Monday, April 26, 2010
EWWWW!
I woke up at 5 (the alarm doesn't go off until 5:30) and the power was out. I went out into the parlor with my headlamp on and started my Bible study. It was rather irritating to have every bug in the room come and hover in the light, especially because there was a recent unveiling of many beetles of various sizes in response to the first rainy days. I smashed one caramel-colored, half inch beetle enough to stop it from flying around my face, but not enough to put guts all over my Precepts course. I brushed it off and on to the floor.
About ten minutes went by and I heard a sound that I initially thought was a mouse. We don't keep food in the parlor, so I thought that was quite strange and got down on my hands and knees with my flashlight and looked under the chairs. I saw this little monster. The noise was its huge pinchers chomping into the beetle.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
I WANNA GO HOOOOMMME!
Today was just hard. So, we sat down to dinner and I whined "I wanna go home! I just want to go to Apple Blossom, and go home when I want…" Then we made it a family game. We tried to get the best thing "missing." For example, we miss water from the tap you can drink – then it was one-upped to water and ice cubes from the fridge! Of course, there were lots of loved ones listed, lots of places to play, shop and eat and lots of conveniences. It was funny when we would say things like "I wish we could walk to church. Actually, we live at church, so I guess it would be 'I wish we HAD to walk to church.'"
Things like Abby's pizza in walking distance, biking the loop, the perfect Apple Blossom food/beverage/dessert wish list (like we do that), whole grain bread, traffic laws, Waste Management, fixed and published prices, coins! And then things like being around people who love to do Bible word studies, never having to plug our ears at church, being able to play soccer without getting hit by sticks or rocks, grass and a lawnmower, wanting to sit 'round the firepit.
I think maybe eating chocolate peanut butter ice cream in the hot tub and having a hall in our house that was all our own were the things I was coveting most.
We went on for a really long time and everyone was smiling and laughing. A much needed shift in our attitudes, OK, my attitude. And then, I had to say it. Picture Jesus, bruised and bleeding, being spit upon, dying on a cross and whining "I wanna go back to heaven!!!"
God is good – even on tough days!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Rain!!
It came! Rain!
We had some small rain the day we left for Kenya (3/19), but it was dry while we left. The villagers are digging down 6 to 8 feet into the riverbed for their water. The cows need to have food brought to them, since there is so little to graze. The earth is parched. The temperatures are still over 110, and over 90 in the parlor. But…
Yesterday at 4 am, a HUGE wind started to blow. It woke us up with the sound of large deposits of dust hitting the tin roof, and the wind rattling it like a fast moving train. Within about ten minutes, the rain began. We got up to enjoy the awesome power of it, to drink in the lovely smell, and because we couldn't have slept! Actually, if he tried, Devin probably could have, but not me.
I sat on the steps while Devin prepared cups of tea for us which Stephanie Harris gave us from Burundi. We have propane for the stove, but the storm took out the power for the coffee pot. Tea was perfect! The rain slowed to a drizzle after fifteen minutes or so, but it was still spectacular to watch. The night sky directly above was clear and we could see Orion. To our left, there was a wonderful lightning show. It was dancing high in the clouds and there was a constant, but very faint, rumble of thunder very far off. The flashes were constant, just varying in location and brightness. Each time they silhouetted the tall, sparse trees in front of us in a different way, giving it all a moving picture feel.
After a half hour or so, the rain began again with a vengeance. We had pulled out our dining chairs and were really enjoying the scene, and were getting lightly sprayed by the gusts of wind carrying the fountain of rain off the roof. We were in our robes, and drinking tea, and NOT EVEN SWEATING. As the storm moved over us from left to right, the thunder became louder and the streaks of lightning became more and more visible, stretching across huge expanses of sky. The sun started lighting the sky and we could see the familiar line of the eastern hills as the storm rolled over them with its booming thunder.
The boys finally joined us at about 6:30, telling us they woke up at 4 and couldn't sleep since. Their behavior throughout yesterday indicated that was probably true. Something – probably a type of termite or wood ant – bloomed and the air became filled with flying bugs. A few more sprinkles fell off and on until 9. The temperatures probably only reached the mid-90s! We spent a lot more time outside than we have since late January.
This morning there is a 4-foot circle of green grass out our back door.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
A Deep Breath - Part 2
The trip started out a little rough Friday night when the boys realized they had left their Ziploc baggie containing their life’s collection of DS games on the plane. We did all we could, but they are gone, all except for the games they had in their DSs. Saturday Devin even hopped a ride out to the airport to talk with security, but no luck. We walked around the nice, clean streets, where flowers were for sale and also growing on every corner. It was hot, but probably 20 to 30 degrees cooler than Nigeria! We even went to a mall and bought a new book for Jack.
On Sunday, we worshipped with the Reynens and were treated to an American accented sermon ala Mike Reynen. The worship even included “American” songs we knew and they used an overhead projector with handwritten words to let us sing along. This church is in a bit more affluent area, so it was a wonderful drive through plush, green well-maintained roads to get there. Their children’s building had deteriorated and they demolished it, then dug 18 feet to bedrock to begin the new foundation (by hand, of course). The walls were starting to go back up. Their children’s program must have been great, since the boys begged to go there again the next Sunday (we didn’t).
Then on Sunday afternoon we went to the Massai market, where Jack put his negotiating skills to use and talked the price down from 6000 to 2500 for their weapons collection. Next was another example of God’s timing. Jack read all the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books last year, and saw at Christmas that the first would be made into a movie by spring. He was so bummed to have to miss it – but, thank God, it was still showing at a lovely theatre near the Mayfield! The screen and sound were a big improvement on our Wenatchee theatres, and there were only two other people in the theatre, so it was no problem to have Ben and his running commentary. Wonderful! We followed that up with a pizza dinner. Yeah, baby!
Monday morning we left for 5 nights at Sopa Lodge on Lake Niavasha. It was an experience of a lifetime. There were giraffes, zebras, monkeys, hippos, and water buck right out our floor-to-ceiling windows. There were two beds big enough for four! All meals were included and buffet style, with 14 tables of food (we think) and tea twice a day. There was a beautiful swimming pool and it was a gardener’s dream – so many of the abundant plantings were labeled and it even told where they were from. The grounds and staff were incomparable. We’ll have to send pictures. It was just too amazing.
Tuesday we woke up and left by 6:30 am with our huge boxed lunches in hand. Vickie and Sopa had arranged for a safari! We were driven by a wonderful man, Mr. William, to Lake Nakuru National Park, a game reserve about an hour’s drive away. Nairobi is really quite modern and beautiful, with a real metropolis of a downtown. The buildings become more rustic as you climb up and out of town. Everywhere it is as green as the Northwest, but the dirt is red and the trees are a larger, wilder canopy. Before long, the left side of the road drops off to the great Rift Valley. Many, many greenhouse operations and camps full of workers to support them are along the road out to Nakuru. We were surprised to see huge cactus trees similar to the ones we saw down in the Baja. Nakuru is a city of perhaps 400,000, but definitely not as modern as Nairobi. We drove through busy market streets, with many of the buildings painted as art, and on to the park. We got coffees with real milk at the entrance café (we don’t get milk in Nigeria, just the powdered stuff).
We saw a traditionally dressed Massai holding a Rhinocerous beetle right at the entrance. Our advice is to go on a Tuesday, as we only saw 5 or so other vehicles the whole day. I think Jack will have to post the list, but (other than elephants and leopards), we saw about everything you think of when you think Africa. We were just feet away from these amazingly varied creatures. We even saw a Black Rhino, which is very unusual as they are quite shy. Hard to figure being shy with a three foot horn like that, but we believed our driver. We ate our lunch as we watched a pride of 9 lions. Actually, we ate our lunch all day and had plenty to share with our driver. The only mishap was when Ben generously threw his apple core to a big baboon. I was VERY nervous, since the big critter could have easily jumped right into the popped top of the van to eat MY apple, but we have no conflict to report. The boys went for a dip in a waterfall about half way through the drive. We circled the lake, climbed up on a bluff, and returned a different way. It was incredible. We returned to the hotel by 4:30, being drenched by the rain on the drive home, but dry during the safari!
At the hotel, we picked up tea and a biscuit, not because we were hungry but because we could. We sat on the patio and watched monkeys leaping around the building and tree tops. One monkey came and sat under our table, hoping for a treat. The boys were thrilled to see another monkey enter the lodge, and return quickly, looking very guilty but pleased, with a donut in his mouth and one in his hand!
Wonderful, solid sleep with nobody needing anything from us first thing in the morning, a sauna for Mom, and then the other missionaries arrived by noon on Wednesday. We got big hugs from Stephanie Harris and from Alice (Black) Matthewson, from Wenatchee. We had stars in our eyes, I am sure, meeting a bunch of our heroes who have served in Africa for up to 40 years! The boys really got attached to Timmy Trier, who has been in Ethiopia since fall and is a year older than Jack. Unfortunately, Phyllis chose to cancel in order to help the boy Uduak, who will be receiving radical treatment for cancer at the Mayo clinic. Devin really hit it off with Ryan Willson and had just a wonderful time discussing geeky technology things. He needed a fix, certainly. The boys had wonderful childcare in the morning sessions, playing tennis and swimming and generally goofing around.
The conference had a lot of spiritual nourishment, some financial management stuff, contingency planning, and some work toward developing member care. It was fun to have the monkeys running across the roof while we were in session. Every night and every meal, we had a chance to hear about what things FMC is doing in Africa, and to get to know the other missionaries. For us, just sitting down with Stephanie and sort of venting on our experience here was of very high value. It was great to have a bunch of folks who could relate to what we are dealing with on a daily basis. So much has happened that we just can’t write down!
Each afternoon included some free time, and we could stroll the grounds with the zebras and giraffes all around. We took a lot of reading materials, but didn’t read as much as just sit or walk and enjoy the sounds and sights for long periods of time. Each evening after the last session we had entertainment. I’ll need to have the boys tell you about the Auction, as it was definitely a highlight of our time in Africa so far.
After the days at the Sopa, we were spoiled again at the Mayfield. It was such a great feeling being welcomed back by name, especially Ben, who made a lot of friends with the staff there the weekend before. That Sunday we worshipped at the Baptist church right next to the Mayfield. It is a huge church with flat screen TVs and the works. Awesome worship! They also gave sections of palm to all the kids and then had them march up and down the aisles as we sang Hosanna songs (it was Palm Sunday). We went to the Nairobi Museum and it was excellent. Great up and coming artists, an excellent natural history museum with about every bird and their wonderfully diverse nests on display, along with the African animals you imagine. There was a level on one wing dedicated to the tribes of the past and present and their coming of age traditions, garments, ceremonies, etc. It was VERY interesting. There was a snake museum right across the street, but we saved our money to go to the supermarket. We were small town folks, skipping events in Seattle and opting for a Trader Joes fun, now I guess we’re bush folks. We walked through downtown and around the government buildings, but because it was Sunday, many of the shops were closed.
Monday morning we woke up at 2:30 a.m. Nigeria time for our ride to the airport, and arrived home by 7:30 p.m., so happy. As we pulled up, the 25 boarders from the camp were all running toward us. Those Fulani kids really express their love! It was so great. Ben had fallen asleep about 20 minutes earlier, so he missed sharing in those joyful moments, but the kids were loving on him just the same. It’s been a fun week for the boys as they realized they do have friends here that they had missed.
Thanks to our sponsors for supporting this time of refreshment, learning, and fellowship. We feel so blessed to add on the vacation days and have time to really relax, because it was a lot of travel. It was a good time to just step away and get a little perspective. We are certainly getting to know God better. We were faced with a few things that really had us shaking our heads before 8 a.m. on Tuesday, but we could shake it off with a smile :)!
On Sunday, we worshipped with the Reynens and were treated to an American accented sermon ala Mike Reynen. The worship even included “American” songs we knew and they used an overhead projector with handwritten words to let us sing along. This church is in a bit more affluent area, so it was a wonderful drive through plush, green well-maintained roads to get there. Their children’s building had deteriorated and they demolished it, then dug 18 feet to bedrock to begin the new foundation (by hand, of course). The walls were starting to go back up. Their children’s program must have been great, since the boys begged to go there again the next Sunday (we didn’t).
Then on Sunday afternoon we went to the Massai market, where Jack put his negotiating skills to use and talked the price down from 6000 to 2500 for their weapons collection. Next was another example of God’s timing. Jack read all the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books last year, and saw at Christmas that the first would be made into a movie by spring. He was so bummed to have to miss it – but, thank God, it was still showing at a lovely theatre near the Mayfield! The screen and sound were a big improvement on our Wenatchee theatres, and there were only two other people in the theatre, so it was no problem to have Ben and his running commentary. Wonderful! We followed that up with a pizza dinner. Yeah, baby!
Monday morning we left for 5 nights at Sopa Lodge on Lake Niavasha. It was an experience of a lifetime. There were giraffes, zebras, monkeys, hippos, and water buck right out our floor-to-ceiling windows. There were two beds big enough for four! All meals were included and buffet style, with 14 tables of food (we think) and tea twice a day. There was a beautiful swimming pool and it was a gardener’s dream – so many of the abundant plantings were labeled and it even told where they were from. The grounds and staff were incomparable. We’ll have to send pictures. It was just too amazing.
Tuesday we woke up and left by 6:30 am with our huge boxed lunches in hand. Vickie and Sopa had arranged for a safari! We were driven by a wonderful man, Mr. William, to Lake Nakuru National Park, a game reserve about an hour’s drive away. Nairobi is really quite modern and beautiful, with a real metropolis of a downtown. The buildings become more rustic as you climb up and out of town. Everywhere it is as green as the Northwest, but the dirt is red and the trees are a larger, wilder canopy. Before long, the left side of the road drops off to the great Rift Valley. Many, many greenhouse operations and camps full of workers to support them are along the road out to Nakuru. We were surprised to see huge cactus trees similar to the ones we saw down in the Baja. Nakuru is a city of perhaps 400,000, but definitely not as modern as Nairobi. We drove through busy market streets, with many of the buildings painted as art, and on to the park. We got coffees with real milk at the entrance café (we don’t get milk in Nigeria, just the powdered stuff).
We saw a traditionally dressed Massai holding a Rhinocerous beetle right at the entrance. Our advice is to go on a Tuesday, as we only saw 5 or so other vehicles the whole day. I think Jack will have to post the list, but (other than elephants and leopards), we saw about everything you think of when you think Africa. We were just feet away from these amazingly varied creatures. We even saw a Black Rhino, which is very unusual as they are quite shy. Hard to figure being shy with a three foot horn like that, but we believed our driver. We ate our lunch as we watched a pride of 9 lions. Actually, we ate our lunch all day and had plenty to share with our driver. The only mishap was when Ben generously threw his apple core to a big baboon. I was VERY nervous, since the big critter could have easily jumped right into the popped top of the van to eat MY apple, but we have no conflict to report. The boys went for a dip in a waterfall about half way through the drive. We circled the lake, climbed up on a bluff, and returned a different way. It was incredible. We returned to the hotel by 4:30, being drenched by the rain on the drive home, but dry during the safari!
At the hotel, we picked up tea and a biscuit, not because we were hungry but because we could. We sat on the patio and watched monkeys leaping around the building and tree tops. One monkey came and sat under our table, hoping for a treat. The boys were thrilled to see another monkey enter the lodge, and return quickly, looking very guilty but pleased, with a donut in his mouth and one in his hand!
Wonderful, solid sleep with nobody needing anything from us first thing in the morning, a sauna for Mom, and then the other missionaries arrived by noon on Wednesday. We got big hugs from Stephanie Harris and from Alice (Black) Matthewson, from Wenatchee. We had stars in our eyes, I am sure, meeting a bunch of our heroes who have served in Africa for up to 40 years! The boys really got attached to Timmy Trier, who has been in Ethiopia since fall and is a year older than Jack. Unfortunately, Phyllis chose to cancel in order to help the boy Uduak, who will be receiving radical treatment for cancer at the Mayo clinic. Devin really hit it off with Ryan Willson and had just a wonderful time discussing geeky technology things. He needed a fix, certainly. The boys had wonderful childcare in the morning sessions, playing tennis and swimming and generally goofing around.
The conference had a lot of spiritual nourishment, some financial management stuff, contingency planning, and some work toward developing member care. It was fun to have the monkeys running across the roof while we were in session. Every night and every meal, we had a chance to hear about what things FMC is doing in Africa, and to get to know the other missionaries. For us, just sitting down with Stephanie and sort of venting on our experience here was of very high value. It was great to have a bunch of folks who could relate to what we are dealing with on a daily basis. So much has happened that we just can’t write down!
Each afternoon included some free time, and we could stroll the grounds with the zebras and giraffes all around. We took a lot of reading materials, but didn’t read as much as just sit or walk and enjoy the sounds and sights for long periods of time. Each evening after the last session we had entertainment. I’ll need to have the boys tell you about the Auction, as it was definitely a highlight of our time in Africa so far.
After the days at the Sopa, we were spoiled again at the Mayfield. It was such a great feeling being welcomed back by name, especially Ben, who made a lot of friends with the staff there the weekend before. That Sunday we worshipped at the Baptist church right next to the Mayfield. It is a huge church with flat screen TVs and the works. Awesome worship! They also gave sections of palm to all the kids and then had them march up and down the aisles as we sang Hosanna songs (it was Palm Sunday). We went to the Nairobi Museum and it was excellent. Great up and coming artists, an excellent natural history museum with about every bird and their wonderfully diverse nests on display, along with the African animals you imagine. There was a level on one wing dedicated to the tribes of the past and present and their coming of age traditions, garments, ceremonies, etc. It was VERY interesting. There was a snake museum right across the street, but we saved our money to go to the supermarket. We were small town folks, skipping events in Seattle and opting for a Trader Joes fun, now I guess we’re bush folks. We walked through downtown and around the government buildings, but because it was Sunday, many of the shops were closed.
Monday morning we woke up at 2:30 a.m. Nigeria time for our ride to the airport, and arrived home by 7:30 p.m., so happy. As we pulled up, the 25 boarders from the camp were all running toward us. Those Fulani kids really express their love! It was so great. Ben had fallen asleep about 20 minutes earlier, so he missed sharing in those joyful moments, but the kids were loving on him just the same. It’s been a fun week for the boys as they realized they do have friends here that they had missed.
Thanks to our sponsors for supporting this time of refreshment, learning, and fellowship. We feel so blessed to add on the vacation days and have time to really relax, because it was a lot of travel. It was a good time to just step away and get a little perspective. We are certainly getting to know God better. We were faced with a few things that really had us shaking our heads before 8 a.m. on Tuesday, but we could shake it off with a smile :)!
A Deep Breath - Part 1
God is SO good. Last summer, after we submitted our proposed budget, already approved by WFMC, to the FM World Missions VISA (Volunteers in Service Abroad) department, we were told to add the cost of a missionary retreat in the spring. In fact, it was just written alongside the budget worksheet as an addition and signed off. All the missionaries serving with FMWM in Africa were to attend – and it was to be in Kenya! Now, a safari (not a hunt) was on my personal list of things to do in my life, so I was very, very excited. We decided right away to add some extra days for a family vacation, and set aside our Christmas money! What I didn’t know was that God had the timing of the event structured perfectly for our family.
We are feeling SO good. We had just started to realize how tired we were. We had just made some strong commitments to adjust our “schedule” to try to make family time and down time a greater priority. We left on the 18th at about 2, and drove to near the Abuja airport, and stayed at the same hotel with a 4-person bed where we slept our first night in Africa. It was wonderful to experience being seasoned! I was all set with my computer to write you and do some paperwork on the three hour drive, but an extra person came and suddenly it was too crowded, but “we adjust.” Devin drove. We didn’t have to explain or help with the boys’ bucket showers that night, and sharing two threadbare hand towels as the only towels was no problem. The light in the bathroom didn’t work, the generator (and therefore any power) wouldn’t come on for a few hours. It ran most of the night near our window and the exhaust didn’t make us feel sick-ish. We walked out the entrance and up the road and negotiated for some snacks with confidence. In fact, Jack got a good laugh from all the merchants as he responded in his thick pidgin accent regarding the purchase of a catfish – “I no fit buy it - you gimme for free and you cook it now now, right here?” All no problem. And the road between here and there is much improved!
The next morning we left at 5 a.m., flew to Lagos, took a cab to another airport in Lagos, and flew to Kenya. You know, nobody gets excited when your flight is two hours late. Nobody makes announcements, and they aren’t even around until it’s about time to board. And there are almost no children in this international airport which serves a city of 15 or 18 million.
When we arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, Mike, Vickie and Kyle Reynen were waving at us outside the doors! They traveled out to the airport with the airport pickup bus from our hotel. They didn’t have to -arrangements were made - but we were happy for their company and to meet the Africa Area Directors (and their son, born at home in Nigeria while they were serving down south about 17 years ago). They had thought of everything, including sim cards for our cell phone and a list of all the soon-to-arrive missionaries’ numbers, and an envelope of already exchanged currency. We stayed at a wonderful AIM missionary boarding house called Mayfield. There was a full bed AND bunk beds! And four SETS of towel/hand towel/washcloth! It was as if we had NEVER seen a room so clean. The baths were down the hall – in each block there was a nice CLEAN room for the toilet with a sink, a shower with sink and a BATHTUB. The power was uninterrupted and there was free wifi. The staff was fantastic, and we were served 3 wonderful meals a day, all for $20 each per day. Laundry service was about $3.50 per load (yes – a washing machine) with the caveat that an additional charge would be made if the weather did not permit outside drying. There was a playground with a merry-go-round. The grounds were beautiful, with drainage systems we had to photograph which included beautiful flower beds and the biggest avocado tree (loaded with ripe fruit) we have ever seen. There was a kiddie room with every kid VHS tape you can imagine, and downstairs another big room with a TV. Also a stocked library room, crafts for sale, cheap snacks and pop for sale on the honor system, and drivers and a bus for hire at very reasonable prices. We stayed there a total of 5 nights. A large youth group from Grant’s Pass was there, along with others doing interesting things around Africa.
More later… it gets even better!
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