DIY?

In the last week or so I’ve come to learn that home improvements here are not what one would expect. Here’s the story...

The Omondi’s have about 4 acres of property here. Currently it is used for: the gues

thouse, staff housing, main house, chicken houses, cow shed, greenhouse, garden, and some yard space. Daniel (their youngest son) is home for the Christmas break from University. He is the “master planner” for overhauling the property and making it more inviting to guests, as well as trying to make better use of the property itself.

That these plans were more than just “on paper” began just after Daniel arrived. Within a week the cow shed was gone, and piles of sand, rock, and other things started to arrive. As I write this there is a new roof on the office of the main house, a new walkway from the drive to the new house, a pile of rocks that are being “dressed” to become a wall to replace the wood fence in front of the guest house, fence posts in the guest house yard, and George is digging up grass to create a new entrance walk to the guest house from the driveway.

I’ve been most amazed by the stone mason. The lorry from the quarry :), dropped off a load of these big rectangular rocks. He has spent the last week, sitting on the pile with a hammer and chisel cutting the rocks to the shapes he needs to build the wall. Here’s the pile of rocks:

Here’s the “left-overs”:

Here’s what the wall will look like:

Kenya, and probably all of Africa, depends very much on manual labor for most everything. As I watch these artisans at work, very often I’m amazed at what they can accomplish. There are also times where I’m appalled at how “in-efficient” it can seem to my American sensibilities, but it is in those moments I remind myself that these “inefficiencies” mean job security for many.

So next time you see a road construction crew and hear the jack hammers, remember that it could be more people at work with pick-axes and shovels digging up the road. It may take longer, but more people are working

Now this is Kenya...

First things first, I've heard from a couple of newer readers requesting info on why I'm in Kenya and what I'm doing here. A brief intro to that can be found here. But I will write more on that another day so keep watching (and asking questions, it gives me material for the "boring" days)

But today! Oh my head. It started out early because I was told we were leaving at 8am for Diane & Ibrahim to meet with the regional leaders in Ukambani to see the progress of the wells that were dug there. We were to meet up with Diane's niece Debbi and her husband Aram because I was going to spend the day with Debbi and Aram would go along with the Omondi's to Machakos. We ended up leaving about 9 after waiting to get vegetables to sell from the greenhouse, and (I can't believe I'm typing this) putting "naughty puppy" in the trunk. Yes, you read that correctly. We put a dog in the trunk of the car. She is permanently moving to Machakos to live with friends there.

So Diane, Bouvince, and I leave to meet up with Ibrahim and Ruth who sells the veggies. Then we did the car swap - Ruth to the Toyota w/ Bouvince; Diane, myself & the dog to the Land Rover with Ibrahim. We filled up and were on our way. Next thing we know, all the windows are rolling down because Naughty Puppy decided to live up to her name and release her waste (hmm, I found a tactful way to say that!) inside the car and we were in no place to be able to pull over & clean it out. So I spent the next 30 minutes or so with my face close to the window regardless of the dust & truck exhaust pouring in. I now know that I prefer the smell of diesel fumes to dog-doo.

Finally we arrive at the meeting place & Diane and I go in to find Aram & Debbi while Ibrahim got to clean up the car & the dog. SO happy that job didn't fall to the personal assistant! After some tea, the others headed south and we headed to the game park next door.

Swara Plains is a 20,000 acre private game reserve for non-predatory animals. There is also a small B&B inside with cottages for people who'd like to stay overnight. A little pricey, but not too bad. You can learn more about them here.

We had a lot of fun and saw quite a few animals - Thompson Gazelle, Vervet Monkeys, wildebeest, zebra, Masai Giraffe, a wart-hog, and lots of birds. I posted the pics on my FaceBook page if you want to take a look. On the way home we also saw camels, vultures (obviously something must have been dead out on the plains) and some storks.

Other 1sts today - I ate sugar cane for the first time & got a sunburn because of sitting in traffic.

Hmm, I guess life in Kenya can be interesting!

hectic but good

Last week, there weren't a lot of posts. Why? Because my life is not all that interesting. Really. I get up, do my daily B90x reading & have breakfast, then I get dressed and go back to the laptop broken up by the occasional trip to Nakumatt or the kitchen. See, VERY boring... so I don't feel like there is anything to post.

But today made up for it. I got up, normal routine, and because its Monday that means leaving by 8:45 for staff meeting @ the DOVE office. When I got home, the first thing I noticed when I walked in the door was the smell of BLEACH! This is what I saw when I walked around the corner from the lounge (living room for the Americans) into the kitchen:

Yup, Irene & Mercy had emptied every cabinet & were scrubbing everything down with bleach water. What prompted this you may ask? Me. Yup, yours truly. See last week I casually mentioned to Diane that I'd seen some cockroaches when I went in at night to make my tea before bed, & that the kitchen could really use some organization. I didn't know we had measuring cups until Mercy found one for me while I was making some soup (how else could I figure out how much 850ml of water means in english?) So, she said something to the girls & boy howdy did they get busy.

Now, this means that tomorrow afternoon, Mercy & I get to go into the kitchen & put it all away in a lovely organized fashion. Makes my heart happy... I'm sure this doesn't take my mom by surprise at all because I tend to do this to her kitchen whenever I return after a prolonged absence. (especially corralling the plastic lids & containers, they breed like bunnies!)

BUT that is not the end of my day. Nope, Diane came over a little after 4 and asked if I would go w/ Bouvince to the FOREX office & cash a check and run a few other errands. As a bonus I got to drive! (well at least while it was daylight - no one likes to drive after dark!) So we went to Karen & the FOREX office, then back toward the house to the feed store (gotta fatten up the chickens!), and then back toward town & the Junction shopping mall/plaza to meet Debbi's bus. Just to make life interesting, that meant driving through a 4-way intersection that doesn't line up 3 times. And if that wasn't enough, there was a cow in the middle of the road. Ahh, life in Kenya.

However, there was a VERY big upside to waiting for Debbi at Junction. That is where JAVA HOUSE is. JH is a very western style coffee house/restaurant. That means I was able to get a large iced vanilla latte & a fruit salad. SO yummy... Take a look for yourself:

So, all in all a good day. Tomorrow looks promising too.

airing some dirty laundry...

Real quick before I start this post... I'm endeavoring to post 5 times a week, well at least here at the beginning of this adventure so I can introduce you to my crazy new life & the people that help me survive it...

One of the things that I have to learn to live in Kenya is how to properly do laundry - by hand. In the past the closest I've come is washing out someunmentionables (but did I just mention them?) in the sink while I was traveling. Here, there is NO washing machine, except for the two that God gave me on the end of my arms.So today Irene, Ruth, & Mercy offered to teach me. As I said, I've never really done anything like this before so I decided to start small with only a few things & nothing big. Suffice it to say there was much laughter at my expense. Though they promised that I would be an expert by the time I leave.

And, I even took a few pictures & I'm willing to share them with you. Why? Because I dare any of you machine owners to get outside & do this... Perhaps I've reached a new level of domestic diva-ness. Just wait 'til its time to do sheets & towels...

This is the laundry area... those are my clothes in the smaller blue tub

Here I am filling the laundry tub w/ water...

Now I move the tub over to the concrete so I can wash & not make a larger mess by making mud...

Finally, its all done & hung on the line... should be dry in just a few hours thanks to the abundant sunshine here...

From Wal-Mart to Nakumatt

My life has just changed again - I’ve spent 15 hours in airplanes, 7 hours in airports, 3 hours in queues, 30 minutes in a car, crossed 7 time zones, and have arrived with Springtime in Nairobi, Kenya. And I’m really tired - jet lag will do that to you.

But one thing hasn’t changed - I’m still making lists of things I have to get at the store. Thursday morning I ran to Wal-Mart on my way to the airport to get a new toothbrush, Saturday morning I went to Nakumatt to get shampoo, conditioner, and coffee for my french press.

So life is different yet the same. I’m sleeping under a mosquito net & brushing my teeth with bottled water & driving on the left side of the road, but I’m still making lists and worshipping Jesus.

Welcome to the new normal... whatever that is

here I go again!

I love traveling.  I really like doing things for God's Kingdom.  In June I get to combine them again.  I haven't done anything really "missions" like since I got back from Romania last March.  So I'm really excited about this opportunity to visit the DOVE Kenya churches.  DMI asked me to lead a team in June, and right now it seems like a team of one, I'm still planning full steam ahead!  Who knows what will happen?

I wrote my support letter today and will hopefully send them out soon, but that kind of depends on financial status.  I did though post it on my facebook notes, so perhaps that will produce some interest.  

I wish I knew more html stuff to make this blog more interesting, but I guess I'll work w/ the given layouts 'til I can get more creative or have enough brain cells left over from work to devote to spending time to figuring it out.

Want more info about the Kenya trip? - email me!