still loving Africa. God has continued to bless me and grow me and challenge me, and I am so thankful for the opportunities that I've had and that lie ahead. Oh praise our Majestic God! :)

I've been excited about posting this all day. Silly, I know, but it means that in order to do so, I'd have to take a break from grading, and that is just a really happy thought :)

Yesterday Cassie, Jenny and I met Bernice up at Little Lambs to spend the afternoon with the precious children. I was quite a bit more excited this time since we know Bernice better, meaning we're less like "tourists" and more like guests coming to actually love on the children and start building relationships with them. We got there earlier than any of the adults, so we just sat in the yard talking to a couple of the kids - Mariam and Salome and Dorcas and William and Brian and Jeff - and learning a few new Kikuyu words. It was beautiful just sitting there in the African sunshine on the African grass, enjoying the African breeze and letting Mariam play with my hair... Beautiful :)

After a while, everyone started showing up - the women who run Little Lambs and the children - they all came walking up the steep hill waving at the crazy wazungu waiting to play with them. We just played for about an hour - watched them swing, pushed them in the swings, took their pictures (because they looove it... except for Dorcas...), tickled them (I told them all about how my Daddy used to tickle me mercilessly) and played with little Matchbox cars, some of which were exactly like some of the cars Marty and I used to always play with. Then we played some group games - tag, their version of duck duck goose (but they don't have a word for duck, or goose, or something, so you say other things...), a circly game (haha.. no idea how to describe it), a dancing game, and an "Ask My Lawyer" game... all so fun :)

When there are no seats left and you really want to swing...

Miriam was quite proud of this trick!

"Ask my Lawya"




"I've lost my letta"... "Find it"... "Here it is!"

Afterwards, we listened to the choir, enjoyed a warm cup of chai, sang the same Camp Hope song I taught them a couple of weeks ago (and this time added the teeny tiny voice and big monster voice variations, which was HILARIOUS...), prayed with them, and sadly said goodbye. It had been a good 2 hours or more, but I'm still convinced we could've stayed all day.






Being there this time was so sweet. It felt so much more natural, and I knew that I was building relationships that were going to be continued. I am so grateful to the Lord for giving us this opportunity and for blessing us with Bernice, who has made us feel so much more a part of the community up the hill.

Anyways, mostly I just wanted to post these pictures and show you how precious these kids are...

Bernice's son, Dennis, is on the left.

Salome

Me and Miriam... she loved making faces in pictures... my heart :)

Dennis!! When we visited him last week, he was so scared of us he didn't hardly say a word. Yesterday he was almost always holding hands with me, Cassie or Jenny, and would get a little jealous of anyone who would try to hold my hand instead! We love love love him.

These kids can climb... We called him "nugu," or "monkey."

Brian... I think... either way, so cute...

Like I said, so cute...

Cassie and... Angelica?

Week in a Nutshell...

This week flew by, but before this week starts I figured I should update a bit so my next post won't be 4 pages long...

This week was hard and long and brilliant and beautiful.

Tuesday I attended my first futbol (soccer) game ever. Well, not ever, but the first one that I actually payed attention to and wasn't held at the YMCA. My junior highers had scrimmages on Tuesday and Wednesday, I believe to pick teams, and it was pretty exciting to watch. I must say, some of my boys are quite the athletes - expect to see them in the World Cup in a few years! Thursday was the high school games against a private school in Nairobi for mostly Embassy kids, and varsity won! It was so much fun out there - all of the high school spirit and whatnot. Way fun to watch. Had dinner with the other Single Ladies, and watched as rain clouds rolled on in but left us questioning where the rain was.


Friday was Open House, which is much different here than it is in the States. Parents come in and actually attend classes with the students like normal, and then have 5 minutes at the end of class to talk to the teachers and whatnot. It was really great meeting the parents and getting to make connections between them and their kids. I had some great conversations with some parents, got to hear about their ministries, and was invited to visit a few over Christmas break! Apparently this is quite normal here, and it's something that everyone recommends actually doing.

Friday night was Class Night - all of the classes have hangouts with their sponsors - eat, play games, etc. I was asked this week to be a 7th grade sponsor, so now I get to hang out with my AWESOME 7th graders 4 times a term for Class Night and other times for random jr. high hangouts. They were insane - bouncing all over, screaming at the top of their lungs, running around as hyper as I've ever seen a 7th grader... and the whole time, I sat there thinking "this sure is great - I don't have to teach them right now..." and just enjoying watching their enthusiasm. Oh junior highers... they're so much cooler than we give them credit for. hah...

Saturday was quite the day at RVA. It was Titchie (Elementary) Field Day in the morning, and Senior Store in the afternoon. For Senior Store, the seniors sell donuts all day Saturday and also cook lunch on Saturday - they sell hamburgers, brats, taco salads, chicken, ice cream, etc. and the money goes towards Senior Safari. Let me tell you, after having very little meat for a long long while, my hamburger was quite possibly one of the most satisfying burgers I've ever had. A big chunk of meat... wow. It was indescribable. I mean, not as tasty as Harvey Washbangers, but I wasn't quite so meat deprived back then. (Don't worry Mom, I'm getting plenty of protein, just no big chunks of meat like Daddy's ribs or steaks or dove or burgers or chickens or brisket... sigh..)
Today was our first Sunday School class, so Jenny and I had 8 8th grade girls over to start our study on 1 Cor. 13 this term. Afterwards, church, and then Little Lambs. I'll have a separate post on this tomorrow since now I'm a bit tired and still have some grading to do... but before I go, the best and biggest news of the week...

It has now poured 3 nights in a row, praise the Lord! The other rains that I've seen since being here have been short, and by the next morning you'd have no idea it rained by looking at the dry ground. But these rains have left the grounds saturated and muddy and the plants looking a bit perkier... praise our God :) I want to thank all of you who have been praying for the rain, and ask that you all continue to do so, as we still need so much! Pray also that other regions of Kenya especially get some, as it is much worse in other areas.

Dennis and his Cake

At 5 p.m., Cassie, Jenny, Bernice (my worker) and I walked down to catch a matatu (bus). We crammed into a rickety old van (this time it was missing the plastered posters of the R&B stars of the West and the crazy mixture of American music, but it was enjoyable nonetheless) to inch our way up the hill. Crawling out was quite an ordeal as Bernice and I were in the back and had to shove our way through to the door - something that would've been unacceptable in America. But when in Kenya... We started our walk up the little dirt road, with children yelling "How are you How are you How are you How are you How are you" in the sweetest little accents and running up to us to shake our hands. It was like a walk through a scene from a movie - all sorts of trees (some reminding Cassie and I of Florida trees during hurricane season), rickety fences, little wooden shacks, yards willed with half-dead cornstalks and skinny cows, natives hanging laundry, shouting "hello" in the local Kukuyu language... it was beautiful. I could keep trying to describe it, but until you're in the midst of it, it's impossible to imagine. And even in the midst of it, it's almost like a dream.

We continued down the dirt road, turning to our right to go uphill some more, and eventually looking out over the valley. This picture does our view NO justice whatsoever, but believe me when I say it was breathtaking. Breathtaking. Looking out over the side of the mountain, listening to the wind (which is SUPER strong up there) swaying, and just basking in the peaceful life of small-village life... it was indescribable.

Soon, we turned off into the bushes, past a huge wooden fence, and were at Bernice's home. I think if I hadn't had any idea of what "real" African living was, I would've been shocked to the point of real sadness. But knowing Bernice and her joy especially reminded me that possessions don't indicate happiness. It was a little wooden house with an outhouse, a couple of pieces of clothing hanging on the lines, and a skinny cow (with no name) outside. Entering in, we found the walls were made of cardboard, with sheets hung as doors between the "rooms." The whole house probably fit in the kitchen of my Cypress house, but it was her home, and I had no doubt that they considered it enough. The "walls" were all covered with white lace sheets for decorations, and Cassie informed us that this was indeed "VERY" nice compared to most Kenyan living.




After waiting for about 10 minutes, Bernice's precious son finally arrived to celebrate his 6th birthday with us. When he walked through the door, the first thought that went through my head was "I want one JUST like him!" Oh my goodness.. he was precious. And terrified of these three crazy wazungus (white people) who were staring and smiling and speaking English, which he didn't understand. It took him a while to even move, but when Jenny offered him the aluminum foil that covered the cake and had some icing on it, he took it and started licking away. All of us then broke into a girly chorus of "aw"s and "how sweet"s.

Bernice served us chai and mandazis which were both delicious. We then served up the chocolate cake - THANK you Jenny and Betty Crocker! - and stayed to chat for just a little bit before heading back down before it turned dark.

Overall, it was probably my favorite day so far. The atmosphere of the little village was... delightful in the most wonderful sense of the word, and the little house reminded me so much of our camphouses in Uvalde (West Texas) with its simplicity and peace. I loved it. Daddy, I think you would've absolutely loved this place. Thankfully, Bernice loves us, and we're hoping to visit quite often and get to know the village children as well. We're planning on having her teach us to make some Kenyan food as well.

It is so sweet to think of how God placed Bernice into our lives and how much I have been blessed by her and her simple yet joyful home. It is so obvious how her genuine and gentle heart has impacted her sweeeeet sweet son and makes their life the perfect example of how to have such joy in the midst of having so "little."

So happy birthday Dennis, and thank you Jesus for the best birthday party I've ever been to :)

One Month...

Week two of school? Done. One month of living in Africa? Done. This is so much fuuun! :) Anyways, since I haven't updated in a while, there's quite a large chance that this might be a hodge-podge of ramblings. I'll try to make it worth your time as much as possible.

Week two of school was much more challenging than the first, but I still love it and have decided I'll go back tomorrow, praise God :) The personalities of my students are really starting to come out, and it's been great figuring them out and working with the different kids. I've also learned a lot more about their parents' ministries, and it continuously blows me away to see how these people have sacrificed so much for the sake of the Gospel.

I hired a houseworker on Monday. I think I've written about this before, but I'll write about it again. Every household at RVA is "highly recommended" to have a houseworker. It's very normal here, and it's a huge blessing to many of the women in the community, as they now have a way to provide for their family, however small it may be. My worker, Bernice, also works for Jenny 2 days a week and is the one who took us to Little Lambs a couple weeks ago. She has a son who turns 6 tomorrow, so we're hoping to take him cake and presents after school and give her some ingredients to make him a nice birthday dinner. I am so thankful that God has placed her in our lives - she is absolutely fantastic :)

Hm. Have I mentioned how beautiful Africa is? Have I mentioned how beautiful Kijabe is? Here's the view I see every morning when I walk to class. Note the IDP camp in the lower left corner. It's been great seeing it every morning and being reminded to pray for them. Also, in real life, it's about 1029 times more beautiful, but maybe you can have some idea of it...


And here's a view from the side of campus while me and Jenny went looking for monkeys...

And one of the monkeys we found (usually we see them all the time, but go figure the one time we have a camera with us they refuse to be seen...)


And, one of the most beautiful views is actually right in front of my house...

:)

The past couple of nights the sky has been completely clear, and I feel like a picture of it would get me a few million dollars because of how beautiful it is...

Anyways, God has continuously been gracious in opening doors to serve here - I'll be teaching 8th grade Sunday School starting next week and was asked to be a Class Sponsor for 7th grade - something that will require quite a bit of time but will give me huge opportunities to get to know the kids better. It's really great here being able to spend time with the kids outside of class, and in a way that makes us more than just their teachers. It's especially great since my kids are so cool... :)

God hasn't ceased to amaze me since I've been here, and it's so incredible to watch Him continuously work in His perfect ways.

Before I end this, I'd like to ask you to pray for rain. We got just a little bit today, but we need more of it, and we need it more consistently. I was talking to a lady who sells veggies at the dukas and she said it's still not helping since there's not very much of it. The lands here are so dry, and the people are suffering so much because of it. Please pray that God sends rain to nourish the land, and that He sends His presence to nourish the people.

Also, please say hello to Skittles, Scotch tape, dryers, chocolate chips, raisins, scented candles, 3 hole-punchers, and hi-speed internet for me. Thanks :)

Outreach Day

Once a term, RVA has "Outreach Day" - a day where staff and students volunteer to participate in different service projects around the community. This was yesterday. Groups split up to deliver firewood and food to widows, play at the local orphanages, help and talk to the men at the top of the hill that sell Maize, pick up trash along the roads, build houses, spiffy up the guard houses on campus, plant trees, take clothes to needy families, play with street children in Maai-Mahiu (the Sodom and Gomorrah-type area at the bottom of the hill) and play volleyball and games with children at the IDP camp in the valley below. Wow. What was most beautiful was the excitement in the students as they prepared to go love and be Christ's Hands, Feet, and Heart to the people around us.

I went with the group to the IDP camp. Each morning as I walk to class, I overlook the valley and see the camp down below and send up a prayer for the people gathered there. How hard it must be to leave your home, your land, and what little you have because of violence! I pray that they might know the peace of God and have hope in HIM in the midst of their trials. Anyways, I've been looking forward to this day since I signed up, and couldn't wait to see and play with and pray with the kids that I had been praying for for what seems like so long.


The drive was about 45 minutes of going downhill on a ridiculously bumpy road and looking out over the African land. It was beautiful. When we arrived, I was immediately sobered. We walked up to a camp of at least 50 tents sprawled out around a dry and barren land. There was what seemed to be a wheat field, which looked like dead grass, and that was about it. The tents had make-shift doors that surely wouldn't block out the wind, and the tents themselves acted merely as shelters, no comforts or walls or homey-ness about them.



Immediately, the children formed a circle and we stepped in to hold hands of dear precious children on each side of us. I quickly realized how much I wanted to be able to speak Swahili - to be able to communicate to and love on these children. But I can't, so I had to do with tickling them and smiling and hugging them. Which was still wonderful :)


We spent about an hour and a half playing with them - soccer, volleyball, painting faces, jump roping, singing, and just running around with them. I painted faces - hilarious, because I have negative artistic skills... but I drew hearts and told them of the love of Christ, and butterflies and Suns and talked about the light of Christ - all things that, who knows if they understood, but my heart was bursting to be able to share a hope with them, and if this was all that I could do, then so be it.






It's funny how my heart was so burdened for them in certain ways. They were in such obvious physical need - their clothes were tattered and torn, barely protecting them from the cold winds of Kenya, thus giving them the runny noses that ran all over their faces, crusting their cheeks and faces; most didn't have shoes, whether because they didn't own them or because it wouldn't have made much of a difference; their teeth had cavities running rampant and their ears were filled with dirt. But they had a joy. They didn't complain about the cold as even we did. They didn't complain about being sick or a headache. They were so thrilled to have us there that this was all that mattered for a little while. And while that's nice, my heart broke at the thought of leaving them there. At the thought of not spending more time pouring into them and serving them and teaching them of a Hope that does not fail, of a God that does not fail.






So leaving thus brought the most bitersweet moment of my life, I believe. I was so thankful to have had the opportunity to play with them, to live yet another dream. I was so thankful for the smiles and hugs and goofing around and seeing the joy in simplicity and seeing God's provision even when it doesn't seem like much. But it was bitter in that my heart longed to do more for them. But praise God, He was so faithful in reminding me that I am at RVA for a purpose, and that to "wait," or be told "no" in this area is not the end of the world, and that God will provide for them without me. Praise God, that He can give me a joy in the midst of frustration, and that I can go back to RVA with a full heart and a readiness to be fully involved in the students' lives there for this year, and that I know it is exactly where I'm supposed to be. Praise God :)



On the drive back, I was struck with a beautiful realization. As we drove through Maai-Mahiu and their streets were lined with "hotels" (brothels) and I was told of the prostitution and drugs and the things that went on there, I realized how blessed of a place Kijabe is. It's probably a 30+ minute drive from one place to the other, but there is a world of difference. When compared to Maai-Mahiu, one can immediately see that the hand of God is heavily on this place. The church here is thriving, the people are caring and willing to help each other, and though need is great, it does not seem that people go to such desperate measures to fill that need. Partially because the church here does such a great job of taking care of the widows and needy, and I would like to think partly because the people here have a deeper relationship and hope in God. I am so thankful to God that He has blessed this community - that He has risen up such incredible, strong leaders here in Kijabe. But my heart breaks for those below, and I ask that you would join me in praying for the community down there, that they might find their place with God soon, before they destroy themselves (if they have not already). What a beautiful testimony to God to see how loving a community can be when built around The Rock! I pray that visitors to Kijabe would see the difference and seek out the same love and hope and trust in the same God that we serve!


Again, I want to thank those of you who are praying and supporting me here - I have seen such beautiful works of God, and I am so blessed to be a part of what He's doing here and all over Africa through this school. Asante sana - thank you very much - and I pray that you would see God in this as well. :)

Praise our God, who provides for all...

Gig 'Em :)