Mythbuster

I have found that there is a myth about foreign mission work. When you spend time in a lesser developed country, you will lose weight. Myth: busted. I swear I've gained 10 pounds. Let me tell you why. Tacos, mashed potatoes, ramen noodles, pasta, enchiladas, brownies, cake, hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, pizza...I could go on. Even when we visit the villages, they make so much food so that you feel welcome and expect that you'll eat it all. The main staple out in the villages is ugali. Ugali is made with corn flour and water and it's a little like play dough. You ball it up in your hand and dip it in whatever else you are having (beans, chicken broth, fish soup...). I always get so full when I eat ugali, but I keep eating it because I still have some of the other stuff left and I'm trying to soak it all up! When we're not in the village, we make due with the things we can get in the store (which actually isn't bad). There are a lot of times that we have to make things completely from scratch. When I came over, I brought some groceries with me though. Instant mashed potatoes, cake mixes, brownie mixes, velveeta cheese, and some other things were packed away in my suitcase. Here's the thing though. Food doesn't last very long here. Now I don't know if it's because everything is fresh and there are no preservatives, but if we have groceries, we have to eat them or they'll go bad. Seriously though, Missy has been making some awesome lunches and dinners and I've just been eating away.

Last Thursday, Brother Scott went and helped Brother Daniel and his family plant some coconut trees and other things out at their shamba (farmland). It hadn't rained up there in a while, so before they left, they prayed that God would bring some rain in order to help their crops take root and yield good fruit. It's rained every day since then out at their shamba.  We ladies had our Bible study last Thursday and it was a good one. It's incredible to be able to discuss the Bible with people who have completely different perspectives. I am so thankful that these ladies are opening my eyes to new things about not only Esther, but the Bible. As I am sitting here trying to figure out why the Jews didn't just escape from Persia, Gertrude brings to my attention that they probably didn't even consider that an option. They thought about things differently. They accepted that when something like this happened, it was God's will and that was that. They didn't try to take things into their own hands. They accepted their fate. I sat there and realized how narrow my view of the Bible is. How amazing is it that God can use this little Bible study (that I had no idea I was going to be involved in when I signed up to come to Africa) to show me such big things about His word. Yes the Bible is relevant in our Western society, but there are so many treasures in it when we stop and think about it in the context that it's written. The scenario for this week is "It's tough being a woman thrown a giant-sized weight." It focused on Esther's thought process when she was told that the entire nation's fate rested in her hands. People are always talking about their destiny and how they need to follow their own dreams and such. Our destiny is never just about us. It always affects others. Along the way it will also require transparency. In order to fulfill your destiny, you have to be real with yourself and others. God uses the things about us to help others, open doors, or whatever. He wants us to fulfill our destiny. Esther has been a pretty good study so far.

Thursday was also Scott and Missy's wedding anniversary, so they enjoyed an evening out at Old Man and the Sea. On Friday we loaded up and went out to the Gede Special School to get some specifics finalized for when the group comes at the end of July. We will be doing a basketball camp at Gede Primary School, but we will also be going next door to the special school to do fun activities. Most of these students have cerebral palsy. There are also several classes with students who are hearing impaired. I was very excited to get to visit these classrooms because I got to learn some Kenyan Sign Language from my wonderful friend Meg who traveled to Kenya this year. When I signed my name in one of the classes, the students were very surprised and wondered where I learned to sign! Thanks, Meg! We learned a lot on our trip out to the special school. It's a totally different world from disability services in America. I cringed as I watched a little boy scoot down the concrete sidewalk on his hands and knees. They are lacking equipment and supplies. Missy is very excited about getting the opportunity to work with the staff and students here at this school. She has a list of things that they need, so if any of you are interested in donating money to help us purchase some of these items for them, send me a message, comment on this blog, or email me and I will send you the list of things needed and how much things cost. We are hoping to also get some physical therapy and occupational therapy tips from anyone out there who knows a lot about cerebral palsy. Please forward me any information you have!

After we left the school, we went into town, but everything pretty much shuts down between 1 and 2 (lunch break), so we killed some time by going down to the pier. The wind was blowing so hard though that I thought I might fall off into the water. In this picture to the right, that white statue looking thing is supposedly where Vasco de Gama landed when he was sailing around Africa. Pretty cool, huh? In the other picture, you can see the sand being blown across the ground. The wind was crazy! Then it rained all night Friday night.


On Saturday I finished painting the floors in the guest house. They are ready to go for when the group gets here. It rained pretty much all day Saturday which made for a fun ride out to the village on Sunday. We loaded up in the land rover and picked up William to head out to Singuaya and Gandini. It's about an hour and a half drive to get out to where the churches are. On our way there I discovered that I wasn't going to have a seatbelt. I was bouncing around like popcorn. We saw a few buses stuck in the mud and we helped a guy in a car get unstuck. We didn't think we would be able to help because we didn't have the chains with us, but we figured we could go ahead and try the little strap just to let him know that we really wanted to help him. It actually worked.

The choir in Gandini

Our first stop was Singuaya. There were only a couple of people there because everyone was planting because of all the rain. So, we decided to go to Gandini and then come back. We went out to the church in Gandini and I got to see all of the people that we stayed with last year. It was great getting to see them all again! They've built a stage in their church. It's pretty neat. What wasn't so neat is that they put Scott, Missy, and me in some chairs on the stage. So much for trying to blend in. :) We had a good service there and they wanted us to come back for lunch after we went back to Singuaya. So we went back out to the other church to a room full of people. It was awesome! After services they wanted to show us where they started cleaning off their new land for the church building. Right now they are meeting in the school, but soon they will start working on getting their building up to have for their services. We went to the site and had a special prayer of blessing over the land that it may serve as a place where many people come to know the Lord.

Prayer at the site of Singuaya Landmark Baptist Church

The new land for Singuaya Landmark Baptist Church

We went back out to Gandini to eat lunch with William's family. William's Dad, Phillip, showed us his new Giriama Bible! I didn't even know they had translated it into Giriama yet. When we do the camps, we pass out Bibles in Swahili. Some people only understand their tribal language, and in this area, Giriama is the largest tribe.
We enjoyed a lunch of ugali and chicken as well as some corn (it actually tasted a lot like popcorn). I enjoyed watching the kids play. No matter where you go, kids are kids. Boys throw things and girls whisper to each other. They giggle and then throw tantrums. I just love kids.

The ride back was even more interesting because we took the road that went down by the river. We also took a few people with us to drop off at some places. At one point we all came out of our seats, heads hit the roof, items in the car went flying, and I didn't know if the car was going to make it. Luckily, the land rover is fantastic for those situations. The girl behind me sure was clutching my shoulder though. We got home about 20 minutes before our 6:00 Bible study. We had spent all day out at the village, and I was wiped. We had a good Bible study with Christine. We had popcorn for dinner because we had eaten so much at lunch!

On Monday we went into town to eat and buy groceries. I also finished cutting out the first half of the felt Bible characters. Missy has this really neat seat of felt Bible story characters and I've been cutting them out for the last week. I've only finished half. There are 600 pieces in this set and there are a ton of stories illustrated. We had some delicious enchiladas for dinner and I ate too much (again).

Today I made a sleeping chart for the mission team coming over. We don't have enough beds for everyone, so I went into the storage rooms and got out some more beds and cleaned them today to put in the house. Now we're trying to find home remedies for making mattresses smell better. Any ideas are welcome. Later this week we plan on going into town to order the food for the team and get the poles for the basketball goals.

Update on Mama Cedrick's mom: She was moved to a hospital in a city near where she lives and is doing much better than expected. Thank you so much for the prayers lifted up on her behalf. Please continue to pray for their situation.

I guess since I started with food, I'll end by telling you that we have plans for a Mexican potluck tomorrow night with some other Americans that live here in Malindi. I'm super excited. I'll also leave you with a few pictures that I took this weekend.

In Christ,
Ashley

It's tough being a woman

I don't mean to depress you by this post, but it's a little on the sad side.

I'll start with a prayer request: Mama Cedrick, a lady that attends the church here in Malindi and works here at the house during the week, is traveling across the country to Western to be with her mom. Her mother was attacked and very badly injured. The attackers did serious damage to her face and arm. Please join me in praying for Mama Cedrick and her mother. She is worried that her mother will not make it. Please say a prayer for her mother's healing. 

Also in the headlines today: the snake at the Crocodile Farm that we take pictures with was stolen last night. For all of you who got your picture taken with the giant python, cherish those memories. For those coming in July, unless they get a new one, you're off the hook. It really is awful, though, that people have to steal giant snakes when they can just go in the jungle and find one. I mean really. 

Speaking of thievery, let me tell you about our interesting night the other night. (Just so you know, this is all hearsay because I actually slept through most of this) Our askari, Ricklynn, is new to his job. He's only been our night guard for about 2 weeks. On his night off last week, someone climbed over the wall and stole our lawnmower. Creepy, I know. Then earlier this week, Ricklynn was walking around the compound around 1:30AM ish and saw one of the lights go off in the back. On his way to check it out, he saw a shadow. He very stealthily moved around the compound in order to assess the situation before taking action. He then noticed that his bike was missing....wait....it was halfway over the wall! Someone was trying to steal his bicycle! He grabbed the slasher (a blade they use to cut the grass) and banged on the tin roof of the shed out back as he's screaming "MWIZI! MWIZI!" (thief). This noise sounded like gunshots. Ricklynn then began beating on his bike and the thief ran off. The guard next door thought our askari had gotten shot and pushed his alarm button. See, the houses on both sides of us have this alarm system. When the buttons are pressed, guards come immediately to all of the properties around us. So the alarm system guards came and checked things out. All I have to say is God is good. We are extremely thankful that Ricklynn is all right and that his bicycle was retrieved before it got all the way over the wall. The next day, Brother Scott went and got some more razor wire to put on top of that part of the wall. I don't think anyone is going to attempt to come on the property again. 

On Thursdays we have a ladies' Bible study. So last Thursday we went to Laura's house to meet. We are going through Beth Moore's Esther study. The study goes through the book of Esther and looks at different reasons that "It's tough being a woman." This week it is "It's tough being a woman in a mean world." Ain't that the truth this week. 

This past Sunday, Father's Day, we attended church here in Malindi. I got to see some of the people I met last year on our mission trip, so that was neat. We then went out to an Indian restaurant for lunch. We were the only people there. There aren't a lot of people that go out to eat, but I guess on a Sunday afternoon there are even fewer. TOTALLY different than back home where ALL the restaurants are packed between 11 and 2. I made brownies that afternoon and we had our English service here at the house with Christine where we talked about the genealogy of Christ. 

After focusing on the plumbing issues, we moved on to painting. I painted the living room of the guest house behind our house and then painted the floors in the guest house behind the Taylor's house. I still need to go back and paint where the beds were, but I decided to let everything else dry first. When I went in there today, there was a baby lizard stuck to the wet paint. It was sad. Side note: oil-based floor paint in small areas = fumes not so good. 

In other news, it was a little difficult not being able to be with my dad on Father's day. Sometimes it's hard being away from home, especially when there is down time to think about it. I do miss all of the normal summer activities that I am usually undertaking, but God is growing me. I'm learning and living. I'm thankful for the opportunities that God has given me. Here are a few pictures from this past week. Enjoy! 

Maji (water)

Sorry it's been so long between posts. The internet has been a little iffy. I will try to be abbreviated in my descriptions, but there is much to tell, so please be patient with me.

So we (and I use that term loosely because I really haven't helped much) spent all last week uncovering the water lines in hopes of finding where the massive amount of water has been pouring out. For the last two months, the water bill has skyrocketed. The ever-so pleasant lady at the water company insisted there was a leak. Well if that much water had been leaking for 2 months, there would probably be signs, right? Pools of water somewhere, soggy ground, or maybe even wet spots around the house, but no signs anywhere. Well we thought that if we uncovered all of the pipes, we would be able to see where the leak was and fix it (unless it was under the house). So, on Tuesday we dug up the yard. While there was no leak already there, the pipes are plastic and the shovel created some new holes. So Brother Scott and Safari (the guy that works on the property) patched up the new leaky spots. No leaks, but the water was still pouring out from somewhere. We went in to town Tuesday afternoon back to the water company and told them we couldn't find a leak and that same ever-so pleasant lady said that she would send a technician out tomorrow and he would find the leak.
That night we went into town to a hotel called the Driftwood to eat dinner, but we knew there was a reason Brother Scott wanted to go that night. Turns out that there was a moonrise and we would be able to see it perfectly from that beach hotel. Here are some pictures of the moonrise on the Indian Ocean.

On Wednesday I started cleaning out the guest houses that the mission team will stay in when they come at the end of July. When any building isn't used for a while, it becomes a home for other things. The lizards, geckos, and salamanders have decided that the guest houses are great places to live and go the the bathroom. Everywhere. This is also where the wings of termites get left behind (I guess they outgrow them and lose them or they just fall off or perhaps this is what is left when the lizards get through with them. I'm not sure about that one). So I began initial sweep through. We then had a brief meeting about the mission trip just to get on the same page and figure out some details. While meeting, the technician guy came to look at the water lines. He didn't find a leak either. Bummer. Idea #2: Maybe it's under the driveway. Start cutting off the lines at different places and see if the meter stops turning. Not under the driveway. Well at least we didn't have to bust up that concrete. Continuing this test, they had to start busting up the back patio Thursday morning. It looked a little something like this:





In doing this, they found out that it wasn't under the house. Now mind you, we haven't had running water because we've had it cut off so that the water bill will not continue to add up. So, when they found out it wasn't under the house, they capped the line going towards the guest houses and we got to turn the water back on! YAY! WE CAN FLUSH THE TOILETS AND TAKE A SHOWER!


I cleaned some more out in the guest houses Thursday, but there is still much to do out there before the team comes.

I did not feel well on Friday, so I spent most of the day sleeping and the men spent most of the day finding that the water leak was in the very last possible place it could be underground. It was in the little alcove right before it goes into the guest houses. They had to bust up a lot of concrete to get to it, so we will need to replace all of that as well. On Saturday it was time for us to fill in all of the holes in the ground. I spent Saturday morning pouring the dirt back in where we dug up the water lines and Brother Scott spent that time working on the pipes and filling in the holes on the patio. On Saturday night Missy baked "my" birthday cake and I put the icing on "her" birthday cake. See, my birthday was Sunday and hers was Monday. We put it in the fridge to have for our birthdays.

On Sunday we attended church in the village of Jimba where Brother Scott preached on ordination. After services, we were invited over to the home of the pastor there, Brother Daniel. His family was very welcoming and we stayed there for a while talking and sharing a meal of ugali and this fish and tomato dish (my dad called it couvillion when I described it to him for all of you south Louisiana people). Brother Daniel's daughter's birthday was on Tuesday, so we laughed about that a little (mine on 10th, Missy's on 11th, and her's on 12th). While talking to Brother Daniel, we got on the subject of weather in the US and he honestly doesn't understand how people can function in the winter time. He asked me, "So how do people make work while it is that cold?" and "I guess your attendance at church goes way down at that time." Their lives revolve around being outside, their crops, their livestock, and walking to get places that they can't fathom trying to survive in freezing temperatures. It is "winter" here on the coast of Kenya and at night it can get down to about 65 degrees Fahrenheit. They bundle up like it's freezing! I felt a little dumb because I don't even think twice about getting to get in a warm car and drive to work in the middle of January where I have central heat and air in my workplace. I challenge you this week to stop and think about the little luxuries that you enjoy every day. Maybe even try to go without one of them for a week (running water, electricity, going to the grocery store, television, computer, AC, radio...) and see what God will reveal to you through that experience.

After we left there, we stopped on the side of the road and walked down this path to the ocean. It was the neatest little place with the most vibrant colors of water! I have spent the last several birthdays on the beach and this year couldn't be any different. I could tell you how awesome it was or you can check these out:

We traveled back to the house and had an English Bible study with 2 other ladies who live here in Kenya, Christine and Laura. After our Bible study, we enjoyed birthday cake and coffee. It was a very enjoyable birthday.

Monday I raked the dirt around the areas of the yard that we dug up. It looks better than it did and the dirt is starting to settle back into place. Brother Scott spent the day making some repairs to the water lines. Hopefully all the repairs will be finished this week. For Missy's birthday we went out to a place called I Love Pizza. It was delicious. Hopefully this week we will also finalize some of the plans for sleeping arrangements for when the team comes in July. We will be doing some painting and some cleaning in the guest houses and also making sure we have things ordered in town. As the time gets closer, we will get much busier.

Thank you all for your prayers. It looks like everyone around here is feeling much better and God is good!

In Christ,
Ashley

Karibu!

I am very thankful to God for all of the blessings he has decided to give me. As I was sitting in the airport for the long flight across the ocean, this young couple noticed that I had a ticket that was close to the guy, and his girlfriend was in a completely different section. We got to talking and she asked if I would switch seats with her so she could be closer to him. Of course I didn't care, so I switched seats. Once on the plane and in my new seat, I ended up switching to the next row because these ladies (turned out they were flight attendants for that airline) wanted to sit next to each other. This turned out to be a blessing because the two lovely ladies that I sat between were going to Ethiopia on a short mission trip. They had never been overseas before, so I got to share a little bit about what I learned last year in Africa and they got to share their stories with me. I know God used me to help relieve some anxiety on their part and used them to give me some Christian companions as I traveled. Amanda even shared her knowledge of foreign adoption with me, so now I feel informed when I do decided to adopt. God, bless Brooke and Amanda as they spend their week in Ethiopia ministering to kids.
This was our view as the sun set over the Atlantic ocean:

In the airport in Ethiopia, I went up to the counter just to make sure I didn't need a boarding sticker or anything and the lady asked if I was traveling alone. I told her I was and she bumped me up to business class! I was in the first seat on the airplane! This is what the meals look like in business class (table cloth and everything!):

Yes, that is grilled salmon. It was so good. I even had cheese for dessert. Fancy, I know. I got safely into Kenya and got through customs pretty easily. When I came out of the airport I was super excited to be greeted by Brother Scott and Missy.

After visiting the mall and Nakumatt in Mombasa, we traveled to Malindi where the unpacking began!

On Sunday morning, after not waking up to my alarm (imagine that), we attended church services in Mangangani. The people there are so welcoming and it is awesome to see people worshipping in their own language and knowing that my God is the God of all nations. After church, we loaded as many people as we could get in the LandRover and drove down to the water where two men were baptized.

 The whole group that witnessed the baptism:

After the baptisms, we went back to the church for lunch. It still amazes me how Kenyans extend their hospitality. They made sure that we had enough food before they fed everyone else. They always make sure visitors feel welcome. The beans, mahamri, and black tea were delicious. 

After taking a nap, I took my temperature and sure enough, I had a fever. I took some Aleve, ate some food, and then slept for a while. I woke up this morning and still didn't feel too well, so I took more Aleve and took a nap. When I woke up from my nap I felt much better. 

Tomorrow we are going to try and find out what is wrong with the plumbing situation. There seems to be a leak somewhere. Please pray that we can find the problem and get it fixed. 

Still adjusting to my lizard companions all around the house...as they stare at me from across the room as I'm trying to go to sleep... as long as they stay over there we'll be just fine. 

In Christ, 

Ashley