Jander Journey

Flip Flops for Foreign Friends

2010-01-25T08:55:00.002-06:00

One of Tracy's good friends, Colby, from Lorena had a birthday party and requested that guests bring new flip flops instead of gifts. He boxed them up and sent them to Tracy so she could pass them out to people in Kenya who needed shoes. We went to the IDP camp in December to try to pass them out. We didn't get them all given away there because the crowds of people were so great that we couldn't even get the shoes to the people who needed them the most. We were able to go again a few weeks later. This time we took two people who work at the hospital with AIDS patients. They took us to their client's homes which are some of the neediest people. We were blessed by the time we spent with them. They were some of the most gracious and loving people in spite of the conditions they live in. We were always invited into their homes to sit and talk for awhile. It is nice to sit and visit and just get to know people from all walks of life. We are thankful that God has allowed us to be in Kenya and hope and pray that He can use us in some small way to bring glory to Him. Here are a few pictures from the shoe distribution.

We took a picture sent from Colby to show the kids who their "hero" was that sent them new shoes. They thought he was really cool because he is wearing a football uniform!

Putting new shoes on their feet

This is what most of the shoes looked like if they even had shoes.

Inside one of the UN (United Nations) tents at the IDP (internally displaced people) camp. It was small but still they had a board set up as a couch so that they could have friends over to visit

Outside the tent with the family

Another family that got new shoes

This little guy got spider man flip flops and a Flash Gordon doll. He was so happy. (Linda's Dad sends small stuffed animals and toys periodically and this Flash Gordon was one of them. It's amazing how something so small to us is treasured by the kids in Kenya)

I love this picture. These kids were jumping up and down because they had some new shoes. Their faces show so much joy!

Early Morning Football!!

2010-01-25T07:50:00.001-06:00

You gotta love it! Watching the Texas v Texas A&M football game at 4:30 am on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Nothing like eating chili and drinking coffee at 4:30 in the morning. Nice hair everyone!

Kijabe Town Primary School Field Trip

2009-08-08T15:06:00.006-05:00

You may remember us talking about the Kijabe Town Primary School. This is a school located about 20 minutes from us in a remote village. The children in the school were not getting fed at the beginning of the school year and we soon got involved in helping feed them. Thank you to all of you who have helped us in that endeavor. Philip has been taking the Moffat Bible students to Kijabe Town since October. We have gotten to know the Standard 6 (6th grade) teacher and his family. Right before we flew back to Texas in the end of March, Joseph, the Standard 6 teacher, told us that the students wanted to go with us to the airport to see us off because they have never been to the airport or to Nairobi at all. Many had not even left Kijabe Town. We decided that we should take these kids on a field trip to Nairobi. The date was set for July 31st and the planning began. We were to visit the airport, animal orphange, KICC building (tallest building in Nairobi) and a museum. So last Friday we woke up very early (it's school break for our kids so their enthusiasm was lacking) and headed to Kijabe Town. We rushed as usual only to get there and wait about 30 minutes for the other bus to arrive from Mai Maihu. This is what happens just about everytime we go somewhere. We rush and rush and arrive on time only to wait! I'm sure that if we were to decide to get somewhere when we got there and not worry about being on time, we would miss something or someone would have to wait on us. We just can't get over our Western mentality of being time oriented. It just isn't like that here. So when the second bus arrived, we all gathered around and said a prayer asking God for safety on the roads and thanking Him for the opportunity that He had granted us. Kenyans cannot believe that we can't pray in our schools because it is very much a part of their lives everywhere not just where it is deemed appropriate. I think they have that part right!

Waiting on the bus

We made it down the bumpy dirt road to Mai Maihu where we stopped and picked up sodas and loaves of bread. These items were for the kids lunches. They got a room temparature soda, a loaf of bread, a banana and a sausage. The saddest part to me was watching some of the students put their loaf of bread in their bag or purse to take home to their family. It made me realize what I take for granted everyday.

Lunch!

The students had a wonderful time in Nairobi and thanked us many times for the field trip. I'm still sure that we got more out of our time with them than they did on the field trip.

Petting a cheetah. What you don't see is the four other cheetahs being distracted by about 5 employees of the Animal Orphanage. About 30 seconds after this photo was taken, one of the employees threw a ball and this cheetah sped away so fast we didn't know what had happened. We quickly went right out the gate. Quite an experience!

Kijabe Town Primary School Standard 6 Class !

Christmas Pagent in Stonetown

2009-01-09T13:15:00.005-06:00

Since there was no Christmas Pagaent for us to go to on Christmas Eve and no Church service either, we decided that we could do our own production in our hotel room on Christmas Eve. Here are the results below. It really was a precious pagent!

The Angel of the Lord! She is bold that's for sure!

Elizabeth AND Mary

Zechariah

The angel of the Lord appears before Zechariah

A speechless Zechariah and someone who wants to know what Zechariah is trying to say.

Zechariah and Elizabeth

The angel Gabriel appears before Mary

Joseph and Mary riding a donkey to Bethlehem

Wise man visiting Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus

The cast and crew of the production!

Around Stonetown

2009-01-09T09:13:00.014-06:00

Here are a few pictures from around Stonetown on the island of Zanzibar.

This is the church we went to on the 23rd of December for Christmas Caroling.

This is a chamber where many slaves were kept during the slave trading days of Zanzibar. It was very small and hot.

This is a huge stingray. It took us awhile before we could even figure out what it was. I've never seen something like this!

Another view of the stingray

The entrance to the fish market. You learn really quickly how to breathe through your mouth!

If you want a loaf of fresh bread this is where you get it!

Zanzibar is also called the Spice Island. There were spices everywhere for purchase. The spices from Zanzibar are so flavorful that a smaller amount is needed in recipes. We learned this the hard way when I made chili and used the amount of chili powder called for in the recipe. It was so hot we could hardly eat it.

Colorful kikoys/kangas (wraps) and scarfs were plentiful!

These are the streets in Stonetown. It was easy to get turned around and go down the same street several times before you found where you were going.

This was our favorite place to eat. It was an Italian Ice Cream parlor that served good lunches and suppers as well. I think we ate there about 6 times.

Zanzibar is famous for it's doors. The doors used to be a symbol of the wealth of the owner of the house. We were amazed at the size and detail of the doors.

We had been walking for a long time when we found this nice Indian restaurant. It was so nice to find a somewhat cool place to sit down. The girl in the blue shirt is Julie a friend of ours from ABO, her mother is in the maroon shirt and Ryan Dahlman is in the corner by Tracy.

You can buy frest octopus and squid at the fish market. Again, mouth breathing is in order here.

This is a place called Forodoni. It is an outside eating area. There are lots of tables in this alley way and you just walk around, find something good to eat and dig in. It was really good and much cheaper than eating at a restaurant.

Forodoni again

Forodoni - Emily holding a huge banana! They made amazing banana/chocolate pizza.

Another look at the food at Forodoni

Forodoni

A fish waiting to be processed at the fish market

Boat building - They actually make the boats right here. This is the type of boat that we took to the island.

Another fish on the way to the market

The market from across the street

This is where we got a great cup of coffee one morning. The blue bucket on the left is where they wash to cups between customers. They just dip it in and fill it up for the next customer!

Another look at the streets of Zanzibar

One Night on an Island

2009-01-06T12:37:00.011-06:00

What a romantic title Philip came up with! I'm not sure the experience qualifies as romantic but we had a great time. We were given an opportunity to go to an island that is uninhabited and spend the night. Of course, we could think of nothing better to do (except maybe sleep in an air conditioned hotel room!) so off we went. The house we were in had no air conditioning and the girls and I (Linda) were sharing one twin size bed because it had a mosquito net and we didn't want anyone else to get bitten 120 + times. It is already hot in Zanzibar and when you have so many bodies in one bed, it is almost unbearable. So the idea of a night in a tent on an island with no water or electricity actually sounded great! We had a great time and would do it again. Here are some pictures from our time there.

These are sea cucumbers. Some fishermen were bringing in their catch when we were getting ready to board the boat to the island. These things are really gross. They throw up their insides when they are threatened. I don't think the picture gives you the true picture of their grossness. Apparently, they are used to make medicine.

Some other fisherman had lobsters that they had caught. They were hugh and were beautiful colors. Much better looking than the cucumbers above.

On the way to the island. The boat we were in was a wooden handmade boat like most of them around the island. It had sails but we motored out to the island because it was getting late and the sea was a bit rough.

These were taken right before we started out to the island!

The island in front of the boat.

Another beautiful sunset. We loved getting those Dhows in the picture!

The kids under the rock formation. The sun was already gone by the time we got everyone to cooperate!

Playing on the beach the next morning.

This is where we had pitched our tents. We forgot to take a picture until after we had taken the tents down. In the evening before we went to bed, the kids were playing and caught many hugh hermit crabs. There were hundreds of them on them on the island. The kids dug a hole near the tent to keep the crabs in. In the middle of the night, we realized that it was maybe not such a wise idea. The crabs got out and probably joined by the other crabs on the island begin to scratch on the tents. There was much lost sleep. To top it off, it started to rain and we hadn't put the rain fly on because it didn't look like it was going to rain. Luckily the rain only lasted a few minutes and wasn't that heavy. It was funny in the morning but nothing is really funny in the middle of the night.

We walked to the other side of the island and found beautiful cliffs. The drop to the ocean is about 20 feet and the water is so clear so you can see quite a bit. It was such a contrast compared to the other side of the island where we camped.

This is the forest that we walked through to get to the other side of the island. Yes, I asked about snakes and was assured that none existed on the island. I wasn't convinced that it was true but we went anyways.

Playing in the water on the beach side of the island.

This is a cove that we went into on the island. It reminded us of something from Pirates of the Carribean. The tide was out so we just stayed for a few minutes so we wouldn't get stranded.

This is a sand bar in the middle of the Indian Ocean. We stopped on our way back to Zanzibar. It was truly awesome to stand in the middle of the ocean.

There were many jellyfish on the island. I think they would get stuck on the sand when the tide went out. We didn't step on any thankfully! I thought the footprints were cool because ours were the only ones on the sandbar. It was really incredible.

Another view of the sand bar.

Our family photo on the sand bar.

Ariving in Dar es Salaam and on to Zanzibar

2009-01-03T01:02:00.007-06:00

Our trip to Dar Es Salaam was worth it. They have a Subway there!!!! We arrived late on Saturday night so nothing was open but after church on Sunday we were the first customers at Subway. It has never tasted so good!

On a beach in Dar.

Playing in the Indian Ocean in Dar. Baxter, Luke and our professor's sons.

Jumping waves. I didn't know Emily could jump so high!!

Tracy and Dinah (professor's daughter) buried in the sand.

On the 2 and 1/2 hour ferry ride to Zanzibar!

Our first glimpse of Stone Town in Zanzibar.

More Stone Town.

More Stone Town.

We made it to the house we would be staying in. At first we thought it was the tent but then we were told it was the house in the back. A big house by Zanzibar standards but not finished yet on the inside. It gave us shelter and we had a nice time there. I'm not sure Ryan thought the first night was fun as he was eaten alive by fleas. The second night, Emily was eaten alive by mosquitos. She had over 120 bites and we wondered about malaria. She doesn't seem to have been affected. This is a wonderful blessing and we are very grateful.

More views of the house and the area (below) that the house was in.

Beautiful Zanzibar sunset complete with a Dhow. This was our treat the first night we were there. God is good!!

Journey to Zanzibar

2009-01-03T00:35:00.010-06:00

The kids got out of school on November 26th for their vacation between terms. The new term began January 6th. We were invited to go to Zanzibar with our Professor from Moffatt Bible College. Zanzibar is an island off of the coast of Tanzania. Tanzania is south of Kenya. We all decided that driving would be a fun adventure so on December 12th we started our trip. The total distance one way was about 700 kilometers (420 miles). We always measure a trip in hours in Kenya because the time is totally dependent on the condition of the roads not the distance. We weren't sure what the roads were like in Tanzania and much to our surprise they were great. They even had a center line which is something you don't see much of in Kenya!

This is a picture out of the car window as we headed out of Nairobi and toward to border of Tanzania. The majority of the road was dirt or full of pot holes until we got to Arusha, Tanzania, a distance of about 285 km. or 6 hours.

As we were traveling through one small town, we had to pull over because a parade of people were passing. We never did quite figure out what the parade was for.

We passed a herd of camels before we got to Tanzania. Apparently they are common closer to the coast of Kenya but we had never seen them until now so we thought it was interesting.

This is another sampling of the roads. At this point we were wondering how long this trip was going to take. You can't travel fast on roads like this!

Even when the roads smooth out, there are other things to watch out for like a whole herd of cattle. The Maasai move their cattle wherever there is water and grass.

Crossing the border into Tanzania. Everything went so smoothly at the border and we were very thankful.

This is Tanzania! Beautiful countryside.

More views of Tanzania.

Mount Kilimanjaro is in the background. It is a bit hard to see.

Finally we arrived at the Lutheran Guesthouse in Moshi, Tanzania. Notice the Lorena shirts!!The kids were glad to get out of the HOT car. It is definitely an adjustment getting used to a car without air conditioning. It's not too bad until you are in the city and have to leave your windows rolled up so that you are safe.

We found an ATM machine so that we could get Tanzanian shillings and then could get something to eat. We ate the the Salsburg Restaurant and the power went out in the whole city about 5 minutes before we got to the restaurant. It took about one hour to get our food because they had to cook everything in small batches over jikos or open fires. The food was very good! The power didn't come on until we were heading back to the guesthouse.

Leaving Moshi the next morning on our way to Dar Es Salaam. We stopped and got a picture of Mt. Kilamanjaro on the way out.

The whole group we were traveling with (except Philip taking the picture). The family on the left is our professor from Moffat's family. Ryan is the guy on the right. He was in our candidate week and came out with us in June. He is also Tracy's school teacher. He is part of our family in Africa now!

More scenes from Tanzania.

A restaurant we stopped at on our way down to Dar. It was nice food and we all enjoyed the break from driving.

Ryan the navigator!

A village in Tanzania.

We were going over a bridge and notice this guy in a canoe down below. He appears to be fishing.

Cheptabo Wedding

2009-01-03T00:20:00.004-06:00

Our family was invited to attend the wedding of a couple that we met during our home stay in Cheptebo. You may remember reading about our attending their engagement ceremony during our home stay. We got to know them and felt privileged that they asked Tracy and Emily to be flower girls in their wedding. The wedding was December 6th. We left Kijabe on December 5th and returned on December 7th. All in all it was a very rewarding experience. We did have quite an adventure again in the house we were staying in. It was the same house where we spent the last week of our home stay in August. The first night I came out of the bathroom and nearly stepped on a little mouse. We killed the mouse and put it outside hoping we wouldn't find anymore. The girls slept in one room, the boys slept in another and Philip and I slept in another. At around 12:30 a.m., Philip and I were woken up by something gnawing on wood. We sat up in bed and listened and determined that it was coming from the dresser. It sounded like it was huge! We contemplated opening the dresser to see what it was but I told Philip that I was sure I would scream when I saw it and wake everyone up. We sat there for a minute trying to decide what we should do. We finally opted for leaving the room and shutting the door behind us hoping to trap the creature inside the room. I slept with the girls and Philip went into the boys room. In the morning we didn't find anything in the dresser. The next night after Luke got in bed he shouted "a mouse" and then he got up and started chasing it. The mouse ran out of the boys room and down the hall past the bathroom. Luke shouted "a snake". We all came running and sure enough there was a small snake in the bathroom. Who knows what kind it was. We just killed it and threw it outside. I was pretty sure that there had to be other snakes but we never saw them. We ended up killing the mouse also. We started out sleeping with the kids and just kept that bedroom door shut where the huge gnawing animal lived. The next morning the girls and I were woken up by the boys killing the big rat that was gnawing the dresser. They heard it when they got up and decided to see what it was. They were able to kill it and we were all thankful. Despite all of our adventures during the night we had a good time and were thankful that we got to visit with the people in Cheptebo.
When we first arrived at the church on Friday evening, we blew up balloons for about an hour. The kids had a blast and our jaws hurt the rest of the evening!

Our car was part of the processional so it was decorated like the other cars. The bridesmaids were in our car. We drove to the church from the little house that all of the girls in the wedding dressed at. It was only about 3/4 of a mile. Someone was standing in the back of a pickup in the front of the processional line videoing the drive. As we got closer to the church, people who were going to attend the wedding were lined up on the side of the road cheering and dancing.

This is the little house that the girls got dressed in. I put Tracy and Emily's hair up and then sprayed it with glitter spray from Texas. They were all fascinated with the glitter spray and so we sprayed many of the other girls hair including the bride. They were so happy to have that special treatment!

This is the dress rehearsal for the wedding. It was right outside that little house they all got dressed in. It was also right before the wedding! After the rehearsal, the entire wedding party marched down the hill to the cars that had been decorated. They sang and celebrated the entire way.

This is the processional going to the church. We are driving along dirt roads up in the mountains. It is very pretty and very bumpy! Tracy and Emily are in the car that is just crossing the water.

Tracy and Emily walking down the aisle. They are throwing confetti instead of flowers. After the ceremony, the preacher who officiated the ceremony said he was surprised when two white girls walked down the aisle.

This is right before the wedding began. The wedding party is gathered in front of the Church getting ready to march in. The two ladies singing are close friends of the family. Purity, the one wearing the pink dress was raised by Sally and Joseph. She is currently attending college in Eldoret. She helped keep the girls in the right place and doing the right things throughout the day.

After the pictures with the bride and groom's families, we all drove to an overlook area and took even more pictures. This is our family with the groom, Pastor Walter and bride, Sally. It was so hot and when we got back to the car Emily said that she was just forcing her smiles because she really just wanted to cry. The dresses they were wearing were so thick because they are all bunched up on top. There were many yards of taffeta in each dress!

After pictures at the overlook area, the girls were seated at a table to eat the meal. Everyone except the wedding party and those who went with them to take pictures had already eaten. This is the table of honor because you got to sit down and were also given soft drinks. It is a big thing in Kenya to serve an honored guest soft drinks. They always come in bottles and most of the time they are hot. We have learned to ask for "soda baridi" which is kiswahili for cold soda.

Entire wedding party. The lady on the top row on the left is Sally who was the wife of the couple who hosted us during our home stay.

Philip is taking pictures and video during the gift giving portion of the wedding. This happened right after the meal was eaten.

Luke had taken his flute with him to Cheptebo so that he could practice while he was there. He ended up playing 3 or 4 songs in front of all of the people at the wedding. He didn't miss a note and didn't seem nervous at all. We were proud of him. I don't think I would have done this in front of so many people when I was 12 years old!

More dancing and celebrating after the wedding.

This is a picture of a portion of the crowd of people at the wedding festivities. I know that they didn't all fit into the church. The crowd seemed to grow and grow. I am amaze.d at the beauty of the people of Kenya

Outreach Clinic in Maasai Land

2009-01-02T11:58:00.000-06:00

Sorry it has taken us so long to update the blog! The Internet here can make things a little difficult. We are not complaining! We are very thankful that we have a connection that allows us to keep you updated on our journey!

On November 29th the Hospital held another outreach clinic in the Great Rift Valley. The area were the clinic was held was about 80 km west of Kijabe. The land here was very flat and dry with a few out cropping of hills. The Maasai tribe live in this area. This tribe has largely managed to stay outside the mainstream of development in Kenya and still maintain large herds of cattle along the Tanzanian border. They are nomadic and move their herds to where ever there is grazing. They even enter the large cities looking for grass.
Our whole family went to help with the clinic. We traveled with the group from the hospital on Friday evening. We arrived after dark and set up camp. The clinic was being held in a small school. As we were setting up the tent several kids from the area came to see what was going on.
The next morning we helped set up the clinic rooms, pharmacy and the shade structure used as a waiting area. Baxter helped direct people to different areas. Linda helped in the Pharmacy. I helped get people into and out of the exam rooms. Tracy and Emily played with the local children and Luke explored the area with some of his friends from school. Over 600 people were seen! All services and medicines were free. There was a worship and praise team singing and worshiping with the local people all day! Several people gave their lives to Christ on this day!
After a long and hot day we enjoyed a cool evening watching the stars and reflecting on Gods awesome creation!
Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Many of the patients were small children. It is not uncommon the see very young children taking care of babies.

This picture was taken on Sunday as we were leaving. The local children did not want us to leave! They enjoyed playing with our children.

This was the sun rise over our camp on Saturday. It was very beautiful!

Here is one of the dentist from the Hospital pulling teeth. The chair the patient is sitting in is a desk.

Here are two local elders from the area. The Maasai are know for the blankets they wear. Because they are nomadic they use them as covers at night and as clothing during the day! No bags to pack!

Here is Linda with two of the ladies who prepared the meals. The Maasai wear all types of beads. They wear very large ear rings and necklaces. Linda is wearing a bracelet that one of the ladies wanted her to try on.

This is the inside of the kitchen. Notice the large spoon being used to stir the pot!

This is one of the exam desks. There were seven in one room! Notice the large knife the father is wearing!

This was the worship and praise area!

Emily is playing with the local children. They loved to feel her hair and play with her doll!

The local men slaughtered four goats over the weekend! The man in the red hat ate the heart of one of the goats shortly after it was killed!

This is our car and our tent was the gray and blue one.

Naivasha Clinic

2008-10-04T01:14:00.005-05:00

The Kijabe Hospital has a small clinic in Naivasha. Naivasha is a town just west of Kijabe. It is near Lake Naivasha. The area has many large cut flower farms around it. The people of the area work on these farms. The farms are very similar to large greenhouse operations in the US. The majority of the cut flowers harvested here are flown out of Nairobi into Amsterdam (the location of the worlds largest flower auction) and then on to cities throughout the world. Many of the cut flowers sold in the US come from this area. HIV/AIDS is a real problem in this area. The Hospital has targeted this area because of this reason. During the post election violence in Kenya, Naivasha was very devastated. Many of the people have not recovered fully from the destruction and violence.
Throughout the year the Hospital has campaigns at various locations. These campaigns involve free exams, free prescription and evangelistic outreach. This past Thursday through Saturday there was one at the Naivasha Clinic. I volunteered to go on Thursday and Saturday. I did not have any preconceived ideas as to what to expect. We met at the Hospital on Thursday morning to travel to the Clinic. Naivasha is about 45 minutes away from Kijabe. As usual I had a full car of nurses, interns and clinical officers (similar to our Nurse Practitioners). When we arrived the crowds had already started to gather. We spent the first hour or so getting set up. The exam rooms were about the size of a bedroom. We put two desks in each room. There were a total of 6 rooms set up this way. Each room would have two patients in it at a time. We then sent up Coleman Tents around the area to be used as testing and counseling rooms. After the set up I was directed to the pharmacy to help fill prescriptions. The pharmacy consisted of a desk with several bottles of medicine stacked on it. I was working with two Hospital employees who had done this before. We filled prescription bags with medicine. Instead of bottles they use very small bags for dispensing medicine. We started with Amoxicillin 500mg tablets, putting 12 in each bag. 6,000 pills later we moved on to the 250mg tablets. If you’re wondering, Amoxicillin comes in a maroon and yellow tablet. I was looking forward to the 250mg thinking the color would change, it didn’t. Thankfully the next medicine was a different color. We did this all day.
I was looking forward to returning on Saturday, thinking that all the medicine would be dispensed and I would be assigned another duty. To my surprise they were still filling prescriptions. I was once again assigned to the Pharmacy. I was later told that because I was the accountant they thought I would be good at counting pills.
The gates were closed at noon on Saturday and the last patient received their prescription around 4:00. All those who helped the entire three days were very tired, yet they all joined together and danced to a few praise songs. If you ever visit you will see that most praise songs are accompanied with some sort of dance.
Over the three days there were over 3,000 patients seen by the Hospital Staff. The entire time the clinic was open there was a worship and praise team singing and sharing God’s word with those waiting. It is truly amazing to see how God draws people together for His Glory.

This was the Pharmacy set up. As you can see there are many people waiting for their medicine.

During the clinic mothers were able to get 2 kilos(approx 4.4 lbs) of porridge. The mothers here carry their babies on their backs in a piece of material called a canga.

This is the outside of the examination rooms. The rooms are in the background.

Here is where we filled the baggies. As you can see there were many bottles of pills to be counted.

This is the pharmacy from the outside.

This is the part of the evangelistic team. All through out the day the team sang and gave testimonies for those who were waiting.

Part of the outreach team distributed Bibles. Here is the area where the Bibles were being handed out. The people were very eager to get one.

This is also a picture of the Bibles being handed out.

Tents were set up to shelter the people from the sun while they were waiting.

More people waiting.

Kijabe Town Primary School

2008-10-04T01:12:00.017-05:00

Moffet Bible College is a small college located here in Kijabe. The college is an AIC (African Inland Church) college. Linda and I take a class on Tuesdays at the college. We will update you on this class at a later date. There are 11 students in our class they are all 4th year students. One of the things the students have to do is called outreach ministries. This could include visiting the patients at the Hospital, leading study groups in Nairobi for recently converted Christians, teaching Bible at local schools, etc. One of the schools they visit is in Kijabe Town. Kijabe Town is a small village about 5 km from Kijabe. Many of the Kenyans who work in Kijabe live here. It is similar in size to Cyclone, TX. (We really miss good Texas BBQ). The School is called Kijabe Primary School.

In Kenya the school system is broken down into the following classes. Standard 1 thru 8 (Grades 1 thru 8 in the US). These classes are often on the same campus called a Primary School. All children in Kenya are eligible to attend Standard 1 thru 8 for free. The government funds these schools. The level of education varies greatly from school to school based on the area and the level of income of the parents. After finishing Primary School the students can attend Secondary School and complete Form 1 thru 4 (Grades 9 thru 12 in the US). The students must pay to attend the Secondary School. The majority of these schools are boarding schools. They are often affiliated with a church organization. The fees for these schools vary greatly based on the education opportunities available at the school. The schools in Nairobi are very similar to High Schools in the US. RVA plays many of these schools in sporting events during the year.

Back to Kijabe Town Primary, there are around 350 students attending this school. The Government supplies 1 headmaster and 5 teachers for the school. The parents of the students contribute a small amount in order to provide funds to employ 3 additional teachers (this is a common practice in the rural areas). Each class in self contained in a class room. There is not a Government funded lunch program, the children at this school are provided a lunch of beans and rice which is funded by a program started by a missionary at RVA. There is a school uniform policy at each school. School uniforms are a big business in Kenya. Kijabe Town is a very poor area and as you can see from the pictures not all the students can afford to wear uniforms, but this does not keep their excitement down.

There was a need for someone with a vehicle to take the Moffet students to this school on Tuesday afternoons. Our class at Moffet is on Tuesday mornings, this worked in great with my schedule, so I agreed to take the students. The Moffet students teach Standards 4 thru 8 a Bible lesson from 2:35 to 3:10 once a week. Imagine this happening in Lorena. The road (a mule trail) is dirt and rock. The 5 km (3.1 miles) takes around 20 minutes to travel. I do not have to use the 4 wheel drive when it is dry, but I am told when it rains it is a must. It runs along the side of the mountain and is wide enough for a vehicle to pass a goat or cow. I have only met one car (I backed up until I could pull onto the side at let it pass).

The first week only two students went. The next week they said a few more were going to come. Our car has a total of 7 seats in it so I told them that would not be a problem. When I arrived the next week there were 8 students waiting to go. Needless to say it is a very tight fit. This is a very common theme in Africa, there is no such thing as wasted space. They put as many people in car that they can, fill your cup with chai as full as they can, put as many people around a table as possible, etc. One student told me it would make the ride go smoother since there was more weight in the car. That is one way to look at it.

The students at the school are very excited to have the Moffet students teach them. They are eager to learn about the Bible and the promising words that it has in it. Many of these students come from very poor families and do not have a lot to look forward to. It is a very humble experience for me each week as I see their excitement and eagerness to learn more about our wonderful God, knowing that many will go home in the evening to a home without running water or electricity, probably sleep on a mat on the floor and wear the same school clothes all week. If only we all could be as excited about our God! Keep these kids in your prayers!

Here are some Pictures of the School.

This is the lower Primary Wing. It has been very dry in the area and the crops have not done well. Most of the parents are farmers and rely on the crops for their income.

This is the upper Primary Wing. The small house on the left is used to keep the wood in for cooking.

Here are the students I take to teach, The person on the left is a teacher at the school.

This is the inside of the Standard 5 class. I take turns each week sitting in a different class. The children really enjoy hearing about Texas. (Jane, this could be your class)
Kids in Africa are not much different than in the US. This is their funny pose!

Here are the kids getting out after class.
This group of boys surround the car each week as we are leaving. They are so excited to have visitors at their school.

Life in Kijabe - September

2008-10-01T11:39:00.023-05:00

September has been a very busy month here as I am sure it has been in most countries. School started for Luke, Tracy and Emily on September 2nd and for Baxter the next day. The school is about a 10 minute walk from our house and it is all up hill. We actually calculated the increase in elevation the other day and it is approximately a 500 foot rise. Needless to say, we are tired and winded each and every morning. I keep thinking that we will get in shape but it doesn't seem to be happening very fast. We walk with our dog Carly and the walk involves going through the cemetary by our house, through the hospital parking lot and up a large flight of stairs and then along a dirt road into the school gates and then up more stairs and across a field and then more stairs and then we are at school. I have included some pictures below of the walk and of the first day of school.

Emily, Tracy, Luke and our neighbor Paul on the first day of School

Hospital parking lot

These are the steps that are commonly refered to as the "deathinator"

This is the final climb up to school which you can see in the background

Tracy and Luke visiting with friends on the first day of school

The 3rd day of school, the entire Titchie campus took a field trip which was a hike around Kijabe. Here are a few pictures of the hike. It was really interesting and very pretty. The kids enjoyed learning a little bit more about Kijabe and the history of the school and the area.

All of titchie at the beginning of the field trip

Emily's class before the field trip

The kids going through the forest on the field trip

An old tree on the field trip

The bus back up to the school. I thought it was funny because the door is on the other side of the bus because they drive on the left side of the road over here.

My birthday was September 9th and the kids and Philip surprised me with a couple of presents wrapped in a Kikoy (skirt type wrap) and a trip to Lake Naivasha on the Saturday after my birthday. The drive was only about 45 minutes and only had one bad area which I have included a picture of. It is a very steep and bumpy dirt road but we made it without too much trouble. After we ate at the restaurant, we went swimming for only about 10 minutes because it was a bit cold. We then walked down to the lake because the people there said we could see hippos in the water. We walked awhile and then turned to go down to the lake and were surprised to see a giraffe standing right there behind a tree (not behind a fence just behind a tree!).
We were able to see hippos but they were very far out in the water and they really looked like rocks to me.

Birthday Morning! We look very tired and we really were in this picture. We get up much earlier here because Baxter has to be in class at 7:45 and we have quite a walk. It is always an adventure but it does wear us out!

This is the day we left for Naivasha. We saw some monkeys on the road before we even left Kijabe.

This is the dirt road leading down the mountain that we took on the way to Naivasha

When we arrived at the restaurant we again saw monkeys. They say here that eventually you don't get so excited when you see the monkeys. We are beginning to think they are quite common.

Swimming at the pool at Naivasha

Another view of the pool area and Baxter, Tracy and Emily by a small bridge leading to the pool area. Luke stayed back in Kijabe to go on a hike with his class.

Here is the first giraffe we saw

We took some pictures of the giraffes in the background so that you could see how close we were to them

A closeup of a giraffe

Not a closeup of the hippos. They really look like rocks but we can zoom in on this picture and you can see that they are actually hippos.

On September 20th Titchie had field day. It was a lot of fun for the kids and consisted of different activities that each class for the younger titchies or group of older titchies rotated to. The theme was Pirates of Kijabe.

Tracy swabbing the deck.

Tracy playing tag at field day

Luke in the three legged race

Emily and her team of classmates playing tug of war. They were undefeated!

Emily in the three legged race

On Saturday, September 27th, all of the school participated in Outreach Day. Tracy and Emily baked cookies and made cards and delivered them to patients at the hospital. Luke went to Kijabe town and took firewood to some widows and then they played soccer with some of the children. I don't have many pictures of this because I had a different group of children that I was baking cookies with and so I wasn't able to take pictures of our kids.

Luke on top of the car waiting to drive down to Kijabe town

I had a group of Korena girls here at our house and they were fascinated with the cow rugs we brought from Texas

The kids are also doing Pinewood Derby at school. I have a picture of Tracy and Luke working on their cars.

Tracy and her car

Luke and his car

All of the kids are playing soccer now. It is a recreational league for Luke, Tracy and Emily although the games have been very exciting! Here is a picture of Luke blocking a shot.

Baxter is also playing soccer and Jr. High plays intermurals first and then after mid-term plays other schools.

Baxter is in the blue jersey # 15 and assisted the other blue jersey in making a goal

There is a baby that was abandoned at the hospital at the beginning of September. My friend Miriam and I are taking care of her in our homes until they can find a place for her. It has been such a blessing for everyone involved and we are really praying that she will find a Christian family to take her. The kids have enjoyed having her here and I have also. I don't want to get too attached because I know it is going to be heart breaking to let her go. Please pray for her also that she will be place in a loving, Christian home. Her name is Hope.

Tracy burping Hope after a morning bottle

Luke and Hope

Baxter and Hope

Emily has been helping also but I don't have a picture of her and Hope yet.

Hope is wearing a hat that Gramma (Philip's mom) crocheted.

Here are a few other random pictures.

This rainbow cropped up one evening. It was quite a site and a nice reminder of who our creator is and how perfect He is.

These cows were grazing in Nairobi on the side of the road on the way to the airport. When it is dry, the Maasi bring their cattle to graze wearever there is grass.

These are the scrawny chickens that we bought from the man who sells chickens door-to-door. They had so little meat on them that we were not even able to eat them. They were as hard as a rock!

This is a jakaranda tree in nairobi.

Getting crushed rock for the driveway.

Youth Sunday at church.

Pictures from Cheptebo

2008-09-07T13:08:00.007-05:00

This is a picture of one of the mice that we caught in our house we were staying in at Cheptebo. Linda saw the first one the evening she got sick. She was laying on the bed and saw it run under the dresser. Tracy would not let us kill it because she thought it was too cute. We caught it and released it outside. Baxter took this picture of the second one we caught. It is under the dresser. The next morning the kids went outside and saw three on them beside the house. They feed them some old bread.
The water at Cheptebo was not safe to drink. We had to filter it or boil it. Here is a picture of the bath tub with water in it before the kids had a bath. Even though the water does not look good, it is a blessing that the people in the area have water to use. Many people from around the area came to the project to get water.
This is Immanuel. He is the son of Joseph and Sallay, our hosts for the time we were in Cheptebo. As you can see, they keep thier children very warm.
Here is a picture from the day we were leavingto return to Kijabe. We are with Joseph, Salley and their family. They only have one child of their own, but it is very common for neices, nephews and cousins to live with you.

During our stay in Cheptebo a children's Bible camp was going on. We spoke to the kids one day. This is a picture of the class room. There were around 100 kids at the camp. All the girls stayed in a house beside the one we were in. They went to sleep around 11:00PM and were up at 5:00AM washing their clothers outside our house.
The kids at the camp loved to talk and just look at us. We were some of the first white people that some of the kids have ever had the opportunity to interact with. Here is Linda playing a rope game that the kids showed her. Baxter and Luke played soccer with the boys. Tracy and Emily did the rope game and played volleyball with them.
The kids at the camp were very excited to play with the kids. Here is Tracy playing a rope game with the girls. Tracy is ready to bring a rope home and teach the kids in Lorena the game.

The girls with Tracy were part of the extended family of our hosts.
This is a shamba (garden) we saw while driving back to Kijabe.
Here is Luke on his birthday. He was trying to act like he felt good, but he was very weak from being sick.

The project were we stayed was a working agriculture project. Each day at 7:30 AM and 3:30 PM the cows were milked outside our house. Emily and Tracy helped milk the cows. Linda made chai with the fresh milk. This is Emily helping milk the cow.
Tracy helping milk the cow.
This was on the way to the Engagement party. This was a termite mound. We parked our car here and walked another 2 miles or so to get to the party.

This is the kitchen where some of the food for the engagement party was prepared. The rest of the food was prepared outside over open fires and the goat was roasted over an open fire.

Here is the Bride to be and her wedding party. Sally is the one closest to the camera in the pink and white dress. This was after the dowry was settled and before the service.
This is the living room that was set up for the Bride to be and her friends to sit in during the service. They made it from poles and blankets. While we were waiting for the Bride to come from the house, the furniture was brought from the house and included everything from the living room at the house even the coffee table!

Here is the Choo (toilet) at the engagement party. There were several families that lived in the compound and all shared the toilet area which included 3 stalls. The girls refer to this type of Choo as a long drop. (Tucker, I thought you would enjoy this picture!)

More Pictures of Cheptebo

2008-09-07T07:26:00.004-05:00

While we were in Cheptebo the African Inland Church (AIC) had a fund raiser for the new church building. They really put on a service for the fund raisers. It started around 9:00 and lasted to about 2:30. It started with a tree planting. The Bishop Silas Yego of the AIC Church Kenya was there. He planted a tree, our family planted a tree and the family from Canada planted a tree. It will be fun to return one day and see how the tree has grown.

Here is the Bishop delivering a sermon during the service.
Here are the ladies preparing for the fundraiser dinner. There were several chickens and goats that were slaughtered for the dinner. Linda and the girls helped.
Here is a choir from Iten performing. There were two choirs who performed several songs. the choirs do not just sing they also have choreographed moves. Steve and Stephine take note.
Here are the people giving their gifts for the fundraiser. As each person gives an amount the person receiving the gift announces it on the loud speaker system. Several people gave chickens, fruits and vegetables. These items were auctioned at the end of the service.

One day we went to a local school to plant trees. When we arrived we noticed a very important person had arrived. Baxter noticed that he had body guards carrying machine guns. He name was Henry M. Obino, the District Commissioner from the Kerio District. He is appointed by the President. He planted a tree and then there was a service that lasted around 3 hours. Several people gave speeches and sermons. Kenyan's are not afraid to mix Church and State. The Word of God was a major part of all the events we attended. I also had to give a few words of encouragement. Any time we were at a function we were asked to give a few words of encouragement. I was nervous at first but I got better the more times we did it. When you come to visit us just be prepared to give your testimony and share a word of encouragement when asked.

More Pictures from our Home Stay in Cheptebo

2008-09-07T06:37:00.006-05:00

On the way to our home stay in Cheptebo we crossed the equator. There were several small shops along the road. As we were taking this picture they all lined up getting ready to sell us something. The merchants can get some what aggressive at times.
This is the local car wash in Kabarnet. It is a low water crossing. They just pull their cars into the shallow water and wash them.
This is the view from a small town called Iten looking down into the Kerio Valley where Cheptabo is located. We went here with Joseph, Sally and the missionaries from Canada. It was Luke's birthday. He was still not feeling very well from his malaria.

Here are the Kids at Iten. The valley is in the background.
This was a water fall that we saw while driving to Iten. It looked awesome in real life. Pictures do not always turn out like you want them to.
This was a typical day driving on the roads. You have to be aware of cars, potholes, people, bicycles and livestock.

This the the Kerio River that runs thru the valley. The water in very brown but it is still very beautiful.

Nairobi is a great city!

2008-09-02T13:43:00.003-05:00

Here is a post from mid July that we were not able to get loaded untill today!

We finished our language course in Kijabe on Tuesday so we were finally able to go into Nairobi to shop for necessary household items and to go to Java House to eat. Java House is perhaps the most "western" restaurant in all of Nairobi. They serve Cheese Burgers and Chips (French Fries) and Heinz ketchup. The kids have been looking forward to this day since early July when they heard about it at ABO from a former MK who is now going to be teaching at RVA. We thoroughly enjoyed our food and left with very full bellies!

On this trip into town we were able to order some furniture (beds, dining table, etc.) for our house that we should move into at the end of August. It was an interesting experience and we enjoyed working with the local people. They have shops all down one side of a particular highway in Nairobi. There were many people milling around as well as goats. The people here take great pride in their handiwork and seem to be happy to meet and talk to complete strangers. It is not uncommon to develope a lasting friendship with someone you do business with.

Pictures from the last month

2008-09-02T06:58:00.009-05:00

Here are a few photos of things around Kijabe.

Here are the Kids at the entrance to Kijabe. There is only one paved road that comes into the town.
Titchie Swot is the Elementary School that Luke, Tracy and Emily go to. They started school today.

A really cool swing at the RVA playground. I think that Luke and Tracy are the ones on the swings.

Our house from the backyard.

A view from our back porch.

A playhouse for the girls in the front yard of our house.

Baxter standing by two large Bougainvilleas in our backyard.

The kids at Village Market (a mall) in Nairobi. Looks pretty western. The girls finished a Dr. Pepper which was quite a find and the first one they have seen since we arrived here. I would like to add that the Dr. Pepper (1 can) cost 130 Kenyan Shillings or $2.00. We won't be having many of those!

Baxter, Luke and Tracy playing in the yard between our house and the neighbors house.

One of Tracy and Emily's friends found this chameleon so she let us all hold it. I chose not too but the kids said it felt really cool!

This is our new puppy, Carly. The puppy is a Rottweiler/German Shepherd mix. I know my sister will understand why we named her Carly but apparently no one else is familiar with the book "Good Dog Carl". Our puppy is a girl so we named her Carly

Killer Bees and a lack of chicken

2008-09-01T13:03:00.005-05:00

Luke, Tracy and Emily start school tomorrow and Baxter starts on Wednesday. They are excited and I must admit - RVA is a very cool place to go to school. The atmosphere is more like a small college campus than an elementary and junior high school. I pray that they continue to like it and that they grow both academically and spiritually.

OK - now to explain the title. We had chicken pot pie tonight. Some man came to our door on Saturday selling chickens so we said we would take two and he left for awhile and then returned with two chickens in little sacks. We also had a man come to the house who was selling eggs. We bought a tray of 30 eggs because that is how they sell them. The kids also really like them so we use a lot of eggs. So tonight before we ate dinner Tracy made a very profound statement. She said, "If we keep eating more eggs than chicken pretty soon we are going to run out of chickens". So the logic is a little flawed but we did get a good laugh out of it. Emily wouldn't eat the chicken because she said it didn't look like all of the feathers had been plucked off properly. You see, while we were in Cheptebo there was a fundraiser with a meal (for about 400 people) that we helped cook for. This involved killing about 8 chickens (chopping the heads off) and watching them run around like a chicken with it's head cut off! Then, the ladies plucked the feathers off of the chicken. The kids were fascinated and a little grossed out but they began to realize that chickens don't only come in the grocery store. Emily is a little leary of eating chicken right now.

Saturday, we were getting ready to walk to RVA and measure how far it is and how much of an increase in elevation. As we were waiting outside our house to go, James, one of the boys next door told the boys that they could all throw rocks at a bee hive in the middle of a large tree between the houses. Well, all of Baxter's pitching practice paid off (or didn't depending on how you look at it) and he threw a rock right into the middle of the hive. Needless to say, the bees were very angry. We noticed right away that James was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, we felt the bees on us so everyone scattered. Baxter and Luke ran towards an open field by the hospital, Tracy, Emily and I made it into the house and shut the door and all of the windows and Philip got Carly and ran to get the outside worker and run from the house. After about 2 hours, everyone was able to return home. Philip and Carly got stung several times and Tracy got stung once. We were quite lucky. They were not killer bees really but it sure seemed like it for awhile. Just this evening, two Kenyans built a fire in a small paint can and climbed up a ladder to the hive. They smoked the bees out and then got all of the honey and honeycomb out and then poured Kerosine in the hole so that the bees would not return. The guy was protected only by a jacket, a pair of gloves, a hat and something on his face. Not quite the white knight that we call a bee keeper. When he finished, he gave us a little of the honey and then we lent him a lantern to carry while he walked home. He was a little scared to walk home because there were 3 elephants spotted in the forest yesterday! Here is a picture of the bee operation.

Finally an update!

2008-08-30T16:28:00.005-05:00

I will add pictures soon. Here is just a little update. Thanks Vonessa and Amy for your encouragement to update. Hopefully we can be more consistant now that we have realiable internet service.

I don’t even know where to begin. It has been a little over a month since we have had a chance to update our blog. Our last update was of our time in Machakos. Since then we have been in Kijabe for about 2 weeks and then we traveled to Cheptebo for 2 weeks and we finally arrived back in Kijabe late on Friday, August 22nd. The first 2 weeks in Kijabe were spent in partly in language learning classes and the remaining time in a home stay with a Kenyan family. The language course was called LAMP which stands for Language Acquisition Made Practical. It was a good course and it taught us how to learn a language. Baxter, Philip and I participated in the course. Most every day we went down to the dukas (small shops) to meet people and practice some words we had learned. We were assigned a language helper who would practice a few phases with us and then we would head off to the dukas. The emphasis of the course is developing relationships which in turn will allow you to learn the language more easily. If you know Kiswahili please don’t judge the spelling of the following phase. One phase that we were learning was “Ninga penda, kunzi funda Kiswahili” which means “I would love to learn Kiswahili”. I kept saying “Ninga punda” instead of “Ninga penda”. Finally my language helper said “Don’t say that again!” I was saying “I would donkey”. Punda and penda are so close but mean entirely different things. The emphasis of the course is developing relationships which in turn will allow you to learn the language more easily. We have a long way to go but we are enjoying it!

Our home stay was spent with two wonderful families, the Maretes and the Mahotas. Most of our time was with the Maretes. We had meals with them and visited each day in order to become more familiar with the culture here. We learned so much from them and really enjoyed their hospitality. The food was wonderful and Mrs. Marete showed me how to make several Kenyan dishes. I am anxious to share them with everyone when we get back or for those who make a visit here! One Saturday, the Maretes drove me into Nairobi to take me to the various markets and to get my hair done. I was very happy to have someone show me around. The market was amazing with the many fruits and vegetables to choose from. The people there want you to buy there produce so they give you samples. This means that they take a knife (washed when?) and just chop off a piece of the produce (washed when?) for you to sample. I didn’t refuse because that would have been rude. I told Philip when I got home that I was sure to catch some kind of bug because I didn’t go through the sanitation process before I ate. I never got sick at all! We all enjoyed the many items that I was able to purchase and bring home.

While we were in Kijabe, the kids were able to visit RVA and get to know the campus. The playground is awesome. There are so many neat things that are not found on any playgrounds we have been to before. There is a zip line coming out of a large tree, a really cool two person swing pole and a huge merry-go-round that is often spoken of with reference to a broken arm or leg! The kids can hardly believe how much fun it is.

On Friday, August 8th we left for Cheptebo for another home stay. It was about 120 miles and took about 5 or 6 hours to get there. The roads are quite bumpy in places but the drive was beautiful and the adventure of traveling across Kenya was amazing! We crossed the Equator and stopped to get some pictures and buy some souvenirs. Cheptebo is an agriculture development center for A.I.C. (African Inland Church). It is a very valuable resource in the arid Kerio valley. We were hosted by Sally and Joseph. They have a one year old boy Immanuel that they adopted about 2 months ago. They are a beautiful family and were very gracious to us. The first Saturday we went to an engagement party for Walter, the pastor at the church and Sally, the office manager of the center. We drove down a dirt road for a little while and then turned off onto another dirt road that I would not have believed was passable. Luckily we were following a small truck and we knew if it made it so could we. We came upon a clearing and then the truck parked under a tree and said “We walk from here”. The phase “It’s not far” has an entirely different meaning in Kenya! We crossed two creeks and then came upon another clearing where the festivities were. We were fed and treated as special guests getting to sit inside and being served sodas. Some of the older women were asking us questions about how engagements happen in our country. They were shocked to know that we don’t have an engagement process like they do. One of the most important things that are settled in the engagement negotiation process besides the dowry is determining whether the bride and groom are related or not. The women wondered how we knew we weren’t related if we didn’t have a big meeting with elders from both sides of the family!

The remainder of our time in Cheptebo was spent visiting with people and sharing God’s love any way that we could. God provided many people for us to meet and form relationships with. As many of you already know Luke came down with Malaria the first week we were there. He had to have contracted it before we arrived at Cheptebo because of the incubation period. He was quite sick for a couple of days but he ended up recovering quite well and there should be no lasting side effects. Baxter got a stomach bug the day after Luke started feeling better. By Tuesday, August 19th, we were all sick with stomach ailments. We felt like God really wanted us to be in Cheptebo or the devil wouldn’t be working so hard to make us miserable. Sally and Joseph and everyone who worked at the center came to the house we were staying in and prayed and sang and then prayed some more. We were so in awe of the level of faith that these people have. By the last day of our stay at Cheptebo we were feeling much better and felt like we learned so much from our time there.

On Friday, August 22nd, Joan and Michael came to escort us back to Kijabe. On the way back to Kijabe, we stopped at Lake Bogoria. There is a resort (relevant) there were the kids could swim and we could all eat some more familiar food like chips (French fries). It was quite nice and we enjoyed seeing all of the monkeys!

Since our arrival back in Kijabe, we have been setting up the house we are to live in. It is starting to feel like home! We have made 3 trips into Nairobi to get things for the house. We are so thankful to God for giving us a safe trip into town and back each time. The first trip in, we left Nairobi when it was dark. It is dangerous enough driving on the road between Kijabe and Nairobi in the daylight and is really discouraged when it is dark. We had to make it home because we had left Baxter in Kijabe with a friend because he was sick. I know I will not be able to convey the terror we felt during the drive. It was virtually impossible to see the road because there was a terrible glare from the oncoming cars. You couldn’t see the side of the road either because there are no lights and no bright white stripe to guide you. We were so thankful when we got to the Kijabe turnoff because we felt like we were almost home and there would be very little traffic if any. We have since been told that the Kijabe road is actually the most dangerous part because of carjackings after dark. We thank God for keeping us safe and not letting us know that information until we made it home safely! It is very expensive to set up a home from scratch but we think we are close to being finished buying necessities. We are excited to have a place to call home and would love to have friends come visit!

July 23 Update Part 5

2008-07-22T22:42:00.002-05:00

When we had a break from class we were able to go into the town of Machakos. The town is very busy. It has one major grocery store and several small shops. There are many tailors in the town. Linda had a couple of skirts made for her. She needed some that were longer. they turned out very nice.
The people are very friendly here. Everyone on the street will great you and many want to stop and talk. Here we are with some friends that we meet walking to the open air produce market. Shortly after this picture was taken a man came and picked up Emily. We were not sure what he was going to do with her, but we asked that she be put down. Our new friends also helped. It was a little unsettling at the time. It is sometimes hard to tell if they are just being very friendly or have other intentions.
Here is the open air produce market. There were many ladies selling all types of locally grown products. We purchased all the ingredients to make guacamole. Linda made it and it was Great. We shared it with the class that evening.
One of our assignments was to go visit a local family. This is the family that we visited. We went to there home to visit. We had a wonderful time. While we were there two uncles, two aunts, and several cousins came by also. The value that they place on the family is so strong. Here is the family that we visited. The father is the one in purple, his wife is to his right.
This is the oldest daughter and her younger sister. The father was in the construction business. He made his own bricks out of the local soil on a small piece of land near the house. They also grew coffee beans and vegetables. Any open spot they have they plant maize (we call it corn). He also had several chickens, goats, one cow with a calf. He milked the cow for milk also. They work so hard, yet seem to be very content and happy. It has been so enlightening to get to meet these families and learn more about their culture. God's creation is so amazing.

July 23 Update Part 4

2008-07-22T16:13:00.009-05:00

The kids also learned a lot about Africa during the past three weeks. They went to a class everyday also. They got to walk to several of the small shops around the campus. These are called Dukas. They visited a family, a near by school and a coffee bean processing plant.

One night the college students had a culture night. They performed skits about their home villages. They had a student from each different tribe come to the front and recite John 3:16 in his or her native language. There were 9 different languages represented. It is not uncommon for a person to know 3 languages, many know more. Here are the girls dancing in front of all the students during the culture night.

The girls enjoyed dressing up in some of the African customs.

Here are the boys standing in front of our laundry. It was drying on the lawn.

Baxter meet a little boy named Sam. His mom works at the college.

God has such a special way of using children to show his love and kindness. We ask that you keep Baxter, Luke, Tracy and Emily in your prayers.

July 23 Update Part 3

2008-07-22T16:08:00.003-05:00

Sunday, July 06, 2008
Today we had ministry assignments. We found out about our assignments on Friday so we had time to prepare. The people in our group were Jason and Roxanne Engstrom and baby Annika, Andrea from Germany and our family. We were doing Children’s Ministry on the Scott Campus so we decided that we would do a skit of the Good Samaritan and sing the dip-dip song (you would have to be here to know that song but we will show you when we get back!). Children’s Ministry began at 7:30 am. We sang to song and the kids loved it. We then did the skit. Luke was the poor man walking, Baxter and Andrea were the robbers, Roxanne was the Priest, Philip was the Levite, Tracy was the Good Samaritan, Jason was the donkey, Emily was the Innkeeper and Linda was the narrator. Baby Annika just got passed around. The kids loved the play especially when Luke was left lying on the floor with no shoes or jacket on. A side note here: Emily was very upset that she wasn’t the Good Samaritan. She finally agreed to be the innkeeper if she could keep the coins that the Good Samaritan gave her to help care for the injured person. We let her do that as it was only 2 shillings (about 3 cents).
We then got to go to the Sunday School classes that the kids would have been in. You will be glad to know that the innkeeper (Emily) gladly put her 2 shillings in the offering hat without any prompting from me.
The next week we went to the Mumbuni Boys School. It is a High School for boys. There are around 1,000 boys in this school. They all board at the school. All of the boarding schools have a Church service on Sundays. Students from the College go to the schools on Sundays to help with the service. Linda meet a student named David while she was hand washing our laundry on day. David helps with this school. He was giving the message the day we went. After the service we were treated to butter bread and chi (hot tea with milk and sugar) which was prepared by the boys in the school.

We want to thank each and every one of you who are supporting us in this mission whether it is financially or through prayer or both. We have already been so blessed by the people here and we haven’t even gotten to our ministry field yet. It is our sincere prayer that you will all feel God’s blessings in your life as a result of your obedience. He is a tremendous God and is capable of so much. We have really learned to rely on His faithfulness in all things. Asanti sana – thank you very much in Kiswahili (my spelling may be off but I will get much better in the weeks to come!)

July 23 Update Part 2

2008-07-22T15:49:00.005-05:00

Saturday, July 05, 2008
We finished our stories about our journey to Africa today. I had to give my story and I made it through with only one small amount of crying. This is actually a miracle so I wanted you to be aware of it. I don’t think my story is very good but it is. Everyone of us has a beautiful and unique story about how God is at work in our life even if it seems ordinary to you. This includes all of you who are still back home. You are all very useful in God’s Kingdom.
After lunch today we walked to the top of the mountain behind the school. We opted to go the full distance because most hikes that large groups of people go on are pretty easy if you are in decent shape which we felt that we were. I would like to report that we zoomed to the top with very little discomfort but I would not be sharing the truth. Emily was ready to give up at our first stop where several in the group turned back. At this point we had been on a dirt road that ascended fairly rapidly but it was a nice wide road. We convinced her that we didn’t have much farther to go so she continued. What we didn’t realize is that this was the end of the road and we would now be on trails or going up large rocks. We all struggled up to our next stopping point where several more in the group decided to turn back. Just ahead of this stop we started passing houses just stuck up on the mountain. There were many children and they all came running out to greet us. They were so interested in us because we are different. Before we knew it, they were continuing on the hike with us. Two Kenyan girls got on each side of Emily and held her hand. The same went for Tracy and I think Baxter and Luke had at least one boy much of the way. Anyhow, Emily had her escorts for the rest of the hike up to the top and most of the way back down. The girls were so funny because they kept fixing Emily’s braids if they were in front of her shoulders and brushing the hair off of her forehead. It was as if she were now the Queen of Sheba and she didn’t dare complain about being tired. The Kenyan girls kept smelling her hair and when they let go of her hand they would smell their hand. I’m not sure if this was a good thing or not but it was cute.

Emily and her friends.

The kids loved to have their picture taken and then look at it on the camera.

Tracy and friends.

The view from the top was very nice and we took several pictures but the real treat was meeting all of the people along the way. The Kenyan people amaze me because they are such warm and loving people and would do almost anything to help you out if you needed it. We are here to show them the love of Jesus and they are the ones showering us with love. It is a very humbling experience and I hope it changes us for the better. I should mention that this hike lasted 4 hours and we went a distance of about 7.4 miles. There are not too many kids in America who would give up a Saturday afternoon to hike that distance and be gone that long to help someone they didn’t know and might never see again. God has created some really beautiful people here.

July 23 Update Part1

2008-07-22T14:56:00.008-05:00

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Today we drove to Machakos to attend Africa Based Orientation (ABO). The drive was about 1 ½ hours long and we traveled about 35 miles. If this seems slow, it was. We are however very thankful that it was slow. It will take some getting used to driving on African roads. The one we were on today was very bumpy. It reminded me of very large cobblestones in a cobblestone street. The road was two lanes one going one way and one the other. The interesting thing is that they can’t see anyone coming at them, they make it a two lane road going one direction. This works great until someone starts coming down their lane right at you. We actually saw a car go between us and another vehicle at one point. So you can see why we were glad were going slow. If we ran into someone hopefully it was not be too serious of a wreck.
ABO is held at Scott Theological College (STC). I didn’t really know what to expect except that I thought it may be a little like a small college campus in the USA. It is much like this but without many of the conveniences. We are in two rooms with two bunk beds each. The kids are in one room and we are in the other. They are really quite comfortable and they smell like a college dorm. This is a good thing because I think it smells good and it makes me feel like I am in college again which would make it quite a bit younger!

Here are a few photos relating to traveling in Africa.

Here is the view from the inside of the car. As you can see the approaching truck is in the middle of the road. It seems that any vehicle that is traveling on the highways is carrying as many people and cargo as it can. Notice the top of the van.

Traveling by bicycle is also an option. These are called bota bota's. As you can see no one wears a helmet. There is a padded seat on the back of a bicycle. Ladies sit side saddle. You can catch a ride into town from the college for about 33 cents (it is about 1.5 miles). This is Philip's preferred method of travel.
There is also a vehicle that is referred to as a tuk tuk. It is a three wheeled motor cycle with a seat in the back for three. Just because it is built for three does limit the number of people they will pack into them. I saw some with up to 5 people in the back. There are police check points to verify the number of people being transported. It has a covering to help keep the wind and sand out. It also costs around 33 cents to travel to town. They are a little faster than the bota bota's.

Another way to travel is in a bus or matatu. They can range in size from a 6 passenger one to a full sized bus. We rode in one back to the college one day. it was built to hold 6 passengers. We had 9 people in it. As you can tell from the picture it was a little crowded.

As you can see travel here is very exciting. it is a common practice to have a group prayer prior to traveling because of the dangers.

Update July 19, 2008

2008-07-19T13:30:00.002-05:00

We are still at Scott Bible College. We have been in class for almost three weeks with one day off! We have learned so much about the African Culture, but have so much more to learn. The Internet connection here is spotty at best. We should be able to provide a better update on Tuesday the 23rd.

June 30th Update from Philip

2008-06-30T01:36:00.011-05:00

It is Monday June 30. We have started to get adjusted to the time difference. Tracy still has her watch set on Texas time and lets us know what time it really is. We will be traveling to Machakos tomorrow to start our Africa Based Orientation class at Scott Bible College.

Here are a few pictures of our trip and the first few days.

Eating breakfast in London. The extra two people are also with AIM. They will be teachers at Rift Valley Academy, the school the kids will be going to.

Here I am loading bags on top of a car at the Nairobi airport.

Sunday morning getting ready to walk to church. We went to the Good Sheppard Church about a 20 minute walk from the Mayfield Guest house (the House behind us). The RVA choir performed at the church. It was a very meaningful service. The Christians here are very excited about their faith and are not afraid to express it.

Baxter found a stick and some old potatoes to play baseball with. The potatoes soon were mashed. We made a baseball with duct tape. Some of the local kids soon joined in. It is so amazing how kids can relate to other kids so easily.

Just a little update. You are all in our prayers.

June 28th - We have landed!

2008-06-28T16:48:00.002-05:00

Well we are finally on Africa soil. What a wonderful experience after all the preparation that went into this mission. We feel so blessed already and all we have done is drive from the airport to the guesthouse. Our travel went well. The first leg of 6 hours was manageable but the 8 1/2 leg from London to Africa seemed very long. We can't complain because all the flights were on time and they serve a large amount of food and water, tea and juices on those long flights. We made it to Nairobi with 17 of the 18 bags. The missing bag was tracked down to London and will be arriving Sunday night. That is quite a miralce in itself. We may actually set the record for the shortest time a bag has been lost!

We are very exhausted but I wanted to post a few pictures so that you could see some of what we experienced yesterday and today. It is almost 1:00 am here and we are looking forward to laying down to sleep.

I can't get the pictures to upload with this connection so I will try again later. Thanks for reading and for all you do to support us through prayer and financial support.

June 25th - The journey begins!

2008-06-26T21:16:00.009-05:00

We have finally embarked on the journey God called us to almost 2 years ago. It seems like just yesterday! Those of you who helped us pack and finish last minute details might wonder what we did the first 22 months. I can't tell you but we were busy with something! Packing was even more difficult than I thought it would be. We had stuff spread out all over the house, vacuum (Space) bags, action packers and duffle bags. It was chaotic as the picture at right shows.

Philip and I finished what absolutely had to be done at 4:00 am on Wednesday morning and we were leaving at 5:00 am so we just got ready and skipped sleeping. Luckily we managed a few hours on the drive up to Dallas and on both of the flights. When we showed up at check-in at the airport with our 19 bags to check the poor fellow behind the counter said he had never had to check so many bags before. It went without a hitch and we only had 4 bags over the weight limit of 50 pounds. All the bags made it to Newark and were undamaged! We only had a couple of lotion bottles explode. Thank you for those of you who prayed for our travel.

Taking a break in the Newark Airport

5:00 am - June 25th Tired but ready!

It was so nice to get to AIM headquarters at Pearl River. It feels as close to home as we are probably going to get for the next two years. We met up with a family and a single guy who were at our candidate week in August. It was great to see them again. They will be with us at ABO and Ryan, the single guy, will be teaching 5th grade at RVA so he will be one of Tracy's teachers.

Emily has been journaling in her journal and I have included her first day's page here. I hope she keeps it up.

June 25th, 2008

"It's been a little crazy today. But we managed to stay together and get all the bags on the plane. I'm on the plane to Newark and yes that's how you spell it. I'm about to land and got to go. bye.

I'm in Newark and getting our luggage off the luggage machine. We were in the middle of getting our luggage when this guy walks by us holding a sign that said AIM the Janders. I screamed at my mom because she usually doesn't listen. I finally got her attention and told her. So we got all of our bags to the car and we happened to be going with another family too. They have a cute little baby named Annika. Well we drove to the AIM mission place and had the best dinner ever and I have one more thing to say. Goodnight!"

I love seeing life through a child's eyes. Never mind that we were all exhausted - we had ravioli, salad, rolls and cake! I'll post more soon. We are leaving at 6:30 pm and should arrive in London at 6:00 am on Saturday. I'll try to post some there. Please keep us in your prayers. We are amazed at God's provision for us and know that many of you are praying. Thank you.

"For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ" Acts 28:30-31 NIV

This verse spoke to our hearts because it so mirrors our life for the next two years. God is truly amazing and still speaks to us from His word. We just need to learn how to listen!

We've been cleared for Take Off!

2008-05-25T19:24:00.000-05:00

Things have started to get busy. We received our Medical Clearance on March 22. This was not an easy Task. It started with a physical for every one of us. That was the easy part. Next we had to update our shot records and get additional shots because of the area we were going. It felt like we got every shot they could think of. After the last round of shots, Yellow Fever and a Polio Booster we left the doctors office feeling that we could go to any place in the world and be covered. Sadly to say there are many diseases and sicknesses that man has not been able to conquer yet. No matter how well prepared we feel, we must always remember that God is in control. One good thing that has come out of all the shots is that the kids are now very accustom to needles and have been extremely courageous.
Thanks to all of you that have so generously supported us financially as we have also been cleared by the Financial Department. This means that we have received or amounts have been pledged to get us to Africa and support us while we are over there. Any additional funds received above the amount AIM has set as our budget will go into an account designated for Work Funds. These funds will be available for special projects or activities that will help the people of Africa and bring them closer to God. Public education in Kenya is free through the elementary years. After that the student must pay for the education. These work funds can be used to help pay for the tuition for families who could not otherwise pay. Another project we have learned about is call Cows for Kenyan’s. We could find a family that could not otherwise afford to purchase a cow and buy one for them. We could also help them build a pen to keep the cow. After we get to Africa I am sure we will find many other ways in which you can be a part of our ministry to the people of Africa.
After we received the medical and financial clearance we were emailed our tentative flight itinerary. The flight itineraries that I am familiar with have a departing flight and a return flight. As we looked at this itinerary the reality of what God has in store for our family really sank in. There is only a departing flight and no return flight! This is a giant step in faith for our family. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare to depart.
A word of warning, never say to God, “I could never do that!” He might just prove you wrong!

Our Family

2007-09-18T11:32:00.001-05:00

2007-09-18T11:31:00.001-05:00

Welcome to our first blog spot. Bear with us as we learn how to BLOG.