To give you a picture of Kenya life....

Some things I'll just never get. My boys go to public school. Public school is supposed to be "free" in Kenya. It's not. Tuition (like tutorials) are mandatory and you have to pay for them. My two Class 3 boys (3rd grade) have tuition every day. Instruction ends at 12:30 and then they have tuition for the rest of the afternoon. Students have to provide their own textbooks, all school supplies, and uniforms. Another added cost to the "free" public school eduction: school furniture. You have to provide your own desk and chair.

And when it breaks, the student has to take it home and have it repaired. So, Patrick had to bring his chair home and take it to a welder. Not a big deal, just another one of those, "really?" moments. And for some reason, Julia came in and was adamant about me coming outside and taking a picture of Patrick's chair, so I thought I would share it with you. Yep, it's always something around here.

Phones, lovely phones

FPD #15: Phone (a day late)

Trena + Phones + Kenya = Drama. I can't count how many phones I have had since I moved here. They have broken, been lost, broken, been stolen, broken, had technical difficulties, broken. I've had my share of phone issues.

Some people are surprised by the ease of communication here, the accessibility and affordability of phones and airtime. I tell you, everyone has a phone here. They may not have electricity to charge the phone, or enough money to top it off, but everyone has them. You can buy phones for as little as $10. There are no contracts, and you can buy phone credit in any amount above 10 cents. I have been through my share of cheap Kenyan phones. I guess they simply aren't designed for much use.

So, here is my beautiful ghetto-phone, and I tell you, it is high-tech kind of nice by Kenyan standards! I'm not sure how much longer it will last. It spontaneously turns off every 2-3 hours, the screen flickers off when I press the left side buttons, and the keypad blacks out for a few seconds when I press the right side buttons. I'm just praying it hangs on a few more weeks until I can get my phone that I (er...Kris) ordered on eBay!

And here is the best use of this phone! Julia's lifeline to Nana....and Nana's lifeline to Julia!

Too much of a good thing?

FPD #12: Inside your closet

Really? Why is this on the list? Who wants to see inside my closet? I don't.

My clothes are actually organized, but you can't tell by the edges hanging down. When I was looking at my closet, I noticed how weird my shoe stackers look. Why on earth do I have 20 pairs of the same kind of shoes?!

TOMS and Crocs. That's pretty much my Africa-wear. This place is DUSTY. The first thing I do when I come home from being out all day is wash my feet and legs. And any house keeper considers it part of their job to wash and clean shoes on a regular basis. That was weird for me, but I totally see the need for it. But washing and setting shoes outside to dry in this hot, intense equator sun is really hard on leather shoes. But, Crocs are perfect for that. Wash-and-wear! And same with TOMS. They are not leather, and they are easily washable.

And of all my Crocs, not one pair of the big, oversized ones that most people think of as Crocs. And I think there are a few cute ones. :-)

And TOMS, though I was resistant to the bandwagon trend of them at first, have become my favs!! Especially the super cute wedges! Totally worth it.

Karibu!

FPD #9: Front door

Habari ya asubuhi na karibu nyumbani kwetu! (Good morning, and welcome to our home!)

Just a few minutes on Pinterest and my front door is put to shame. But I do like "my people" that greet me at the front door every day. Kenyan doors are not really "pretty." They are definitely built for security, not aesthetics. How pretty can you make metal and bars?! Getting into a door means a lot of clanking, knocking, and banging of metal. No one can sneak into my house! To get from outside, to inside my house and lock the door, there are a total of 9 locks and latches. But it's "home," and I love it!

Menu plan board

Meal planning and cooking is a tough task in this country. There are no restaurants that I would want to frequent more than occasional outing (meaning no American food restaurants), no drive-throughs, no easy prep foods, no frozen food section of the grocery store to give you a head start on peeling and chopping vegetables. We don't have some of those staples that you add together to make some quick home cooked meals, which makes looking at recipes on Pinterest quite frustrating at times! You know, things like Rotel, tortillas, cream cheese, cream of mushroom soup, etc. And some things are just SO expensive you can't buy them often, like chicken breasts, cheese, broccoli (when it can be found).

On those long, busy days when you are really just too exhausted to cook a meal from scratch....well, there is no other option. Unless you plan ahead. Having things in the freezer is a lifesaver. But....you have to have them in the freezer ahead of time. Funny how that works, huh? And if you know me, you know that I am the Queen of Good Intentions, but that follow through thing......well, I don't really have that. And that is not really fair to a three year old. She likes to eat food. She kinda needs it, too.

So, thanks once again to Pinterest, I have spent hours looking at and making meal planning ideas. Hours. I tried forever to find a printable that I wanted to use. Then, I just resorted to creating my own. It kind of worked.

But then I saw one on Pinterest that I really liked. So I made it! I actually made it...from start to finish. Well, almost to finish. It still needs to be laminated. Seriously, that follow-through, last-step thing....it's a doozy for me! I saw it Saturday night and I made it Sunday afternoon.

And best of all, I did not buy a thing for it. I had the chalk board that I brought from home, not knowing what I would do with it, but knowing it would come in handy someday. I also bought a bunch of cute file folders with the same thought and intention.

How it works is my favorite part! In the "Meals" pocket, I put a lot of strips of meal ideas. On Sunday, I can pull out all those meal strips, lay them out, keeping in mind what I have on hand, what I have leftover in the freezer, what days are busy and need easy meals, etc, and stick them on the days. As I am putting them up and seeing the bigger picture and realize I need to change something, I don't have to erase or scratch out, I just move it. I can also pull the recipe cards I need for the week and put them in the recipe pocket so they are close on hand.

I realized after I made it that I probably should have made a breakfast column. That is why there are two on the left side.

The key for me is planning ahead and being organized in meal preparations. I know, that is key for most people, but it is an absolute must when there are no "back up" plans, like a Chick-fil-a run or pulling out a frozen pizza. This made it so easy to look at the whole picture and see what all I could make ahead of time, at the same time, or in pieces.

And look! I really did it! And even better....it worked! Well, so far, at least.

And another plus - it's cute. :-) At least I think so. I needed something to cover these drab walls!

Now, the big question....will the Queen of Good Intentions actually continue to use this?! I hope so! It has already made a huge difference this week so I really think I will. We'll see....

Things I will miss....

Yeseterday's post was a glimpse into the life that I will not miss, but the good outweighs the bad, and here are some things I will miss....

* Welcoming new babies into our home,
* Happy fruit ladies (Maggy & Grace) at my car door when I stop in town,
* Amazing flowers in bloom year-round,
* Boys who still greet me with excitement each time I drive in my gate,
* Beautiful Kenyan faces,
* Beautiful baby faces,
* Zebras on the side of the road,
* Warm welcomes from friends/waitstaff at our local restaurant each time we walk in,
* My Coke Lite w/ice brought to me almost before I sit down at Guava,
* Hearing "Mama! Mama!" when I drive up at the baby house, (already missing that since our "talkers" have left),
* Walking around with a baby in my arms or on my hip,
* my Land Cruiser Prado,
* aunties singing with babies,
* beautiful, exotic looking birds in my yard,
* boys playing futbol in my yard,
* a shamba full of vegetables in my yard,
* the view of Lake Nakuru and the National Park on my 3-minute drive to the baby house,
* Kenyan accents,
* Kiswahili (sort of),
* Knowing there are giraffes strolling through the National Park I see in the distance,
* Collins's pretending to have hurt feelings,
* Maina running with the puppies,
* Freddy's confused look when he thinks something is funny,
* Patrick's sneaky laugh,
* Humphrey pretending Dora the Explorer with Julia,
* boys redundantly singing "Happy Birthday" and "Jingle Bells" for hours, just for love of a 2 yr old,
....just to name a few.

And I have to stop there before I become a basket-case thinking of how hard it will be to drive away from the ones I love. In one week.

This is Kenya

There are many things that I will miss when we go to America - and I will share some of those in the next few days - but there are many things that I will not miss about living in the country, this country that I do love. Still it can be a frustrating place to live at times. 


While in America, I will not miss.....

* Boiling water to wash dishes,

* Days when there is no water coming from the tap,

* Matatus,

* Faces of abandonment - everyday, 

* Government officials giving directions to write in false info in official documents,

* Using pad locks to lock my doors,

* Seeing absolute desperation every time I leave my house,

* Power outages,

* Nakuru dust covered floors every afternoon,

* Being swarmed & followed down the street by people begging for money,

* Waiting for cows,

* Waiting for goats,

* "Mzungu! Mzungu!"

* Seeing glue boys,

* Drought caused starvation,

* Poverty cause starvation,

* "Tax Collector" stops (aka: police road checks)

* Boiling water to take a bath,

* Death, 

* People nodding and saying "yes" when they really have no clue what you are saying,

* Pit latrines for public restrooms,

* Traffic jams - and, no, the ones in Houston do NOT even compare!

* Bad roads - and, no, west Texas country roads do NOT come close to comparing!

* Smells,

* Officials hinting for bribes,

* Milk in a box or bag,

* hard-to-crack eggs,

* Picking up the pieces & dealing with unrealistic expectations of Kenyans due to foreign visitors who think they are doing the right thing by giving money, giving things, putting Band-Aids on bigger problems.


Many real things. Many superficial things. That is life. That is a glimpse into my life. Though I love my life and love what I do, there are things I will not miss about it. There are reasons why I need to take a break, to go home, to refresh, regenerate, and regain perspective.

I hope you read this as a glimpse into the reality of my daily life, not as a complaining list of negatives in my life. 


Because at the same time, I still count my many blessings in the wonderful life.....

286. Chasing a sunset.

287. Sending Little Girl off on her first game drive without mama.

288. Jully & Julia and Lizzy & Elizabeth out on an adventure.

289. First box to America PACKED!!

290. Days in single digits!!

291. Elizabeth singing & playing guitar for the boys.

292. Fun new shawls made by CH ladies.

293. One of the CH lady’s small bonus, big impact.

294. A line of blue backed birds on a wire.

295. Fresh baked brownies for the boys.

296. Boys acting silly.

Changa: The Dirt in Our Lives

Elizabeth wrote a wonderful post on her perception of one aspect of life in Kenya. Very insightful and real. Visit her blog to read it.... Changa: The Dirt in Our Lives

An American Lunch

What? We eat UNCOOKED food?!?!  Um, yeah.

Ham & cheese sandwiches.
Peanut better & jelly sandwiches.
Potato chips.
Carrot sticks.

Last week, Susan and Terry and I took lunch to the ladies at the Cherished Handworks (CH) shop. We have had numerous conversations about food and the differences between Kenyan and American food, so we had planned to share our version of a quick lunch with them.

We started off with the explanation of a sandwich and how it is eaten all together. Of course we had to convince them that it was okay to eat the lunch meat, which was not warmed. And lettuce. Well, that was just plain weird to them. Eating a vegetable that is uncooked?!?! And the carrot sticks - cold and uncooked? Again, we must be crazy.

The ladies were great sports. They all ate what they were served. And they really enjoyed it. Or at least they are great pretenders!

Their biggest surprise was that they were actually full and satisfied after the lunch. They are used to eating huge bowl servings of rice or ugali (flour & water). And they do eat bread, with tea. Not as a meal. And when they eat bread, they eat four or five slices. Alone.

Even Julia & Jeremiah got to enjoy lunch at the shop. Again, the ladies were appalled that we allowed our babies to eat COLD food! Apparently, if they eat cold food, they will get cold and then get sick. Who knew? And keep in mind it is summer here. HOT!

Just in case you were wondering, Julia & Miah were fine. They ate all their lunch and did not get sick.

A Happy Ending

We had a "wasn't that interesting?" kind of morning yesterday. 
Or maybe more like a "Thank You, Jesus!!" kind of morning.
Or maybe a "what the heck?" kind of morning.


Sometimes things that happen here in Kenya are handled in completely different ways than they would be handled in America. For example: a missing child. 


Wouldn't you be freaking out, scared to death, calling everyone in the world, checking every police station and NOT going to work as usual, as if nothing abnormal had happened? 


Well, that's not how this case happened. One of our knitting ladies asked me as I was leaving yesterday morning if she could leave and go check a police station for her grandson. Her teen daughter and her son live with Syprose and she is raising them both. When her daughter, the boy's mother, went to school to pick him up the day before, he was not to be found. The teachers had not realized that he was missing. 


He was gone through the night and into the morning. Just before I left the shop, she had gotten a call that the boy might be at a police station. So we took her to the station to check it out. Praise God, indeed, the boy was her grandson.


It amazes me how calm and composed these people are in what we would see as a frantic situation. They are not unfazed or uncaring. They just know that there is no need to panic, and their frantic behavior would not change the circumstance. Syprose was indeed very worried and scared for her baby, but handled it so differently than any mother or grandmother would in our society. 


This story turned out to have a VERY good ending! Thank You, God, for taking care of this little buy while he was away from him family. Thank You for quickly reuniting them. It was such a job to see little Omondi run and jump in his grandma's arms. 

And God Remembered

Living in Kenya, interacting with Kenyans and learning their culture and their language...it is amazing how it often helps me understand the Bible in a new way or gives me a different perspective. There are so many commonalities between African and Biblical cultural. And even in the language. 

For example, Kenyans often tell me as I am leaving to go somewhere, "Remember us," (that is, leaving the country for a visit home, leaving for a trip to Nairobi, or leaving somewhere to go run errands around town). Upon returning from town, from church, from my own home, or from abroad, I am very often asked, "Did you remember me?" 

Considering that these questions often come from people whom I know well, my first thought would be, "Well, of course I know you," or "Do you really think I will instantly forget you when I drive away?" It took me a long time to get used to those questions/comments and understand what they are truly asking. What they are really saying is, "Think of us," or "Remember to pray for me," or "Did you think of me while you were away?"

It makes sense; we just don't use it or think of it that way in America. There are SO many things like this that I find in our conversations here. But this one came to mind this morning as I read God's words in Genesis:

"But God remembered Noah...." (Gen 8:1) and

"Then God remembered Rachel; He listened to her and opened her womb." (Gen 30:22)

No doubt, God had not forgotten about Noah and Rachel. He had not put them out of His mind and then suddenly remembered them. No, He was remembering them, thinking about them, considering them, knowing them. 

Isn't it good to know that God remembers us? He is the All-Knowing God who remembering us, thinking of us. 

I love when the things that sometimes confuse, frustrate, and/or annoy me in the cultural and language differences between myself and those around me begin to take on a new meaning and enlighten me. Or even better, when God uses those things to remind me of Himself and teach me a lesson. 

Just like my friends want me to remember them when we are apart, to think of them, we want the same from our God. And He does! He DOES remember us! I am never left alone or forgotten. And He does a MUCH better job of remembering me - and all of my friends - than I do of remembering them when we are apart. Yes, I do "remember" them....but in the thoughtful, concerned, loving way that I desire from God? Not so much. 

I pray that God will use this in my life. I pray that when people do come to mind, that I will not simply remember them, but thoughtfully and prayerfully remember them. Just as God remembers us. 

And isn't it great to know that God remembers ALL of His children? I take GREAT comfort in that! As I sometimes become overwhelmed with the heaviness of knowing that we hold so many tiny, little lives in our hands at Haven of Hope, it is an awesome comfort to know that God is remembering each of our babies right now. He is thinking of them and planning for and preparing for their futures. He remembers each one of our babies. 

Today, I am especially thankful that He is remembering Jeremiah. He is remembering Jeremiah. 

"Some of these things are not like the others" :-)

We are having an amazing time with our new women's ministry! It is so great to see how God is working in their lives and in the group as a whole. I will begin introducing them to you and sharing their stories with you in the next week or so. I can't wait for you to "meet" them! They are truly an inspiring group of women.


Meanwhile, I will introduce you to some of their work. These ladies have some great skill, but they do not all share the same opinion in style. 


Can you guess which ones are Kenyan inspired and which were designed from our American inspired pictures?

Please Pray - Tuesday night (CST)

Satan does not like when God's power is alive and active and changing lives for His glory! We are seeing evidence of that in the attacks we have been hit with recently.


Things have been on fire with HCO and our various ministries recently. God is doing some amazing things and opening new doors. Even within our baby house, we have made huge progress in finally attaining some major documents for some of our babies after many months of trying. 


And just in the midst of this, several issues have arisen and we are once again being dealt frustrations as we work with the officials in our registration process. I will be meeting with the District Children's Officer (DCO) tomorrow morning before 9:00am. (That is midnight, CST.) Things are a bit more complicated as I will not be able to easily access all of our files, should he need to see anything, because our office was broken into and my computer was stolen. Yes, we have hard copies of most things in files and most other things backed up on flash drives. Still, having it all at my fingertips and easily accessible will be more difficult.


Prayers would be greatly appreciated today! God is big and I know He has us in the palm of His hand.

An afternoon stroll down a dusty road

Susan and I had been out all day, busy with the women's project. We came home just in time to go on a walk with the babies and aunties. 

Two Peas - Jeremiah & Julia

Me & Hopey

Suzy & Elijah

The rains have been gone for a long time, so we are seriously dry and dusty. Yuck. But it was still a fun walk. 

Happy Lizzy and her friends, Julia & Jeremiah

Maggie & Joseph

Jully and William

And it helped me to remember the vast majority of all Kenyan who walk everywhere, and to be thankful that I am in that extreme small majority of Kenyans (maybe as small as 5% of the population?) who are blessed enough to have a vehicle! 

 Grace & David

Jully (& William), Julia, Suzy, Jeremiah, Maggie (& Joseph)

Before entering our gate, we enjoyed one of the daily cow parades. Julia and Jeremiah often run to the gate to peer through and watch the cows pass, but this was a little more up close and personal for them. 

The cows come from as far down the road as we can see. A constant stream of cows from one end of the road to the other.

This is one of those things that I referred to yesterday when I talked about things becoming normal, forgetting that this is really not a normal sight in America. I never drove through a small herd of cows, hearing their tails slap on the side of my car as I enter my neighborhood and drive into my driveway. But, in our very developed, highest class neighborhood of our town, this is normal. Love my Kenyan life!