I have been officially initiated into Nairobi traffic life.  On Friday I was in a car accident.  I am praising God that the boys were not with me at the time.  A big school bus hit the side of my vehicle, impacting the door behind the driver seat - the place that our oldest boy, Petr sits.  The impact caused the window to shatter and glass covered both of the boys car seats.  Upon impact, the car started to spin in the opposite direction of traffic…but I was able to correct it and safely pull over.  You can imagine my relief when I realized that the car had been hit where my two precious boys are usually sitting.  I was perfectly fine, a little shaken up, but fine.  Then I noticed that the bus driver was approaching me with another guy, the bus monitor, saying the accident was my fault.  I clearly stated it wasn’t and that HE hit me.  However, it was two against one.  I started to get nervous I was going to be the one blamed. Not sure of how everything is handled here in Africa, I pictured myself being hauled to the police station.  I quickly called Paul but could’t get through because he was in a leadership conference.  Thankfully, I was able to contact someone who sent word out to missionaries nearby who could come and be with me.  Waldo, who just happens to be our mentor (along with his wife), showed up on his motorcycle moments before the police man walked up to the car.  His motorcycle enabled him to get through the heavy traffic and come to my rescue.  I was relieved to have a man present.  Waldo has been here for many years and knows how the law works in Africa. Paul arrived shortly after with his motorcycle (the only way to get to the scene of an accident quickly - I am very thankful for those motorcycles!).

I was not hauled to the police station that day.  The evidence was clear.  God showed me favor as the police man looked at the sight of the accident. The positioning of the broken glass in the lane, along with the point of contact, proved it was the bus driver’s fault.  Then the policeman told us to wait for another police man to come and take our statements.  He left before the other policeman came.  I was pleased to find that the next policeman agreed with the first.  The bus driver was hoping to make a deal with us instead of reporting the accident to the insurance companies.  We informed him that we had to go through insurance.  He went on to talk about how he was going to be fired and would be unable to feed his children.  It was a hard situation for us.  We knew that he was most likely going to be fired and it would be difficult to find another business that would employ him as a driver.  I told him that if the damage to the car was only cosmetic, we would be fine with driving a bad looking car.  But you can’t drive a car with a broken window and a door that won’t open or close.  It was hard to walk away from the man as he realized that there was no other way.  I continue to pray for him.  There are times in life when it is hard to see why a situation is the way it is.  I can only trust in the Lord and lean on His understanding.  I am glad I serve a God that is in control of every situation, One who knows best, has a plan and a purpose for it all.  I know that I learned things that day.

The entire incident was over in about an hour and a half.  I drove the car, nervously to say the least, to Paul’s work as he followed with his motorcycle.  We were greeted by guys who work with Paul.  They cleaned the glass and patched up the window with duck tape (got to love that stuff!).  We got home and hugged our sweet boys who were graciously sparred!

Oh, and the next day I had to drive through the same traffic circle…this time the boys were in the car.  I thank God for His protection!!!

Here is a picture of Petr on his new bike!  The bike was given to us by another missionary family.  Petr is very glad to have a bike since we left his in America.  He is riding on the streets of our estate.  Andrej is waiting for a bike of his own, asking for one every day.  We know that the Lord will provide one in due time.

The Gamboa Family

We were able to visit with a family, the Gamboas, from our home town!  They are close friends with Paul’s sister, Bonnie, and her husband, Bob.  We have had the privilege of getting to know them in past years.  The Gamboa family stopped in Nairobi on their way to Sudan, visiting another missionary family we know.  Currently, the Gamboas are living in Switzerland. We were very glad to be able to spend some quality time with them.  Paul and I were encouraged as they shared about their last year and a half in another country.  We laughed about some of the cultural differences, shared some of our struggles, and spoke about lessons learned through the grace of God.  Our visit lasted until 1:00AM!  There was something very comforting about being with people who are familiar to us, people who remind us of home.  I will cherish our visit for a long time.

And they gave us one of the best gifts possible, Swiss chocolate!  Yum!

Today was Kenyatta Day, a national holiday in Kenya, honoring the first president. Paul had the day off of work so we visited Morning Star Children’s Home. We delivered some letters that were mailed to us from Calvary Chapel of El Cajon, our home church in America. Our boys decided to write cards for each of the children that didn’t get a letter from America so no one felt left out. Petr and Andrej decorated the cards with bright colored stars and had me write, ‘Jesus loves you’ on them. We also brought some tennis balls to give as presents for the children to play with. They were so excited to get their personal letters from the kids in America and cards from our boys. The children walked around holding them for the rest of the day. I noticed that the four kids who received letters from America were passing them around, proud that they had a special friend in America who loves them. We also came with a special gift of money from Gabriel Serban, one of Petr’s best friends in America. Gabriel is the son of Jenny Serban, one of my best friends from high school. When Gabriel heard that we were moving to Africa and going to be spending time with the children at Morning Star Children’s Home, he went to his room and found money that he had been saving. He handed the money to his mom saying, “This is for the children in Africa.” The money turned out to be $1.10 in coins. Gabriel gave all that he had. And it was more than enough. Today we handed the money over to the Matron of the home. She was deeply touched by a five year old boy’s heart to give. We had Petr hand the money over for the symbolism of a giving child. I will never forget how precious the moment was – a child giving to children in need. Thank you so much Gabriel! You touched hearts today!!!!

Andrej takes a swing at the piñata

On Saturday we attended a birthday party for Andrej’s friend, Jonas. Petr and Andrej were very excited to be going to a party. Andrej picked out some toys for his friend from the local Nakumatt (kind of similar to Walmart). He chose a motorcycle, those of you who know Andrej will not be surprised by this choice. He also picked out a monster truck and some tennis balls (I wrote this just in case you were wondering what you can buy for a gift here in Kenya – I would be curious). The party was at Uhuru Garden, located near Wilson airport, which is Paul’s place of work. Because the airport was so close, planes were passing directly over our heads at low altitudes. This was perfect entertainment for a boy’s four year old birthday party. Also, there was a piñata! Who could ask for more? Well, some kids did. They were kids who were not invited to the party. Soon after the celebration started, we were joined by a group of kids who looked homeless. They were eying the hot dogs on the barbeque. As you could imagine, the hostesses of the party were a bit uncomfortable. No one had the heart to tell them to go away. After making sure that all of the guests received their share of the food, the hostesses gave the rest to the kids. As one might expect, the kids stayed through the entire birthday party. They waited for the left over cake – huddled close so they wouldn’t be forgotten. The group rushed in for candy when the pinata broke – a bit of a problem because there wasn’t enough candy for all of them, and for the ones who were invited. The kids kept asking me for water, but I had none to give . It was a difficult thing to deal with in the midst of a celebration. However, that is life here in Africa. There are so many who don’t have….and there are many who do. I asked where the kids stayed and they told me they came from the Kibera slum. This is the slum that is very close to our house. I watched in amazement as the kids distributed the food they received evenly amongst themselves. They modeled sharing and it touched our hearts deeply. I believe the most beautiful thing in African culture is the sense of Community. These kids were family, even if they weren’t blood related. They looked out for each other. We should all do the same – even if it means one less hot dog.

It has been three months since we arrived in Nairobi.  I am finally getting around to blogging.  There is much to say.  I am not sure where to start.  I want this blog to be like a journal, an avenue to express myself, but also a method of communicating and recording our family’s experience as missionaries in Africa.  I pray that I am open enough for you, the reader, to see into my heart. I hope that my words are transparent, that I will not keep anything hidden.  Only then, will you be able to know all that the Lord is doing in our lives.

We spent the first two months going through AIM’s orientation to African culture.  The program consisted of three weeks in Machakos while staying at Scott Theological College, followed by four weeks of living with a Kenyan family.  Needless to say, our family went through one transition after the other.  There was a full gamut of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual challenges.  This is my main reason for not blogging earlier.  I have been trying to process it all.  Many times I have sat down at the computer, only to be staring at a blank screen.  I have missed our dear family and friends so much that it hurts.  Each amazing experience has been underlined by the fact that some of the most special people in my life aren’t physically here to share it.  There are times when I feel like my heart is going to explode.  I have never been put in this situation before.  Family and friends have always been a short drive away - or at least a phone call away.  Forgive me for not blogging earlier.  Originally, I desired to do so every week.  I wanted you to know exactly what was going on at the time.  However, when I started to write anything, I would start crying.  My words were weak in expressing the complexity of my emotions - pure joy at finally being in the place that God called us, mixed with an aching sadness of people and home. After three months of silence to the world of blogging, the numbness is passing and I am ready to share.  Instead of backtracking over the last three months, I am going to start with the present, knowing that the past will emerge.

This week was a huge milestone for me.  Paul went to Uganda for a couple of days to help out with IT. I took this opportunity to go on an adventure with the boys since we had the car.  This was to be my fourth time driving in Nairobi.  We set out to experience the city life, me with my handy street map and the boys with their sense of adventure. Let me start by saying that driving here in Africa is just pure craziness.  If you read some of Paul’s blogs, you will know what I am talking about.  If not, let me explain.  First of all, it is hard enough to remember that the car needs to be  on the LEFT side of the road. Then, throw in some traffic circles - most of which lack street signs, pedestrians crossing in front of you with no warning, and from every direction, men pulling wagons that take up most of the lane…oh, and there are rarely lanes painted on the roads.  Did I mention the potholes?  Everyone is trying their best to avoid them which means that you will go into their lane and they will come into yours.  Finally, come the Matatu drivers (public transportation), who follow no rules. The concept of defensive driving has a new meaning in Nairobi.  Well, I must say that I felt liberated to be able to drive my boys across town and return in one piece! Ten minutes into the journey, we found our selves in a traffic jam.  Our car was completely stopped.  The air conditioning ceased to work and it was a warm day.  In Nairobi, it is not safe to have the windows rolled down, especially in a jam. Therefore, we sweated it out.  The boys were troopers and I just kept reminding myself that this was PART of the adventure.  Traffic started picking up, but only to find us going through a traffic circle with no signs.  I had to guess which way to go.  After heading down the street, I finally spotted a street sign informing me we were on the wrong road.  After turning and backtracking, I did it again.  Oh, how I was wishing to be back where I knew the roads and there were no traffic circles! After an hour and a half of driving, it should have been only 40 minutes, we arrived at our destination.  We went to a mall where there was an outside market for the Masai people.  The boys and I enjoyed looking at all the hand made items and getting to talk with the people.  Petr learned how to bargain and bought a small stone in the shape of a heart.  He talked the lady down from 30 shillings (about 45 cents) to 20 shillings (about 30 cents).  I was so proud of him!  Somehow, Andrej got one for free from another lady.  I think he batted his big blue eyes….those eyes really stick out here!  After our LONG drive to the market, I decided to try a different route home, thinking that it would be easier.  I was very wrong.  I got completely lost after hitting another traffic circle with no street signs.  We ended up in the middle of downtown.  I realized that we were heading in a direction that lead to a very unsafe area.  After lots of prayer and an opportunity to study the map while stuck in traffic (once again!), I was able to find the way home.  During the chaos, Andrej fell asleep. But, Petr was wide awake. He was well aware that we were lost.  I was glad to have him to talk to and knowing I had to keep calm for him, helped me stay calm. I just kept driving with as much confidence as possible.  When I saw that we were going to make it home, I couldn’t help yelling out, “I know this street.  Petr, I know how to get home!” Petr replied, “Praise the Lord!”  And we did!

We bought 4 one-way tickets to Africa resulting in raw emotions.  This last week we have said good-bye to our home, family, and friends.  We have left all that is known.  As I am going through emotions of excitement and sorrow, my life is being blessed.  The time spent with loved ones has been of the highest quality.  I have hugged more people in one week than ever before!  Words that are spoken are with a purpose.  There have been things said that should have been said long ago.  In all, I am convicted of relationships taken for granted producing more raw emotions.

The love that has been expressed to us during this time is humbling.  Hugs have been the greeting, the welcomed interrupter, the unspoken feeling, and the seal to the departure.  Every last hug is painful.  I am flooded with emotions as each hug is as unique as the person giving it.  Some of the hugs are long, some are short and sweet, some are tight, some are casual, and some are long.  They are all the same in the fact that they are full of memories, love, support, and the hope of a reunion.  The most beautiful part of the hug is the mutual agreement that the longer the embrace, the shorter the time of the separation.  I wish I could hold on forever!  Yet, I know that I must let go.  Thankfully, it is only a release in the physical.  I rest in the peace that relationships will continue to be cultivated in my heart through prayer and communication.  I have never been so glad that technology is available to make it possible to stay in touch.  The Lord has answered  our prayer for having internet in our home in Africa - the answer was YES!!!  We are very thankful.

This is my first blog entry with a little help from Paul.

The boys and I went to the model train museum at Balboa Park while their daddy was in Africa. They had a wonderful time. I am starting to take pictures of them doing things in San Diego so that when we are in Africa they will remember that they lived here.

We had a picnic lunch, and were able to go on a train ride afterward. During the train ride the boys saw a small carnival ride and I could not resist treating them to one more ride.