During our time here our water has been turned off Tues thru Thurs. It has never been a big problem because we have storage tanks. However, there are times when it gets frustrating. Well, for the first time in a year and a half our water wasn’t turned off! Oh the blessings of flowing water! Especially because our pump to our front tank is broken so we have to bucket water into our back pump which can then pump water up to the tank in the house. It has been nice this week to not have to do it. However, it always gives you perspective. Many people have to walk miles to get their water, I just have to walk to the front of my house (and only once a week).

We were way past due to unload the pictures on the camera. I finally got around to it.  There is a whole smattering of pictures, so it might be best to look at the updates dyn24amic album.  I think Cammy is going to post on some of the different sets of pictures.

My brother-in-law is here visiting with us.  We are having a great time and I think since he is spending so much time here he is really getting a feel for what our lives are like.  You really cannot plan a month and a half or more, so he is getting a feel for the daily grind as well as all the sites to see.

More and more time is passing, so there are now some people who are actually “from” Nairobi.  However, at least 90% of the people you ask, “Where are you from?”  They will answer somewhere outside Nairobi.  Nairobi is not their home, they just work here.  Outside Nairobi is almost completely agrarian, so there is a lot of attachment to land, and land inside the territory of one’s tribe.

Last Saturday we had a wonderful trip down to Wamunyu, the “up country” home of a coworker, neighbor, and great friend of mine, Charles Nzioki Mungaithi.  We actually drove through a good portion of Ukambani (inside the Kamba place).  We had a great time roasting some steak under a tree.  Charles purchased it, and Cammy marinated it, and I helped cook it.  Charles loves steak, and he is also alergic to mushrooms, we may be related   We watched his mother make sour milk and remove the butterfat from the milk she milked that morning.  We got a tour of the shamba (farm).  The boys got really dirty playing in the granaries.  We had a wonderful time.

We then drove up to Elizabeth’s parent’s place.  Elizabeth is Charles wife, Cammy’s good friend, and our neighbor.  They have a large egg business and we got a tour of the place there and had some chai and fried eggs.

On the way back to Nairobi we were listening music on our GPS, a Garmin Nuvi 855 (Thank you very much Pastor B!)  The song, “Kingdom of Comfort” by Delirious played.  Here are the lyrics:

Save me save me
From the kingdom of comfort where I am king
From my unhealthy lust of material things

I built myself a happy home
In my palace on my own
My castle falling in the sand
Pull me out, please grab my hand
I just forgot where I came from

Save me save me
From the kingdom of comfort where I am king
From my unhealthy lust of material things

I rob myself of innocence
With the poison of indifference
I buy my stuff at any cost
A couple of clicks and I pay the price
Coz what I gain is someone else’s loss

Save me save me
From the kingdom of comfort where I am king
From my unhealthy lust of material things

Save me save me
From the kingdom of comfort where I am king
To this kingdom of heaven where you are king

It reminded me of a previous post.

This is the first time since Petr was born, almost 7 years ago, that I have been alone at home for such a long time.  I have been trying to fill the time getting things fixed around the house and with the car and those types of things.  I have been playing with some of the younger boys I see at Kenyatta Market.  Yesterday to fill the time, I went on a motocycle ride to a place just outside Nairobi.  It is so nice to be outside the haraka haraka (hurry hurry) of Nairobi sometimes.  I mapped it.

I have a little comment about the title of this post for those of you who know the boys.  On the flight from London to Los Angeles, our boys saw the movie Home Alone for the first time.   Petr was so concerned about how the boy got left by his whole family and what a horrible thing it was.  He was frightened by many of the antics of the bad guys.  Andrej, on the other hand, was really enjoying it.  It was the perfect story for him.  Here you have a small boy beating up two adults all by himself.   We had to quiet down all the cheering so the other passengers could sleep.

One of the things I have learned about living in another culture is how much of my own culture I have.  I have noticed with a lot of the North American missionaries that we work with is that they have a hard time at Christmas in Nairobi.  Singing carols in a t-shirt and sandals is not their idea of Christmas.  Growing up in San Diego has meant that I have never really had a “white Christmas.” There was one time when I was really little in North Dakota, a place I do not recommend visiting in December (there may be some other months I would not recommend visiting, but I do not want to upset the ND Chamber of Commerce).   However, there are a lot of other things surrounding Christmas that are a part of my culture, and I really enjoyed being in California for it this year.  I also enjoyed many of the things not associated with Christmas;  In-n-Out burger, good Mexican food, Disneyland (Thank you Dad and Mom), nice roads, law abiding drivers, stores that have more than you could ever need, restaurants that actually serve what is on the menu… but I digress.  I was really cold though.  Yes, even in San Diego, I was cold.  I think my body has adjusted to the climate in Nairobi.

I had a wonderful time.  I am happy that Cammy and the boys are still able to enjoy being with family there.

I have returned to Africa.  I spent a couple of days in Nairobi trying to adjust to the time difference (11 hours from California).  Then I flew over to Entebbe, Uganda and am riding in a car to Jinja today.  I am here for a couple of reasons, but mainly to help out missionaries serving in Central Africa with their computers.  I spent last night with the same family I stayed with last year, serving with AIM AIR here in Entebbe.  It feels like my Uganda home.  They are great.

I will try to post more about my visit to California later when I feel more rested (heh).

Paul is back in Africa while I stayed a little longer in the States to be with family and to see some doctors.  I am very thankful to not have been traveling because I came down with a case of shingles the next day.  I am missing my husband and it got me thinking about how thankful I am that he is in my life…

November was a hard month for us.  I mentioned that we had another miscarriage that ended up with me being admitted to the hospital for two nights.  However, I did not mentioned that the time I was admitted was Paul’s birthday.  I was rushed to the hospital at 6:30pm the night before his birthday and was admitted to the hospital room just after midnight.  Not the start I wanted for my husband’s birthday.  I had planned on making his favorite breakfast, french toast.  At noon I was going to surprise him at the office with a picnic lunch.   And when he returned home I was going to make one of his favorite dinners, nachos.  I was even planning on making a pumpkin pie! (another favorite)  Instead, Paul had to go to the hospital cafe and eat alone.  Oh, how much I hated that! My wonderful husband had to spend his birthday looking after me.   He never complained.  He stayed by my side and only left when he was sure I was ok.  He slept two nights on a very uncomfortable window seat bench so that I wouldn’t be alone.  It was not a glamorous birthday.  But we were together and I am thankful for that.  Here are some things about my husband that I am thankful for  in pictures for your viewing.

I am thankful for my husband of 9 1/2 years

. . .for the way he loves me

. . .for the way he makes me laugh

…for asking permission the first time he wanted to hold my hand

…for his commitment to his family, supporting with his strength

. . .for his daddy heart and his hugs

. . .for his sense of adventure

…for his passion for the word of God

Thankful for who he is and what he stands for…a family man, a Godly man.

We are home for the holidays!  After our recent miscarriage and trip to the hospital, Cammy’s and my parents got together and decided to fly us back to California for Christmas.  I will be here until December 31, but Cammy and the boys are staying through most of January.

I wanted to be careful not to post anything here so I could surprise a few people.  I had a great time at SCEA (my old job) on Tuesday.  Some of them were pretty surprised to see me.  I got to eat a carne asada burrito off the lunch truck and enjoy a few (4 maybe) Dr. Peppers with the guys.

We had the pleasure of sharing with our church, Calvary Chapel of El Cajon, on Wednesday night. It was a day that I had looked forward to for a long time.  From the beginning of God calling us to work in Africa, I knew that a big part of our ministry was going to remain here.  God could have called anyone, from anywhere, to do what we are doing.  But He chose us, and I know there is purpose in that.  So it was a real pleasure and joy to go back to our church family and share what God has been doing, and that He has allowed us to be a part of what He is doing.

As some of you have noted from pictures and now seeing me in person, I have lost some weight living in Kenya.  Some of it is the diet, you eat less when it is not as appealing.  Some of it is the reoccuring stomach bugs that I seem to pick up often.  I have already had 2 double doubles at In-N-Out and 2 carne asada burritos.  It should work out well that I came to California in good shape, and I’ll go back to Kenya looking “healthy” as they say.

Petr’s school offered soccer on Saturdays.  Paul and his dad, Danny, got roped into coaching.

Andrej was able to join too! (they needed an extra player)  He was overjoyed to be with the big kids.

Sherry, Paul’s mom, and I got to be cheerleaders!   So, girlfriends, I think I’m officially a soccer mom!

Here are some shots of the boys practicing for the big game

Andrej decided to try to ride his brother’s BIG bike while Petr was away at school.

I was shocked to find him accomplishing his goal. He could barely reach the ground but that didn’t stop him!  He flashed a smile of glee as he rushed past me proving he was not so small.  Andrej just won’t stop pushing the limits of his physical abilities.  I love the way this little guy “goes for it”.  Wondering what is around the corner…hopefully not a trip to the emergency room.

We have light!   Paul’s parents blessed us with a new light for our dinning room.  The old light was very dim and we were straining to do homework, Bible Studies, and just see our dinner (well, it wasn’t that bad!).  We had gotten used to it and were content, not really noticing.  Paul’s parents really wanted to bless us and said that we “needed” better light.   Danny was gracious to spend the time to install it for us.  The light is just simply beautiful.  I never thought I would get so excited about a light fixture over our dinning table.  But, it makes a big difference.  We didn’t know how much in the dark we were until we had good light.  Isn’t that how it is spiritually?  God shed’s His light on our life and we realize how much we were walking in the darkness before we knew Him.  Sometimes we think we just need to put in a new light bulb but what we really need is a whole new light – Jesus, the Light of the World!  I enjoy  reminders of God’s goodness found in the details of everyday life.