Belated Merry Christmas!!!

Well, an African Christmas seems more like fourth of July, but with out the fireworks. We had a good time. We all went to the church and ate a big African meal together. It was fun watching all the ladies cook. They were singing and dancing and have a good time together. Amma really enjoyed it.
We had a Christmas church service, I guess. George just talked about how most people celebrate Christmas in Kenya and how we are going to do it different. It seemed to drag on, I think because we was talking till the food was ready. I was starving!! It was close to two o'clock and I did not have much for breakfast. Than finally the food was ready. We ate and enjoyed each other company. Than people sang Christmas songs, danced and did a few skits. It was nothing spectacular, but we had a good time.
One thing everyone does here is the try to look their best on Christmas. They all buy new cloths and get there hair all done. So everyone looks really nice everywhere. It is probably the only time of year everyone wears new cloths at the same time. Here they normally wear them till the literally fall off. So seeing everyone in new cloths almost feels like spring time when the flowers bloom.
I have really gotten used to it here. I'm getting to know a lot of different people in town. It almost feels like i have been here my whole life. I love how friendly the people are here. The people here have shown me how unfriendly I am. I plan to change that when I get home.

Dec. 23

I started out today going to the gym. I try to go once a week. Than after that I sat around the house. I was trying to think of something to do, all Simon and Lloyd wanted to do is watch tv. After awhile I fell asleep and then got a call from George. He asked me if I was bored, I told him yes, than he told me that Fred was going to pick me up and take me where he was. Fred is one of the men in the church, he has a motorcycle. George was getting something done to the van at a garage close to where he lives.

After sitting there with George waiting for the guy to get done. George said that he was hungry and we went to a restaurant right next to the garage. I was not hungry because I at lunch a hour ago, he was not home so he missed lunch. He ordered some food and told me to try it, so i did. It was chicken and I got the juice on my figures, since there were no napkins and there was a sink in the corner I went to wash of my hands. On the way to the sink I walked by the kitchen. It only took one quick glance and I had to run to the sink so I would not throw up on the floor. Just kidding!!:):) The kitchen was the dirtiest kitchen I have ever seen. It look like they sold Cole in there and had never wiped down anything before. There was also pieces of chicken all over the floor. If they had health inspections here they would burn the place down. After I washed my hand off I looked back and say George happily finishing his chicken. The poor man had no clue. He say my face on the way back and had to wash his hand, than he say it. He started laughing and said, "so that is why you did not eat." It really was not the reason, but it would of been if I was hungry.

Than after that whole fiasco we took motorcycles into town. Mine ran out of gas on the way, so I got off and walked a little ways and got on another one to finish the ride. It was fun!! I like it when there is an adventure. George was there waiting for me and we went on our way. We did not have anything really to do in town. We were just passing the time while the van was being worked on. We just had a good time together. Than we took bikes back and that could not be normal either it started to rain, but luckily it did not rain very hard.

Well, that was my little adventure for the day. Things are really doing great here. I am very used to it here now and wander what it is going to be like readjusting. I miss you all and hope you have a merry Christmas.

Dec. 19

I took the older young people swimming. It was fun. They all do not know how to swim and most of them have not swam since Mala was here. They still had a very good time splashing each other. I was trying to teach them, but Lloyd was the only one brave enough. It is funny how fast he would sink. No matter what I tried to have him do he could not keep his head above the water. Being the person he is he kept trying. Towards the end he was able to do what I showed him, but still had the fear of the deep water.
We were there from 11am till 3pm. In the direct sun. You will not believe it, but I got sun burnt. I did not bring any sunscreen from home and do not think they even sell it here. I know I was going to pay for it, but pain is only temporary.
George finally came to get us, he was supposed to come at 2. We were all hungry. They sold food there, but I had George hold my wallet. He left and I forgot he had it till he was already gone. I had no cell phone or anyway to contact him. I just had to wait til he picked us up. When he finally came to pick us up I asked him to take us to the place to eat goat. He had a meeting, so he could only drop us off. The restaurant is out of Nakuru by 15 min. So after eating the goat and sitting around there laughing at our waiter, we had to find a ride back. We stood by the road till a matato drove by and we waved it down. (A matato is a taxi van.) So we all crammed in and road back to Nakuru. Than once we got into town we walked to George's house, it was about an hour walk. They took me by a school a few of them go to. We had a good time.
Than when we got to George's house I taught them a few ceilis. That was fun because the dancing they are used to is the complete opposite. They have been asking me to teach them, but it never seemed to work out. Everything here is always a process. They really seemed to enjoy it. I am hoping to do it again with them at Christmas, but we will see. Well, that is my adventures for today. I love and miss all of you!!

Dec. 17

We went to Nairobi today. George has some business to do for his mom, so Abba, Amma and I came along. It was very enjoyable being in a big city because it is almost familiar. While George did his business Abba, Amma and I walk all over. We walked around for three hours. We went into all kinds of stores. We had a few things we wanted to get and we found a gift shop with some really good prices. We didn't buy anything. We are going to see if we can get a guy here can give us those prices.
Than when it was time for lunch we were going to meet George at the van, but he called and said he would come find us. We stopped and wanted for a while it was kind of fun. He was calling every few minutes. We were looking and looking for the van. We ended up standing on a curb in the middle of the road so that he would not miss us if he drove by. One problem is there are a lot of vans like the one we have. We kept thinking we say our van. After about the seventh call from George, an African man came up and was helping us explain to George where we were. Abba ended up handing him the phone and after a few second of him speaking swahili he told us to follow him. One thing about the people here they are really friendly and helpful. There was George standing there. We suddenly realized he did not have the van. We were looking for the van the whole time. No wonder we never found him. He could of walked by and we would have never seen him. After we finally found a place to eat and finished eating. George still had a few things to do, so Abba, Amma and I went to central park. We were kind of done walking around so we found some shade and a bench. I ended up falling asleep on a bench. It was nice to get out and we had a good time.

Dec. 14

Another day in Africa. We did not do very much today. We just went into town in the morning and were at the house the rest of the day. I have been trying to learn the guitar and played it till my finger were numb. I'm trying to learn a song on the guitar, so that i can sing something for Christmas. I have never played the guitar before. It has been coming slow, but i have had more time than i am used to. Abba has been teaching me and it is starting to be really fun to play.
Today I felt like I just wanted to go home. I miss all my friends, I miss my bed, I miss things that are familiar. So today I'm glad that I had something to keep me occupied. One thing I wish I had more than anything is a friend here with me. Although George is starting to became a very good friend. We have been telling each other our life stories. We have a lot of fun. His laugh is like something I have never heard. When ever he laughs I can't help but to laugh.
It is awesome how God always is there for every need, if you just sit still enough to accepted it. When I need a friend George is there. If I need a mothers help Amma is there. If I need a fathers advice Abba is there. What I'm trying to say is you have to open your eyes to see. It is funny how much I struggle, than I realize the answer is so simple. That is something that I have been learning lately.
I was just thinking I do not now how many people read this blog. I hope I am doing an ok job. I also hope my grammar is not so bad, that you have to read it with one eye closed and you tonge sticking out just so it makes sense. I forget that I'm not writing to a few people, but to a lot of people. I wish I was a better writer and that I had more to write about.
Well, that is what happened today and some random thoughts of mine. I hope all is well.

A day in town

This whole week we have not anything to do during the day. So the last few days have been very uneventful. Today I was determined to do something. I started the day by going to the gym. Than when I got back I was thinking about going to town. I was trying to decide if I was brave enough to go alone. I made up my mind that I was going to go by myself. I was waiting for the phone battery to charge and Lloyd walked in. It was a good think he did because we had a lot of fun.
First we took a motor bike ride into town, that was fun. I was wanting to get some sunglasses. We walked on almost every road in the whole city. We started look for sunglasses, but I liked a pair that I say the first place we went. I wanted to have some reason to keep walking around, so I told Lloyd I wanted to keep looking. We looked in every place we thought might sell them. We looked in this one building that was nine stores high. It is kind of like a mall. it had lots of stores in it. Lloyd and I ran all the way to the top floor. After like the six floor they were still doing a little bit of work, like painting and finishing work. I'm not sure if we were aloud up there. The people working just looked at us like we were not, but never said anything. We ran to the top and took some pictures of the town from out the window.After we walked every where, we walked all the way to the other side of town. That is where I found the sunglasses I liked. After I bought the sunglasses I took Lloyd to the only cafe I knew of that sells coffee and bought him a latte. Before than he never even heard the name latte before. We sat there at the cafe for a while and had a good time. Than we had a boda boda take us home, a person who taxis people around you ride on a seat in the back. Lloyd and I got on two different bikes and the two drivers I think were racing. It all started when the bike Lloyd was on passed mine. Then The rest of the ride was a little scary. They do not have speed limits here, so they put speed bumps everywhere you would need to slow down. My driver decided not to slow down over one of the bumps because Lloyd was getting ahead. I almost bounced off the seat. It was fun though a little scary, but that is what made it fun. We made it home without a scratch.

The youth have been meeting everyday to practice what they are doing for Christmas. They asked me to came and I went. On the way home it started pouring down rain. Lloyd and I ran the whole way. We were totally soaked. It was fun. I like being in the rain.

Now I'm sitting around waiting for dinner. After everything i did today I'm really hungry. It smells really good. That is all for today. Time for dinner!!!

Hair cut

Today Abba and I got our hair cut. George got a shave. I was a little nervous about having someone cut my hair who is used to cutting African hair. He did a good job. My hair is about as short as it was when I left for Africa. It look really short in the picture. They put this stuff oily stuff in my hair when they are done. First they cut the have, then they wash it, then they give you a massage. They massage your head, neck and shoulders. It felt nice.

Before

After

The adventures ever end

Wow!! Today was quite the African adventure. Today we went to go and see hot springs. It was amazing. Even before we got there. Nakuru is really green and stays at a very comfortable temperature. Where the springs are is almost like the dessert. It was close to a hundred degrees. The hottest i have been so far. On the way we almost ran into a ostrich. We quickly pulled over and ran after it so we could get a good picture. We also stopped by the Equator, took a few picture and jumped in the car before we were bombard by people trying to sell us all the stuff they had. Than after close to a two hour drive, we made it. It was a very beautiful drive. Pictures just can't captor the true beauty.
We had to pay to get in. It was almost like a safari. There was a big salt water lake, filled with flamingos. The van George has is really nice, the top comes up, so we could stand up. We took loads of pictures of all the wild life. The springs were gorgeous and very hot. They were not joking when they said hot springs. There is steam coming off of them and there were people standing in the steam. I eventually joined them. It was really neat feeling. First you would get really hot from the steam, than it will blow away from you than you would cool off. After we took pictures of the spring and stood in the steam we ate lunch. We were all really hungry. Man, the flies were all over everything it was crazy. Then we headed back home.
The adventure does not end here. When we were about thirty minutes down the road, the van broke down. It was not the best time to break down, but things always tend to happen at the worst time. We were in the bush, it was close to a hundred degrees, we had drank all our water and George did not have any tools. So George had to leave us and hitchhike to the nearest town to get a mechanic. It took him about forty five minutes to get the mechanic and come back. What was wrong with the van there was a little tiny speck in the carburetor, that blocked it enough to make the van not run. The mechanic for got his screwdriver, so he used our butter knife from lunch. To get the speck out they got a thorn from a tree. All the trees around where we were have thorns. Believe it or not they fixed the van with a butter knife and a thorn. They did use other tools to get to the carburetor, that is why George did not just do it himself. George is a mechanic. Finally after two hours in the bush, in a hundred degrees, with no water, we got on the road again. The drive home was even more beautiful. The sun was starting to set and the temperature got cooler the close we got to Nakuru. Here are all the pictures that I took.

The big bird that was in the middle of the road.

Some of the scenery on the way.

Here we are.

The most wonderful people in the world

Hot Springs

The little speck

Our empty water bottles.

The mechanics

The opposite of yesterday

Today was the opposite of yesterday. I had a lot of fun. First we had a youth meeting. Abba and I showed them the Ingathering. That made me miss you all. I'm not sure what they thought about it they did not say anything the whole time. It is hard to read them.
After I played a few games of chess with Lloyd. We went and played soccer it was fun. My team at first was not a good team. They all left me at one point in the game to get a drink and left me there with one little boy. Before they left we had the only point, but when they left the other team made five points. I about killed myself running around like that. I did not go with them to get a drink because I can not drink that water. Only bottled water and I forgot to bring some. I had Simon go buy me some water. I had no clue where I would get some.

Then George drove up with Abba and Amma. Then I say Simon and Lloyd getting in the van and they drove off. I could not believe they left me. We did have young people from the church, but we had a lot of other kids. It is a good thing they came we would not have enough people without them. When Simon and Lloyd left we waited for a while. I did not know if they were even coming back they did not say anything to me. At this point we were all tired, so no one was playing any more. Vivian and I were kicking a ball around for a while then a few of us decided to go walk down where you go to take a safari. It was about a mile away from the field we were playng in. It is really beautiful and there was monkeys running around everywhere. I could see zebra and gazel off in the distance. On the way back we say the rest of the kids walking towards us. They got chased off the field by some guy. The field we played in is a school field. Simon and Lloyd asked if we could play on the field and they were fine with it. I guess that guy was not there. Then we walked back to George's house and met Simon and Lloyd on the way. They told me they left to help get the rice and beans.

Every month they buy rice and beans funded by the village. So we divided the 80 pound bags into something like one hundered fifty smaller bags. It took a while, but we had fun being together. There was five of us. They were trying to teach me some swahili. We had a good time. we laughed a lot. I am starting to be good friends with them. It is sad that I only have a month left, but at the same time I miss all of you. That is all for now.

rainy day

Today has been a rainy day. :( We were going to go to a water fall today, but decided not to. I guess it is a good thing because it have been raining all day. I have done everything I could keep myself occupied. I have just accepted the feeling of being bored.

I had nothing better to do, so I took a picture of the wonderful scenery i have out my window.











One of the things I did was take a picture of my multi-purpose bedroom. At night I have the whole room to myself. In the day it is were Beitris (the maid) sleeps on the bed with baby Mechelle. The bed is also used as the changing table. Now the room is used to keep all of Beitris, Mechelle and my stuff and very thing else that we can fit. It is not really as bad as it may sound. All those things are true about the room, but I'm very grateful for where I am staying. It is like a mansion compared to how everyone else lives here in Kenya. You have to take the bitter with the sweet. I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm not in America anymore.
Tomorrow is going to be fun. I have been planning a soccer game with all the young people here with Simon and Lloyd. It has been quit a process. I can't wait, hopefully it will rain tomorrow and make everything a bigger adventure. Other than not doing anything today things have been going really well. Abba teaching have been really encouraging me. I hope he does them at home so that you all can benefit from them also. I miss you all.

Today I grilled the pork chops. I was in a little back ally. I smoked up the whole house. The coal got a little out of hand at first. I thought I was going to make char coal out of the pork chops. The flames went pretty high for such a little thing. I figured it out and the pork chops ended up perfect. They tasted great, like they were cooked over a fire. It reminded of camping at home. I looked up and say all the stars and the moon. I started to get homesick, but the pork chops kept me on my toes. It was a lot of fun.

still have mice in my room

Last night I had a mouse in my bed!! I got up to turn on my fan and when I pulled up my mosquito net there it was. I was horrified. I do not know how long it was in there. How the mouse got in my bed was it climbed up my mosquito net. I think it was trying to get the peanuts I had on my night stand. I have not seen a mouse in a week, so i thought they were gone. I found mouse traps at Wool Matt finally, but I did not think I was going to need it so I never bought it. I will try to remember to buy one next we go to Wool Matt.
Today we did a budget. it is really nice to have a guide line on how much to spend a week. I already had a budget I had for myself so that i could space out my money, but I could never tell how much I was going to spend on food. Because I never know when i would pay for groceries or for when we went out to eat. Abba and I would take turns paying for groceries. We were eating out way to much, so now that we have a budget of money for food in a week it will really help with our spending. We are only going to try to go out once a week now. Everything is doing really well. I feel really good at least physically and spiritually. I have never felt this close to God before in my life. It feels like something has woken up inside. Abba's teaching are really encouraging. I'm really enjoying seeing how a church is built. This whole experience have been so incredible. I really hope that God will let me come back here and let me go to other countries to help build the church. It is amazing work. Hard work, but there is nothing more worth it.
I was feeling really discouraged and depressed last week. I have been able to spend sometime with Abba just me and him, it has not been very much, but it has helped me. We did not talk about much, but just being with Abba helps me. Because he really loves God and it radiates off him. I feel like the luckiest boy in the world for getting this opportunity to come to Africa. I am very grateful. Thank you all for your prayers. I miss you all very much. Thank you for doing what you do great or small to keep the village going. It is a place I am honored to call home.

Monday

Well, I do not have much to really talk about. There are not as many new things now. It almost feels like I have been here all my life. It is really weird.
One thing that happened today that stuck out to me, was I always joke with George that he is my roll model. He always asks me to serve him at dinner or get him a drink of water when he is watching TV. So I pull the roll model deal. We always get into argument on who served who last. Today Amma said that we sound like brothers. I thought that was pretty neat, because I have never had a older sibling. I'm the oldest in my family. I do not know what it would be like to have a older brother. Anyway, he is I think fifteen years older than me, that would be a really old brother. I like George he is a really good friend and we get along really well. There is time when things he does starts to get under my skin, but I don't let that get in the way. Well, that is a little something for today.

Cleaning the tent

Wow!! Today was not boring. Well, I did wait all morning for Simon and Lloyd, so we could clean the tent. They decided not to and did not tell me. They said 7:30 they were going to come and I was ready, but they never showed up. It was for the better in the end. After our usual youth meeting with Abba on Saturday. We all came to George's house. Well, Simon and Lloyd disappeared right as we got there and left me with all the girl. Amma was not feeling well and she asked me to make her some popcorn. I have never made popcorn before. Amma told me how and She also said that I should make some for all the girls. So I thought I would practice on them first before I made Amma popcorn. I went to the kichen and got a pot. When I looked up all the girl were looking in the kichen at me with faces that obviously said what is he doing. I laugh to myself. So i made the first batch it was easy and it turned out fine. I was very suprized I did not burn it. You should of seen the girls faces when I brought the bowl in. I must say it did sit there for a while. I guess they were waiting to see who was the bravest, but before I was done with Amma's batch they brought in the empty bowl. Finally Simon and Lloyd showed back up and we started to clean the tent. It was a lot of fun. We had a big water fight. They all went after me at first than I showed them. It ended up being everyone against everyone. I would of taken pictures, but unfortunately I was to wet to hold anything electronic. After hours of soaking each other we finally cleaned the tent. I did not think we were ever going to get done. They were all freezing cold, it was around 70 degrees outside. We all at this time were hungry, so we ate anything we could find within reason. Simon heated up some water and everyone started making tea. There was mustard on the table and they had never had it before. I almost got a few of the girls to put it in their tea, but I could not keep a straight face. We had a lot of fun.

home sick

Today was a good day. We went to the crater. It was beautiful!!!! I love being outside!!!! It was a lot of fun Lloyd and I climbed around a little bit it was fun. Real tiring, but I loved it. There was a very nice breeze the whole time that was very refreshing.
I have been getting real home sick lately. It got worse when Abba turned on an ingathering DVD. seeing all your faces. I miss you guys. Than for dinner Amma made chicken Alfredo and today I bought a snickers candy bar. They sell them at Wool Matt. I have been buying one like every week. It is something familiar. I have two more in the fridge lets hope I can eat them before George finds them. I bough him one a few weeks ago and he loves them.
I have been here for a month now. Half way though the trip. This has been the longest I have been away from the village, since I have moved there. So the longest I have been away in eleven years.
I went to the gym today. Wow!!! From the combination of being sick and being higher above sea level than I am used to. I was weak and could not do half what I usually can do. I started doing jump rope after lifting weights and I got real light headed. So I sat down for the rest of the time. So I worked out for about fifteen minuates. Amma told me before I left if I passed out than we could not go to the Crater. So I did not push myself. We are going again on Monday.

Pictures at the Crater

All these pictures were taken by Simon and Loyd. They asked me for my camera right as we got there. I was to busy enjoying the scenery to care. I love the outdoors!!!


This is a picture of Nakuru. The less crowded area.

More crater. Isn't it beautiful!!


This weird guy that got in the way.

Simon wanting to fly. I told him I would help, but he did not want any help.

Lloyd

There is that guy in the way again.

Today today today

Today was a normal day filled with the usual. Going to town, sitting in the van forever waiting for George to finish talking to someone. I'm starting to not like going to town because it usually mean I am going to be stuck in the van for at least an hour sitting and waiting for George. George usually tells us, "Two minutes." and it takes him at least fifteen. Then when we are at home after i check my emails and write a blog. I will try to watch tv. The funny things is the only thing that is always in english is cartoons. So I always ends up watching these really stupid cartoons. I think all the shows that do not make it in America end up here. I am so glad that we do not watch TV at home. It is such a waste of time. I really wish there was something better to do here. I have run out of ideas of things to do. I do not know maybe I could make faces at myself in the mirror. Or I could look out my window in my room and try to imagine the concrete wall is a tropical rain forest. We do thinks everyday there is always something we do. There is just that time in the middle where there is nothing. I'm still waiting for Simon and Lloyd to get out of school. I think they do this week. I really hope so I am about to go crazy. If you can't tell I'm feeling much better. I was so sick a week ago all I did was sleep. Now I feel totally normal and full of energy. Well, at least at this moment I have lot of energy.
I got to do something different than watching cartoons. George forgot to turn the lights out on the van, so we had to push start it. The thing that made it hard was that he had the van park in the courtyard. Abba came and helped me push. We only had about thirty feet to push the van. So we pushed it back and forth till we got it started. It was actually fun pushing the van back and forth. That is all for today.

Another day in Africa

George took Abba to play pool today. It was pretty fun to watch. George beat Abba three of the four time they played. The table and balls we been playing with is a little smaller than we, Abba and I, are used to. So George had us there. It was funny watching Abba get beat, he did not like it. He could not take it and throughout the day he would bring up how he should of hit this one ball softer. It was funny.

Other than that we visited three people. It was the usual ask questions and write is down. The people are really sweet. Now we are all on our computers typing away on emails and blogs.

I wish that I had more to tell you about, but I don't. I hope everyone at home is doing well. Not freezing to death or anything. The weather here is beautiful!!

fun

I went and shot pool with George today. It was a lot of fun!! All the young people came along. The place was kind of like a bar, I guess. There was a birthday party and they were doing a bunch of dancing games with the kids. It was really cute. All the young people went and watched that when George and I shot pool. George is pretty good. He beat me 5 out of 8 times. It is crazy how cheap things are around here. I payed for all the games we played and bought everyone a soda. It only cost around $10. We plan on going back and we are going to bring Abba. I can not wait for that. It will be really fun to see Abba get competitive with George.
I am feeling a lot better. The drugs I'm taking make me really drowsy. Not thinking I took them before the gathering. It was really hard not to fall asleep. It was a really tough to focused. I hope I can quit taking them soon. I do not like being sick or taking all these drugs and herbs. I'm determined to get better.
I have really had to ask God for strength because I have had to rest a lot and it really started to get on my nerves. I know it is the only way I can get better. Sometime I felt so sick I wanted to rest. I had a lot of talks with God asking why he let me get sick. I know he just wants me to trust that he will take care of me. So eventually I found peace inside.
Amma has taken very good care of me. I'm so so grateful she is here. I'm very lucky. I am getting to know Abba and Amma a lot better. I miss you all!!

Jailbird George

Today we had quite the adventure. George got arrested!!! He is out already. He dropped Abba, Amma and Simon at a grocery store after a youth meeting. We were all in the van. Yes, all the young people. We were packed in. George could not find a place to park so he double parked. A female police officer got into the passengers side and started yelling at him. Then George told Lloyd, Vivian and myself to get out and wait for Abba to get out of the store. I did not understand why till Vivian told me he has to go to the police station. So we went and found Abba and told him and helped carry everything. We stood outside the store for a while, thinking he would be right back. It was really busy where we were standing, so we went across the street. After waiting a while there we called George and he told us that they are arresting him and he needed Abba to come get him out. All six of us packed into a three wheeled taxi thing, we barely fit, to the police office first and drop Abba and Simon off. The rest of the kids in the van where sitting there on the other side of the fence waving at us. I did not want to leave them, but there was not even close to enough room. So we left them there and came home. Those three wheeled thing are fun to ride in a little bumpy, but it was still fun. That is the adventure for today.

I've been sick

Sorry for not blogging for the last couple of days. I got sick and it took me out. I had to get a blood test to make sure it was not malaria or typhoid. I do not have either, but I do have some type of bacteria I do not know the name, if there is even one. I had to go to a doctor, the same one Austin saw when he got sick here. He gave me five different drugs and told me I would feel better in a few days. He was not joking because all I have been able to do is sleep and know I been able to do a few things. He also told me that I would fully recover in a week. The last few days I have been really weak because I have not eaten anything. I just started eating last night. I’m starting to get my strength back. I do not think I have ever been that sick before ever in my life. I can’t even remember last time I was sick.

Pastor Daniel and James went home on Wednesday. So other than being sick I have been able to sleep in peace. By the way Pastor Daniel sends his regards to everyone in the village. I would of told you earlier, but I have been occupied.

Other than me being sick nothing exciting has happened with me.

The most interesting night

I have Pastor Daniel and James staying in my room. James is from Elderet Kenya. It's not that big of a deal, but we are three different people from three different countries. The room is always hot and James is cold, so I did not get to use my fan the first few nights. I did use it last night, for some reason it would barely blow. I could blow more air out of my mouth than that thing.
Pastor Daniel snores very loud, the loudest I have ever heard. It is not for some of the night it is a whole night orchestra.
So after I got used to all the disturbances. I felt something running on my legs. I thought is was a mouse, but there are thing worse than mice. Cockroaches!! Yes, I was not sleeping alone. It was the most creepy thing to have crawling on my legs. They are big too, like an inch and a half long. I kept myself as calm as I could, so I would not scream and wake everyone up. Gathering up all my courage I reached down grabbed it and threw. The real bummer was that I use a mosquito net, so it just bounced back on me. Than I freaked out and thrashed around till had a new grip. Than I managed to get it under my mosquito net. What a relief!! The rest of the night was spent in fear of another cockroach attack.
Today Pastor Daniel and James are going home. We are taking James to the bus stop and Pastor Daniel to Nairobi airport. That is all that is planned for today.

A hamburger and punch

This a punch it is made from freshly juiced fruits. From top to bottom: mango, papaya, pineapple, avocado, banana. It is really good.






This is an Aussie burger. It has an egg, fried pineapple, two beef patties and the normal vegetables. It was really good, but I could not eat it all.

Monday

Sorry for not blog yesterday. It was a really long full day. I'm not sure how to put it in words, but what I can tell you is that God is moving here in Nakuru. By the time we got home I was to tired to write anything.
Pastor Daniel arrived yesterday and another man is here from Elderet his name is James. I love Pastor Daniel he is such an amazing man of God. I have not really ever been able to spend time with him. I have just heard him talk in the village. I'm so grateful for the time I have been able to spend with him so far. It is great I still get to have one more day.
I never had to sing on Sunday thank God. The girls were pushing for it, but it never ended up happening. It was painful trying to sing at the practice. They wanted me to sing way to low. It hurt my throat trying to sing that low. Than to make it worse there was no instruments, so we were off key bad. It sounded terrible. And the boys like usual would not sing loud, so the girls were singing both parts. We practice one song in English that is the song I'm talking about. The one in swahili sounded fine at least I think it did I have no way of telling. I do not even know what we were singing about.
Something that I have really been thinking about lately, is if God is ever going to let me come back here. I have not even been here three weeks yet. Already I don't see how I can leave these people and not see them again. I'm not saying that I want to live here. The Village will always be my home. I was just thinking how Mala must feel not being able to come back this trip. How much she must miss these loving people. I'm not sure what God has, but I do know that everything he does has its purpose. Me being here has to be for more of a reason than a trip over seas. More and More lately I have realize how much I love God and his people. I'm grateful for the choice I have made to follow him. To follow someone you have to trust them, therefore I'm going to trust that God will bring me back. His timing is amazing and I know that he will bring me back when the time is right. I also hope someday I will be able to visit some other countries.
Baby Mechelle is so cute. She is teething so she is chewing on everything. She is not walking yet, I really hope she will while I'm still here. Somebody taught her how to kiss, probably Beitris the maid. I was laying on the coach about to fall asleep when she crawled up to coach pulled her self up and kissed me right on the lips. I was very surprised. Later Amma picked her up and Mechelle started kissing her. Very cute. That happened today. She can be stubborn sometimes, but still she is the cutest baby ever. That is all for today.

Guess what I did today!!

Sorry for not getting this blog out yesterday, but we could not get on the internet last night. The network was down. That is the first time it has given me any problems. Usually it works better than the internet at home. These wireless things we got a awesome, they are a lot cheaper than going to the cybercafe cafe and they are more convenient. I can get on as long as I want when ever I want and not feel rushed.
Today was not a boring day. I was busy all day, it was great. It started out with a youth meeting at 11am with Abba at a restaurant in town. Than got home sat and talked to a few of the young people. Went to the church and picked up trashed and cut the grass. There was so much trash everywhere. All the kids in the area came and helped. All I had to do is bring candy. They were a lot of help. All the young people were there. The girls cleaned the inside of the church, while us boys cleaned the outside. I was going to take a pics before and after, but forgot.:( It was great to finally do something productive.
Than right after that we had the usual Saturday you meeting in the church. This time was even more confusing. They wanted to sing a song for church tomorrow. I felt very out of place swaying back and forth claping my hand and trying to sing in swahili, while everyone is laughing at me. We lined up, so we could have some sort of order. Vivian, one of the older girls, was next to me and would not stop laughing at me. She really got a kick out of me trying to act like everyone else. When they sing you have to do all these hand motions. I already stick out like a sore thumb. I'm tall and white and ugly. With probably the most confused face most people have ever seen. On top of that I have to sing in swahili and do hand motions. Now if I ever hear anyone say that they will not do something because it makes them look stupid. Well, lets just say I will be having a talk with that person. What makes the whole thing worse is that I have to do it in front of the whole church tomorrow. I did have fun making everyone laugh. It made it worth doing it in front of everyone tomorrow.
It is great I'm starting to get to know more of the young people. On the way from George's house to the church. Some of the girls were tell me that I'm to quiet. Everyone here expects me to be like Mala I guess. So I told them if they want me to talk than they need to ask me questions. Oh man, I said the wrong thing. They ask me so many questions about me and what America is like. It was worth it though because now I have some more friends. One thing that everyone here is asking me is if I play the guitar. I have wanted to play the guitar, but have never gotten around to it.Guess what i got to do today? After the youth singing practice they had leaders meeting, so everyone at home was there. I could not go home so I stayed with Simon and Lloyd. We went to Simon's house to put something of Simon's back and met one of there friend who has a motorcycle. His name is Jeffery and he drives people around on his motorcycle for a living like a taxi driver, but with a motorcycle. A lot of people do that for a job here. Than Lloyd asked me is I wanted to drive it, I thought he meant ride. Then next thing I know Jeffery is showing me how to drive it. Then I drove it down the road a little ways than drove back. It was awesome!!! I want to get one know. Driving a motorcycle here is no as dangerous as it is in America. At least in the day, but everything is dangerous here at night. I had so much fun driving that motorcycle. I'm going to try to drive some more. One of the men who comes to the church his name is Fred he has a motorcycle. I'm going to see if he will let me drive his. Abba was talking about getting one I really hope he does. Driving that motorcycle was the funnest thing i have done so far.

Todays blog

Today is Friday our resting day. We do not have anything planed for today to do. The only thing we did do is our daily trip to town. I'm finally getting used to them driving on the opposite side of the car and the opposite side of the road. I also have got used to tell everyone trying to sell me something "no". I have said "no" so many time I'm starting to say it in Swahili to change things up. They understand both, but they never leave you alone. I was joking with Simon and Lloyd saying that I was going to get plastic surgery to turn my skin black, so people will leave me alone. Having white skin around here is like wearing a big sign that says, "lots of money and if you bother me long enough i will give you some." To the kids it means candy, which does not bother me as much, probably because they are so cute. Whenever kid see you they say, "how are you?". That is the only word most of them know in english. It does not matter if you are driving by in a car or walking by. Sometime they will ask you for candy, but if you do not have any they are happy with feeling your skin. So there are a few things that is different about being here in Africa. Other than them wanting your money they are a really sweet people. That is just a general statement about them wanting money. There are a lot of good people.
Today was a pretty boring day, which was expected to happen sooner or latter. I'm not really used to not doing anything and worst of all not having any idea what to do. We were going to go to the crater today, but we decided to wait till Pastor Daniel gets here.:( I was looking forward to going:( Oh, well. Pastor Daniel is getting here Sunday with two other men there names are Mike and Martin. Then we also are having a man from Elderet. I can't remember his name, he is also coming on Sunday. We are going to have a full house. Yeah!!

A new day

Today was one of our slow days. The only thing we have planned in Abba's teaching tonight. One thing we did today that was pretty exciting was Abba bought a big tent and forty chairs. The tent is being made and will be done tomorrow. The chairs we are waiting to be delivered.
George is doing much better today, he seems a little tired not as bad as yesterday. It did not stop him at all, he still came to the teaching last night and translated. There is another man named Newton who can also translate, but George still came. He is an amazing man. I can not wait till God lets him come to the village, so you guys can meet him. I feel blessed to have the honor of meeting him and most of all being able to serve here in Nakuru with him.
Now for a little comic relief. I'm still having that mouse problem, but this time was not quiet as dramatic as yesterday. They were not in my suitcase this time. They were just on my stuff by my suitcase. I did not have anything in my hand that would have threaten the life of the mice anyway. At the time I had my tooth brush and I was not going to touch those nasty vermin with it. Who knows how many diseases i would get not to mention what little harm my tooth brush would fall on the mice. So I just screamed, but not like a girl and they ran off. I'll get them next time. That's all for today.

I did it I actually wrote today!!!

I had a big surprise this morning. I went to get some cloths out of my suitcase and in my suitcase was two little mice. I quickly emptied my suit case so that I could try to kill them with my hair brush. One jumped out and I managed to get a pics of the other one before it jumped out. Then I chased the last one around the bed with my brush. They both unfortunately got away.:( It was actually a lot of fun. It was kind of disgusting having mice in your suitcase. I was laughing and having to much fun trying to kill the mice i did not really care.
We went visited today. It was really good, the people are very loving especially this lady named christen. She is a different one than the one who does the youth meetings. She is older and she really love Abba and Amma. We went to her house for lunch it was very good. She made fish it was the best fish i have ever had. Christen is an amazing woman you can feel the love coming out of her. She definitely has something with God.
I feel much better today. It feel like I have been going up hill, but now I have reached the top and I'm going down hill.
The only other thing is we need you guys to pray for George. He was not feeling well so we went to see if it was milarea, but it was typhoid. He has had milarea before and you never really can get ride of it. Typhoid you can and George has had it before. He got medicine for it and he seems to be doing better. It did not stop him though. He just wasn't himself today. We got him home so he can rest right now.
All we have for the rest of the day is a teaching. That is all for today till next time.

A normal day

The only thing that we did was went to a clan meeting. I'm sorry I'm really tired and am to lazy to write today. Hopefully I will have more of an urge to write tomorrow. I love and miss all of you!

some pictures

Here is Simon and Lloyd playing around with George's keyboard.

Here is left to right: Lizabeth, Eve and Pamela.






This is the hill I raced Simon and Lloyd up.




Here is a picture of Nakuru from the top of the hill.



Here they are the wonderful young people of the church here. Well, most of them.








Eve










Lloyd and Simon











Me

Monday

Today was a tough day for me. I have been getting altitude sickness. Yesterday when I went on a walk with the young people we climbed up this big hill and I raced Simon and Lloyd to the top. I beat them to the top, but I almost passed out. I could not get enough air, because of how high above sea level we are. Well, at least compared to Tennessee.
We started visiting people today. We are only visited two families a day, because we do not want to kill ourselves. The last time they were here they would visit five or six a day. What we are trying to do is see what type of work they do and how the church can help. They just have to give ten percent back to the church to build the church. For example, this one lady sells boiled corn. She sells corn it once a day and she said if she could get more corn she could corn it twice a day and make twice as much. She just needs one thousand Kenyan shillings to buy more corn. That's about fourteen U.S dollars. Then she would give ten percent to the church and the church would keep five percent to build the church and use the other five to help other businesses. It is really going to build the people here. So far the people here are very open to the idea.
Amma's computer has been not working for the last two days. Georges camera broke, so he took it to this place in Nakuru. He told us that this guy could fix Amma's laptop. So we went to the place it looked a lot like a mall. That is one thing that really surprised me about Kenya, they are more modern than I expected. It took for ever, I think it took about three and and a half four hours. I did go look around the "mall" it only took ten mins. George kept leaving like he always does you never know what he is doing. He never tells you. He will be standing next to you one minute than you go to ask him a question and he's gone. Then he comes back we ask him where he went. He tells us he went to go get the say more milk. There is always something. Than after we got Amma's computer fixed we went and made a down payment on a tent for the church! The building we have right now is to small. We have about 50 people and all the kid have to stay outside so there is room for everyone else. This tent is going to be great it get very crowded and hot in the building they have now. We are going to put it up behind the church. There is like a courtyard behind there. Well, that is another day here in Africa.

Sunday

Today's African adventure happened first thing this morning. Amma ask me to make fried potatoes for breakfast, I was happy to help. So i was in the kitchen cutting up my potatoes. Nelly came in and was cutting something behind me. Then she told me to put it in with my potatoes, so i asked her what it was and she told it's pumpkin. I was not very excited about that, but i did what she asked. I started cooking my potatoes and pumpkin just accepting the fact that i just ruined my potatoes with the pumpkin. Then Nelly hands me some plantain, which is a type of banana, that she cut up. Then i know my potatoes where now totally ruined.:( They actually tasted fine, Amma and i had a good laugh. Definitely tasted like nothing i have tasted before. Well, I guess I have not ever had fried pumpkin or plantain, especially not with potatoes. It was actually a lot of fun not having any idea what Nelly was going to put in my potatoes next. Amma took some pics of it. Amma is a great person to laugh with, she got a kick out of what happened to my potatoes. I got to laugh at her because she burned her eggs.
We had a gathering today. It was a lot better this time for me because I know what to expect. A lot of people talked. Abba said that they were trying to get people to talk last time and was very glad to see how far everyone here has come since last time he was here. The meeting seem to be good, but that is all they do together is meetings. Abba has been talking about doing more than just meetings. We will see what happens.
I walked around nakuru with the young people here. They mostly spoke in Swahili like usually. I like the sound of swahili, but i never know what they are talking about. They are probably making fun of me.:) You can blame them I would if I was in there shoes.
That is what happened with me today. Miss you all.

Today was a good day.

Today was a good day. First thing is I got to spend time with Simon and Lloyd. I have not seen them since Sunday. Abba, George, the boys and myself all went out. We started talking about God. Simon and Lloyd have really good hearts. There are real servants. Right as they came over this morning they started helping George with things he needed. They are great to be with. Well, anyways i went to their youth meeting that they have every Saturday. We were a hour late because we were in town, so we went to Christeans house. Christean is the one who does the meetings with the youth. She did the meeting over again with us at her house. Her house is very small. The meeting was good at least what i could understand. They spoke in english and swahili. I do not know if they realized it, but when they do speak in English they use swahili words. Christean kept asking me questions and what my opinion was about things that i did not know what about, since they only spoke in half English with a swahili accent. I was very confused most of the time. I tried so hard to understand what they were talking about. The little I did understand Lloyd had to explain to me. I was sitting next to Lloyd. Lloyd is the quiet one, it was probably the most I ever heard him say. Simon is the one who does all the talking. The whole thing was a very interesting experience. Hopefully next time I will be able to understand something.
George and I are becoming really good friends. I have so much fun with him. I am so grateful that I have met George. If Gods only purpose for me to come to Africa is to meet George than that is fine with me. I love George he is a good man.
The people here are really starting to come together. We had a mens meeting today also. It went very well at least the end. I was only there for the end because I was at christeen's house. The part that I did get to be at felt really good. They are really good men who seem to really be trying to follow God. It might sound funny, but there are only five men. I can not wait to see what God does here.
Well, that was my adventures for today. I love and miss you all!!

Goat!!!

For lunch today we had goat. It's really chewy, but it taste pretty good.

That is the intestines. Looks like macaroni doesn't it. It does not taste like it. It does not taste good at all. Abba and I tried one piece. Amma has the pics of us trying it on her blog. That is all it took for me. George ate the rest.
This is one with hair on it. George ate that too.


This looks like just bones, but there is actually a lot of meat there.





That is what we had to drink. It's called Stoney a type of ginger ale. Very good!! I do not think I will ever be able to drink any other type of ginger ale again. It's the best thing I have had to drink so far.



I hope these pics don't make you sick, but that is what it looked like. It did really tasted good. We are going to go again when Pastor Daniel get here.

Thursday

Today was a normal day. There was a teaching from Abba. He taught about the God we follow. That we do not need to pray to God as if he is not really there. We need to pray to God most of all as if he is there and with rejoicing and thanks giving. Well, that is what I got out of it.
The people here are very social. They always greet you and ask how you are doing. I wish America could be like the people are here. There are always people walking around, they are always talking to each other. In America everyone is turning into robots. America mostly communicates through electronic devices and totally misses the need for other people. I'm so grateful to be here. I'm not really sure what God wants me to do yet, but I'm waiting and hopefully ready for what he has.

Another day in Africa

I finally slept through the whole night last night. What i did was stay up later. I stayed up last night trying to kill some mice that were running around on the floor. I had almonds in my backpack and they got in them. So I put a few on the floor and waited for them to come eat the almonds. When they came out I would throw one of my shoes at them. I hit one but it did not kill it. The mouse just limped under my bed. I'm going to try again tonight, hopefully I can kill one this time. We have really big roaches here also. Luckily they do not come in my room. They only come out at night.
Another thing that is different is that the power goes off randomly. George said that it last a few hours to a few days. luckily it has only last no more than an hour, so far it has only lasted a few hours. You always have to be on your toes.
Abba got a hair cut today at a place here in Nakuru. It was really awesome looking first they massage your head, they cut you hair, they wash your hair then dry and massage your head again along with your neck and shoulders. For the grand total of 600/=(shillings), which is roughly about $6 of our money. I think I might get my hair cut when I'm here. Amma is going to get her hair cut next week. Abba said he want to get his hair cut again before we go home. Other than that I did not do anything. We are taking this week of so we can adjust. I'm not really sure what rest of the time here is going to look like, but i hope that I will be able to do more. I'm starting to really get bored. I understood that this was going to happen. So I guess I will wait to see what God has, he always knows what's best.

The adventure begins

Life in Kenya is quite an adventure. George has a pretty nice house. We have running water, but the weird thing is that you have to pump it. The water gets pumped into a tank that is in the attic. The pump is electric, so you turn on the switch and wait about 20 min or till the roof starts leaking. The funny thing is that it's in the garage with the chickens. At least I think it's a garage. It is my job now to go pump the water.
It's great I get a room to myself. I am very grateful!! In the room it has a single bed and a bunk bed. I sleep in the top bunk, because there is a mosquito net. The unfortunate thing is that they use the single bed to change baby Haviylah's diapers. The maid that works here, when Nelly is at work, does not speak English. So today I was in my room minding my own business when the maid comes in. She did not say anything. It does not matter that she does not speak english the smell spoke for itself. It did not take long for me to leave the maid to her work.
Now the food here is great!! At least so far. I'm going to get fat with all the good food I have been eating. "God's grace is abounding", that is what George always says. The food here is fresh and taste a lot different. It makes all food at home taste plastic. I also get to live with Amma so I'm going to be a lot healthier. That is all that has gone an to day. Till next time.

Tuesday

Im really sorry about not sending those blogs till now. I had some problems,but i figured it out.
Yesterday was a lot of fun. It started out we went to the cyber cafe, which was very irritating. I could not get anything to work and Abba and Amma were done before me. They left and waited for me at a restaurant, so I had a lot of pressure to get done. After that things were much better. We went to a etheopian restaurant. Awesome! The food here has been great so far. Then Abba and George had to talk to Joseph, he is one of the men in George's church. So Amma and I went shopping. I had a really good time with her. We went to the wool matt. :) It like our walmart. Then we just walked around the city. We started to go in to the market, but we only got about to venders in. Everyone is trying to sell you there stuff and it get real crazy. It is fun though because you get to get them to come down on all there prices. Then we went back to the restaurant and Abba and George were still talking so we sat at another table and ordered some tea. The African tea is very good. I wish you guy could see how Abba and George are together. George knows how to push Abba's bottons. Amma and I just laugh the whole time. I have laugh a lot lately. I hope all of you are doing fine. I miss and love you all!