Sunday, January 31, 2010
Obama's Goats
I forgot to add this in my last post and it is too funny to pass up. The veterinarian I told you about sat next to someone in church today who lives in the same village as President Obama's grandmother. The villager invited the veterinarian to come and visit Obama's grandmother and treat her goats! She didn't know what else to say other than alright so she will be going out there sometime this week. Apparently Obama's grandmother now gets lots of visitors. I told her that she should write a letter to the White House giving two thumbs up and informing the president to never fear but his grandmother's goats are A-OK!
Leaving For Kapsowar Tomorrow!
The day isn't over yet, but I was packing for tomorrow when this huge flying something with really long legs came into my room so I decided now would be a good time to leave and come give an update instead.
This morning I went to AIC Church Ngong Road. AIC stands for African Inland Church. From the name it is easy to guess that they are associated with African Inland Mission. The church was made up mostly of African nationals and a few westerners. The service was held in English which was nice for me. We had almost an hour of singing, announcements and prayer and then an hour of a sermon and communion. During the beginning of the service they ask for who is visiting and we are all asked to stand and announce to the church who we are, where we come from, etc. Afterwards all of the newcomers have to go outside to the front of the church and form a type of receiving line like you would see at a wedding and shake everyone's hand as they come out the door. In Africa whenever you come into a room you must stop and shake everyone's hand, a simple hello in passing is not enough. Needless to say, I felt VERY welcome.
I came back from church and enjoyed lunch at the Mayfield Guest House. We had fried chicken today. They don't have KFC around here so this fried chicken was made from scratch...pretty impressive. I sat with two people that I have been spending some time with here and want to tell you a little bit about. This guest house is just a melting pot of people doing all sorts of work for the Lord with some truly amazing stories.
The lady that I sat with is from Oregon and she now lives in Uganda. She came to Africa in 1992. She is a trained veterinarian which has opened up some amazing ministry opportunities. In Africa many of the tribal people's most prized possessions are their animals. Someone that can help them keep their animals healthy and alive is an invaluable resource. This woman started out in Uganda working with a very peaceful, timid tribe. She works to use both modern medicine and adapts tribal medicine to treat the animals. This builds trust between her and the people as she learns from them and they learn from her. This tribe is enemies with a neighboring very violent tribe. The violent tribe often comes and raids their camps killing people and steeling their animals. Over the years as the peaceful tribe has come to know Christ they have begun to pray for their enemies and decided that they wanted to minister to them. This vet also felt the same call on her heart. She started on the boarder of the tribal lands to offer to help with their animals. Soon the word spread and they were inviting her, begging her to come in further to their homes and treat their animals. This is a tribe that has run missionaries off in the past and killed some of them. Trusting the Lord and praying through everything she decided to go. They have accepted her and this violent tribe has taken to personally protecting her. As she works she continues to share the Lord with them. She is the only westerner working with these people and she has now trained several of the tribal people to also do vet work. As the tribal people have come to trust her and know the Lord many have decided that they want to live in peace instead of violence. They have gone to their neighboring tribes and have asked for forgiveness and now 11,000 people from both tribes are living together in the "no man's land" between the two villages peacefully. What an incredible story. This woman, only trained to be a veterinarian never dreamed that she would be conducting peace talks halfway around the world.
The second person I want to tell you about is an older gentleman (probably in his mid-70's) from the US who has the desire to start a sustainable hospital system in Sudan. He is a dental technician by training, but many years ago felt God calling him to pursue this project. They are in the process of building the hospital in Sudan now and he is here to learn from other hospitals how to build an effective system. When he heard that I will be going to Kapsowar he was very excited because that is one of the places he wants to visit and learn from. He contacted the missionary leaders of the hospital and has arranged to fly up there with me tomorrow. It is always nicer to have someone else to go with, I am glad to have him along. I have been concerned that this smaller domestic flight might give me trouble with the amount of luggage I am going to be taking, but now there will be two people to spread it among which should greatly relieve any of the problems. This man is from one of the places that I am ranking for residency. He says that if I end up matching there he and his family (wife, daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren) are going to adopt me...nice to already have family :-)
I will be leaving at 6am to catch my flight to Kapsowar. I am excited to get there and also a little intimidated as I know that I have so much to learn. Many of the disease I will encounter will be new to me. I pray that I will be a fast learner and be helpful. Thanks for all of the payers for my stomach, so far so good which is a miracle in and of itself.
I am not sure how much access to internet I will have once in Kapsowar. I will try to update as often as possible, but I am not sure that I will be able to get to a computer daily. Thank you for all of your encouragement and prayers.
This morning I went to AIC Church Ngong Road. AIC stands for African Inland Church. From the name it is easy to guess that they are associated with African Inland Mission. The church was made up mostly of African nationals and a few westerners. The service was held in English which was nice for me. We had almost an hour of singing, announcements and prayer and then an hour of a sermon and communion. During the beginning of the service they ask for who is visiting and we are all asked to stand and announce to the church who we are, where we come from, etc. Afterwards all of the newcomers have to go outside to the front of the church and form a type of receiving line like you would see at a wedding and shake everyone's hand as they come out the door. In Africa whenever you come into a room you must stop and shake everyone's hand, a simple hello in passing is not enough. Needless to say, I felt VERY welcome.
I came back from church and enjoyed lunch at the Mayfield Guest House. We had fried chicken today. They don't have KFC around here so this fried chicken was made from scratch...pretty impressive. I sat with two people that I have been spending some time with here and want to tell you a little bit about. This guest house is just a melting pot of people doing all sorts of work for the Lord with some truly amazing stories.
The lady that I sat with is from Oregon and she now lives in Uganda. She came to Africa in 1992. She is a trained veterinarian which has opened up some amazing ministry opportunities. In Africa many of the tribal people's most prized possessions are their animals. Someone that can help them keep their animals healthy and alive is an invaluable resource. This woman started out in Uganda working with a very peaceful, timid tribe. She works to use both modern medicine and adapts tribal medicine to treat the animals. This builds trust between her and the people as she learns from them and they learn from her. This tribe is enemies with a neighboring very violent tribe. The violent tribe often comes and raids their camps killing people and steeling their animals. Over the years as the peaceful tribe has come to know Christ they have begun to pray for their enemies and decided that they wanted to minister to them. This vet also felt the same call on her heart. She started on the boarder of the tribal lands to offer to help with their animals. Soon the word spread and they were inviting her, begging her to come in further to their homes and treat their animals. This is a tribe that has run missionaries off in the past and killed some of them. Trusting the Lord and praying through everything she decided to go. They have accepted her and this violent tribe has taken to personally protecting her. As she works she continues to share the Lord with them. She is the only westerner working with these people and she has now trained several of the tribal people to also do vet work. As the tribal people have come to trust her and know the Lord many have decided that they want to live in peace instead of violence. They have gone to their neighboring tribes and have asked for forgiveness and now 11,000 people from both tribes are living together in the "no man's land" between the two villages peacefully. What an incredible story. This woman, only trained to be a veterinarian never dreamed that she would be conducting peace talks halfway around the world.
The second person I want to tell you about is an older gentleman (probably in his mid-70's) from the US who has the desire to start a sustainable hospital system in Sudan. He is a dental technician by training, but many years ago felt God calling him to pursue this project. They are in the process of building the hospital in Sudan now and he is here to learn from other hospitals how to build an effective system. When he heard that I will be going to Kapsowar he was very excited because that is one of the places he wants to visit and learn from. He contacted the missionary leaders of the hospital and has arranged to fly up there with me tomorrow. It is always nicer to have someone else to go with, I am glad to have him along. I have been concerned that this smaller domestic flight might give me trouble with the amount of luggage I am going to be taking, but now there will be two people to spread it among which should greatly relieve any of the problems. This man is from one of the places that I am ranking for residency. He says that if I end up matching there he and his family (wife, daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren) are going to adopt me...nice to already have family :-)
I will be leaving at 6am to catch my flight to Kapsowar. I am excited to get there and also a little intimidated as I know that I have so much to learn. Many of the disease I will encounter will be new to me. I pray that I will be a fast learner and be helpful. Thanks for all of the payers for my stomach, so far so good which is a miracle in and of itself.
I am not sure how much access to internet I will have once in Kapsowar. I will try to update as often as possible, but I am not sure that I will be able to get to a computer daily. Thank you for all of your encouragement and prayers.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Language, Slums and my first Sunburn
This morning I had to say goodbye to Isaac and Peter. These were the two guys whom I met in New York and travelled with to Kenya. Even though we have only known each other for a few days I would definitely call them friends. It is amazing how similar interests, Christ and an international trip can bond you with others. The two of them headed out to Kijabe today. I hope they are doing well. I can't wait to hear about their experience.
After breakfast I had a language lesson in Swahili. I have to admit that in all of my studies language has always been my greatest struggle. I have decided that if God wants me to work extensively with a people that speak another language He will have to work a miracle...which is fine because He is in the miracle business. In my lesson I learned a lot about how the languages in Kenya developed. Kenya has two national languages Swahili and English, however, most people also speak the language of their tribe. Swahili was not an original Kenayan tribal language, but has been adopted by the people. The lesson was actually really helpful. I learned a lot of key phrases which proved useful later on in the day when talking with the slum children.
As soon as the lesson was over I and two others from Mayfield met Pastor Shadrak (a native Kenyan pastor) and he took us out to the Mitumba slums. Think Slum Dog Millionaire africa style and you will get a pretty accurate picture. This is a smaller slum in Nairobi located on 11 acres of land and home to some 20 thousand people. They live in tin and paper shacks, most the size of my kitchen and housing at least 5 people. Pastor has an incredible story of how he began to become active in the slums. He was invited to come visit in 2002. He said the place was smelly, it was dirty with trash everywhere and the lack of a sewer system was very evident. He stated there was really nothing to like about the slums...except the children. They were dirty and some of them were without clothes, but the love that came from them melted his heart and it is to them he has been called to serve. He started a school and now has some 400 students grades 1-8. Once they are done with the school in the slums they can go to high school. In Kenya the children must pay fees to go to school. Pastor never asked us for any money while we were visiting, he simply said that God always provides. Those that want to go on in their schooling have been able to do so. Pastor also makes sure that all 400 students receives 2 meals a day. He say that he does not always know how the food is going to come or where they will get the money, but "God loves His children too much to let them go hungry." They are always fed. Pastor also said that when children play and just go about their day they get hurt and have physical needs. He has also set up a clinic to serve the children. On Sunday's they have church in the slum and 200 people fit in a room the size of a one car garage. The pastor has also started an orphanage in this slum. He has 22 children who truly have no parents or anyone to take care of them. They now have a safe place to sleep, a bed, a shower and adults to look after them. On Saturday they have Bible lessons for any of the students that want to attend....today the place was packed to capacity.
I was able to sit in at the very end of their lesson time before lunch. There were two boys up front that could not have been more than 12 years old. They were trading back and forth telling jokes and doing a stand up comedy of sorts. Every one was laughing, some were laughing so hard they were crying. I could not understand a thing they were saying and they managed to make me laugh as well. How amazing to organize this group of children in the slums of Africa such that they can entertain themselves and just laugh.
This ministry struck me in several ways. What moved this man's heart were the children. Children move God's heart as well. The love this pastor has for them is so evident in how they all run up and greet him. The children eagerly shake his hand as he greets them and knows them all by name and asks how they are doing. 400 slum children can be a rowdy group, but a look from the pastor and a simple word made these eager, hungry children form a line for lunch and voluntarily organize themselves to take care of the clean up afterwards. His love for them covers over everything.
Another thing that made an impression was that this was a native Kenyan man who has seen a need in his own country and is actively working to make a difference. It seems to me that the majority of the time it is the Western world that sees the need and actively works to make a difference in Kenya. It was so refreshing to see this Kenyan man pouring out his life into his own people and really, truly doing a lot to reach out to these children. He does not try to take the children from the slums and give them a better life elsewhere, he works to improve their lives and share God's love with them within the environment in which they live. He gives them the tools they need to improve their lives if they choose, but does not force that improvement upon them. He doesn't need fancy buildings, multi-media centers or gormet meals...God's love can be distributed right there in the slums without any frills. I truly believe this is a man with a heart that reflects our Lord. Ministries like this can draw scepticism from me at first. It seems like there should be a catch, some ulterior motive, but in all of my questioning and after seeing the children and watching them with my own eyes, I don't think so. I feel almost as if I have met a male Mother Theresa and am honored to have spent the afternoon with a person who's heart is made of pure gold.
We were obligated to eat lunch at the slum. The meal was prepared by some visiting University students. Turning down food when the poorest of the poor have prepared it for you would be the most horrific of offenses...prayers for my GI system would be appreciated.
I have forgotten that I am in Africa and the winter back home has made my skin whiter than my teeth. Spending the day outside has successfully turned me a nice shade of pink. Oh well, it was worth it.
Thank you for all of your prayers, today is really the first day that my cold has seemed a whole lot better. It is nice to not have that holding me up any more. I am almost completely over jet lag as well...a double plus! I love hearing from everyone, thank you to those that have commented on the blog. It is so wonderful to know that others are reading my ramblings and continuing to pray for me.
After breakfast I had a language lesson in Swahili. I have to admit that in all of my studies language has always been my greatest struggle. I have decided that if God wants me to work extensively with a people that speak another language He will have to work a miracle...which is fine because He is in the miracle business. In my lesson I learned a lot about how the languages in Kenya developed. Kenya has two national languages Swahili and English, however, most people also speak the language of their tribe. Swahili was not an original Kenayan tribal language, but has been adopted by the people. The lesson was actually really helpful. I learned a lot of key phrases which proved useful later on in the day when talking with the slum children.
As soon as the lesson was over I and two others from Mayfield met Pastor Shadrak (a native Kenyan pastor) and he took us out to the Mitumba slums. Think Slum Dog Millionaire africa style and you will get a pretty accurate picture. This is a smaller slum in Nairobi located on 11 acres of land and home to some 20 thousand people. They live in tin and paper shacks, most the size of my kitchen and housing at least 5 people. Pastor has an incredible story of how he began to become active in the slums. He was invited to come visit in 2002. He said the place was smelly, it was dirty with trash everywhere and the lack of a sewer system was very evident. He stated there was really nothing to like about the slums...except the children. They were dirty and some of them were without clothes, but the love that came from them melted his heart and it is to them he has been called to serve. He started a school and now has some 400 students grades 1-8. Once they are done with the school in the slums they can go to high school. In Kenya the children must pay fees to go to school. Pastor never asked us for any money while we were visiting, he simply said that God always provides. Those that want to go on in their schooling have been able to do so. Pastor also makes sure that all 400 students receives 2 meals a day. He say that he does not always know how the food is going to come or where they will get the money, but "God loves His children too much to let them go hungry." They are always fed. Pastor also said that when children play and just go about their day they get hurt and have physical needs. He has also set up a clinic to serve the children. On Sunday's they have church in the slum and 200 people fit in a room the size of a one car garage. The pastor has also started an orphanage in this slum. He has 22 children who truly have no parents or anyone to take care of them. They now have a safe place to sleep, a bed, a shower and adults to look after them. On Saturday they have Bible lessons for any of the students that want to attend....today the place was packed to capacity.
I was able to sit in at the very end of their lesson time before lunch. There were two boys up front that could not have been more than 12 years old. They were trading back and forth telling jokes and doing a stand up comedy of sorts. Every one was laughing, some were laughing so hard they were crying. I could not understand a thing they were saying and they managed to make me laugh as well. How amazing to organize this group of children in the slums of Africa such that they can entertain themselves and just laugh.
This ministry struck me in several ways. What moved this man's heart were the children. Children move God's heart as well. The love this pastor has for them is so evident in how they all run up and greet him. The children eagerly shake his hand as he greets them and knows them all by name and asks how they are doing. 400 slum children can be a rowdy group, but a look from the pastor and a simple word made these eager, hungry children form a line for lunch and voluntarily organize themselves to take care of the clean up afterwards. His love for them covers over everything.
Another thing that made an impression was that this was a native Kenyan man who has seen a need in his own country and is actively working to make a difference. It seems to me that the majority of the time it is the Western world that sees the need and actively works to make a difference in Kenya. It was so refreshing to see this Kenyan man pouring out his life into his own people and really, truly doing a lot to reach out to these children. He does not try to take the children from the slums and give them a better life elsewhere, he works to improve their lives and share God's love with them within the environment in which they live. He gives them the tools they need to improve their lives if they choose, but does not force that improvement upon them. He doesn't need fancy buildings, multi-media centers or gormet meals...God's love can be distributed right there in the slums without any frills. I truly believe this is a man with a heart that reflects our Lord. Ministries like this can draw scepticism from me at first. It seems like there should be a catch, some ulterior motive, but in all of my questioning and after seeing the children and watching them with my own eyes, I don't think so. I feel almost as if I have met a male Mother Theresa and am honored to have spent the afternoon with a person who's heart is made of pure gold.
We were obligated to eat lunch at the slum. The meal was prepared by some visiting University students. Turning down food when the poorest of the poor have prepared it for you would be the most horrific of offenses...prayers for my GI system would be appreciated.
I have forgotten that I am in Africa and the winter back home has made my skin whiter than my teeth. Spending the day outside has successfully turned me a nice shade of pink. Oh well, it was worth it.
Thank you for all of your prayers, today is really the first day that my cold has seemed a whole lot better. It is nice to not have that holding me up any more. I am almost completely over jet lag as well...a double plus! I love hearing from everyone, thank you to those that have commented on the blog. It is so wonderful to know that others are reading my ramblings and continuing to pray for me.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Hello Nairobi!
4 o'clock rolled around this morning and I found myself awake...partly due to jet lag and partly due to the Muslim call to prayer that can be heard over the loud speakers outside in the city. I got up to shower and it was still dark. I decided not to turn the light on because the shower window doesn't have a screen and the light would serve as a homing device for mosquitos. Showering in the dark was fine until I dropped the soap and for the life of me couldn't find it again...oops.
We ate breakfast in a common dining room. It is really interesting to meet all the different people coming in and out of the guest house. Everyone is here for different reasons that some how tie into missions.
We ate breakfast in a common dining room. It is really interesting to meet all the different people coming in and out of the guest house. Everyone is here for different reasons that some how tie into missions.
View of the front of the compound of Mayfield guest house. A very peaceful haven from the craziness of the city just beyond the gate.
After breakfast we went to the AIM headquarters in Nairobi. We met some of the key people, took a tour of the facilities, ironed out details of travelling to and from our respective sites, communication details, etc. We talked with a native Kenyan about the structure of the country and cultural edicate. One of the main differences between our two cultures that keeps being stressed is how Kenyans revolve much more around relationships that we do in general. When walking into a room no matter how many things you need to do you must stop and greet everyone by name, shake their hand and inquire about how they are doing. This relational aspect is much more important than whatever task needs to be accomplished or being punctual. This point was taken home when the entire office stopped working at 10:30 to sit and enjoy tea with one another. Kenya used to be a British colony and many of their traditions and mannerisms still permeate the culture here.
Traffic in Nairobi is definitely worse than LA...yeah, I know it is hard to believe. Technically you are supposed to drive on the left hand side in Kenya, but pretty much you driver wherever there is an open spot and the pot holes aren't too big.
After lunch we went to the local supermarket to pick up a few things. The supermarket is sort of like a scaled down Wal-Mart with a grocery store. I only bought a few things as I will do most of my shopping up in Eldoret and Kapsowar, but the two others that will be going to Kijabe needed to do more of their shopping now. The grocery store was not that unlike something we would see in the US. It had a lot of the same brands of foods that my mom buys back home. The one thing that I did notice that was substantially different, however, was the amount of juice available. I passed by what seemed like isles and isles of juice in boxes. I think this must be in part because the water here is not good to drink and juice therefore becomes a good alternative.
We then went to visit the International Service (IS) headquarters which is where AIM Air is based. It is at the airport and consists of a car mechanic shop, welding area, hanger full of planes owned by AIM and lots of offices dealing with travel, finances and even IT. It was really quite impressive. Samaratin's Purse also partners with AIM Air and one of their planes was there as well. AIM uses their planes to fly to all of the African countries that they serve. They can drop supplies off for missionaries and serve as transportation for those in remote locations.
AIM hanger in Nairobi.
Dinner was again back at Mayfield and full of interesting conversation with people invloved in just about everything ministry related. It is fun to listen, but I must admit that I am sure I was not the best conversationalist tonight. Jet lag really starts to hit about 4pm and I am begining to feel like I am running on empty. This just means I have a wonderful night of sleep coming my way very soon. Good night for now.
Dinner was again back at Mayfield and full of interesting conversation with people invloved in just about everything ministry related. It is fun to listen, but I must admit that I am sure I was not the best conversationalist tonight. Jet lag really starts to hit about 4pm and I am begining to feel like I am running on empty. This just means I have a wonderful night of sleep coming my way very soon. Good night for now.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Hello From Kenya!
Peter and I on our way to the Mayfield guest house from Nairobi. It was almost midnight, but we were all so excited to finally be there that we were wide awake!
We just landed in Nairobi and made it to the Mayfield Guest House. I wanted to let everyone know that I made it safely and all of our luggage made it too! Thank you Lord!
We had a few bumps along the way which made things interesting. When we arrived at the BA ticket counter in Newark they informed us that the rules changed overnight and we were all only allowed to take one carry-on. Hmm...time to unpack/repack in front of everyone. Honestly out of all of the things that have happened so far this was the thing that rattled me the most. I think it is because you plan so carefully the things you are going to bring with you. You arrange them in just the right spots and you have all your secret pockets picked out. Then all of a sudden you have to change all of that after such careful planning and to have to do it on the spot. Well, I guess that is part of what international traveling is about.
One of the girls at the orientation traveling to London with us has a broken foot. The people at the BA counter also made us hold our breath as they decided whether or not they would let her fly. We prayed...and everything went through the red tape without a problem.
The flight from Newark to London was thankfully not very full. I was able to get an entire row (3 seats) all to myself. At 5'2" that provides for some serious luxuary sleeping! It was really nice to put in some hours of shut eye as I knew the layover in London and then our flight to Nairobi would probably not allow for much sleep. I am still fighting this cold, but getting to sleep really helped. I think all of my nights on call have also helped to train me how to get the most out of little cat naps.
The driver was right outside of the glass doors waiting for us when we arrived. He had a sign with all of our names on it. I was really happy how smoothly that went. Thank you for all of your prayers.
At the Mayfield Guest House I have a little dorm style room to myself. It has just enough room for a small bed, desk and sink with the bathroom and shower down the hall. I am honestly not sure that I can open both my luggage and carry-on in the room at the same time because of the tiny quarters. It is perfect though, and provides for more than all of my needs. There is a mosquito net above the bed. I don't remember using one when I was in Nairobi last time, but I guess since it is there I will use it tonight. Of what I can see of the grounds there is a common living room, kitchen and dining room. It will be fun to explore it more tomorrow in the daylight. It is pushing 11:30pm here in Nairobi and dinner is at 7:30. Even though I am not all that tired I think I should try to get some sleep. For all those that are wondering Nairobi is 11 hours ahead of California time. I think that makes this Thursday night here...still trying to figure all of that out.
We had a few bumps along the way which made things interesting. When we arrived at the BA ticket counter in Newark they informed us that the rules changed overnight and we were all only allowed to take one carry-on. Hmm...time to unpack/repack in front of everyone. Honestly out of all of the things that have happened so far this was the thing that rattled me the most. I think it is because you plan so carefully the things you are going to bring with you. You arrange them in just the right spots and you have all your secret pockets picked out. Then all of a sudden you have to change all of that after such careful planning and to have to do it on the spot. Well, I guess that is part of what international traveling is about.
One of the girls at the orientation traveling to London with us has a broken foot. The people at the BA counter also made us hold our breath as they decided whether or not they would let her fly. We prayed...and everything went through the red tape without a problem.
The flight from Newark to London was thankfully not very full. I was able to get an entire row (3 seats) all to myself. At 5'2" that provides for some serious luxuary sleeping! It was really nice to put in some hours of shut eye as I knew the layover in London and then our flight to Nairobi would probably not allow for much sleep. I am still fighting this cold, but getting to sleep really helped. I think all of my nights on call have also helped to train me how to get the most out of little cat naps.
The driver was right outside of the glass doors waiting for us when we arrived. He had a sign with all of our names on it. I was really happy how smoothly that went. Thank you for all of your prayers.
At the Mayfield Guest House I have a little dorm style room to myself. It has just enough room for a small bed, desk and sink with the bathroom and shower down the hall. I am honestly not sure that I can open both my luggage and carry-on in the room at the same time because of the tiny quarters. It is perfect though, and provides for more than all of my needs. There is a mosquito net above the bed. I don't remember using one when I was in Nairobi last time, but I guess since it is there I will use it tonight. Of what I can see of the grounds there is a common living room, kitchen and dining room. It will be fun to explore it more tomorrow in the daylight. It is pushing 11:30pm here in Nairobi and dinner is at 7:30. Even though I am not all that tired I think I should try to get some sleep. For all those that are wondering Nairobi is 11 hours ahead of California time. I think that makes this Thursday night here...still trying to figure all of that out.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Leaving on a jet plane...
This will be my last post from home before I come back. I still have the cold, but thankfully it is not as bad as colds usually are for me. I just pray that it doesn't get worse with the sleeping/not sleeping on the airplane that will be my next 24 hours.
God is so good. One of the big things I was worried about for this trip was traveling to Nairobi by myself. Once you step outside of the glass doors of the airport all protection from security is gone and it can be sort of a mob scene as people grab for your bags trying to be "helpful" as porters looking for some extra cash. If there is any delay in the driver picking us up that would be quite the thing to deal with on my own. Thankfully, there are two other guys that will be traveling with me. They are here at orientation and will be spending the next month at Kijabe (the big mission hospital just outside of Nairobi). Orientation has been so great that I wish we were all going to be at the same place for the month, but I am really comforted by the fact that I will have two others to help walk through the airport issues as they arrise. Thank you Lord.
Once I get to Nairobi I will be staying for a few days at the Mayfield guest house and then traveling north to Kapsowar. Let the adventure continue!
Prayer requests -
1 That we might all be able to get through security without any glitches
2 That this cold would go away
3 That God would continue to prepare our hearts for what lay ahead
4 That all of our baggage makes it to our final destination with us
Thank you for so faithfully praying. I am comforted knowing that I am going out with a team of warriors supporting me from home. Talk to you from Kenya!
God is so good. One of the big things I was worried about for this trip was traveling to Nairobi by myself. Once you step outside of the glass doors of the airport all protection from security is gone and it can be sort of a mob scene as people grab for your bags trying to be "helpful" as porters looking for some extra cash. If there is any delay in the driver picking us up that would be quite the thing to deal with on my own. Thankfully, there are two other guys that will be traveling with me. They are here at orientation and will be spending the next month at Kijabe (the big mission hospital just outside of Nairobi). Orientation has been so great that I wish we were all going to be at the same place for the month, but I am really comforted by the fact that I will have two others to help walk through the airport issues as they arrise. Thank you Lord.
Once I get to Nairobi I will be staying for a few days at the Mayfield guest house and then traveling north to Kapsowar. Let the adventure continue!
Prayer requests -
1 That we might all be able to get through security without any glitches
2 That this cold would go away
3 That God would continue to prepare our hearts for what lay ahead
4 That all of our baggage makes it to our final destination with us
Thank you for so faithfully praying. I am comforted knowing that I am going out with a team of warriors supporting me from home. Talk to you from Kenya!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Orientation Day 2
The orientation team with all of our luggage :-) Some were going to be gone for up to a year which sort of helps to justify the amount of stuff we were taking. Such incredible people. The two guys in the picture would be my travel buddies to Nairobi.
This morning I woke up with a cold...bummer, but the really important papers from my school that I was not able to pick up arrived from Milwaukee. Praise God!
Today was full of meetings and talks. We had a presentation on cultural differences, talked to the travel people about last minute details and paper work (the two women who work in travel at AIM are AMAZING!), had a very, very good talk on our purpose for going and God's kingdom and then settled last minute packing issues. All in all it was a pretty full day.
The talk on our purpose and God's kingdom was nothing that I hadn't heard before, but was so refreshing to have it shared again in a new light. Rae, one of the short term directors spoke to us about the power of God and who He is, who we are and the relationship between the two. It is always overwhelming for me to try to wrap my mind around the Greatness of God - the Creator of everything, the Master of all. He holds this world together and has created a universe with such depth that man cannot possibly explore its total vastness. Wow. On top of that He is humble enough to take an interest in me. I am far from perfect and yet this perfect God gave up all of His gold in heaven to be born into the dirt and grime of human life so that we might be friends...relatives even. He sacrificed everything to call me daughter. Not only that, this powerful God invited me to play on His team and I wasn't even the last pick! And the great seceret is... He is guarenteed to win! Pretty amazing, pretty exciting, pretty sobering. I am not that great of a player, "to save a wretch like me" is an accurate description. The crazy thing is...He KNOWS that...and He still picked me. As a member of His team my job is to stand in confidence knowing that He will give me all the power to be an effective player if I let Him and if I choose to use it. Incerdible. My job now is to go...to go out standing tall knowing that my team is going to win, knowing that I have a vital role to play and knowing that others need to understand that they can be on the winning team too! How crazy is it to think that so often I stand here with God who is a world of love, encouragement and support and just keep it to myself, too selfish to let others in on the seceret? I am not the only one that needs these things. Incredible to recognize and humbling to admit.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Orientation
Africa Inland Missions US headquarters in Pearl River, NY. Beautiful place.
Just made it to New York for my orientation. The weather here hasn't been very good the last couple of days either. I am very glad that I took the train in instead of flying since we know how successful that was the last time I encountered weather. The train was also a lot less expensive and I got to see more of the east coast too...a triple plus!
The two packages of things my friend mailed from Milwaukee just arrived. I am SO thankful. Now I just have to combine everything and hope that I am still under the airlines weight limit.
Orientation starts tonight with the bulk of it being tomorrow and the first part of Wednesday. AIM has a very nice, homey facility in a neighborhood outside of New York City. The upstairs is dorm/hotel style rooms, the middle level the dinining room, a library and some nooks and crannys for reading and just having some quite time and the bottom level all of the conference rooms and offices. I just got a skeleton tour when I arrived and will see more of the place tomorrow.
I need to go to dinner now, but I wanted to write and let everyone know that I arrived to the first part of the trip safely. Thank you all for your continued prayers.
The two packages of things my friend mailed from Milwaukee just arrived. I am SO thankful. Now I just have to combine everything and hope that I am still under the airlines weight limit.
Orientation starts tonight with the bulk of it being tomorrow and the first part of Wednesday. AIM has a very nice, homey facility in a neighborhood outside of New York City. The upstairs is dorm/hotel style rooms, the middle level the dinining room, a library and some nooks and crannys for reading and just having some quite time and the bottom level all of the conference rooms and offices. I just got a skeleton tour when I arrived and will see more of the place tomorrow.
I need to go to dinner now, but I wanted to write and let everyone know that I arrived to the first part of the trip safely. Thank you all for your continued prayers.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Flexibility
You never expect international trips to be without their glitches, but I had high hopes that I would leave the country first...oh well.
After spending some wonderful days with my family in California I was scheduled to leave today to fly to Milwaukee. I was going to spend a day there tying up loose ends and unpacking/repacking for Africa. The weather this morning had other ideas. All of the flights to Milwaukee going out of the 4 major airports within 200 miles of my home were cancelled. Hmm...time for plan number 2.
I quickly got on the phone with Southwest and talked to a really wonderful agent who waved all of the standard fees and applied my now cancelled fares to a new one - hopefully leaving tomorrow. God is so good to work that out without raising the prices. On the plus side, I now get to spend one more day with my family! The challenging thing is going to be to get me the things I need for Africa before I leave.
The flights to Milwaukee tomorrow are booked so this is now becoming plan number 3. I no longer am going to be unpacking/repacking myself. Thankfully, I had brought the important paper documents needed for the trip with me on my interviews and to California. However, I didn't pack all of the clothes, my stethescope and a few other things I will need. I have a truly wonderful, dedicated friend in Milwaukee, that with the help of a spare set of keys to my apartment, is going to pack my things for me and ship them to meet up with me at orientation on the east coast. (thank you so much for all of your help!) This is not exactly the way I had wanted to start out a trip overseas, but once again I am learning to just trust that God will make all things happen according to His will. God is glorified. Now I am just praying that my things are able to make it without any hang ups and that I am able to actually leave California. Normally when flying in winter I am worried about getting IN TO Milwaukee, not getting OUT OF San Diego. Some things you just can't plan for.
After spending some wonderful days with my family in California I was scheduled to leave today to fly to Milwaukee. I was going to spend a day there tying up loose ends and unpacking/repacking for Africa. The weather this morning had other ideas. All of the flights to Milwaukee going out of the 4 major airports within 200 miles of my home were cancelled. Hmm...time for plan number 2.
I quickly got on the phone with Southwest and talked to a really wonderful agent who waved all of the standard fees and applied my now cancelled fares to a new one - hopefully leaving tomorrow. God is so good to work that out without raising the prices. On the plus side, I now get to spend one more day with my family! The challenging thing is going to be to get me the things I need for Africa before I leave.
The flights to Milwaukee tomorrow are booked so this is now becoming plan number 3. I no longer am going to be unpacking/repacking myself. Thankfully, I had brought the important paper documents needed for the trip with me on my interviews and to California. However, I didn't pack all of the clothes, my stethescope and a few other things I will need. I have a truly wonderful, dedicated friend in Milwaukee, that with the help of a spare set of keys to my apartment, is going to pack my things for me and ship them to meet up with me at orientation on the east coast. (thank you so much for all of your help!) This is not exactly the way I had wanted to start out a trip overseas, but once again I am learning to just trust that God will make all things happen according to His will. God is glorified. Now I am just praying that my things are able to make it without any hang ups and that I am able to actually leave California. Normally when flying in winter I am worried about getting IN TO Milwaukee, not getting OUT OF San Diego. Some things you just can't plan for.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Food
The other day I was browsing the new updated website for Kapsowar Hospital and I came across a grocery list of things that are available in Kapsowar itself. While in Kenya I will be responsible for making my own meals. Though not a complete stranger to the kitchen I do think I might end up losing some weight on this trip. Below is a list of things available in town. The next bigger town (and more food variety) is 2 hours away. Just one more thing to add to the adventure! I pray that God will bring someone to me while I am over there to show me how to use these items to make something delicious. Learning how to cook "Kenyan style" would be fantastic! In the mean time though, if you have any good ideas of things I could make given the following ingredients let me know! I am definitely up for some creative thoughts.
Variety of fresh vegetables and fruit
Various types of sliced bread
Flour
Rice
Mutton
Sugar
Fat and/or cooking oil
Margarine
Cordial
Bottled water
Chewy Sweets
Tomato Paste
Eggs
Baking powder
Tea
Hot Chocolate / Instant coffee
UHT Milk
Variety of fresh vegetables and fruit
Various types of sliced bread
Flour
Rice
Mutton
Sugar
Fat and/or cooking oil
Margarine
Cordial
Bottled water
Chewy Sweets
Tomato Paste
Eggs
Baking powder
Tea
Hot Chocolate / Instant coffee
UHT Milk
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
