Category: Family News

Interlude

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Seems like we’ve been going a mile a minute since moving to Africa. First, just settling in and getting used to a lot of new routines and ways of doing things (not to mention geography, culture, and so on). Then, figuring out how to balance ministry with life, since there are more opportunities than we can reasonably take advantage of–invitations to teach, discipleship meetings, community interactions, drop-in guests, and even short-term missions visitors. And finally, trying to wrap up our school  year before a new one gets started!

Last week I (Cindy) had scheduled a trip with two ladies whom I’ve been discipling, to speak to a group that was eager to hear more about the Gospel of the Kingdom. I’ve been making more of such trips than I had anticipated, and I was suddenly feeling burdened about being gone most of the day, leaving my still-nursing baby and many things at home that I wanted to attend to. As well, I can see (in various ways) that I have not been giving some of the children the attention they need. I talked to Marc about my concerns, and the questions I had about what a woman’s role in “ministry” is, and how to balance these various aspects of life.

Marc decided to step in and talk to the other two ladies that I was to have gone out with; he explained the situation and told them that for now, I would be re-focusing on things at home and that they could continue with any group meetings or teachings that we had previously planned. I think this is very healthy for them, as they will gain confidence in sharing the Gospel, answering questions, and actively making disciples. I trust that God will continue to open doors for ministry that He wants to see me participate in, but in the mean time I am taking a needed break and working on that discipleship process with my own children at home–something that I feel has been to much neglected lately.

 

Home Improvements and Family Photos

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Marc and I were both scheduled to be out and about for a significant portion of this past week but, in God’s Providence, we were blessed with a bit of a break in that (for various reasons) the majority of our commitments were either cancelled or re-scheduled. So, we got to relax and enjoy some time at home as a family–a true blessing. My family has been asking for some updated photos of the children (though photos are not usually our strong point), but here’s what we ended up with:

We often tell Jubilee (age 3) that she has BEAUTIFUL hair, and sometimes we call it “scary hair” because it’s short in front and curly/bushy in back–looks especially interesting upon waking in the morning and after nap. So when a few of the children were visiting Auntie Jane one afternoon this week, here’s how Jubilee came home:

We are also praising God for some home improvements that we’ve been able to get done in the past week, the least of which is concreting in our clothesline (which was getting lower and lower as the post sagged under the weight of the clothes), AND we added a third line, which helps us better accommodate our day’s wash:


Also laundry-related, we had an outdoor wash table constructed, which allows us to do laundry in an upright position instead of squatting over the basin. AND, we FINALLY received our shipping crate a couple of weeks ago, which included a vintage wringer–mounted at the end of the wash table. I LOVE THIS, as now in rainy season, many days the sun has not been out long enough to completely dry the clothes (especially the cloth diapers and jeans). With the wringer, almost everything has been dry every day this week!

We also finally got our well developed (after a long wait and many various headaches), and after a few days of labor by Isaiah and his Dad, THIS is the much-anticipated result:

Indoor running water has got to be the biggest blessing!! Makes us feel so…American. 🙂

And last but not least, after months of having (literally!) NO counter space or drawers for storage, my kitchen now includes this:

You can see our Berkey water filter also arrived in the crate (YEAH!! Clean water without boiling or bleaching!!). Note the brownish color of the water from the well in the top (the water is still clearing up)…but perfectly clean coming out of the tap. Love it!

So, that’s what’s been happening on the home front…and lots happening recently on the ministry front as well. God is good!

Our Day, as of 1:35 PM

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I usually get up early for my morning Quiet Time (the baby normally helps with that) but today it was, quite unusually, raining a bit in the early hours and I wanted to stay in bed. I got up at 6:10 when the baby cried, which is when all the bigger kids also started rolling out of bed. I fed the baby and handed him over to Deborah, who was the first girl up with hair brushed and ready to go for the day. She entertained Enoch in the living room while I got dressed.

I sent Isaiah next door to collect our two liters of milk and began setting the table for breakfast (cups for tea, a peanut butter coffee cake made the night before, and some bananas). Pastor David arrived from Nairobi at about 6:40 AM, having taken Easy Coach through the night. (He’s joining Marc and Tonny on a training mission…somewhere…for the next few days. Tonny had stayed overnight and surprisingly, even with all our noise, wasn’t up yet.) By now all the children were up and gathered in the living room, either having Bible time or chatting with their Dad and Pastor David. Thankfully Enoch, who had started the day rather cranky, was now pleasantly entertained by Pastor David’s charming smile and soothing manner.

By 7:10 Isaiah arrived with milk, which I boiled in preparation for making tea. Tonny finally got up and everyone washed their hands while I finished getting breakfast on the table. I emptied out the pan of coffee cake and everyone probably would have had more if there had been any. Afterwards, Marc left on his motorbike with our 11 year-old to pick up the battery he had left at the charging station over night. Isaiah chatted with the guys outside while Hannah cleared the table, Rebekah started dishes, and Deborah began the task of washing clothes. Our neighbor, Jane, had arrived to complete the task of transplanting some onions in our garden, which she had voluntarily begun the previous afternoon. Micah (4) and Jubilee (3) went out to “help.” I sat at the table and checked my email and Facebook while feeding Enoch. Then I sat on the couch (still with Enoch) and turned on the Kindle for some Bible reading (Psalm 31).

I swept out the kitchen, especially all the mud that had accumulated by the back door with just a few early morning trips to the out house. Tonny interrupted my task to ask if I could help him prepare a bath. I put on a big pot of water to boil, had Deborah take a break from laundry so I could borrow one of the big wash basins, and gathered all the supplies Tonny would need in the bathroom. Meanwhile, Baby Enoch entertained himself by playing with the piles of dirt that Hannah was sweeping from under the table. When moved, he would find his Dad’s Bible on the coffee table. When moved again, he meandered into the kitchen and discovered the electrical wires left disconnected when we had removed the battery the previous day. Then back again into the sitting room to find more trouble…

After setting Tonny up to bathe, I got the bin of clean laundry that had been taken in the previous afternoon but not yet put away, and I sorted it into piles. By now Hannah (after a few gentle reminders to stay focused on her work) had finished cleaning up from breakfast and I asked her to put away the folded and sorted clothes. Isaiah, temporarily distracted by a low-flying agricultural plane, was now reigned in to empty the indoor “pee bucket” that we keep in one of the stalls of our bathroom. (Now that the mosquitoes are out when the sun goes down, we use the emergency bucket as needed!) I also instructed him to roll up and shake out the throw rug in the sitting room and prepare for floor washing (which involves putting coffee and end tables up onto the couch and moving the toy box, shoe bin, and carpet out onto the veranda, then doing a thorough sweep of the concrete floor.) By now Jonah and Marc had returned, so I sent Jonah out to burn the garbage.

Marc, Pastor David, and Tonny left at about 9:00. Not much later, Jane came in from the garden and asked if I needed eggs. She scored really big last week in finding a place where we can get eggs in quantity–we got FIVE DOZEN and wasted little time in consuming them. We’re down to eating meat about once every 2-3 weeks, so eggs are a preferred source of protein. We normally can only get 3-4 eggs every few days, though. Anyway, I was happy to give her some money for another  four dozen, and the two older girls begged to go with her, so I agreed. First I had to scrounge a 5-gallon bucket from the veranda and clean it out for egg transport.

Meanwhile, Micah and Jubilee had begun playing but their diversion was neither messy nor loud, so I let them continue. Isaiah had finished clearing out the sitting room, so I put him on the mission of entertaining Enoch while I prepared to wash the floor (a task I had intended for Rebekah, who was now gone. But both girls had at least gotten through the laundry and dishes!) I set Jonah to cleaning his room and Hannah to washing about four pairs of very dirty flip-flops (necessary for using the outhouse, but not so nice to use when they leave your feet muddy.)

With everyone occupied, I was able to wash the sitting room floor and decided to do the bathroom and hallway as well. I started cleaning carrots, tomatoes, and peppers in preparation for supper, which will be vegetables and ugali. Realizing that lunch time was rapidly approaching, I put Jonah on prep duty, skinning unripe “cooking bananas,” which would be mashed and added to  rice for our meal. I asked Hannah if she could pick skuma (collards) to add to my veges for dinner. I confirmed that she knew how to do it, recalling that she had done so before with her sisters. Meanwhile, Jane arrived with the big girls and the eggs. Rebekah said that Auntie Jane’s “not too far” walk turned to to be pretty far, indeed, but…she wasn’t really tired. In a moment of distraction, Micah asked if he could go help Hannah cut skuma, and I agreed. Jane bounced Enoch and Jubilee in her lap while I put the eggs away, freeing Isaiah up to look for a recipe online, at my request. Today is one of our two weekly dessert nights, and I was unusually enticed by a recipe for Kentucky Butter Cake that I had seen on Facebook earlier.

Jane said her goodbyes and I began cleaning the skuma that Hannah and Micah had now brought in. I asked Rebekah to set the table, gave Isaiah permission to do some work on the computer in Excel, and gave Jonah direction on completing lunch preparation. Deborah entertained Enoch, who was now apparently complaining about Jane’s abrupt departure. A few minutes later, Jane returned, and in broken English explained that evidently Micah had gotten a little over-zealous in his skuma-cutting and  stripped about a dozen plants of all their leaves. I thanked her for the information and went inside, rather ungraciously reminding Hannah of her responsibility to supervise and direct her little brother, and Micah to slow down and (for the thousandth time?) please wait for directions instead of just jumping in to do the work!

I finished cleaning the skuma and then collected Micah and Hannah for hugs and kisses and an apology (will I ever learn?). Then, finally, we were ready for lunch–a rather late 1:20. And I sat down to blog, wondering if anyone would be interested in the minutiae of our day and realizing that schooling hadn’t been a thought in anyone’s mind…but, praise God, we’ve almost finished our 180 days anyway…

“To Me, it is a Miracle to Make Popcorn”

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One of the goals of Kingdom Driven Ministries Kenya (KDMK) is to provide education, training, and business counseling so that Kingdom Christians can provide for themselves, for their families, and for other believers. We want to equip people to be as self-sustaining as possible so that they can participate in Kingdom expansion without relying on outside (i.e., Western) financial assistance and without personal economic hardship.

One of Marc’s disciples here who is really catching the vision is Silas. Talk about multiple streams of income and a great work ethic–this guy has a hotel (in America we would call it a restaurant, and it also has a storefront shop), a nursery school with 15 students enrolled, and a shamba (farm) where he is planting annual crops and a forest for timber. He routinely takes half or full days off of work to meet with his own group of four disciples and to evangelize in the community (usually using the Two Kingdoms tract).

We regularly patronize Silas’s shop for items like sugar, flour, baking powder, laundry soap, beef cubes, and eggs. It’s the boys who go down to pick up the things I need around the house, and Silas has taken them under his proverbial wing. When he’s making mandazi at breakfast time, Isaiah helps. Just this week Jonah took his turn and did a commendable job, by Silas’s standards. Isaiah has helped Silas with planting at his shamba and even gone out with him for a discipleship meeting in the community. Silas is a regular at our home and we’ve really come to respect his hard work, his personal integrity,  and his desire to spread the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Although one of the roles of KDMK is to provide microloans for small businesses, when Silas recently talked to Marc about a loan for $250 to get bulk quantities of maize and bean seeds for his shop (they are staples here), KDMK didn’t have the funds available. Isaiah and Jonah asked if they could personally give Silas the money. They really want to see his business succeed so that he can support his wife and child and continue to do the work of the Kingdom without hindrance. This was agreed upon by all, and on Monday of this week the money changed hands. Almost immediately, Silas purchased two very large bags of maize and some beans. He also added some other miscellaneous stock to his store.

Silas’s inventory has slowly expanded over the four months that we’ve been here and one of the items he’s added recently is popcorn. He’s bought small bags ready-popped from a market several kilometers away. He’s re-sold them in his shop and probably only profited about one shilling per bag (that’s about a penny, folks–but remember, the typical African might only make $1-$3 per day!). When Silas was here on Sunday for our home fellowship, I served popcorn…and on Monday morning when he and the boys were finalizing the microloan, Silas was anxious to ask Isaiah whether I had bought the popcorn or made it myself. Hearing that I made it, he asked if the boys could show him how to do it. Of course!

So after some shopping at the market, where one order of business was for Isaiah to show Silas where to buy the popcorn–and to purchase a bag, of course–the boys holed up for the afternoon at Silas’s shop, perfecting popcorn-popping without the luxury of a covered pot. (What they ended up doing was inverting one cooking pot over another, which was a bit awkward but worked out fine.) Silas popped corn and filled and sealed small bags to sell for five shillings each. Isaiah was surprised to learn that while popcorn is very popular here, apparently very few people actually know how to make it. Crazy, isn’t it? After filling bags of fresh popcorn and doing the math with Isaiah to estimate his profit, he was ecstatic to discover that he could make 80 shillings (about $1) on a single bag of popcorn kernels! His reaction? “To me, it is a miracle to make popcorn!”

So the boys aren’t “officially” on the KDMK team, but they’re certainly on the mission…even when it (surprisingly) involves making popcorn.

“…and great was its fall”

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Last week Marc was in Nairobi with some folks who are here for a short-term missions trip. He wasn’t even gone a day before the excitement began. On Monday night the torrential rains arrived, and although I really like rain at night, I was kinda scared. Even so, I was glad to know that our water storage tank was filling up (see photo here). But when I heard a crash outside my window at 4 AM, I knew it couldn’t be good.

When the tank was installed, Marc (who is a pretty good engineer) expressed concern that the platform was being build directly on the dirt. Of course, it should have concrete footings, right? But he was assured, no, it would be fine. Not being familiar with the soils here and how things are normally done, the work proceeded. And here is what happened:

I was reminded of Jesus’ teaching:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

Matthew 7:24-27

It was comforting to hear a giant crash outside my window, look outside, and almost immediately see flashlights peering into our yard from two of our neighbors, who wanted to make sure all was well. Then we began to hear whistling along the path out front (folks walking by and getting each others’ attention) with a flurry of muted conversation including just a few words I recognized: maji (water), pipa (tank) and of course, wazungu (white people). Even though it was pitch black outside still, we were already the talk of the community.

As soon as I stepped outside in the morning (around 6:30 when it got light enough), our neighbor arrived and asked how he could be of service in remedying the problem, since Mr. Marc was not at home. Of course, I had already talked to Marc and had some marching orders so we made a plan of action. Isaiah, who had helped his dad with all the phases of the installation project and is a pretty take-charge kind of kid (even at almost-13) was also involved.

Later in the morning, our neighbor returned and said he could not find a direct replacement tank; only 1,000 L (too small) or 2,300 L (too large) were available. Isaiah went with him into town to do some shopping, confident that he would be able to acquire the 1,500 L at a decent price. And he did. Meanwhile, our other neighbor and his brother were busy digging in preparation for putting down a pad for the re-build.

By the second day the concrete was dry, the gutters repaired where needed, and the tank replaced. However, it was raining too hard to get it fully functional, so it was left for the third day. Unfortunately, we didn’t get enough rain once it was set up to get water but our neighbors invited us to fill up from their rainwater collection. Very important, as by weeks’ end the short-term missions group had arrived and our water needs were multiplying. Praise God we’ve got everything up and running!

Photo Update

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I thought the bugs were bad before, but with the rainy season upon us, more critters are getting flooded out of their homes and seeking shelter indoors. Think beetles, winged termites, and yet another variety of ants. As soon as we turn the lights on in the evening, there they are, en masse. Even my 10 year-old critter lover was heard to comment, “This is just too many bugs!” But he was thrilled to have one of the girls stumble upon this one morning:

On Friday, our neighbor (who is a single guy living in a stick-and-mud hut about the size of our bathroom) noticed that the rains were causing his walls to cave in. Early in the morning, we heard him removing his metal roof so Marc and the boys went over to see what they could do to help. They donated some tools and nails and went to work smashing the walls and clearing the area. Here they are at break time:

By the end of the day, the house was demolished and the re-build was begun.

Recently Isaiah went to market with Jane.  I asked him to bring me home a small bar of chocolate and gave him permission to get a little treat for the children as well. He decided on a big block of molasses/sugar candy, which was a big hit and also a bit messy. Here’s Enoch with Jane, enjoying his first taste of the sweet stuff:

And finally, we introduce you to Paka (which means “Cat” in Swahili). She is a great lap cat and a good mouser, so everyone loves her. Enoch is her favorite, which is certainly odd. He seeks her out specifically to pull her fur and whiskers mercilessly. Yet she approaches him for attention and even purrs while he tugs on her. Here is a photo of Enoch hugging Paka while he is nursing–it was a very cute moment:

 

More Like Home

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I can’t help but be grateful for the oversized Rubbermaid bins and wheely-bags we’ve had to organize our clothes; certainly, we are blessed to have more changes of clothes than the average Kenyan, and their method of storage is typically a grocery sack. However, THIS has certainly made me feel a little more organized and at home:

Many thanks to my wonderful husband, who expended much sweat in this project and encountered no small frustration; for as he so aptly put it, doing such a job without adequate tools was like “slicing cheese with a spoon.”

 

Amoebas, Soap, and Elevation, Oh my!

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Almost since we got off the plane here, we’ve cycled through physical challenges of various kinds.

First, I developed a sensitivity to the scent-laden soap we were using. And guess what? You can’t get good old Ivory soap in Africa! Ugh.

And we’re at a higher elevation here than we’re used to, which makes us all a little more tired in general. Our six year-old typically falls asleep during evening family devotions–sometimes as early as 7:00. Personally, I’ve been known to start nodding off myself around 8:00, depending on how early I’ve gotten up in the morning. The increase in physical activity has, as a result, also been hard for some of us, some of the time.

The biggest challenge has been the amoebas. Marc and I have not had any…gastro-intestinal issues…but the children have all cycled through this several times each. According to the local doctor, it’s the result of amoebas, which come from the water or food. In spite of a couple rounds of medication, the sickness has returned. Finally, we discovered the problem–our local spring! We assumed that fresh spring water would be clean and not produce any issues with water-borne critters. Therefore, we were not boiling our drinking water. However, upon inspection, Marc realized that the pipe from which we were gathering water was not actually embedded in the earthen wall surrounding the spring (which would filter the water sufficiently) but instead was driven into the pool of water that was fed by the spring–and contained visible algae and obviously other microscopic “critters.” So, as of a few days ago, we began boiling our drinking water, and actually found an alternate water source (a healthier spring) a further distance away, from which we fetch clean water suitable for drinking.

All of these things have given us an opportunity to encourage one another in practicing James 1:2-4:

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

We are hopeful that there will soon be an end to the cycle of…gastro-intestinal issues…now that we have addressed the root cause. But in spite of the health challenges, we’ve maintained an overall positive outlook and are thankful for God’s grace as we have navigated these (amoeba-laden) waters.

Children’s Q&A

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This weekend, the kids and I spent some time talking about how they felt about the transition to Africa and how they felt things were going. As as starting point, I wrote down a few open-ended questions and encouraged them to respond. Here’s what they said:

We like: ugali, fresh fruit, lizards, the weather, having lots of kids to play with.

We don’t like: spiders, ants

We miss: pizza and ice cream (figures their answers were all about food!)

Biggest difference between Africa and America: weather, people

We wish: people spoke English

Things that are easy: “Not much is easy”

Things that are hard: getting water

We like to eat: ugali, sweet and sour beans, beef, roasted corn

We don’t like to eat: greens, plain avocadoes

Additional comments?: “It’s nicer than America!”

I’m sure I would have answered a lot of these questions differently, but I can’t say the answers surprised me. I was surprised to have the majority of the children all answer virtually at the same time that they wished people spoke English. It is certainily difficult to communicate with a limited understanding of Swahili, although we are grateful to know several folks who speak at least *some* English. We’re learning Swahili, but probably not fast enough for any of us!

 

Photo update

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Our potty is a hole in the ground. At first, the littles couldn’t handle the idea of hovering and doing their business over a hole. So we improvised with our bucket potty. They have since acclimated to not using  it, though. Here is a photo:

I have a photo of our new family kitten Tiger. Cute cat, but she meows ALL NIGHT! Got its first flea bath this morning.

Following are pictures (in no particular order) of Cindy’s propane stove, her sink with no faucet, the solar panel on the roof near the chimney, the children’s bicycles, house photos, the battery setup, loitering children, and the girl’s bedroom with mosquito nets.