By Wes (September 30, 2004 @ 8:51 am)
Hello! We’ve experienced our first thunderstorm – and what banger it was! The skies opened up last Monday, and it came down in sheets – it even hailed quite a bit. Water was running everywhere, and it continued to come down all afternoon and night. What a welcome relief from the dry dusty weather we’ve been having here! Refreshment for a dry and thirsty land.
My life continues to focus quite a bit on school and grading and the like as of late. Chapels take up some energy as well, along with the prepping and occasional games of basketball and soccer. But, I don’t really have that much opportunity to get off campus during the week, which I guess you could say is too bad. Really though, I’m still loving my 2 minute-walk commute to work. It’s hard to beat.
Jean, on the other hand, gets out a little each week, what with regular trips to Hawker’s market for produce, or other grocery runs, and BSF on Wednesdays. She’s really getting a handle on getting around on the roads here, and rarely needs to consult someone on how to get somewhere if she’s been there at least once before. She tells me that there really aren’t that many major routes, and so you just need to be able to follow it in your head around all the loops, turns, hills, and roundabouts. But, she’s gifted in this way. I am not.
Nairobi continues to show its variety to me, as I just think about all the different people groups I see, not to mention the different kinds of vehicles and houses. Juxtaposed with each other are exclusive, gated, multicar garaged mansions, and ramshackle “temporary” road side shops selling everything and anything – from furniture, to groceries, to ‘freshly’ butchered meat (with no refrigeration in sight!), to Coke (on almost every major road – seemingly more abundant here than even in Canada – haven’t seen a Pepsi sign or product – I guess we know who’s winning the Cola war – if there still is one of those going on). People are usually very friendly, and will wave at us even if we don’t buy what they sell, for the most part. After church, we sometimes visit “the Shell bakery”, which I’m sure is not really the name of it, it just happens to actually be in the same building as a Shell petrol station. Anyways, Jean usually goes in to get the amazing bread (yummmm), and me and the boys wait in the car. We are always approached by a few men, who carry their wares with them to sell – fresh roses (I bought 36 for 250 shillings, which is about 5$ Cdn), or fruit, or even TV antennas / electrical power bars etc. There are men like this all over the place, standing in the middle of traffic (which during rush hour is seemingly insane, but they seem to be just fine), selling newspapers and flowers. Isaiah has taken to calling them “sellmans”, and will talk to them (with all the windows up, of course) as they stroll up, and tell them,”not today sellmans!”
Life here is quite interesting, what with power outtages at any moment, the winged termites which fought to get into our house when it poured, and of course, our constant companions, the ants. But, without those things, we could start thinking we were back in Canada…..ok, maybe not. But, I’d like to look at these things as part of the package. And there’s a whole lot of good in this parcel. As John Eldredge puts it in his book Wild At Heart:
“Life is not a problem to be solved, it is an adventure to be lived.” Amen, brother!
Signing off for now –
Wes
PS: if you have any questions about the little details of life out here, and are just curious – drop us a note, or submit a comment on here! We’ll try to answer as best as we can! Ciao!
By Wes (September 19, 2004 @ 4:30 am)
At least, that’s what they say about Kenya! Although, you wouldn’t know it by the weather around Nairobi these days. It’s been dry as a bone here, and hadn’t rained at all since we arrived here at the end of July, until 2 nights ago. It rained a gentle misty rain then, and again last night. Still not the torrential downpours that are expected around these parts, but those are supposed to come sometime near October / November.
But, to carry on with the rain theme – we continue to be deluged by activity, and the days are just zipping by. It’s already the middle of September! And there always seems to be something to keep us busy.
Jean and Isaiah are attending BSF each Wednesday, and are liking the opportunity to get out quite a bit. Isaiah has a friend from campus who also attends in his class, and so that has helped matters. Jean also is getting back into BSF mode, and says her discussion group is great – except it is really hard to hear the rest of the women, especially when they share (reminded me of the “low talker” on Seinfeld). They’ve already asked her to do some reading, as she’s “the loud one” in the group =). Oh well, compared to them, I think anyone from North America would be considered loud. But, Jean says the group is good, and the women aren’t afraid to offer suggestions and answer questions, so she is looking forward to many hours of studying with them.
We’ve gone swimming at ISK (Int’l School of Kenya), and are looking to get a regular pass to be able to go any weekend we want – its very nice there, and a great place to spend hot afternoons (which we anticipate more of as we draw closer to “summer” here).
Bugs! Ezra and Isaiah have met a boy at school (older, grade 3 maybe) who continues to entertain us with his love of all things that creep or crawl. The other day, he showed them a 3 inch long grasshopper, and then another day, let them touch a chameleon that he had found by his home, and brought to school. Ezra thought it was cool – and it was, although was smaller than Jean anticipated it would be!
Wes was privileged enough to be able to go golfing with some guys from staff during a staff retreat day at Brackenhurst (a Baptist Retreat Centre about 30 mins away from Rosslyn). It was very relaxing and a great way to enjoy a beautiful Kenyan day, while hitting the ball a mile (yes, I really enjoyed the fact that at 7000 feet above sea level, the ball travels quite easily through the air!).
This past weekend, Rosslyn hosted a tournament for Varsity and Junior Varsity teams for boys soccer and girls basketball. It was an exciting day, as 18 soccer teams and 13 basketball teams vied for the hardware. We helped out a little with setup early on Saturday morning, and enjoyed the day, sitting in the shade (mostly) and cheering on the students. Sports are pretty big here!
Ezra continues to shine in Kindergarten, as he is constantly on the hunt for ways to earn stars (get 10, and he gets to pick a prize from the box!). He can write out his name, is learning to read short words, and constantly amazes us with his newfound knowledge. He’s becoming more and more grown up, as is evidenced when he gets home from school, and we ask him what exciting things he learned, he’ll say, “Mom/Dad, I just need to relax. I don’t want to talk about it right now.” It starts already!
Wes’ first report cards come out in 2 weeks, and so he is in prime marking (or grading as they say here) time. There is quite a push for teachers to have at least 6 different marks for each student by then (works out to one graded assignment / week for each student), so, the papers are rolling in. Getting to know how grading is usually done here, and what is expected is quite the experience for someone from Canada – the system is different here, and is taking a lot of getting used to. But, what else is new right? The Transition continues. I find that a lot of my time and energy is going towards getting my feet under me in these new classes, new system, etc. Unfortunately, this has usurped the energy that should be put towards Jean and the boys. Please continue to pray for our marriage relationship, and our family’s communication with each other. Energy, and a daily renewing of this supply, is needed in order to maximize our family life.
Other matters of prayer include continued health – we have had minor occurances of illness, and so have been extraordinarily blessed by God in this. Jean also is feeling a little run down these days, and so needs God’s protection and physical rejuvination. Also, pray that we might soon find a church home – one in which the boys feel comfortable in Sunday school. We’ve found a lot of churches here have classes for them, but they are a little “dry” for our guys, who are used to more activities and things to occupy them, as opposed to the typical Kenyan style of class, which adopts a more teacher centered approach. We’d love to find a good home soon. Work is also a prayer need – that Wes would find the energy to use time effectively, to connect with the students, to find interesting ways of communicating curriculum to kids, and to manage to grade in a fair, yet informative way. Wes is also running chapels first semester, as well as has taken over responsibilities of running the worship teams. Lots of prayer required here too.
Thank you for your prayers for us, and for your emails and comments that encourage us along the way. We hope that we can in some way encourage you as well. God bless you, and thank you for supporting us in this way.
Kwaheri from the Kenyan Enns’
By Wes (September 5, 2004 @ 1:54 pm)
What a glorious fourth of September! There are many mornings that start cloudy (I, Jean, should know since I am out training for a 5K race at 6:45am – this is purely for fun, though it came to my attention today that there is a race happening at the end of October that would fall nicely at the end of my 12 week program that would be sure to test my mettle as a fledgling runner)…. where was I… oh yes, the clouds in the morning that typically burn off by mid morning or early afternoon. However, today was sunny – a great reminder that God’s faithfulness is new every morning. And today was a day that I received this truth with particular vigor as it is the wedding day of my dearly beloved youngest sister, Kim, to her delightfully betrothed Clayton Bitner. We have managed to have a very nice day and realize that the day’s proceedings for Kim and Clay are just beginning. In an effort to be part of the fun and frolic, I snaffood the recipe of the white chocolate brownie they will be having at the reception, and sat down to enjoy it with new friends Dave and Carrie Matlak (with two boy crew of Isaac and Sam).Despite some tears whilst I wrote a few sentiments to the happy couple, I have managed o.k. with this first stab at my resolve to follow God into this utterly new and challenging journey. I’m sure this is not to be my last.
So in other things to contemplate and absorb and process during these new first weeks I would have to make a mental stop first with the people I am encountering. I don’t know if I’ve said this already, but I continue to be amazed by the amassing of so many excellent people in one place. At this time I speak most knowledgeably (is that a word?) of those I am getting to know on campus. Here I am discovering very helpful, energetic, determined, entertaining, kind, knowledgeable, and genuine people of all walks of life and from many corners of the globe. I see how God has provided people who will inevitably become dear friends. Continue to hold up this area of need to God’s wisdom and provision to us.
And then there are the encounters with the Kenyans. Some of my most enjoyable interactions have come at an outdoor fruit and vegetable market (called Hawkers Market). I thought I would be overwhelmed by this experience, but ever since my first encounter with Brent and Trina Siegrist, neighbors, (where we stayed at their heels the whole time, learning the ropes and trying not to trip on the uneven paths!) I have taken every opportunity to accompany anyone going in that general direction so I can buy very fresh and outrageously delicious produce at an extremely reasonable rate. When you come to visit you will enjoy fruit salad like you’ve never enjoyed it before!! There are a number of booths that I regularly frequent and am beginning to develop an easy rapport with the vendors there (don’t remember names yet). Also have done some business with various others as we try to make our house a home, and the guys at the rug weaving shop affirmed that “things take a lot longer to get done in Africa”. I agreed that this was true, but assured him that this was not always altogether bad and that I as a westerner had plenty to learn from them as I attempted to slow down the pace and momentum of my life. Most of my encounters are genuinely friendly even in the midst of doing business.
Another must experience for you when you come is to go to the Masai Market which is every Friday at the local Village Market. Village is a thoroughly modern outdoor mall in the taste of the traditional markets with waterfalls, rocks, booths, etc. and on Friday’s it turns one of the parking lot areas into an outdoor crafts and wares market. Here again, you will encounter the bright smiles of the Kenyans, some of course only flashing them in the hopes of doing business, but most in genuine friendliness. To see some of the brightly adorned Masaii women sitting amongst their beadwork is a real treat. Come prepared to bargain and to spend a few minutes developing relationship. I’m still getting the hang of this exchange, but so far enjoy it – even when I pay the tourist rate! Not too often anymore though!
Wes will say I’m getting too long winded so I’d better wrap this up. As far as we can tell, we’re settling in pretty well. We’re still searching for a place to call home on the church front, but that’s o.k.. Isaiah and I will be starting up with BSF on Wednesday morning (a Bible study run internationally), and Ezra continues to wow us with his full on cannonball dive into kindergarten – he’s beginning to sound out words he sees and to “read”! Our first meet the teacher night was a hoot and we of course couldn’t hide our extreme pride at his orange self portrait with googly eyes! The WHOLE thing was orange! The color of the moment.
We miss you all, and the boys speak openly about when we will visit various ones of you in the near future. We think of you often and always look forward to opening new mail or reading comments on the blog.
Blessings all! Peace out!
Jean – for the Enns’
