Nikki's trip to the village

Last week Nikki went with several other people from the office to deliver school supplies and uniforms to a kendergarden aged class. She had a wonderful time.

Below are her comments and memories from that day:

One of the first classes that is learning to read and write in Jita. (the local language)

No desk or chair in the front of the class for the teacher

Only a few benches, not enough for all the kids

Delivered uniforms, shoes and school supplies

The ladies received help to carry their things but not Nikki's

Kids were a little scared of them

They talked in Jita not Swahili

Lizard fell from the roof while the items were being presented

it was a 2 hour drive to the school

Showing off their new uniforms

Magesa, Kim, Ronit, Tirzah and Nikki

The class greeted them in unison

On the way home they passed a wedding and there was a cow being butchered. The head was cut off and it was skinned and gutted.

---Nikki

Simbiti Scripture Dedication

all dressed up and ready to go

Sorry it took me so long to post about the simbiti dedication. On November 2 we attended the dedication of the books of Jonah and Luke in the Simbiti language. It was the first 2 books in their heart language. There are now books of the Bible in all languages getting scripture translations at our office.

Clash  of two worlds but he was loving the music

It was a dreary rainy morning and a little cool. It was great that it wasn’t so hot but would have been nice to have sunny weather and have the dedication service outside.

Thhe things on the guys legs is an instrument. It sounded like there was rice inside

It all started with dancing outside the church. It was so much fun watching them dance and play their traditional instruments.

One of two choirs, they love color
 

We then moved inside the church for the 3 hour dedication service with lots of singing and dancing. The kids did great during the service. Because the church was also the school, there were lots of kids in attendance as well.

rejoicing over receiving Luke and Jonah in their language

It was an honor to be a part of this dedication.

Selling books

Reading scripture in their heart language for the first time

The translation team

One of the traslators bought books for these two boys

Nairobi Vacation

During the mid-semester break we took a vacation in Nairobi. On a good day it is a 9 hour drive. I love getting up early and starting our trip before sun up. It is so pretty watching the sun rise and seeing the country side come to life.

The highlights from our trip are a visit to the Giraffe Reserve, a tour of Kazuri bead factory, visiting with friends and for Nikki getting her hair cut.

There is a Giraffe Reserve just outside of Nairobi where you can feed the giraffes. One of the popular methods is putting the food between your lips and then the giraffe will take it. It looks like you are kissing the giraffe. The giraffe tongue is very rough and long.

We saw several Kazuri Jewelry stores in Nairobi and discovered the factory was really close to the giraffe reserve so we took a tour. What a cool place. They make all their beads from clay. They employ around 340 women, mostly single mothers who really need a job. The beads are then used for jewelry. They also make pottery and animals. The kids even loved seeing how it was all made. The jewelry and beads are shipped worldwide. For you Mennonites out there 10,000 Villages sells it in Canada.

We enjoyed our stay at the Mennonite Guesthouse where we got to visit with some friends that know my parents and lived in my home area for several years. We got to know them in July when we stayed at the guesthouse and enjoyed visiting with them again.

Below are pictures of sights from our trip.

 

Meet Coco

It has been a week now since we got a third dog. We had been thinking about getting another dog, one that would grow bigger than the other two and hopefully one not so hyper and a better watch dog. One of the missionary’s dogs had puppies and 3 weeks ago we went to look at them. We picked a female and Nikki instantly fell in love with her.

Coco has spent a lot of time sleeping on Nikki

Last Saturday Keith and Nikki picked her up and brought her home. Nikki loved being able to hold her in the car. We spent all day Saturday holding her and trying to get her used to us.

Within 2 days of her being with us she had proven to be smarter than the other dogs. The other two dogs are Tanzanian mutts. Coco is, actually I’m not sure what she is. Within a day of being her she figured out how to get the doors open so she could come into the house. The other two dogs only tried to get in when the door was open enough for them to squeeze through. She loves playing with sticks and tug of war. Something the other two dogs never had any interest in.

It didn’t take long for her to become comfortable here and show her true personality. She is very playful and loves attention. She will follow us around the yard and she likes to bite at your toes, crocs, flip flops or pants/long skirts. We’re hoping she will grow out of biting.

We love having her around. The kids don’t like how she bites their toes or clothes but we are trying to teach her not to.

We haven’t introduced Coco to the other two dogs yet. They have met through the wood slats of the dog pen but that is it so far. We are going to wait until Coco is much bigger.

Road trip part 2

We enjoyed 2 full days in Nairobi on our return trip home. Day 1 was eye doctor appointments for the kids and getting new lenses. We loved being in malls again. The kids were so excited to see stores and explore the malls. It was our first time at all these places so it was fun to explore.

Coming for their bottle

We enjoyed eating out, having burgers, salads, iced tea(Keith) of course ice cream. We can usually only get vanilla in Musoma so to have cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip and other flavors was wonderful.

Elephants are very social animals

We also went to Nakumatt(Kenya’s equivalent to Wal-Mart). We were able to buy foods we can’t get in Musoma as well as some other stuff that we needed for the house. We all loved being in ‘western’ stores and restaurants again.

Enjoying a drink of water

The second day we went to a baby Elephant orphanage. They get elephants that were orphaned in the wild and take care of them for 3-4 years until the can be released back into the wild again. We got to watch one of the bottle feedings and Luke was able to touch one of them. The really cool thing about this was that last summer we went to the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg with Keith parents. It is a hands-on science museum. We watched an IMAX about an Elephant refuge in Kenya and a Chimpanzee refuge in India. This was the same Elephant refuge we saw at the science Museum. The kids loved seeing it in person after having watched it in a movie in PA.

'I can feed myself'

Road Trip part 1

When we have a long day of travel we get up early to leave so we can reach our destination before dark. And it always seems to take longer than we think it will. I actually like getting on the road before dawn. I enjoy watching the sun come up and seeing Africa wake up. As the sun rises we see people going for water and people off to work with their bicycles loaded down. By 6:30 we see children walking to school dressed in their school uniforms. The country side is so pretty at that time of day.

We enjoyed comparing Kenya and TZ on this trip, since it was our first time in Kenya. We were surprised to see the big fields of corn, wheat and sugar cane. We haven’t seen large fields in TZ yet. These fields weren’t as big as some in the states but they are big enough to need tractors and combines. I was surprised to see all the tractors in Kenya because we see very few in TZ. Yes we even saw a few John Deere tractors and combines.

We spent 2- 10 hour days traveling to the conference location. Our 2^nd day was traveling from Nairobi to Watumu, which is on the coast of Kenya. To get there we have to travel through Mombasa. Mombasa is a big port city so between Nairobi and Mombasa we saw hundreds of trucks. Wished the road was 4 lanes but at least there weren’t as many speed bumps on this portion of the road and fewer pot holes.

Mombasa

When we were on our way to Nairobi after conference we ended the life of a gazelle (or something similar) prematurely when it ran across the road in front of us, so thankful for the cattle guard on our truck. It bent back and made a dent on our truck and we need some new bolts for the cattle guard but that is it. The gazelle didn’t fare as well. We wished we would have gone back and taken a picture of it because now we aren’t exactly sure what it was that we hit. But it was a big deer like animal.

Wheat fields

Parts of Western Kenya has lots of hills

Our Road

Since so many people like seeing our road on an update video I thought I would share with everyone what has happened since then.

I find it ironic and kinda funny that just 2 days after an update video was shown at our home church, which included footage of the road leading to our house, I was stopped by the mama at the end of the road. In my limited Swahili I figured out she was telling us she wants the road to be moved so it doesn’t go past her house. She has several small children so I am thinking that might be part of the reason why. When I got home I said something to our day guard who knows English pretty well to stop and talk to her as he leaves to verify I understood correctly. I then called Keith to let him know the mama might stop him and talk to him on the way home from work. He decided to have the guard meet him there so they could talk about it together.

Sure enough that is what she wants. A meeting was scheduled for the following day (Wednesday) with the various home owners on the road and a city official about what to do. It was decided a new road would be built in August during the dry season and that a another meeting was going to held on Thursday about building a temporary road now so that we have a way to get to our house in case someone decides to block the road. We have discovered that if someone isn’t happy about the traffic on the road they may decide to block the road with plants or large rocks. So when I was told about the temporary and the reason I had to hold back a laugh.

Soon after we started doing maintenance work on our house we arrived one morning to plants across the road. Our vehicle had no problem going over the plants and our land lord talked to the neighbors and got things straightened out.

The Thursday meeting about the temporary road was held but now two weeks later nothing has been started. So we will see what happens. There are now some ladies making bricks and laying them out to dry at the site of the permanent road to be.

We had the opportunity to go to a lodge at the edge of the Serengeti 2 weeks ago. It was wonderful to be in the midst of God’s creation and away from town for a while. We were able to see zebra, baboons, impala as well as many birds. Keith enjoyed the drive from the main road to the lodge. It was 18 km and took us about an hour to drive it because of all the pools of water on the road. Check out our pictures below.

Saturday Fun

This morning we went for a hike up a hill of rocks. There are lots of these in Musoma. Lyndy one of the kids’ teachers joined us for the hike, she knew how to climb it and we didn’t. She was a great tour guide. At the top we had an awesome view of Musoma and Lake Victoria.

Luke, Lyndy and Nikki

In the afternoon we hung out with two ladies that were with us at language school. Luke enjoyed having someone else to play Wii with.

Then we went to visit the kids at a local orphanage. They are babies up to age 2. They are a little shy but after a while warm up to us.

Some like to play ball but I don’t think they have a chance to do it much. It also seems like they aren’t used horsing around like what we did with our kids, although Keith found Angel who likes to be turned upside down. They usually enjoy a snack of fruit while we are there. It is clear they are well taken care of and loved at this orphanage. Once they are 1-2 they return to the village where they came from and a family member will care for them.

Lots of rocks everywhere



It's so heavy

They are so precious but it is hard to get them to smile

Who's in your corner?

I have had a bad couple weeks and to be honest was upset with God for calling us to TZ. I was struggling with everything that goes along with moving to and adjusting to a new culture. Then I found this last week or maybe I should say it found me. I’ve been reading ‘Grace for the Moment Daily Bible’ by Max Lucado. Below is an excerpt from an entry last week. Hopefully this will be of help to others that are struggling with something or going through a rough time. Unfortunately the praying and waiting can be so tough when you want answers yesterday. But we have God fighting for us. Who else would we want in our corner?

God, Our defender

He is my defender, I will not be defeated. Ps 62:6

Here is a big question. What is God doing when you are in a bind? When the lifeboat springs a leak? When the rip cord snaps? When the last penny is gone before the last bill is paid?...

I know what we are doing. Nibbling on nails like corn on the cob. Pacing floors. Taking pills…

But what does God do?...

He fights for us. He steps into the ring and points us to our corner and takes over. “Remain calm; the Lord will fight for you” Ex. 14:14

His job is to fight. Our job is to trust.

Just trust. Not direct. Or question… Our job is to pray and wait.

From When God Whispers Your Name

--Max Lucado

We like to call our friends or family before going to God. But they can’t help us like God can. And I did email some friends and vent to them. Their words were encouraging but when I read this and realized God is fighting for me that was better than anything a friend could do or say.

Hand washing vs. machine

I’m beginning to think hand washing our clothes would be a lot simpler. I thought buying a washing machine in Dar before arriving in Musoma was a good thing. We didn’t get a big one. I figured we would do lots of smaller loads. When talking with other moms it was pointed out to me that you don’t know what the water pressure will be like and if it isn’t good it will take a long time for the washer to fill.

There is this very small filter in the washer where the water hose connects to the machine. I have no idea if all machines have this. Having come from America where the water is clean, I wasn’t aware of this filter.

Our water comes from Lake Victoria and I have no idea if there is any filtering system it goes through before reaching our house. We have two filters the water goes through before entering the house so we thought that would be enough for the washer. Well it appears it is not. The tiny filter I mentioned earlier gets dirty very quickly and when it is dirty there is not much water that enters the washer. When this happens I bring in a bucket of water that has been filtered through our sand filter (I explain this more later) and dump it into the washer. If I don’t do this the wash cycle could take up to 3 hours to do or it will stop all together as the water coming into the washer stops because the filter is so dirty.

So until we come up with a solution which might be putting a filter on the water line coming into the washer I must clean this tiny filter before every wash and at times dump in water to fill the washer faster.

The sand filter I mentioned is what we run all the water through that we plan on using to drink or cook with. After the water goes through the sand filter we put the water through another filter to kill any remaining bacteria.

I’m not complaining, I just wanted to share a piece of my life right now. But yes I have started to think hand washing our clothes would be easier. I have done some hand washing and it really isn’t bad. I just have a hard time ringing the water out of the heavier items.



School with Laura Billingham at Language school

The kids didn’t start school till mid-September after arriving in Iringa for Language School. They were taught by our friend Laura Billingham through mid-December when she had to return home. Then they were taught by me (Chris) until our training started in January. They had a 4 week break while we were at training and traveled to Musoma. Mid-February they started school in Musoma with other missionary kids.

Luke and Nikki's school in PA

Up until this year the kids went to a public school and had 20+ kids in their class. To say this year has been an adjustment is an understatement. For the most part they have done really well. The roughest time was probably when I was teaching them. J

Luke and Nikki's desks

They are in a class of three, Luke, Nikki and another gal that is also Nikki’s age. There is also a class of younger kids that meets in another room with the second teacher. The like art and the Africa study they are doing every afternoon.

Friday's class

They have school from 8:30-3:00 every day except Friday. On Friday school is over at 12:30. Friday is also a special day because other missionary kids in the area that are homeschooled join our kids for a Bible class, art class and Phys. Ed. They have Chai 10:30-11 every day and lunch from 1-2. Chai is a snack break and the adults have tea (chai).

The school building

One thing we were pleasantly surprised about is that they both are taking piano lessons. The one teacher knows piano and is borrowing a keyboard from another family. The last year we were in PA Nikki kept asking to play the piano. Both Luke and Nikki are doing well and liking it.

Miss Lyndy teaches Science, Social Studies and Preschool

Miss Shelley teaches Math, Reading, Spelling, Grammar and piano

Luke has been able to meet other boys his age on Fridays when the other kids join. We are looking forward to another boy returning from the states this summer and then in December we are excited about two families coming that have older kids as well. We are excited to see that the school is really going to grow over the next year.

Moving, birthdays and a new normal

Monday March 12 we moved into our house. It feels so good to be in our own place and unpack our things. It has been wonderful to be able to stay in others homes during this time of transition but we are happy to be in our own place using our own things.

Love the site of empty totes

The unpacking went well. Part of what helped is that we are renting a furnished home so we didn’t have to go buy the dining room table or living room furniture. That was a huge blessing. I spent Tuesday unpacking and then Wednesday baking for Luke’s birthday. Thursday was spent in town doing some shopping for things needed for the house and Friday was spent getting ready for Luke’s birthday party on Saturday.

Our home

Luke had a lot of fun at his party. We played a couple games and then the kids just had fun playing together. We also invited his teachers and some gals that were with us at language school. It was fun being together celebrating Luke.

Luke is now 11 years old

Keith started working on Monday,  the 19th so we will hopefully be getting into a ‘normal’ routine with work and school. His week has gone well so far. There is lots to do and lots to learn.

The kids are doing well in school. They love Fridays the best, maybe because school is over at 12:30. This is also the day other homeschoolers in the area join our kids for art, a Bible lesson and PE type activities. They love having the other kids join them. I am hoping to take pictures of the kids next week at school so you can see what their school is like.

The kids are having fun with the puppies and it is fun having them around. This is our first experience with dogs so we are learning lots. Right now they like to nip at us. So we are trying to get them to stop.

So far this week he has chewed my flip flop
and pulled clothes off the clothes line