Expectations and "Twangs" in Kenya!

I felt like a child as I met my teachers and classmates. I didn't understand anything being said. I watched what my classmates did and I did the same.  I was shown to my classroom and I learned the words for stand up, sit down, let's pray, let's sing and basic greetings....and that was the easy part on my first morning of Swahili school!  

At my culture training in January one of the first things we learned about was the “Twang” that we would likely be experiencing when our expectations were so far away from the reality of our new lives. They illustrated this by having kids hold stretchy cords around an adult and “Twang” said adult by pulling the cord out and letting it go. The further apart the kids stood, the larger the “Twang”. 

Here is the picture from our book. Sorry I don’t have a picture of the kids and adults, my pictures are stuck in iphoto, which has been trying to update, relentlessly, for hours, but due to the slow and poor connection here, that's just another example of my expectations being rather far from reality.

Anyway, one kid represented our “expectations” and the other “reality”. The key here is that the reality doesn’t change, but if the “expectations” kid moved closer to the adult and in turn closer to the kid representing “reality” the cord was much looser and the “Twang” hitting the adult didn't feel as bad. I hope this makes sense to everyone. Just know that during my second week of class here I was feeling a lot of hard "Twangs" and I was not very happy about it!

Let me share a few of my expectations and how things were different than reality.

SWAHILI: I honestly expected to pick up Swahili much quicker than I am.  The reality that has also become apparent is that I knew a lot more Portuguese than I thought I did, because that is what my brain goes to when I know I shouldn’t say something in English, but the Swahili isn’t there. Portuguese starts coming out and it kind of confuses the teachers, but has been good for a laugh now and then.

They need to make a Kiswahili bananagrams version with no Q or X and more K, J, V, etc.

I am at the Kenyan Southern Baptist Seminary in Tigoni, Kenya. There is also a retreat/conference center and the language school that I am attending. I have been very blessed with other students taking me to town for shopping at various times and other events, but I have chosen to go to church up here at the Baptist Church so I can learn more Swahili and get to know people from here a little better.

I don’t know if I mentioned it, but in Turkana it was strange to be only one of  3 white people in church and the only vehicle in the “parking lot”. Well, now I am walking to church with the Kenyans and for 2 weeks I was THE ONLY white person there. Praise God for an American team visiting this week. I was now one of about 25 white people there.

The Baptist Church in Tigoni

However, that first week, odds were not in my favor that they would not notice me or skip me when it was time for the visitors to introduce themselves. It also didn’t help that one of my teachers goes to that church and she was staring me down. I tried to give a greeting in Swahili and say my name and where I was from, but I choked and it was a pretty big disaster. I am pretty sure the pastor was praying for the crazy visitor to sit down soon! However, it made for lots of laughs that just kept going when my teacher relived it for everyone in class on Monday morning.  She did assure me that they were not laughing at me, they were laughing with me. Thanks!

Only part of the hill up to the church 

So, the next Sunday I traipsed back up the hill. Oh, did I mention the size of that hill? I can’t even speak to anyone in English when I get in the church due to that hill and the altitude here? So I sat and hide by the wall again and actually picked up a few more words that day. At the end of the service a lady started talking to me and asked if I was from Indiana. Wow they had understood what I said in Swahili the week before. Turns out this was the pastors wife and they had lived in Indiana for 3 years while he went to Baptist seminary there. I believe she said it was in Elkhart. What a great connection. She introduced me to some other people and they were all very happy to have me visiting again. This was looking up.

Outside the Baptist Church.

As I mentioned before, I was nice to have fellow Americans here at church this week. They are here on a short term trip. They sang some songs in English and their leaders gave 2 short messages that were translated to Swahili for the Kenyans. It helped me to hear it in English first and then think about what words would be used. Once again I was picking up more and more of the Swahili. What a blessing they had experiencing the Swahili parts of the service and what a blessing to me to have them here. It was also nice to not be the total minority, but I realize that will usually be the case for the next 3 years. I also realize that while Swahili is the “easy language” I get to learn, that doesn’t mean I will know it all in one month. So I will just keep studying and picking up a little more each day.  Ninajifunza Kiswahili polepole! I am learning Swahili slowly!

BUGS: I expected there to be fewer bugs here than in Turkana. I was wrong.  I am getting used to the spiders and ants that are everywhere. I notice something on my jacket, leg, the counter, etc... I brush it off and think "Oh look another ant, spider, whatever." I have also been warned about not dragging my skirt through a trail of fire ants and so far have avoided them.  I am using my Mossi chips to help repel mosquitos and there is less risk of malaria up here. In general, I try to reason with the spiders that they shouldn’t build webs near my bed or across the doorways. That’s fair right? They don't always seem to agree. 

TERMITES! AARRGGHH!!

BUT, THESE TERMITES that invade every time it rains at night are getting on my nerves! The first time I saw them I thought it was a plague. It looked like thousands of the maple tree seed “helicopters” had blown onto my porch. Then I realized they were moving and had bodies. I quickly got in the house and shut the door so they wouldn’t get in. No worries. Hundreds of them were already in there!!! They were attracted to the porch light and another small light I had left on inside the house. I learned that they are harmless and I could just sweep them out, which was hard to do, since they kept coming in and I needed the light on to see to sweep them. It was a 30-minute process that resulted in about a 95% clean up rate. So I was happy. Then the next morning as I swept the remaining few out, I realized that I could barely get out because the birds were having a feast on the little termite bodies that covered the porch. Then I was just left with wings to clean up. 

Termites are a part of my new reality for the next 3 months. We are just at the beginning of the rainy season and winter. The termites are not leaving. So, I am adapting and have learned to fool those critters. If I study, wash dishes and read by flashlight on those rainy nights there are fewer trying to get into my house. Ha! (On a side note, I have been told that I should collect them; blow off their wings and sauté the bodies.  They are a good source of protein and taste like bacon. I will let you know when/if I get desperate enough to try that!)

NAIROBI FLIES:  This one is not as harmless. Their blood or lymph or whatever kind of bug juice they excrete, will cause chemical burns on skin. It is like the Podo bug we had experience with on some of our Amazon boat trips in Brazil. When I was shown one here and warned about it, I knew to take the warning seriously. I have seen the burns. So, I had been watching for them and had not seen any in my house until yesterday. Luckily, I looked at my cup before taking a drink of water, Here was my very own Nairobi Fly and I’m sure it would have been terrible to have this on my face or in my mouth. At least I was paying attention and not still dazed and sick feeling from the gas leak. Oh yeah, did I mention that I also had the expectation that the rubber tubing from my gas tank to my stove wouldn’t continually keep splitting and cause a gas leak for a few hours yesterday before I discovered it. Oh well, getting some new tubing soon and the Nairobi Fly is gone. 

FOOD: Now for the worst of my expectation twangs. I reached that point where all I was thinking about was food I was missing and craving. I am blessed to be close to Nairobi and to get to shop where there are processed foods and American type foods. However, they can be deceiving. Most of these are not actually made in America and so they can taste very different. You learn that if you see something you want you better buy it, because likely it won’t be there next week. (Or they may decide to remodel the store, take out many shelves and move items so you can’t find them. I have decided this is a universal plot by retailers to “Twang” customers and keep reminding us about this expectation and reality thing!)

The contrast to” if you see it buy it now” is “have you tried it yet or do you have a reputable source letting you know how close to the American version it really is?” For instance I was warned about the Snickers bars, made in another African country, different, but not bad. I experienced for myself the Frosted Flakes from England, really good and the Cheerios from England, a step below cardboard. Ok, you may argue that the American ones aren’t much above that, but for me it was just too far from my expectations. That was also the day the saran wrap almost caused me to have a melt down.

The state of my "Stat Wrap" after opening. 

Let me start by saying, I am happy there is a saran wrap type product here. However, it is deceptive also. It is called “Stat Wrap”, but there is nothing “Stat” about using it. I had experienced a little of this using some left behind in my Turkana house. If the wind blows it has sand stuck on it and it balls up and might get to the dish before I give up and start over, but I had never had a brand new roll that you have to get started before that fateful day.

So, in another grand expectation moment, I bought banana pudding and pasteurized milk and made it that afternoon. It smelled so good and looked so creamy I almost couldn’t wait to eat it, but I wanted it to set up and be cold. So I poured it into cups and went to cover them with the stat wrap to avoid the afore mentioned ants that end up everywhere. (I wasn't taking any chances, even in the refrigerator). Let me tell you that I was almost in tears 20 minutes later when I finally had my pudding secured and in the frig. Getting that darn wrap started was the hardest thing I have experienced since being in Kenya. It came off in small pieces.....and then I couldn’t get the next piece..... and then the next..... and then the first was stuck somewhere else.....none of the pieces coming off were big enough to cover my pudding cups..... and all this is after I finally got the box opened....and so much for those easy close tabs....they were destroyed in the process of opening them.....so there’s no easy closing to them now! Ah....Deep breath!

It seemed that everything about my life and my expectations were far from reality and I was being "Twanged" a lot that week. But I am thankful for all the prayers and for the sweet friends who emailed, messaged me and called to check on me. Life isn't that bad and I know I am still so blessed.

In the midst of all those "Twangs" I even got to have some new experiences here in Kenya. I watched my first rugby match. It is a rough game, but I really enjoyed learning about the game and think the kindest part is when they throw the ball in and teammates lift up certain players for them to try to catch the ball. I won’t tell you what that position is called. You will have to look it up yourself and then get a good laugh, just like I did!

Riding with a new friend. 

Waterfall, over the horses left ear.

Then I got to go horseback riding through the tea fields and past a waterfall. As we started and our guide was telling me how I should lean backward as we went down the hill, I realized I had never ridden on hills before. My horse liked going down and would get a little spunky as we got to the bottom, but going up was another story. Poor old thing was huffing and puffing just like me on my way up that hill to church.  She probably wished the skinny 16 year old were on her back not me! The weather was beautiful that day and it was such a fun experience.

Oh and I almost forgot about the pizza. Since my oven takes 2 people and an act of congress to light and where I am moving next only has 2 burners and no oven, I decided that I was going to make a stovetop skillet pizza. I was determined. Never mind that I have never bought yeast or made dough from scratch ever in my life (Chef Boyardee is my friend!). Nor have I ever talked to anyone who has actually made a pizza in a skillet on the stovetop. So, now you are thinking….”What was she thinking? We just read about the almost melt down over saran wrap.”

I adjusted my expectations from the beginning. I felt good that I was at least trying and that was ok, even if it didn’t work or tasted terrible.  I did a lot of research online and got the ingredients I needed. I want to thank Martha Stewart for the easy pizza dough recipe and the pizza sauce company for sauce in a jar. Yes, the sauce was store bought. It was too much to consider making the sauce also. That’s for next time, so send me your favorite “easy recipes” for pizza sauce!  I also prayed a little as I was waiting for the dough to rise. Well guess what, my expectations were rising as the dough did. It smelled good and it looked and felt like the Chef Boyardee dough I like so much.

More missionary flexibility!

This was all looking up. I kneaded the dough and got the skillet ready, realizing that there was so much dough, this crust was going to be over 1” thick, but I didn’t care. I stretched it out as much as I could and started with low heat, since my expectations for this pizza were sky rocketing now and from past experience I have been know to burn any bread products I try to “toast” in the skillet. So, I started slowly and when I was ready for the first flip of the dough the bottom was such a lovely crispy tan I almost cried. It smelled so good I also thought about just finishing the other side and eating only the dough, so I could end this on a good note.

But I kept going and after a good brown on that side I turned it again and took it off to add the toppings. It was at this point I found the main flaw in my plan. I had no lid for this skillet and the point was to put the toppings on and leave it on a low flame with the lid on until the toppings warmed and the cheese melted. I was not quitting now, this smelled too good. So I adapted and used my other skillet as a lid. It worked ok, but eventually I was afraid of burning the crust so I put the pizza on a plate and microwaved it for about 2 minutes to further melt the cheese and warm the toppings.

Now I was faced with a decision. It looked good. It looked really good. It was about 2 inches thick, with crust and too many toppings in such a small area. It smelled good. It smelled really good. The fresh baked bread smell infiltrated the house. At this moment my expectations were so high, I was actually afraid to eat it, but I was hungry. It had taken almost 2 hours to make, including the hour for the dough to rise, while sitting in a bowl in the one sunny/warm spot on my porch covered in “Stat wrap” again to keep the ants out!

But, I had to eat it! I had to know if it was all worth it. Guess what? It was wonderful. It was not the best pizza ever, but it met and exceeded my inflated expectations at that moment. I guess that I had began to adjust my expectations and now even my inflated expectations were still much closer to my Kenyan reality than they might have been a month or two ago.

The mozzarella cheese actually melted and the Italian sausage slices I had microwaved first to remove the grease almost tasted like pepperoni. The pepper, onion and tomato were all crisp and fresh. The runny, watery not so good sauce soaked into the dough, so I was glad the dough was so thick. The whole experience was totally worth it and I felt so accomplished that it wasn’t until the next day when I started to not feel good that I began to wonder, as I often do “Did I wash and rinse my vegetables enough, they didn’t get much real cooking in that skillet covered skillet?”

I was going to be so disappointed if I got sick from that wonderful pizza. So, as I started to feel queasier and my head began to hurt worse I went to the kitchen to get some water. That’s when I smelled the gas leak. Praise God, it was just a gas leak (remember that gas leak from my earlier expectations failure!).

See it’s all about where your expectations are in relation to your reality. I know I am not done being “Twanged”, but hopefully those "Twangs" will hurt less and less as I continue to adapt to my new reality of life here in Kenya.

Two Weeks in Turkana

As I sit here in Nairobi, land of vibrant colors, clean vehicles and cool air, I am sad that I am not still in Turkana. After 3 weeks in Kenya, I made it up to Turkana with my stuff and began learning how to live life there. Since I begin my next transition tomorrow and my Turkana impressions will soon begin to fade I wanted to share them now.

Zebras by the road!

The first day of our drive up to Turkana was nice, with decent roads (even with the speed bumps), cool temperatures and wonderful scenery. The zebras were the best part by far. I just keep saying to myself "How cool to see real, live, wild African zebras." They were just grazing by the road.

The sign at the equator was pretty neat also. We stopped to take pictures from the car and this lady with her donkey tried to move him out of the way. I like the animals in the pictures.

It only took us about 6 hours to reach Eldoret. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant along the way and then dinner that night with friends of my teammate. It was great to visit with and meet other missionaries and hear their stories of life in Kenya. We stayed at a guesthouse there in Eldoret and had a nice breakfast. Then the not so fun part of the trip began.

The changing landscape.

We headed north and picked up one of the mission workers at another town. It was good to have him with us to speak Swahili and help if there were any problems. He had come down from Turkana, the day before on the bus. Poor guy had to endure those roads 2 days in a row! I don't even know how to describe those roads to you, or should I say lack of roads, since most of the trip was spent driving off the sides to avoid more of the potholes, but even that didn't really work and we shifted from side to side many times. There wasn't much traffic, but when someone did come along you just hoped that your side of the road was the good part at that point.

Camel welcoming committee. 

The entire trip took about 10 hours. That did include a stop along the road for lunch and a bathroom break. Literally both of those were along the road. No rest areas on this route! You could see the landscaping changing. The dirt was lighter brown and sandier. There were fewer trees and plants. You could also feel the change in temperature and the dust really began to fly. I should have taken a picture of what my hair and clothes looked like when we arrived.

Thanks for all your prayers during our trip. We made it safely with only 1 flat tire. That is improvement from my previous record of 2 in one day! Luckily we were in friendly Turkana territory when it went flat and the worker with us got the spare on quickly and then we were back on the road. We arrived in Lodwar before sunset and had a few camels to greet us along the way.

My home, lots of room for visitors!

I don't think I have ever been so happy to arrive anywhere. I spent a few hours assessing my new digs and doing some basic cleaning (shower, bathroom and bedroom) and slept well that night. The next few days were filled with more cleaning, unpacking and organizing, with a few trips into town for food and supplies. It was fun discovering the items left by other missionaries. A cow hide covered drum, a few walking sticks, a bow (no arrows found yet) and some Turkana baskets and trivets. I have used most of those items to help decorate the house.

Language learning.

I was learning how to live life in Turkana and learning that the heat seemed to slow my body and my mind. Language learning was difficult, but another missionary and I spent 3 mornings learning basic greetings, questions and responses and of course how to say "What is this?" A very important phrase when language any learning.

You learn a lot about a culture by learning the language also. Interestingly, I learned that the Turkana don't have words for "Thank you", "Please" or "Sorry". It is a hard for me to comprehend that they wouldn't need or want words like that.

The language helper also told us that they are "color deficient". They don't have words for orange and purple is just described as blue-black. However, we did discover that they have many words for all shades and variations of brown. That makes sense in this culture, where most things are brown or tan or chestnut or chocolate or....well see we technically have lots of words that could describe browns and versions of it also!

The language helper gave me a Turkana name, since Shannon is hard for them to understand and say. I am Apetet, which is a thorny tree. Which one? I couldn't even tell you, since there are many thorny trees everywhere. I will need to wait and see if that name sticks or if I get a new one from someone else.

Ladies at a farm sharing how thankful they are for the well and irrigation so they can grow food to feed their families and sell. 

The rest of my time in Turkana consisted of 3 days in the bush visiting farms, a nice Easter Turkana

Learning how to do a budget. 

church service, then Easter dinner with other missionaries, and lastly 3 days of meetings about accounting and budgeting with the Turkana church leaders and others involved with the ministry here. The days were long and hot, but the information was good and I learned a lot about Turkana and the people and churches here by listening to their discussions and seeing what they put in their personal and church budgets and what they didn't.

Did you know last Monday was a holiday. Apparently Kenya has lots of holidays and it was Easter Monday. I mention this, because I was so thankful for it, because they left the electricity on all day! It is typically off during the weekdays for 6-9 hours but you just never know which days it will be off or it they might leave it on all day. You might get excited when it is still on at 10:30 only to have it be shut off just after that.

Batman and Robin our guard dogs!

I know this is just life and I am adjusting so please don't think I am complaining. I am so thankful and blessed to have a house with concrete walls and floor. I have electricity and running water, with water tanks that I am learning to remember to fill when the electricity comes on. I have a washing machine, refrigerator and freezer. I even have an air conditioner in my bedroom. I enjoyed that more than I thought I would, I set it at 30 C and sleep well (yes that is 86 F and it is wonderfully cool compared to outside that room). I am very blessed and thankful to have furniture, like my dining room table that I can wipe the dust and sand from 3 (or more) times a day. I am thankful for the 2 dogs and the guards that help make me feel safe and protected at the house. I am thankful that the snake that tried to come in the house, only made it onto the porch, before my screaming and hysterics made him go out under the other porch door. I am thankful that I had 2 weeks in Turkana to begin to adjust and see how to live life there. It was rather tiring, but I was really sad to leave.

I got some good deals and useful items at this yard sale. 

I flew back to Nairobi yesterday and the 2 hour flight in a/c was much more pleasant than the drive. I am now ready for my next transition with a move tomorrow to the language school where I will live for 4 months.  Please pray for me during this next transition and for my language learning. The life of a missionary is full of transitions and right now I am ready for a routine and a place to unpack and stay for awhile. Please also pray that I continue to be healthy and stay warm. After being in the dessert heat Nairobi's 80's feels like natural air conditioning, but I am heading to higher elevation and this is the beginning of "winter" here, so it will be cool. I have my sweaters and fleece blankets ready. I even bought some Maasai blankets today at a big yard sale at one of the international schools. The lady who sold them to me said I should just wrap up in them when I go to class so I can stay warm. She was really sweet and even demonstrated for me. I enjoyed talking to her and buying from her.  It makes me even more motivated to learn Swahili and Turkana so I can speak to these people in their languages and begin to make real connections with them.  I am so thankful for my two weeks in Turkana and I wanted to share these thoughts while I had a little down time before my head begins to swim with Swahili. The adventure continues and I can't wait to see what else God has to show me and teach me during the next 4 months. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for all your prayers and support.

Have You Ever Prayed for Loose Lug Nuts?

This was my prayer Tuesday night as we had our second flat tire of the day and the vehicle sat on the

Sunrise in Kenya!

side of the road in the dark. But the story of my “Maasai Adventure Day” really began many hours before that.

We started out bright and early (well dark and early) at 5:40 am to get through Nairobi before rush hour and to avoid the predicted Matatu strike. Due to new rules about governors on their vehicles, there was suspicion that the drivers would park and block the roads. Luckily that didn’t happen and we had no problems as we headed south toward Tanzania.

We reached our first stop, a little over 2 hours later, about 40 km north of the border. I was hoping to see Mt. Kilimanjaro, but it was a foggy morning and we just weren’t close enough. The plan for the day was to meet the Kenyan pastor and a survey team, then head out to another area where the survey would be done to gather data and determine whether it was a good place to drill a well. We started by meeting the pastor in town and had tea with him and another gentleman. Toward the end of our visit, the other gentleman mentioned that our tire was going flat. Very good to know this before going out into the bush. So we headed across the street to the tire repair shop.

We pulled up and a number of men began to assess the situation. Likely the tire would be flat soon so a repair was in order. I had a long lesson on the process of repairing a tire with a tube and split rim. I didn’t even know what that was before then. The longest part of the process was actually removing the lug nuts. They were on so tight and it took multiple men working with different lug nut remover thingy’s (yes I will eventually learn what they are called), a long pipe used for extra torque and lots of sweat! Finally the tire was off, rims eventually separated, hole found and repaired and the whole thing put back together again.  Praise God.

One stop shopping!

During this time I was able to observe the people setting up for their town’s market day. I made friends with a little boy who played hide and seek with me around the corner of the buildings and through the windows of the butcher shop. I also learned that the Kenyans’ are really good business people. The tire repair place was also a Kinyozi (barber shop) and phone charging and repair store. Talk about one stop shopping, too bad my phone was charged and working and I haven’t decided to shave my head….. yet! What a blessing to have the flat in a town, in the daylight and to have some great experiences while I waited.

After that,  we met up with the survey team and headed out to the bush. The pastor said it was only an hour trip out, but to me it felt like over 2 hours, with a few stops for goat and cattle crossings. I wasn’t quick enough to get any good pictures of the cattle. That was the best, when they came at us and just parted and went around us as we stopped there.

We made it out to the area to survey and the team started. From my very over simplified view, they were using seismic readings and electric conductivity to assess where there might be water. As the day went on some Maasai men and women ventured out to see what was going on. I was lucky enough to get to spend a few hours smiling at and beginning to communicate with these ladies and their babies. I practiced some of my Swahili and learned a little Maa (the Maasai language) also. They were very sweet and very curious about everything I did. I have continued to pray for these women and would ask you to also. The flies are bad out there and the baby’s face was constantly covered due to her runny nose. I do not know if I will get back to this area to see them again, but I will keep praying for them and for water to be there and for a successful well to be dug.

Please pray for these women and children!

It was about 11:30 when we arrived and over the next 6+ hours the survey team gathered their data in multiple places. Daylight was getting short and the best option would have been to get right on the road back to the town where we planned to stay for the night. However, the pastor said we must come to his house for a late lunch/dinner. We obliged and graciously but quickly ate our rice, meat stew and chapate, then got back on the road with only about ½ hour or daylight left. It was slow going, but things were going well until we reached a spot in the road where 3 trucks were stopped. There were many people riding in and on the trucks and I guess one was broken down and blocking the road. The Kenyan who was riding with us back to the town said we should try to go around on the side. That was all fine until we were stuck there in the ditch, not able to go forward or backward. As many of you know I pray a lot when traveling in vehicles in other countries and there were many prayers that day already, but now I started praying for release from that dirt and from behind those trucks. After some work the 4 wheel drive was engaged and 4 men (one with a machine gun) helped push us backward onto the road again. In a few more minutes the trucks all managed to move over enough for us to successfully pass on the other side. Praise God we were on our way again without incident and I was thanking God for those peaceful and helpful people on that dark road.

By the time we arrived in town to drop off the Kenyan traveling with us, we had decided that driving back to Nairobi was a better choice than staying at the guest dorms. I know sometimes decisions seem not so smart in hindsight, but at that moment it all made sense. I was ready to be home and I figured God had got us through the worst parts of the day safely! It had to be easy from there. Right?

So to the north we headed, making good time, since there was very little traffic.  Then I heard it. That sound that you try to ignore, but you just know it is not good, the second flat tire in less than 12 hours. At this moment I thanked God that we were on a good paved road, with a large shoulder to pull off on and not much traffic. However, I was beginning to worry. I had not forgotten how much time and effort it took many men to remove those other very tight lug nuts, in daylight, with many tools. At that moment I began to pray out loud and ask God for loose lug nuts. Hey, He says ask and it will be granted.  By the grace of God, in only 15 minutes Gene had all the lug nuts off and the spare on and we were on the road again.

I am very thankful that God answered my prayers that day. I had not only prayerd for the loose lug nuts, but also for Gene’s safety since this tire was on the right side (ie road side) of the vehicle, for very little traffic coming that way and for no one to stop and try to “help”. (Friends had a bad experience with that before, not everyone really stops to "help".)

God provided us safe and quick passage the remainder of the way home. I kept praying for this the entire way and was very happy when I recognized the roads again. An hour earlier, I felt like a cat, running out of lives and we were definitely running out of tires. The whole day was a gift from God and I thank Him for the wonderful people I met: the ones who repaired the first flat tire, the little boy who played with me, the women and children I met, the survey team, the gracious pastor who fed us and the men who pushed us out of the ditch. I am thankful for a good place to change a tire for the beautiful stars we saw that night and for being challenged rely on God over and over again. That has been a common theme since I have been here in Kenya.

Goats crossing the road!

Thanks you for all your prayers for me, my teammates and the ministry and people here in Kenya. I could feel your prayers that entire day. Thank you. Thank you. I ask you to continue to pray for us here in Kenya and for missionaries all over the world. They all need your prayers.

Please continue to pray, as this vehicle is now getting new tires and being serviced, It is the vehicle we will take up to Turkana next week. It is a two-day trip and I ask for your prayers for safety, no vehicle problems and a good, peaceful overnight rest before we begin our second day of traveling.  I am so thankful for my “Maasai Adventure Day” and for God’s answered prayers for loose lug nuts!

James 1: 2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

First Impressions

Lots of great memories with these two!

Just one week ago I was in Indiana preparing to leave for the airport. While I had been saying “Good – Good Byes” over the past month, there were a few people I was not able to connect with before leaving. I am sorry about that. However, I am glad that my last few days were spent quietly with family and that I was able to attend my niece’s birthday party. I think my hardest Good Byes were with my niece and nephew. They will grow up and change so much while I am over here. Thank goodness for technology so we can video chat.

Leaving was hard, but my training helped me deal with saying Good Bye.  I also had the blessing of knowing that friends from my January training were going to be on my same flights overseas to Kenya. This was not something we planned, but was obviously God’s plan. It was great to see their smiles again, catch up and share how we were all feeling. We arrived safely and I am thankful that all my bags arrived as well. By the next day my friends had all theirs.

Reality hit me in the middle of that last flight. I felt crowded and uncomfortable. I could not go back to sleep. I just wanted to be on the ground….. and for about two hours I wished that ground was in America, not Kenya.  So I prayed and remembered my training. We had talked about categories of “Guaranteed Losses in Your New Vocation” The title was not, things you may loose or might loose or could possibly loose. It said “Guaranteed”. Right then I was dealing with the loss of my “identity” as part of my family, a veterinarian and an American. Now I am a stranger, foreigner and outsider. The key to dealing with this loss is remembering my identity in Christ. That is what has not changed and what I will not loose.

Mayfield Guest House

The rest of the flight, picking up my bags, making it through customs and arriving at the Guesthouse was uneventful. When I landed it was noon in Indiana and 7 pm here. I stayed at a guesthouse for 2 nights, where I napped, relaxed, studied a little Swahili, met other missionaries and learned about their work around the country. I spent those first 3 days in a jet-lagged fog but am doing much better now.

My teammates picked me up on Friday and we did the most important thing…..got my phone working. Can you believe a SIM card is only about a dollar here? Feel free to email anytime. I now have my “I message” and “Face time” working and it should be free for you and me. So, if you have “I” devices, please use my email stuckerdvm@gmail.com not my phone number.

I was still in that jet-lagged fog on my birthday, but I was so happy to be here and to spend the day with my teammates. Thank you to everyone who sent birthday wishes, from near and far. I even got to have a burger and milkshake at Java House! Thank you all so much for helping me get here. 

View from the CMF office

Right now I am in Nairobi and will be here for a while longer getting everything set up, learning about the team and attending a team meeting. Then my Turkana teammate will drive us up to Lodwar and most of my stuff will be trucked up. I will have a few weeks to settle in to the house, start learning Turkana and attend more meetings. Then I head back down here to Swahili language school. Since “flexibility is the key” to missionary life, I am prepared for this plan to change again at any time.

Now I want to share some of my impressions of life in Kenya and some of the things we have done. I was here last year for my vision trip so technically these are a continuation of my first impressions from last year. Remember, these are my Nairobi impressions and Nairobi and the area where I will be at language school are very different than Turkana.  I will write another blog with my Turkana first (continued) impressions next month.

Wood for scaffolding. Looks scary!

Going to the Safaricom store (my phone and internet provider) seemed like being in an American store. Well, after the car was searched inside, outside and underneath and we were allowed into the mall parking lot. Parking lots here are much smaller than in America and you pay for parking. Then we stopped at the guard station at the entrance to the mall, which is outside (since the weather is nicer here!). At the checkpoint they checked our bags, before we could enter the mall. The mall almost seemed like something familiar; until I realized that most people were speaking a language I did not understand. However, I did seem to pick up on when they were talking about me!   

Shopping at the Nakumatt is another common task. There is one at most of the malls here. It is like a small Walmart type of store, however, unlike Walmart, the trip was much quicker since I did not bump into anyone I knew! When I really begin shopping for food and other items to take to Turkana it will take longer. The labels are in English, however, I do not recognize the product or know what some of the items are. Secondarily, I need to calculate the prices and understand how much I am spending, or determine whether it is worth buying.

While the SIM card was cheaper, other things are not. I was looking for a curling iron with a Kenyan plug. After finding the only 3 curling irons in the store, I checked the price of the one I might have bought and decided it was not worth $60. Mine works, just slowly and intermittently with my adapter and converter. It was nice to see some lotion and shampoo that I like. Even though the prices were about double, splurging on that may be what keeps me going, along with Pringles and chocolate!

If you have experienced any driving in a foreign country you can relate and probably have your own

I forgot about the loaded carts!

variation of this scenario. Getting anywhere in a vehicle is exhausting for me and I am just the passenger. I am not sure I will ever be comfortable driving in Nairobi. Imagine starting out disoriented, because you are riding in the left front passenger seat and the vehicle is on the left side of the road (and you always forget which side to get in on!). Now the vehicle is on the road and other vehicles are honking and flashing lights. This is a way of “general” communication here, more than a way of “angry” communication. But then, the driver makes a quick left turn without even stopping or looking left and there are cars coming. You panic because you are sitting on the left side of the vehicle. Then you remember the left turn is the “easy” turn here, not across coming traffic!

Now you are on the freeway and the buses stop to let people on and off. Yes that is correct, but then you have to slow down anyway, because there are speed bumps and then people walking across the road and walking everywhere on the sides of the road. Then there are the matatu’s (van type taxis) loaded with people, some hanging out trying to tell the driver when to stop or just because there is no more room inside? Then you throw in the pikis’s, (motorcycles that carry passengers), more speed bumps, people on bicycles, more speed bumps, people walking beside the road and crossing the road in front of you, more speed bumps, the animals grazing beside the road, more speed bumps.

Heading to the office

Can you tell what I like the least! Then you get on the non-paved roads and dodge the potholes, ruts, rocks, animals, people, and piki’s all over again and cannot wait to get back on the paved road with the speed bumps. (I just realized that my pictures do not do justice to the conditions of driving here. I think I was holding on too tight to take pictures during the "good parts".)

Nursery on the side of the road

Right now Kenya seems like a place with such extremes, from the dry brown desert of Turkana to the lush green of Nairobi, from the slums to the fancy malls, from the tribal people to the modern business people. I have so much to take in and learn. It all seems overwhelming right now, but little by little I will begin to understand, build relationships and communicate with these people, all so I can share God’s love with them. I am so thankful He is with me through all this. He is my strength and I need Him every day and every hour.

Clue: A 3-letter word that gives “HOPE”. Can you guess the word?

I am not in Kenya.

I cannot speak Swahili or Turkana.

I cannot roll my “R’s”

I do not understand Kenyan culture.

I cannot quickly convert prices from Shillings to Dollars.

I cannot comfortably drive on the left side of the road (or right side of the car).

I cannot use the metric system for temperatures, distances or speed limits.

That is a lot of negativity. Almost makes it seem impossible, ridiculous and depressing for me to be moving to Kenya with all that working against me.

But there is "HOPE". Now read each statement with the word "YET!" at the end.

WOW! That one little word changes those statements and gives them a sense of a future  “HOPE”. A hope that they can happen. It does not mean they will be easy to accomplish or that there will be no cost, but adding hope and looking forward is so exciting.  

I just returned from 4 weeks in Colorado at the Mission Training Institute (MTI). I was there with other new missionaries studying language acquisition and cultural adaptation. In a nutshell, We learned "how to learn a language" and how to “thrive, not just survive" in our new cultures.

One thing that became apparent very quickly is that my ability to "thrive" will depend a lot on MY ATTITUDE. That's where that little word "YET" becomes very important. There will be some very frustrating times in my future as I learn about a new culture, a new money system,  two new languages, to use the metric system,  to cook and eat new foods and…….. Well, that list could go on for a long time describing all the new things I will experience.

Adding the word "YET" to the end of my frustrating statements can help me stay positive and have fun while I keep trying and learning. It was neat to already start to experience this while at MTI. We often began to correct ourselves, before anyone else could if we forgot to add "YET" to something that we said.

MTI was an incredible place and the training was invaluable in helping me prepare to leave here and enter Kenya with the proper attitude. I learned so many things that I can use here as I finish my preparations and many that I will recall and use to help me cope with stressful situations in Kenya.

So, to answer the big question on everyone's mind, "When will I leave?" The statement "I do not have my plane tickets…. YET!" is probably the most common answer most missionaries give. However, I now get to respond differently.

Last week, I sent out a challenge for 30 new partners to step out in faith and pledge $30 a month during the next 30 days. So far 7 people have stepped up.

Because CMF can see that I am serious about being at 100% before I leave, they purchased my plane tickets and I leave on March 18th. I am so thankful for everyone who is partnering with me and investing in the ministry in Kenya. I am excited to be taking a part of each and every one of you with me.

I am also praying daily for those remaining 23 partners. God has blessed me so much already and I cannot wait to see who else He has join us in this ministry. HE is my ultimate HOPE and STRENGTH and HE is the one behind the HOPE that I feel in the word "YET". 

Jeremiah 29:11  I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not

abandon you, plans to give you the future you HOPE for.  (The Message)

The next 4 weeks will be busy. I will finish my scheduled veterinary work, complete my partnership development, purchase the remaining needed supplies, say more goodbyes to family and friends and rest in the Lord as I prepare to begin the new adventure with Him. Please pray for me and all my new friends from MTI as we continue to process and use what we learned there to "thrive, not just survive".

Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  (NIV)