Category Archives: Daily Life

Feeling aged! (part I)

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Whoa, the past few days have been…hectic?  crazy?  fun?  exciting?  tiring?  Yea, all that and more!

Let me begin where I left off on Friday.  I finally decided to change up the blog and that actually went quite smoothly.  I hope you all like the new layout.

Saturday we were invited to a family gathering at Bosco’s sisters home.  Bosco is the project manager at C4KK and has become a very good friend so we were pleased to be invited.  The gathering was approximately 30 miles away yet during the past 8 years Catherine (Bosco’s sister) has lived there her parents have never seen her home.  And honestly after the ride we had I can totally understand!

We started at 9am with Bosco, Ann (his wife), Stephen, David (his sons) and Coletta (his daughter) along with another of Bosco’s sisters and her daughter squeezed into the back seat of the truck.  Then in the bed of the truck were two of Bosco’s friends and his dad surprised us all by saying he would ride in the bed of the truck too along with his friend!

On the way there we crossed Thika River.  It’s been flooding recently (you can see some of our photos from near C4KK here) and after the waters receded you can see the effects of throwing trash into the river has on the landscape.

As I mentioned earlier the distance is only about 30 miles yet it took us 2 1/2 hours to drive that.  The truck was rocking back and forth, tipping sideways and going through water.  When we made it to the nearest village we were guided by Bosco’s brother-in-law (in the blue shirt and jeans) into the interior…more rocky roads!

We made it to the compound and were shown around Wambua’s (brother-in-law) property.  He has a beautiful view and a very nice shamba (farm)!

After a yummy lunch there was singing….and this family likes to sing and dance!

It was also time for some playing in the dirt!

Then it was time to make the trip back home…my back (hence the “feeling aged” title!) was a bit skeptical about the ride, but we finally made it home safe and sound.  Well, maybe not too sound, I could feel the stiffness creeping in and knew the next day would be interesting.

I remember thinking years ago how the elderly would be cautioned about taking certain trips because of the roads that would be driven and I would laugh….I’m not laughing anymore!

Sunday morning came early as my kids decided to call us, did I mention early?, and wanted to Skype.  I had totally forgotten it was Mother’s Day so we cranked up the computer, turned on the Internet and had a short Skype call (the Internet kept breaking up, not putting the video through well and voices cracking throughout).  The kids did get to tell me happy mother’s day though and it was wonderful to see their faces and hear their voices!

The rest of the day was spent reading scripture, resting and trying to recuperate from the trip the day before.  Yes I was feeling aged but grateful for the opportunity to see a family gathering with their jokes, laughing, dancing and food…although I couldn’t understand most of it, I could understand love.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more Feeling Aged.

Smooth sailing?!

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Praise God yesterday had gone fairly smooth!

In the last blog post I told you about a frustrating occurrence which became even more frustrating after Bosco met us that evening and told us more of the story….principal saying it wasn’t a work day (funny it was opening day of school and the teachers were there), deputy (vice principal) telling Bosco he must not want the teachers to have lunch because he needed their signatures (with these teachers perhaps it takes them that long to sign). I could see the frustration on Bosco’s face which I didn’t like but on the other hand it was nice to see him understanding and seeing how ridiculous the entire situation was.

Yesterday the boy got his letter signed, met the other “transfer” boy, went to their new school and picked up their admission letters!  The other “transfer” boy left this morning for his old school to pick up his transfer letter….praying it goes easier for him than it did with his brother.

Yesterday we also headed into Nairobi for some supplies for the children’s home (the water pump broke so a new one was purchased along with pipes). Normally we anticipate getting one thing accomplished during a trip to Nairobi but this trip we actually got three things done by 2pm!  The ease of working with larger companies who know the value of time!

Today there are several things on the agenda….

1)  the water guy was supposed to be here at 9am to set the water pump, it’s now 10:30am and still no show…update, he showed up at 11:10am

2)  cement was delivered, although it was supposed to be here at 8 but showed up at 9

3)  napier grass is being cut and sold (since our cows are still visiting the bull…no luck on that visit so far)

4)  and there were other things that have occurred during the day which have been quite frustrating but I have a feeling if I get into it they will sound harsh.  I guess I need some cooling down time.

Lord you are the peacemaker and keeper, forgive me for not always living that truth.

PS-however, we did have a cute visitor in the office today

 

 

New week

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New week, new challenges, new struggles but thankfully new mercies too!

This week promises to have its share of challenges.  School begins next week (they report on May 8th) and many of the students have not given us their report forms (grades) from Term 1 (which ended end of March/beginning of April…plenty of time to get me paperwork).  We require these from the students before paying for the next term so we can monitor their progress.  But this can only happen if the school actually gives them their grades…which two schools did not.  Side note:  This is just another example of the school system here….doesn’t matter your individual grades for each term, they are simply teaching to the final, one-time exam in Form 4 (12th grade).  Plus we have a couple students who are on a “probation term” in regards to their sponsorship.  They had received a D+ or below in Term1 and now we have to wait for report forms before moving forward.  But hey, this is the system so this is how we wait.

Another challenge came just this afternoon.  I was asked to provide lunch (translation….give me money) for a government official…in our own home no less!  I did offer a meal but that wasn’t what was wanted.  I was very thankful for God’s restraint in this situation.  This person said I was acting like I wasn’t the owner…to which I replied, “I’m not, God owns this place.”

Sometimes I forget the new mercies part through the fog of issues we deal with on a daily basis.  Then a friend on Facebook writes a post which seems to be directed straight to my heart…thank you friend and God for using this friend to remind me of your mercies.  And another child at C4KK has been sponsored, which also lifts my spirit!

Without God’s mercy and grace I would most likely run back to friends and family, to a “comfortable” life, but God has me here for a purpose and through the struggles and challenges He brings me closer to Him.

Oooo, how exciting!

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I get a little giddy when things work (somewhat) like they used to when we lived in the US.  Working on a fast internet does just that.  Notice I said “fast” not high speed, but it feels high speed to me.

Sorry for the menial information but it is exciting to me.  Plus I am currently working on a soul bearing, heart wrenching blog post that is taking me some time to actually put down on paper.

And I had to try out my new wordpress app on my NookColor!  Which I downloaded fast!

Invasion

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Ok, maybe not quite an “invasion” but it sure felt like it at 3am!  I’m usually not too coherent anyway at 3am and the other night/morning was no exception.  Unfortunately I also had an ice pick piercing my left temple…ok, maybe not but if I ever have an ice pick piercing my temple I’m sure this is what it would feel like.  Anyway, I got up to take some Excedrin (again) and as I went into the bathroom I noticed out of the corner of my eye a spot on the door.  Trying to reconcile this in the dark (electricity had gone out, surprise!) I decided I’d be brave and shine my flashlight on it only to find this (of course this picture was taken the next day after I had captured the creature under a cup)

Not exactly what I wanted to see at 3am, but as I mentioned I captured it and decided to let Chuck handle it in the morning.

<cue morning>  As I’m preparing breakfast Chuck is dealing with the slug and then yells….”you may want to get your camera for this one!”  Now, if I were living back in Phoenix I would be pretty darn excited to see what in the world he was talking about, but living in Kenya those exclaimations no longer excite me.  I just figure “now what?”

I’ve blogged about the cracks in our walls before (here and here) but I do not believe I’ve ever shown you the cracks in the floor.  This is what comes from cracks in the floor (and indeed I did want my camera for this one!):

<cue evening> Chuck and I usually have a cup of tea each evening and that evening was no different, other than….when I went to take the cups to the kitchen I noticed “something” looking at me.  I immediately turned around and told Chuck “something is looking at me and it’s big and dark”, I was actually thinking it might be a scorpion.  Chuck went in to investigate and called Spunk over to control the issue:

She captured it (after much screaming, on my part, from this large grasshopper flying around the room) , played with it for about 1/2 hour then finally sat down to munch!

So you see, we had a mini-invasion of sorts from slimy, creepy, flying creatures….just another day/evening in Kenya!

Slow down

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Around here you can want to get things done quickly but Kenya has a way of slowing you down.

Today as I was typing forms into the computer for our social worker (Peter) the electricity went out.  I kept typing though hoping it would come back on quickly….which it did! 

However, just before lunch it went out again and I figured since it was lunch I would shut down the computer and finish typing afterwards.

It is now 2 hours afterwards and still no electricity which means I’ve been getting alot of reading done instead!

As long as you take the down times in stride they can be ok.  Plus it is a great time for tea! It’s just when the down times last for an extended amount of time it gets frustrating.

Here’s hoping electricity is not off too long!

I’m no camper

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It seems to be a running joke in our family that my idea of camping is Motel 6.  The whole idea of camping just never thrilled me, maybe because I lived in a trailer house my entire childhood and therefore vacationing in another camper trailer wasn’t my idea of vacationing…granted a few of the camper trailers were bigger than some of the trailers I grew up in!

Chuck’s family however did A LOT of camping and since Chuck and I were a serious item in high school I was granted access to this cult called “campers”!  What I enjoyed most though was the camaraderie, laughing with family around a campfire.  The other camping stuff was not my cup of tea….public showers (ewww), public toilets (even more ewww), washing dishes in a basin, no place to wash clothes.  This was in the early days until mom and dad (love you guys!!!) got with the program and their camper then had access to running water…yeah!.

Now I seem to be living a camping experience.  Granted I’m not in a cramped trailer but we are still out of running water after 4 weeks.  I wake up every morning in anticipation only to have my hopes dashed when I turn on the taps and nothing happens.  I guess I should have been grateful for those public showers and toilets with their precious running water!

We are making it though….we use cistern water for flushing the toilet (thanks to the house help we are never without water in our container) and purchased water for washing dishes and bathing (the cistern is open and therefore has items in it which I would rather not have on my dishes or body).  It’s just frustrating not to be able to go to the sink to wash my hands or rinse out a cup or take a shower.

Just this morning I put in my journal “You [God] continually give me strength to make it thru yet another day-to see tomorrow in hope.”  Sure it may just be the hope in having running water tomorrow, but I’m thankful for His strength and hope each and every day.

No connection

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Today my phone ran out of data so I couldn’t get on the internet and I was down to 30/ksh on my phone for calls and texts.

When Chuck tried to top up my phone the system wasn’t working.  So I was out of communication most of the day…no issues I did have other computer work to get done (which I did).

Finally just before heading home my phone was topped up and I purchased internet time and here I am!

Now I am attempting to talk with Amanda, our youngest, but we are having bad reception.  I did however get to talk with Tarrin just before Amanda called.

Communication is not guaranteed here, whether that be because of lack of shilling, reception or the wind blowing in a certain direction. I am thankful though for when it does work but admit to being frustrated at the slow internet speed.

Until next time when the stars are in alignment and communication comes together!

Good advice

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Some of you may remember the recent (unwelcome) visitor we had in our home recently:

After my wonderful father-in-law read the blog post he wrote and said “hopefully you can plug up the holes where he came in.”  I had to laugh at that because I’ve plugged up (with silicone) so many holes and cracks in this house I think I’ve helped Dow stock!  But even after numerous attempts to “plug up the holes” this house continues to crack.  (you can click on the photos for a larger view-you might not want to do that with the snake one, that’s totally up to you!)

This is in the bathroom

A close up of the ceiling/wall connection....large enough for our visitor to climb through!

So you can see why I had to laugh at his suggestion…perhaps this place needs to be dipped in silicone!

Hello

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Today electricity was out all day at C4KK and that meant I was not able to work on my computer.  Why you ask?  Besides the obvious of my computer battery going out, when I use my phone for my internet (it is the only modem I use, so basically if I want to be online I have to use my phone) my phone battery depletes very quickly and then I would not only be computerless but also phoneless. 

Electricity is on at home but getting online to do all I wanted to do during the day didn’t appeal to me.  However, I wanted to get a quick blog post posted and since my phone was charged here it is!

Hoping tomorrow to get online, get some stuff done and give you a better blog post!