A taste of what we call home

Here are some pics of home away from home. The living room( the table to the right is where we eat) some pics of outside and a picture of my (David) room. It has 7 bedrooms two bathrooms, living room, kitchen, and office. Where the car is facing is a seperate building where their son George lives with his wife and two kids.

A few pictures!

The picture on the left, was taken after a few days of being at Mercy home. It was taken in the shamba (garden) at Mercy home. The vegatable behind us is sukuma wiki (kale) and they cook it and eat it every day for supper along with ugali (ground up corn flour made into a paste). the picture on the right is Candice getting her hair done, in little girl pig tails. Nancy (the one with her hands on Candice's hair) was the chief salonist. The lady down from Candice is Monica wife of Gershom and she is the chaplain for Mercy Home.

So now that we know we can get pictures, you will be seeing more soon!

Week update

Hello all in Canada, Its David here with an update on this past week so far.
Last Saturday we got to do door to door evangalism with pastor Kennedy around the area of his local church and then on Sunday we went to his church which was four hours long! :0 After the service we went to his house for lunch.
Monday was our day off as ussual, and Candice and I spent the day hanging out with Laban (a cousin that lives that lives at our house) at his litttle cafe at the end of our drive way.

Tuesday was a Kenyatta Day, which is a holiday to celabrate their first President after Kenya got its independance. We organized a sports day for the kids at Mercy Home, and played. vollyball, soccer, handball, and also had running races for the kids. It ended up being one of my favorite days so far.

Wednesday we helped with a street kid's program at Fath Community church runned by a lady named Esther. We didn't know what to exspect, but it ended up being a really good way to connect and understand the kids. When we got there, there were about 13 kids playing football and washing their clothes. As the day went on there were about 70 and I reconized alot of them from seeing them on the Kitale streets. I soon found myself joining in on the football and meeting some of them, while Candice, Trudy, and Nancy helped with bandaging wounds and cuts, and giving medicine to those who needed it. At lunch the kids were all fed Githeri (beans and corn in a dish) and then we were asked to introduce our selves and sing a song to the kids. After a short time of prayer, the kids were all lined up ready to go through bags and bags of donated clothes. Each kid was allowed one item, but I saw some take two ;).
Overall I am glad we decided to give it chance, and we are planning on going to it next time on the November 18. They have it the third wednesday of every month.

Today we are in Kitale and then to Mercy home to see the kids, and check up on how the contruction of the chicken building is going.

Thats all for now, Thanks for the prayers

David

Mama Trude-Book of Ruth/Malaria foes

This is my first posting on the blog. We made it to the internet early today and so I thought I would tell you about our last week.

We celebrated Thanksgiving by taking our Host family out to the Pinewood for supper. It was a Chinese food meal. Hard to know if they enjoyed it or not, but they did thank us alot when they got home.
Our team has been busy trying to remember all the kids names , Nancy Miller has been peer counselling children as Benta the social worker advises her. So far, it has worked great, some of the kids have really responded to the one on one. More smiles all around!
I had my first experience with the Kiminni Hospital as I went with Benta to take sick children. I had a cold and cough that would not get better, so I got tested for Malaria, and they said NO, but gave me drugs for the cough. They are very efficient, and had all of us(three children and I through in under one hour)--results and all. We have had many children sick with Malaria and day scholars as well. One day scholar named Gloria was sent home sick and for two days she was suffering. Dane was leaving one night when Gloria's parents were pushing her up on a boda boda(bicycle).He drove her to Kiminni Hospital and she was admitted. It costs money, which of course, many don't have to treat the dread mosquitoes.
Nancy M. and I went to the ladies fellowship yesterday with Monicah our chaplain. We were greeted by the ladies with open arms, many of the ladies have a one room mud house, and a family of three or four children included.
The chicken coup is coming along nicely. The workers are busy laying the foundation and construction of the walls is next after the man cuts down two big trees. Yes, that is for the wood for the building.
Our Sunday school classes went well. We taught the older students from Standard four up, with David and Candice team teaching with Dane and Nancy and I taught the older girls...from the book of Ruth. Candice and David go to Youth Church with our Host family's son, so we have to teach Sunday school in the afternoon on Sundays.

David's flash back to september 23

Here is my personal journal entry from September 23, when we were in Nairobi.

David September 23, 2009

Woke up at 4 am this morning, worst sleep yet, but the day proved to be a real winner. After not being able to get back to sleep I watched some of the office on my iPod until around 6 am when Dane decided to get up. We headed down for breakfast in the hotel, and spent the morning there, waiting for the girls to get up.

At around 10, we arranged to hire a hotel guy named Amos to walk us into the city to the shops we needed to go to, because we didn’t have a clue as to where to go. And this is where I get to see Nairobi in all its chaotic glory. Thousands of people walking and thousands of people in cars and buses all weaving in and out around each other in systematic chaos. Our guide quickly showed by example that walking in the middle of the roads and crossing busy streets where cars and vans and buses all going way beyond the speed limit and getting each other off, was as natural as it was to us crossing a proper cross walk when the walking man sign is green. Our guide would walk onto a busy 4-lane road and barely bat an eyelash as cars skimmed past and stopped suddenly to let the crowds through. Sometimes he would hold up his hand and stop traffic its self. The difference in driving and traffic control is the biggest difference I have experienced so far. Huge buses would just cut off people within 2 seconds notice, traffic jams in the round about were just insane, and plus there were a lot of matatus (van taxi) with loud hip hop music that had people hanging on the outside, shouting for you too come on. These taxi vans were also very tacky looking and usually had a picture of bob Marley or weird pictures.

I took some videos and pictures, but not very many because it was very likely my camera would draw the wrong attention, so when I felt it was safe I took a few. But the video I wish I could have captured was us weaving in out of the roads dodging crazy Kenyan traffic in a very skilled and calm way.

Despite people rudely cutting each other off, and almost hitting each other, no one appeared to be upset. It was perfectly normal. Mom your heart would have stopped beating. When people cut each other off in Canada, there is a lot of shouting and swearing. But not here. We booked our bus ticket and we got our cell phones and then went for dinner at Micah’s Elisabeth’s and micha’s – place, people Dane and Trudy knew. They had their own car driver to pick us up, and bring us to their home away from the city. Wonderful dinner and great people. Its 10:30 and I’m off to bed. Have to wake up at 6 tomorrow for our bus ride to katali tomorrow.

Candice here!

Although Dane and Trudy have talked about the orphanage to us a lot, there is no way that we could ever have been prepared for what it is like in person. The immediate love and acceptance that these children had for us, is not something that makes sense, or that can be explained. As Trudy has said before, it doesn’t matter what you are wearing, or what you look like, (though the white skin definitely adds a novelty factor) they are just so excited that you care, and you came to visit them, that they are more than willing to take you as you are, and be your new devoted friends. It’s a very humbling experience for me. It’s also a little overwhelming, and almost confusing.

I tried not to come into this trip with any expectations, but I must have had them, because so far, everything is different than I thought it would be. Before coming here, the kids were just pictures, names and ideas, but now, after meeting them, and seeing how vastly different each one of them is, it’s impossible not to start loving them already.

team update

We thought it would be a good idea to start a weekly team update, while also having individual updates. Here is what we have been up too this past week.

Nancy:

- Provided Counseling one on one

- Took two Sarah’s from Mercy home to a hospital to get treated for malaria

Candice

- Marked some grade 7 English compositions

- Had her first boda boda ride (bicycle taxi) and piki piki taxi ride (motorcycle taxi)

- Made a list for the new library books

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Trudy

- Did a presentation using puppets and bible verses for Fridays “coming together”

- Helped out with the baby class telling stories

Dane

- Busy getting research for chicken business

David

- Marked grade 7 English Exams.

- Learned how to play a simple African song on the piano.

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-Learned how to count to ten in Swahili

- Stamped library books

things we did as a team Team:

- -Went to visit three Mercy and caring home girls named Lucy, Elizabeth, and Jennifer that are now at a Kabuyefwe secondary boarding school

- -In week two of the Purpose Driven life team bible study

- -Brought donated clothes and books to Mercy Home.

- -Enjoying our accommodation with Geoffrey and Helen our hosts and their son David and their niece Stellah and nephew Laban

- -Enjoying getting to know the Mercy Home staff and Children.

Enjoying the Welcoming Kenyan People

Hi Everyone.

It's my turn to write a little update. We are at the internet cafe trying every method we know to get our photos onto the blog or our e-mails and have not been successful yet. We (or I should say David and Dane) will keep trying. Things continue to go well for us. We definitely feel your prayers for our health and safety. God has supplied us with a wonderful Kenyan family to live with and our accommodations are very adequate and extremely safe. There are 10 of us around the dinner table each night eating delicious Kenyan food prepared by Helen, our hostess.

Yesterday we helped a young boy who had been 'thugged' the night before while riding his "boda boda" (bicycle taxi) in the dark. The thugs took his money, part of his bike and then knifed him in the leg. We took him to the public hospital where he had stitches and got a prescription. Those are the times when we have opportunities to talk to the people here about God.

Until next time, lots of love to you all.

Nancy