Hello from Kenya! I've decided to post up the updates I've been sending via email. So, I'll list them all with the date and end with the one from today. :Sound good? Yes, I thought so. ;)
June 7, 2012
Thank you for all your prayers this week! Our
entire team made it to Nairobi, Kenya around 8:30 last night and were
extremely excited to sleep in beds instead of sitting in a plane. ;) We
had no delays with any of our flights and had some good times even
though towards the end we were all pretty exhausted. I found out that I
do not do well with having to sleep on a plane and so ended up going
over 40 hours with just a few 10 minute naps. That wasn't very fun, but I
was able to get 7 hours of sleep last night and it felt so good! :)
Ok, so I really have no clue where to start with everything and I
don't have the internet for very long, so I'm going to try and make it
pretty brief. Our pre-departure orientation went really well and I met
some amazing people. We were kept busy throughout the day, but the
evenings we spent playing games and just getting to know each other
better. I had an awesome time, but none of us slept very much that week
which made our long flight that much worse. Even despite the lack of
sleep and feeling exhausted, I am so thankful that God brought us all
here safely and for all our answered prayers. :)
Today we went around Nairobi and it has been amazing to see
everything! It's so different from the US, but it's been great! lol,
actually the driving isn't so great. You really have to be a very
aggressive driver and do a lot of praying! We nearly got hit multiple
times and made me realize that it would take me ages to learn to drive
in this city. ;) We were told that just driving around Nairobi can make
you tired as it creates a lot of stress.
Our host missionary family have been awesome! We stayed up till
almost two in the morning just getting to know each other better. Oh,
and eating food. ;) We've eaten so much food this week! I guess it's in
preparation for what's to come though. Shelby and I will be making all
our food and we only have a stove top. No oven, so kinda limited on what
we can make. I'm really looking forward to it though. I think that
means I'm still in the "romantic stage" of culture shock. ;)
Ok, so best part of the day was when we went to the grocery store.
The stores here are different and sometimes they have some pretty weird
wording on the items. We spent nearly two hours in that store and were
laughing so hard we were crying. I have some pretty good pictures that i
took, but those will have to wait till the end of summer. ;) Not sure
if we were laughing so hard because of lack of sleep, but we got a huge
kick out of "Knobbly sticks of corn", which were actually just cheetos.
And they also sell "human food", which set us all to laughing again. I'm
sure you're thinking that it's really not that funny, but if you
could've seen it, you would've laughed too. :)
We have picked up on some Swahili and have been practicing on each
other. Shelby (the other intern who will be living with me) and I will
be speaking Maa and not Swahili, but it's still been fun learning it
anyway. Tomorrow we're leaving Nairobi and will be headed into the bush
(sorry, it's a long name and I can't remember it) and will spend a
little over a week learning the Maasai culture and language. We'll then
come back to Nairobi and then head to an area by Narok where we will
spend the next six weeks working in the clinic.
So, be praying for safe travels as all four of us, Shelby, Branden,
Caleb and I, will be headed out to the bush (Branden and Caleb will be
in north Kenya in the Turkana area), and be praying that we adjust well
to the culture. It has already been quite the adventure and I'm really
looking forward to all that God has planned next! :) We serve such an
amazing God and I'm so humbled that He has given me this chance to serve
in Maasai. :)
Sorry this is so rushed, but it's after 11 here and the others need
to use the internet. I love you all! And thank you again for praying!
June 17, 2012
Well, I have successfully survived my first week in the bush! ;) Friday
night, the Cazier's (our host family) came and picked us up and brought
us back to Nairobi to spend a few days before we head to Ewaso Ngiro on
Monday morning. It's so weird to be back in the city where there's white
people, running water, and a bathroom in the house! It makes me realize
how very privileged we are. I told Shelby that I felt rich being back
in Nairobi. ;)
It's hard knowing where to start, but I suppose it's best to start
at the beginning. ;) Last Friday, the Cazier's took us to Ngatataek
where we spent the entire week learning language and culture. Our place
was very tiny and would be considered like a small bedroom for most
people. In it we had our kitchen, our table, fridge, and there were two
bunk beds. Yes, we were very much crammed in there. I do have pictures,
but you probably won't see them till after I get home in August since I
have no way of getting them on the computer. There was no plumbing, so
we got used to washing dishes in buckets, taking "bucket showers"
(that's what I call them), and washing our clothes in buckets. If you
haven't caught on to it yet, we use a lot of buckets in the bush. ;) We
did have electricity and that was the one normal thing we had.
On Saturday (last weekend), we went to Minton with Paul and Rose.
Paul is a pastor there and they were gracious enough to let us stay the
weekend in their home. Minton is 40 kilometers from Ngatataek and it
took us 2 hours to get
there. That gives you an idea of how terrible the roads were. They
didn't have plumbing (not surprising since we were in the bush), but
they didn't have electricity either. Lets just say, it was really dark
in the evenings. ;) I really have no clue what my dinner looked like
that night except that it tasted really good! It was cabbage (tasted way
better than any cabbage I've ever eaten) and chapatis...for those
wondering if it was something weird. ;-)
Oh, and I milked my first goat, sheep and cow that evening! And I got
laughed at a ton. ;) I really wasn't that great at it, but at least I
tried. :)
Sunday we went to church and that was definitely
different. A lot of singing, dancing and a sermon that was yelled. It
was a good experience even though I didn't understand really any of it.
:)
Most of our mornings were spent learning the Maasai langauge with
three of the woman there. They taught us quite a bit about the culture
and also how things are done....they also laughed at us a lot. We
learned to hand wash our own laundry, cleaned one of their houses, went
to the market to buy food, cooked over a fire, etc. The list could
seriously keep going on but I'm now drawing a blank and don't want to
bore everyone to death. ;)
Oh, driving back to Nairobi on Friday night, i saw my first zebra!
Yep, it was lying dead in the middle of the road. I had to laugh though,
because back in the States it's usually a deer you see along the side
of the road, not a zebra. :) I've been told I'll see a lot of zebras so
at least I should see some live ones! ;-)
Interesting fact about the people who live in the bush: they have
cell phones and use them ALL the time!!! It seriously cracked me up to
see these woman cooking their meals over a fire and then to have them
talking on their phone. That was something I was not expecting to see.
;)
We got to hang out with the school kids a couple times and those
were the best times. They loved to have their picture taken and would
scramble around us trying to see their picture. They also loved to play
with our hair and touch our "soft" skin. It was awesome and I loved
every minute I got to spend with the kids. I had several that would grab
my arm and say, "You are my friend." We didn't get to spend as much
time with the kids as I would've liked, but I'm glad for the little bit
we did have with them. :)
Thursday, we went to the medical clinic in Kumpa and that was quite
the experience! It was their vaccination day so mother's brought their
babies in to receive their immunizations. That's the first time I've
done something without training. I watched the doctor give several shots
before I tried it and I guess I did all right because they didn't tell
me to stop. ;) Thankfully, it's not really that hard to do and so I
wasn't too worried about it. I'm sure we'll be doing more of this once
we start working in the clinic at Ewaso Ngiro.
The scenery was absolutely gorgeous in Ngatataek! We were surrounded
by mountains and so I felt like i was living in Colorado. ;) I told
Shelby several times this week that i could get used to waking up every
morning and seeing the mountains. Unfortunately, Ewaso Ngiro will not
have mountains and so I'm a little disappointed. Our living conditions
will be nicer though as we will have a duplex instead of a one bedroom
house. Oh, we'll have an oven which means we'll be able to bake! ;-)
I would ask that you all pray for my teammate, Shelby. She has been
sick since Wednesday and we think it's probably giardia. She's on
medication for it now and we're hoping and praying she starts feeling
better. She was up during the night vomiting and so we're not sure if
she may have picked up something else along with the giardia. So, be
praying she improves and that we stay healthy for the next six weeks
while we're in Ewaso Ngiro.
Thank you all for keeping me in your prayers! I have been enjoying
my time here and I'm so thankful for all that God has done. Time moves
very slowly here and that has been the most difficult thing for me so
far. I'm used to a very fast-paced life where I always have something to
do and so this is very different. I'm trying to adjust to it though and
I am enjoying learning so many new things. :)
I was given a Maasai name (Naserian) while in Ngatataek which means
"blessed one". I think it fits very well, because God has blessed me
with so much. We serve one amazing God. :)
I miss everyone so much and it's been great to get emails from some of
you! Even though I can't always reply, it makes me so happy to read
them. :)
Sorry for such a long email. I hope you all enjoyed reading my ramblings and that you didn't fall asleep. ;)
Thanks again for all your prayers! =)
June 23, 2012
Thanks for the replies! I enjoyed reading each one of them. :) Thank you
also the prayers for Shelby. She started feeling a little better on
Monday and is now completely back to normal.
The Cazier's
brought us to Ewaso Ngiro on Monday afternoon and then stayed with us
till Wednesday. We've worked in the clinic several days this week, but
it's been slow and so we've been done by early afternoon. Wednesday is
the well baby clinic and so we stayed very busy from 10 to 4:30 with
mother's bringing in their babies to be immunized. We saw a lot of young
mothers and a few were as young as 14. That's been really weird to see
as they're still kids themselves and yet now they're mothers.
We've been able to work in the pharmacy, the lab, and then seeing
patients. Things are done very different here, but they have a good
system down that seems to work very well for them. We were given lab
coats to wear, so we feel very important even though we're not really.
;) We're hoping to come to the hospital in Narok so we can see how
things are done in a more hospital setting and to maybe see some babies
born. :)
Our evenings are still slow and long, but we've tried to keep
ourselves busy by cooking, reading, doing puzzles, etc. It gets dark by
7, so we're stuck indoors all evening long. We've had some good times
though and have been making lots of messes in our kitchen. ;) Which
kinda stinks because then we spend an hour trying to wash all the
dishes. Some of you were worried I would lose weight while here, but I
have a feeling I'll be gaining weight. ;) So far, I've liked all the
Kenyan food I've eaten (well, I didn't care for goat meat that much) and
then I of course love anything American.... and I've eaten plenty of
desserts! Since Shelby and I will have so much time in the evenings,
we'll probably be doing lots of baking. ;) We did go running yesterday
and today to try and make up for it though. ;) We actually didn't run
very much yesterday as all the kids were getting out of school and
proceeded to surround us, each one fighting over who was going to hold
our hands. :)
The temperature here has been awesome, if even on the cool side of
things. Because it's winter here, it's been about 60's most days and
very cloudy. Yesterday the sun came out and it was probably 70's;
definitely need more of those days! :) I'm not really a huge fan of
cloudy weeks.... I much prefer the sun. :) Nights are pretty cool and so
we're usually wearing sweat pants and hoodies by evening.
It's more flat here than in Ngatataek, but it's still pretty. If you
ever come to Kenya you definitely have to drive from Nairobi to Narok as
the scenery is simply gorgeous. :)
Shelby and I are spending the
day in Narok because it is the only way we can get on the internet.
This is the first time we've gone out into the town without someone
along with us. So far we've done pretty good and haven't run into any
trouble. :-) Oh, and we've seen 5 mzunga's (white people) so far today!
It was pretty funny when we were getting out of the matatu (taxi/bus)
and I said, "Shelby, look at the white guy!" Then we laughed at how
excited we got over seeing white people. :)
We woke up this morning to no electricity, so we're hoping it's on
by the time we get back. It makes cooking and washing dishes difficult
when you don't have hot water. Oh, and it's always nice to have a hot
bucket shower. ;)
Our duplex is very nice compared to where we were at. It's a cement
building so it stays very cold, but it has a kitchen, living room, and
two bedrooms, and a bathroom...only the toilet doesn't work because
there's no plumbing in the house. We don't have to use a squatty potty
anymore though (unless we're in town) because our outhouse is made so
you can sit instead of squatting. :) lol, not that you all probably
really cared, but now you know! ;)
Well, that's all I can think of to say at the moment....my brain is
fried and so is this internet, I think. It really has been terrible. ;)
I can't begin to say how thankful I am for all your prayers. It's been a great adventure so far. :)
June 30, 2012
Well, another week has gone by and I can't believe that there's only 28
days left until our missionary family come pick us up for the safari. I
already know I'm going to hate leaving here. Shelby and I have started
spending our afternoons with the kids when they walk home from school
and we have already started to become attached to them. Even though we
don't speak Maasai or Swahili, the kids speak enough English that we're
able to communicate with them a little. And boy do they wear us out! ;)
Walking with the kids means that we run, we dance, we sing, we take
pictures, and we do a lot of laughing. It usually takes us a couple
hours to walk with the kids and it's something that we look forward to
every day. :) Yesterday, we watched a soccer game and were soon
surrounded by young boys (ages ranging from 10-16 yrs) who all wanted to
take pictures and have their picture taken. I wish I were able to send
out the pictures that they took, because they would seriously crack you
up. :) I was laughing and smiling so much that my face hurt! =)
Work at the clinic has been pretty busy this week. Monday we were
able to see a couple guys who had been attacked by a lion. It had
happened a week ago and so they were mostly healed up (really wasn't
gruesome at all and I was kinda disappointed), but one guy's leg was
pretty swollen and infected. They did tell me they had killed the lion,
when I asked. :) It takes about five guys to kill one, so apparently, it
isn't very easy.
Then on Thursday, we saw a patient who was so skinny that we were able
to see her intestines. I'm not even joking. It was the weirdest,
coolest, saddest thing ever.
We're allowed to do quite a bit at the
clinic, from performing patient assessments to writing up prescriptions
and giving injections. They don't do a lot of IV's here, so I haven't
been able to do any yet, but I'm hoping I'll be able to at some point.
:) I've given a ton of "in the butt" injections and would be okay if I
didn't have to do anymore of those. ;-)
Wednesday was the well baby clinic and Shelby and I were left on our own
to do it. Surprisingly enough we did pretty well and didn't mind at
all. :) It is kinda sad that the babies all come in smiling at us and
then leave screaming. They probably hate mzungu's now. ;-)
Have I mentioned that Kenyan's drink a lot of tea (it's called chai
here)? Because they do. They usually have chai twice a day, morning and
evening. It's mainly milk, so it tastes pretty good and even after
having it every day, I'm not sick of it yet. ;) Actually, I'm really
going to miss the chai and food here a lot when I leave. Shelby and I
have tried to cook the food here, but so far we've failed. lol, we're
determined to keep working at it though and hopefully I can make some
real Kenyan food for my family when I get home. Haha, be prepared guys.
;-)
My dad asked if we had seen any exotic animals and so far all we've
seen have been: zebras (alive ones!;-), baboons, wildebeests (really
ugly creatures), and gazelles. I'm sure once we go on our safari at the
end of the summer we'll see a lot more cool animals. And hopefully they
get up close to the vehicle so I can get some good pictures since I
didn't bring my telephoto lens. :)
I am constantly amazed at how many people they manage to fit into
one vehicle here. Last weekend, when Shelby and I took a taxi back to
Ewaso Ngiro, they managed to fit 11 of us in. We were crammed in pretty
tight and I couldn't help but smile while we were driving because this
would never happen back in the States. I wish I had gotten a picture
because it would've been pretty comical. :) Coming back from a mobile
clinic, they managed to cram 13 of us in a land cruiser. It's crazy, but
I think it's funny. :)
Be praying that we stay healthy for the rest of our time here.
Shelby has had a hard time with staying healthy and now has strep
throat. Thankfully, since we work at a medical clinic, she was able to
get on antibiotics right away and seems to be feeling better now. :)
Feel free to write and ask any questions you have and I'll do my best to answer them when I send out an update. :)
