We went from pick up jumble ball to AYSO in just a couple of weeks.
Andrej is playing too, but he starts tomorrow.
How life changes
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Tag Archives: Family
Silver Lake
We headed up to Silver Lake near June Lake, CA to surprise my family who were all there vacationing.
California and jet lag
The boys are really happy to be back in California. The have been taking advantage of the nice weather and Grandpop’s pool. We have all been taking advantage of the couches.
Mwisho wa sura
“The end of a chapter” – This letter has just gone out in the mail.
Dear family and friends,
We want to give our most sincere thanks to you for the financial and prayer support you have given us over the last three years. It has been a blessing to be serving the Lord here in East Africa, all the time knowing you were walking with us, sharing in God’s ministry. You have been an integral part of His work here, all for His glory.
God has done great things as we have experienced more of Him through the eyes of another culture. Living among Kenyans has given us a greater understanding of scripture and its application to life. It has been a wonderful gift from God to be able to share with many African churches, helping believers grow in knowledge and love. Many relationships have been built that will last for eternity. It has also been a privilege to use our gifts and skills to help missionaries as they serve Him in Africa.
We now find ourselves at the end of a chapter. We came out with a vision to further God’s kingdom through the use of computers. In the last three years we have built a team of four Kenyan professionals who are ready to take over what we are doing. Desiring to be good stewards of God’s resources, we feel ready to hand the work over to these men and move on to what God has next for us. They would appreciate your prayers, just as we have.
At this time, God’s long term plans for us have not been completely revealed. Leaving has been a difficult decision to work through, but we are confident in the Lord that this decision is the right one and at the right time.
We will be headed back to California in August and will no longer be supported missionaries in September. We trust that God will lead you in finding a new place for His resources to best glorify Him. We are looking forward to sharing with many of you in person.
Mungu ni mwema, wakati wote. God is good, all the time.
In Christ’s Fellowship,
Paul, Cammy, Petr and Andrej
Weekend at Morningstar
As I posted before from my phone, we spent the weekend at Morningstar.
I barbequed a lot of fillet (pronounced: fill-it) steaks. They kids seemed to really enjoy it and could not get enough. I remember being asked by some of the kinyozi guys a while back if I ate meat every week. I replied, “Every day if I can.” I still do not think I can comprehend how big of a deal it is to have so much meat.
Even one had a great time enjoying the meat with ugali (boiled maize flour) and a bit of stew they cooked. I sent some guys to get sodas and we all enjoyed that as well. I think there was only one broken bottle, not bad with 37 kids, many of them very young.
After eating we were all in for some entertainment. Pastor Isaac selected John Ng’ang’a to be the MC which did OK for a while, but after some difficulty Pastor Isaac asked him to translate. So the pastor spoke in Swahili and Ng’ang’a translated. That created quite a bit of humor in and of itself. They called people one by one to the front to lead a song or do a dance or something. I was so impressed at how little self consciousness they have. That is fairly consistent across the culture. I thought about what would happen if you asked kids in America to do that, but before I could finish the thought they called Petr and Andrej in front. Petr could not handle it. Cammy and I both got our turns as well, of course.
After the entertainment we all went outside the walls to the back field. I organized a clean up crew to remove trash and building materials. Then we dug some holes and put in some posts. It is almost a proper football pitch now. They do need some kind of backstops though. The older boys just told one of the younger ones to sit on the other side of the barbed wire fence the whole time to collect the ball when it inevitably went over there.
During that time, Cammy had sat down and some of the girls took notice of her long straight hair. They asked if it was real. Then they started braiding. She said she knew right away that it was not going to stop until they had finished. She kept it that way until just before church on Sunday. But her hair is a lot smoother than the artificial hair they are used to using and it does not hold braiding as well. So she got some help removing them before church. However, having slept with it in tight braids it looked as if she had crimped her hair. I said, “Welcome to the ’90s.” To which she replied, “It goes with my ’90s thrift store dress.” It did!
We had a really nice place to stay, one of the “family units,” just for our family. Cammy and I had a twin bed, and the boys were in another room with singles. I was able to have a hot shower after the football playing. They even had a fridge and drinking water for us to use (The borehole pH is about 9).
Saturday night got interesting at about 1AM. Some thugs tried to break into the Blue Hills Academy, which is one plot away from Morningstar. The school’s security guards set of an alarm which also lit up a yellow light high up on a pole. With the siren blasting and the light flashing we awoke and started looking around. We saw a police land cruiser running down the road and up another. We were told in the morning that the thugs had been run off, but they had pangas (machetes). They were probably the same thugs that had just the week before broken into a house across the road and take the TV a laptop and had their way with the house girl. The security situation out there is no joke. Thankfully they were able to finish the perimeter wall around the Morningstar compound.
Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. Psalm 127:1
Sunday morning I was privileged to speak at church again. I spoke about choices. Maybe I will post the notes here one day. It seemed well received. I noticed my Swahili is improving because I was able to correct the translator. When you are speaking with a translator you find yourself waiting for them to finish, so you begin listening for certain words, and when you do not hear them you get concerned.
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
Time with the Ks
We had a lot of great family time while we were in California. Now that we are away it is easier to reflect on it.
A lot of great things happened and the boys got to spend a lot of time with their cousins. They also had a great time at their Uncle Terry and Aunt Julie’s house. Julie is my oldest sister. I was about Andrej’s age when Terry first met Julie. I used to think he came just to visit me. Even though that was far from the truth, Terry is the kind of guy who makes you feel that way, like he came just to see you. I have often said, “If someone does not get along with Terry, it is their fault.” I was about Petr’s age when they married. For those of you trying to do the math, they married young, really young. In fact as Terry is fond of saying, he and I are now the same age… approaching middle age, but not there yet. He is a great brother-in-law and I have often looked up to him.
Terry and Julie’s kids are all just about adults now. Mark, their youngest is just finishing High School. So their once very busy house has slowed down a bit. I think they enjoyed having the boys over too.
Adjustments
Our first few weeks back in Kenya can be summed up with one word: ADJUSTMENTS
Paul and I discussed the importance of managing our expectations before returning to Kenya. We both agreed that we need to be prepared for our house to have some problems….the most likely problems we thought of came true – toilets that didn’t work and no water. Paul already posted about the toilets not working and having to flush out the hot water tank so we could have hot water. Now we have discovered that our water pump (pumps water to the tank in the house) broke. Therefore, we didn’t have any water in our house yesterday. We called a plumber but he couldn’t come until this morning. He is currently working on the problem. Thankfully, we do have city water, which came on last night, (remember this is turned off Tues through Thurs) so we have water coming out of the facet in the kitchen – our only source of water directly flowing into the house. We have been flushing toilets with buckets of water and taking sponge baths. I sure feel like I am camping!!
All in all, it is good to be back. Many people have wondered if we were ever coming back (6 months was a long time). I had a Kenyan friend upon seeing me for the first time exclaim, “Cammy! You have put on weight!” I nodded my head in agreement as she continued, “I mean you have really put on weight!” I tried my best to remember her comment was a compliment. 
I am adjusting to these comments and also to people staring at me again. In America we blend into the crowd, for the most part. But now back in Africa, I realize how much I am stared at, reminded that I “stick out”.
Being constantly stared at is not a comfortable thing for me but it is a good reminder that I am being “watched”. My greatest ministry here in Africa is probably lifestyle evangelism – showing Christ’s love in the way that I live. I regret that I don’t always act the way I should….I am so thankful for God’s grace.
We have spent time seeing our missionary friends, getting the boys back to school and visiting with our neighbors. Our first time back in church was another adjustment….the boys need to get used to sitting in the service for two hours again! It was pretty hard for them. But it didn’t help that it was very hot inside. At one point I realized I had sweat dripping down my legs. YUCK! I ignored the discomfort as worship was wonderful and Pastor Stephen was passionate about sharing God’s word, as he always is. Thankfully, he didn’t ask me to sing a solo! Yes, this did happen in the past. Apparently he heard that I used to sing and thought it would be great for me to sing for the Kenyans. When you come onto the mission field you are prepped to be prepared to give a word (usually sharing scripture)…little did I know that I should be ready to sing too! When I have told this story to other people they are shocked and ask, “Did you do it?” Well, what do you think? Of course I did!!!
We have all finally adjusted to the time change. It hit us hard for some reason. The boys started school on Tuesday of this week and are loving it! I have been spending most of my time unpacking the house and doing the daily chores of cleaning the house, washing, food prep and all. We do have Rose, our house help who is really like a sister to me, helping us with laundry and cleaning. She comes on Mondays and Fridays. This still leaves plenty of work for me to do! Washing the dishes seems like an endless job. The other night I dreamed we had a dishwasher. Also, our house gets very dusty. I will wipe the dining table to find it dusty an hour later! Yesterday I was noticing the dust on the inside walls. I don’t remember cleaning the walls of my house in America, unless it was to wipe off an occasional dirty hand print from the boys.
Another adjustment has been getting used to the power going off. We have lost power many nights because of the rain. Each time it rains we just know the power will go off eventually. Sometimes it is an adventure, at least for the boys. They get to use their flashlights so that is fun for them. The biggest adjustment for me is not knowing when it will turn back on. I try to keep our refrigerator closed to keep things cold and have a meal I can cook on the stove. Our oven is electric so I am always hoping we won’t lose power when I’m baking. But we can’t complain because we are reminded that many people don’t have electricity at all….and that we can survive without it!
Well, I’m sure we are not done with all the adjustments of being back. There are times when I feel I have a foot in America and a foot in Africa. The difficulty is making sure that both feet stay together in the place God has me called me to be.
The roller coasters of life
Over Thanksgiving we went to spend time with Cammy’s relatives in Henderson, NV. A friend of the family works at Circus Circus and they were kind enough to get us tickets to the Adventure Dome. We had a wonderful time and the boys got to ride on a lot of the rides. This is a video of them on a little roller coaster. Their Nonnie was nice enough to buy the video, she said it was OK because she did not have to pay for admission.
It was a fun and interesting experience that brought back the memory of our trip to Disneyland with the boys other grandparents in December of 2009. At Disneyland, Petr was afraid of going on every single ride…every one. Each time we got in line he would exclaim, “I do not want to do this, dad!” It was a tough time for me, as a father, but I made him go on each one, sometimes even carrying him so he did not have a choice. At the end of almost each one, he would then say, “Let’s do it again!’
At the end of a long day there at Disneyland we decided time was almost up and we would go on one more ride. As we headed to get in line Petr once again said, “I do not want to go on it, dad.” I stopped walking and pulled him aside. “Petr,” I said, “How many rides did you want to go on today.” “None,” he replied, honestly. So I asked, “And how many did you like after you went on it?” And honestly again, to his credit he said, “All of them.”
He did the exact same thing at the Adventure Dome.
I wanted to be frustrated with him. He could see what was happening. He knew the answers to the questions, yet he continued to fight what would in the end be a good time. But then I realized that, once again, I was looking into a mirror. Petr was behaving just as I do with God all the time. God tells me, “Hey, we are going to do this new thing, it is going to be great.” I refuse, drag my feet, complain. And once it is all over I often say, “That was great, let’s do it again!”
Some things in life are scary. Many things are hard. Sometimes, a loving father forces you to do things you do not want to do, and sometimes those things are really great.
Tumefika numbani
We returned to our home here in Nairobi. The flight down from London was uneventful and smooth. We were greeted by good friends at the airport and they quickly got all 12 bags and 2 carry-ons into cars and then got us home. Jet lag is on all of us, but we are doing very well. It is kind of interesting (and scary) to see the “real you” when you are completely frazzled and at your wits end. You just do not have the energy to show real interest in others. Selfish creatures we certainly are.
In just over 12 hours the high has to have been the memory foam my mom gave us. I put it on the bed immediately after being reminded how hard our bed is. The last 5+ months we had been sleeping on our Sleep Number bed at Cammy’s parents. Memory foam gets a big thumb up (not thumbs, because Cammy has a new meaning for that here in Nairobi, but you will have to ask her about that). I slept like a rock and got up at just before 7 AM. Not bad, we will see how the rest of this afternoon goes. The rest of the family is asleep.
There have been some lows too, I mean challenges, opportunities… two of the toilets are broken. And the working one never flushed well, still does not. The hot water line had a bubble in it, which caused the pipe to not draw any water. It took me a while in my jet lagged state to figure out what was really the issue, I was working on the assumption it was dirt in the line. So tired and frustrated I was trying to deal with that, and two boys who were over eager to help. Thank God He has a lot more patience with us than I do with the boys.
The boys are tired too, but still great boys. They were excited to see some of their friends in the neighborhood.
I also made my walk through Kenyatta Market. I got a lot of “You look… strong…” Which means I am fat, but they all thought it was a good thing. I did gain 20 pounds on carne asada, cheese enchiladas, rolled tacos, steak, and 3x3s at In-N-Out Burger. That last one we grabbed on the way to LAX was great. I really enjoyed sucking the cheese of the paper.
I was able to pick up a couple of SIM cards and some airtime credit. So I am able to post this from our 3G modem. The prices went down a little, which is great, but they are still high.
I will try to get Cammy to put some of her thoughts here when she gets a chance. She was busy all morning unpacking. We have the luggage to unpack, and then all the household items we put in storage. I think after so long of not having her own place, she is feeling some relief in setting up her own house.
Delayed
We were scheduled to leave for Kenya on Monday, January 10. However, as I post this, we are still in San Diego.
The short explanation is that Cammy is pregnant again. We have not told a lot of people. It is always easy to bring good news to people, but really a chore to bring bad news, especially when it is your own bad news. After the three miscarriages in ’09 and the “silence” since, we were sort of keeping things on the down low. Not telling the good news meant not having to bring the bad news if it should come to that.
She is not far along, maybe 6 weeks. She had a concern about something and went to the doctor on Sunday night. Nothing came up specifically, but there were some oddities in matching up some of the blood work with the ultrasound. She goes for more tests on Wednesday.
We appreciate your prayers. God has a plan, and we know that. We cannot see the big picture, or know how any of this fits in, but we trust He is good. Please pray that He would be glorified and we would continue to praise Him through whatever lies ahead.
I am sure Cammy will want to share how God is working for her through this. The hardest part for me has been praying with the boys about it. To see the trust and hope of a child humbles me.
God is good all the time. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.