A Typical Day in Kenya.....

Beatie buying greens at our front gate.

I'm awakened each morning around 5:30 am, by the 'cock a doodle do' of Nellie's rooster. Shortly after that, I hear the clanging of the iron gate, as Beatie goes out to turn on the water pump. It’s a rather pleasant awakening, much better than the buzz of an alarm clock. By the time I’m actually out of bed it’s close to 7 am. I get up, collect my things, and go to the shower. We’ve learned a few techniques. First, don’t touch the hot water switch while you’re standing in a bucket of water. You’ll get shocked. Secondly, don’t take too long. Someone is waiting.

Mary, our cook.

Breakfast is next on the agenda. Nellie and Beatie have been cooking breakfast most mornings. Yesterday we had boiled ‘sweet potatoes’ – they taste something like our sweet potatoes crossed with a red potatoe – not very orange but very good; also fresh fruit – mango, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, and grated beet root – yogurt and granola from England. Today Nikki and I made egg sandwiches – it’s Georges’ favorite. We go out to the little kiosk on the corner of the building to buy eggs from Mary. There are lots of Mary’s in Nakuru. After breakfast, and all meals, we boil water to wash dishes. I put up a menu for Mary, our cook, to follow when she gets here around 2 pm. Then we go to our room for morning devotions and prayer. A great way to start each day.

Nikki got sunburned pretty bad on Sunday. She sat on the back row of the tent where the sun was directly on her white skin for 3-4 hours. I’ve been putting aloe lotion on her back and it’s getting better.

I fixed the curtains in our room, with Simons help, so they actually hang from the rod and can be opened and closed with ease. It’s amazing how many inconveniences we're getting used to here. Americans are so used to having things easy. We’ve actually had that same curtain every visit for 4 years so it seemed a good time to fix it.

We check email throughout the day, write blogs and emails. Yesterday I cut out a dress for Nellie. I went to sew but when I plugged in my machine it blinked on and off and then wouldn’t do anything. I didn’t know not to plug a 110v machine into a 220v outlet without a converter:-/  I’m trying to find out if there’s any way to reset it.

Teresa June

Today we went to town to meet Teresa June for lunch. That was fun and productive. We’ll be getting together with other missionaries as they meet about once a month or so. It’ll be good to connect with them and see if we can work together in any way. She also told me she has a sewing machine I can borrow. She got it for free from a mission she worked with. It’s a ‘White’, that’s a good brand, and I’m going to take her up on it.

Monkeys everywhere!

We bought a little car to get around town in. Since we’re going to be here 6 months and George has work etc. We thought it would be worthwhile to have the ability to come and go as we need. Noah is a good driver over here. It’s a Toyota, as are most vehicles here. Runs well but has a few glitches Noah and George are getting fixed. It’s in the car wash now getting cleaned up. We bought it from Johnny and Kate. It will help them with some financial needs they have taking care of orphans in their home. We took it for a spin and showed Nikki the monkeys at Lake Nakuru Park. We really want to spend more time with people on a daily basis rather than being mostly focused on meetings. The car will really make that possible.

Tuesday night we went to Anna’s house for a ‘clan’ meeting. There are two groups that meet in each other’s homes every Tuesday and help each other with daily needs. Last night Noah taught at the tent. We had a good group of people half of which were young people. They are hungry to learn and delightful to be with. The kids are telling us how grateful they are to their sponsors for the LEARN program. They’re happy to be going to school and hopeful for a better future.

Working on the concrete at the meeting tent.

We came home to dinner and conversation in the living room before we head for bed. We’ve made the adjustment to time change and are sleeping well now as most of you back home are going about your day. Think of us as we think of you. God’s grace be upon us all. 

LEARN students