Archive for August, 2004
By Wes (August 30, 2004 @ 10:05 am)
Well, here we are, a full month into our lives in Kenya! Time has flown, and it hardly seems like we’ve been here that long. There is still so much learning (and work!) to do. But, we are going to be here three years, so I guess we should pace ourselves somewhat 
. To help you get a sense of what’s going on over here, perhaps we’ll let you in on what we’ve learned this past week….
1. Our neighbors are great people! Ok, so this piece of information we learned early, but we also learn it often – as everyone at Rosslyn continues to welcome us, and extend hands of friendship and help to us. Being able to sit down and just relax and visit in the homes of new friends has been so good. God has indeed surrounded us with tremendous people.
2. Kenyans are very friendly! Yesterday (Saturday), I went on my inaugural bike-ride with Rob Beyer, Rosslyn’s resident Bikaholic. 105 minutes of hills (it seemed to me that we went up more than we came down!). But, along the way, as we passed Kenyans working, carrying corn, relaxing, biking, and selling produce, choruses of “Hey John” (apparently everyone who is a white male is named John), and “how are you” and “Jambo” followed us. It was pretty neat, and I would have answered them, but I was concentrating on breathing. A few asked if we could give them a ride, but alas, we had to yell back that there was no room on the bike for passengers.
3. Students are the same wherever you go! Rosslyn students are great – they love (and hate) the same things Canadian kids love (and hate). It was fun to play basketball with some students and staff this last week, and get to know some more of the high school students as we interacted with each other in and between classes.
4. My family is so awesome! Each day I learn this, and it is so good after a full day of teaching, marking, planning, and trying to learn students’ names to be able to come home and be welcomed by Jean, Ezzie and Zay! My commute (all 2.5 minutes from home to classroom) is great, but being home with those who love me and have known me for more than a month is so, so good.
5. Ezra can’t skip, but always tries hard! This week, Jean had the distinct priveledge of watching Ezra in his PE class. Cute is the word that immediately came to her mind, but was far too small a term for the incredible greatness of this boy. They warmed up first (of course, any serious athlete would!), did some stretching, and skipping and jogging. Ezra apparently has not mastered the skip, but still runs, and jumps, and twiddles his feet some before returning to earth – hilarious! They play sharks and minnows (tag basically), and flying dutchman (duck,duck,goose in pairs). A beautiful thing to behold (see blog for more PE with Ezra!)
6. It does rain in Nairobi! It rained for the first time since we arrived here just a night or two ago. It is very dry here, and quite dusty (Jean has indepth knowledge of that in trying to keep our floors clean?). But, everyone is still quite hopeful that rain will come (and perhaps some bugs too), and come in large amounts. The rainy season approaches, and will be here sometime in October or November.
7. We miss home, and all of you! Things are good here, but it sure would be easy for a bit to be home, with people we know and love, in a place we know how to get around in a little easier. Going out and about in Nairobi is a chore at times, not to mention not knowing where to go or how to get to places hampers the process somewhat as well. But, if you would just come to visit, at least we’d have one of those needs met!
Well, that’s enough for now?.we wish you health and happiness!
Tata from Kenya!
The Enns Clan
By Wes (August 18, 2004 @ 3:03 am)
It’s the end of a terribly exciting day here in Nairobi – The First Day of Kindergarten for Ezra Enns!!
Yesterday was actually the preamble to today’s highlight and it actually did not go well. Many of you may already know about readiness tests for those wee ones entering some form of schooling but as I had intended to home school I was fully out of the loop. Nevertheless, I dutifully took Ezra to see Mrs. Cheryl Rognstad to assess his readiness for school. Well, first he cried when she indicated that she would like to talk to him alone and clung to me for all he was worth. I inquired with my searching eyes to see if it would be alright if I stayed with him until he was more comfortable and she wisely indicated a yes. He sat in the chair and begrudgingly answered those questions he decided he would like to answer and left out “all questions that have to do with body parts!”(he was QUITE adamant about it!). It was all a proud mother such as myself could do not to bore the answers( that I knew he knew) right into his brain and to will his mouth and hands to spew forth all the knowledge and skill we/he had been amassing over the last 5 1/2 years of his life. I eventually left with the wiggly worm/Isaiah and allowed him to carry on with the testing on his own. He joyfully left that room and spoke not a word of the encounter. I was pretty sure he had failed.
Enter today – 17 August 2004. The day dawned brightly and at exactly the same time as it does every single day of the year and soon thereafter the boys also awoke. Ezra crawled into bed with me and said he was sad that today he wouldn’t get to have a “long, lazy morning with mom” (can you stand the sweetness?!!). We cuddled a touch then he asked if he could play a bit of his Game Boy while I got breakfast going. He ate mangos and Weetabix for breakfast and wore grey cargo shorts, his white Zip,Pop,Pow shirt(it can defeat the evil emperor Zurg from Toy Story), a navy hoody, and navy sneakers. On top of all that was the piece de resistance (I’m printing phonetically but speaking with a very heavy French accent!) a Spiderman backpack filled with all the goodies required to kick off a new beginning(the 12 pack of Crayola crayons cost me $12 cdn!!!!!). Anyway..
Once we got to school for 8:30am – which is a gruelling 3 minute walk up a shallow hill – he quickly made contact with two boys named Nathan and Michel whom he’s seen before and hung up his backpack in his outdoor locker. No chance to play but a quick roundup of all 9 classmates to go and use the bathroom. He looked to me and indicated a hug would be good, with a quick kiss and a big smile – him, not me. He turned to go and didn’t look back – fully engaged. I turned with Isaiah and thought about how handsome and big and small and awesome he is and started the crying. No wild howling or sobbing, but a good steady stream of tears. Isaiah was determined to play a bit of tether ball so the crying was short and sweet.
At 9:25 we snuck over to the all school assembly to see if we could catch a glimpse of him and there he was in the front row of 420 students. Wes was leading a couple of songs and had a front row vantage of Ezra’s response, which from where I stood was pretty stunned. At one point the HS principal called the Kindergarten class to the front to celebrate their brand new step and then had the gr 12 class fall in behind to illustrate the difference 13 years can make – it was really cute.
We gave him a high 5 as he filed past back to his classroom and then went back to pick him up at noon as it was only a half day. He seemed content but not ready to talk about it all at that time. However, once he had a chance to feel back at home he began opening up and regaling us with the fantastic experience kindergarten had been. “Zay, you’re going to have so much fun when you get to go to this class” “oh, really” “yeah, you get your own playground(which they really do), and do crafts, and have snack outside, and lots of fun stuff”. He gets to have different teachers for music, art, science,computer and library skills,p.e., and even Kiswahili lessons. He assures me he will teach me everything he can remember when he comes home. I look forward to it.
I think he’s gonna do great! Isaiah and I – on the other hand – have to figure out how to be alone together for the first time since he was born, but trust we’ll take to it without much difficulty.
The boy is sleeping now and will bite off a whole day tomorrow with all sorts of wonderful stories to tell when we go to pick him up after school (yes, he could and has gone back and forth on his own, but this is for me, not him ! )
So that’s that. Be sure to check the pictures of this eventful day on our blog gallery and blessings to you all.
love
Jean
By Wes (August 8, 2004 @ 1:22 am)
Well, it’s been beautiful here again – like a really nice autumn in Winnipeg. Cool breezes, and a mix of sun and cloud pretty much every day. The Kenyan climate is gorgeous 
. We’ve had a couple of really great outtings this weekend, first with our trip to The Great Rift Valley (home to Rift Valley Academy, our sporting competition and long standing rivalry) on Saturday, and our first trip to a Kenyan church on Sunday.
The valley was incredible! Amazing view. The valley is mostly inhabited by the Masai people, so most of what we could see far below was their land. There were also merchants at the lookout point, selling their wares. Jean couldn’t resist, and found some beautiful stoneware to buy – she’s getting better at the bartering thing! It took us about 45 minutes or so to get there – thank goodness we were driving. In that amount of time, we climbed almost 3000 feet! Rob Beyer (Rosslyn teacher and our “Matatu” driver for the day) said he and his friend Eric Unger (now in Winnipeg) had biked this trip a few times – all I can say is, maybe in three months when my lungs won’t burst from the elevation (apparently, it takes that long for new red blood cells to grow, which are aclimatized to Nairobi’s elevation). Anyway, it was great to get out and see some sites.
Church was great too on Sunday, as we went to Kuhura Community Chapel, about 10 mintues from home. It felt good to worship with other Christians, singing songs in both Kiswahili and English. The Word was good, and the boys reported that Sunday School was good too – although very different from what they knew back home.
This week is full-staff orientation, and so meetings and planning will begin in earnest. Please continue to pray for us, as we continue to learn and grow into the new cultures we are in (both Rosslyn, and Nairobi). On our minds at this moment are continued health (praise God for health today!), safety as we venture out on the streets, wisdom, energy to continue learning everyday, blessings on Ezra as he prepares (or we prepare him) for his first few days of kindergarten next week, understanding as I (Wes) learn new systems and policies, as well as enthusiasm for getting the tasks of teaching done in time for the arrival of students.
And, last but not least, check out our new gallery! We have pictures for you to see. Just click on the link on this page under the calendar to view. The site of our gallery is http://enns.humanclay.ca/gallery.
By Wes (August 3, 2004 @ 12:53 pm)
We’ve been in Africa one whole week! Canada seems far away, and it is hard to believe that last Saturday we woke up at Mom and Dad Enns’! So much has happened between then and now, and it seems like I could fill up pages and pages of writing in order to give you an accurate blow by blow picture of everything we are experiencing. But, you want to know the highlights, and so, highlights you shall have. Here’s a whirlwind tour of the interesting happenings since I last blogged:
- went to a hymn-sing at the Mennonite Guest House here in Nairobi for singing and fellowship on Sunday (Mom Enns, I thought you’d like to be there!)
- I (Wes) drove our car on the streets of Nairobi!! And survived! It’ll take a little bit of getting used to – it’s not for the faint of heart. Defensive driving taken to an extreme. (Steve, I think you’d like it too much:)
- journeyed to Village Market to check out the “Masai Market” which is held every Friday – amazing outdoor shops containing all manner of incredible authentic African merchandise. Bartering anyone? Ezra was given a hand carved giraffe by one of the merchants, something that according to our hosts almost never happens. It was fun – we will be back!
- visited PACC (Pan-African Christian College – about a 1/2 hour drive in Nairobi) where we had dinner with the College President’s family and friends, and set a golf date for this coming Sunday afternoon!! Yeehaw!
- I (Jean) went to the Toy Market with Rebecca and Rebecca Joy ( our host mom and daughter) which has nothing to do with toys at all but a massive outdoor used/new clothing market. The stuff not sold at thrift stores and at fine clothing outfitters is bundled up and shipped to Africa. The isles are about 2ft apart and basically a sprained ankle waiting to happen. Customer comfort doesn’t register on the list of things to be concerned about. Made off with some good stuff for super cheap.
- have been invited out for dinner to a few of Rosslyn staff’s homes (people here have been so kind and generous!). We’ve been welcomed, and are starting to connect with future friends!
- I have finished “New Staff Orientation”, set up my classroom (almost), and started thinking about what I’m teaching (there’s lots of time for that right?).
We have the next few days to do some shopping, do some classroom time, hang out, relax, play some more soccer (and golf:), etc, before the big push (Full Staff Orientation) starts Monday and continues every day next week. Keep us in your prayers, as they are availing much! We feel more at home here everyday, and are sleeping better. We are still healthy, and are learning about how to live in this Rosslyn world more and more. Pray for understanding of the new cultures we are in (both Rosslyn culture and Kenyan), for continued health, positive attitudes, good starts to relationships around campus, wisdom in making decisions, and a continued reliance on God and His Word.
Feel free to write us an email if you wish, or even send a snail-mail – although please do not send any packages with things worth money (or if you do, don’t specify what contents are worth) because we have to pay at least $20 cdn to get these packages from the post office. We’ve already recieved a card though, and really appreciated it.
You can send emails to either or ,
or snail mail to Wes and Jeannie Enns and Family, P.O. Box 14146, Nairobi, Kenya.
I’ll leave you with a fitting verse I heard in a staff devotional this morning. Psalm 139:9-10 says this:
“If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, Your right hand will hold me fast.” We are relying on that. Blessings.
Wes, Jean, Ezra and Isaiah
