elephants! giraffes! oh my!

Have you ever stood taller than a giraffe and admired his eyelashes?? You can in Nairobi! My former housemate from FL, Michelle, led a team to work with us in Kenya. Her team worked with one of our schools in Nchaishi and had way too much fun with the kids and AH staff. They were a great group! At the end of their trip I was able to accompany them to a few fun places in Nairobi where you can get up close and personal to some of Kenya's wildlife.

Mmmm!

You can feed them from your hand...

or even get a little smooch!

This is Michelle :)

The elephant orphanage. Little guys marching down to meet the visitors. Stay in line!

Tiny

Lots of these orphaned elephants have lost their parents due to poaching or the drought. They are brought to the orphanage and slowly prepared to send back to the wild.

THE CARNIVORE

And a good time was had by all :)

Lasts

I learned in training before moving to Kenya that saying good goodbyes makes for good hellos... During my last days in Kenya I was able to spend time with some really special friends.

Visiting my co-worker's rural home. After a big meal and chai they sent me home with gifts--the leso, or sheet wrapped around me, plus beautiful beaded jewelry. My Maasai friends are so generous.

A picture with the whole family

Dusty & Moses lookin' tough

Nampaso and his nephew

The morning I left Narok for the last time (so I thought--my friend had a baby the day before I flew out, so I drove back to Narok, held the baby and then dashed back to Nairobi! More on that in the future post about Davin) I was hurriedly packing last minute things and rushing around. I'd said most of my goodbyes already and was trying to think of everything I needed to do before I left my apartment and Narok for the final time. I've got a million things on my mind... and then... there was a knock at the door...

My friends came to say goodbye! Isaac, Joseph and Moses stopped by to see me off. After I was able to pause my thoughts about what I needed to be doing I was able to sit down for a few minutes with them. In the midst of my packing stress, God helped me to consider what a blessing it was to be loved by my Kenyan friends. People are so important to Kenyans. I have learned a lot about that from them.

Saying goodbye to Sue, my coworker and friend, and handing over my apartment keys for the last time.

As I drove out of Narok that day I said goodbye to things all along the way. I said goodbye to my little apartment and the home I'd made there, to AH and all the people that I'd worked so closely with, to the dusty little town with it's crazy traffic and all the little shops that sold what I needed, the cows on the side of the road, the herd of giraffe that I always looked for on the way to Nairobi, the scary drop-off on the steep escarpment. I thought about all of the happy memories I'd made during my time in Kenya and all of the hard times God had brought me through. I remembered the days when I thought I'd never make it another minute and I thanked God that He'd brought me through it all. I repented for at times wishing away the season that was now coming to a close.

I'm realizing more and more how faithful God is. It's one of those things that I know... in my head. But I'm really starting to realize that it's true. He rescues us. He's there for us. He orchestrates everything and He draws us near in every season. He knows what we can handle. What a privilege to be known by God (He knows when I sit and when I rise. He knows my thoughts from afar. He knows my words before they are on my lips. Ps 139) and to know Him.

The wife of one of my co-workers invited me over for pizza the day before I left. Pizza isn't a common food outside of Nairobi (a lot of my rural friends hadn't even heard of cheese) but Irene had worked with another missionary family and she was a pro at homemade bread, cinnamon rolls and pizza. All of us Americans were very thankful for her skills! This is her son.

There was one couple that I really connected with during my time in Kenya. I took photos for their wedding just after arriving in 2008. From then on our relationship grew and they became my close friends. We laughed together, fasted together, prayed together, and even had disagreements at times, but the Lord used it all to strengthen our friendship. They were neighbors so I would often go to their house in the evenings. This was our last dinner together.

Kenyan men don't often cook...

Look who is in the kitchen!

Richard cooking up a storm

The yummy result: chapati & cabbage

Eva--just days before having the baby we'd been praying for

The men of the house

I left Narok 3 days before my flight out of Kenya. I wanted to have a little room to breathe and not feel like I was running out of the country. I went to the doctor to see if I had any visitors in my system--I didn't want to take anything with me :) And good thing I checked, because the doctor said I had a cousin to an amoeba or something... whatever that means. I also wanted to say goodbye to my Nairobi friends. I'd built many friendships with people during my frequent trips to the city. Most of them were fellow ex-pats I'd bonded with while we all tried to figure out life so far from home.

My sweet little friends

Dinner out at one of our favorites--Habesha--an Ethiopian restaurant. Friends from the US, Kenya, Canada and England

Lorna and Tim came to Nairobi to see me off

A night out with the girls

Homecoming

This is the road on the mountain up to the caves. My friends/co-workers Steve and Jackson show how deep this rut is. I'll miss adventures on an everyday basis. And I also won't miss adventures on an everyday basis!! I drove up this road in the light and in the dark.

The last time I went to the caves I was praying about some specific things... and God gave me some specific answers. It's hard to explain, but sometimes you just feel when something is right, no matter how hard it is. After 2 years of living in Kenya, it's time for me to go home.

There's all kinds of emotions going on as I transition out of life here.

Joy to see my family and friends that I haven't seen in 2 years! I can't wait to be reintroduced to my niece and nephew and meet all the new babies that have been born since I've been away! I haven't been back to the US since I moved here in 2008.

Relief to be back in my home culture amidst familiar; though I know lots has changed since I've been away. I'm ready for smooth roads, traffic lights, coffee shops and holidays with family.

Excitement as I think about all the possibilities that lie ahead.

Loss of the life I know here. I've spent the past 2 years building relationships and figuring out how life works in Narok and in Masailand. I was just beginning to feel like I was understanding and overall comfortable with the rhythm of life. I just might be over my fear of rats and sleeping in a mud hut. I'm finally comfortable speaking Kiswahili... enough to communicate what I need to anyway... and learning some Kimaasai. The little things weren't stressing me as much. I have a routine and real friends.

Sadness to leave people that I love, people that I've grown really close to. I'm sad that I won't be here for friends who are on their way to be part of the AH team. I'm sad to leave my house that I've settled into and the routine I've found.

My friend Eva (right) and her husband Richard welcome a baby boy in early July. They are some of my closest friends here. If the baby was a girl, she would have been named after me! They gave me the honor of helping choose the baby's name. Davin Metian arrives just weeks after I leave Kenya. Jamie (middle) is also a great friend that I'll miss!

Grief as I mourn the losses. Not being able to meet my friends' baby that I have been praying for since before it was conceived. Saying goodbye to the teachers and students that I've come to know (the ones that scream my name as I drive up to the school). Saying goodbye and not knowing if I'll ever get to say hello again.

Disappointment to leave such a beautiful and exciting place. I won't be able to search for the herd of giraffe on the way to Nairobi; or see zebra, ostrich or wildebeest on the way out to the bush.

What I do know is that God has a plan and holds the future and especially the present. That's what brings me hope and gets me through the emotions, the packing, the goodbyes and all of the unknowns.

Here are a few pictures of recent adventures

Isn't he beautiful?! Our tour agent has become a good friend after working together to plan all the logistics for our short-term visitors. He invited me and some friends for a complimentary weekend in the Mara for my "going away." 8 lions, 4 cheetahs, and a rogue trumpeting/chasing elephant bull were some of the highlights!

And this cobra was also a highlight! Nothing gets a Maasai jumping like an on-coming cobra!

One of the surprising things about living with the Maasai is learning about their connection and understanding of wildlife. My friends tell me about the behavior of lions and how they can sense if you are scared and how to escape the attack of an elephant (get out of his line of smell). Personally I'm scared of a lion or cheetah attack but to me elephants seem gentle and snakes seem small. To a Maasai a lion is predictable and fightable. An elephant and buffalo aren't to be messed with because they are huge and fierce. One bite from a snake and your life is over. Their life and existence depends on their co-existence with wildlife. Amazing.

At one of my favorite schools they had this lion mane hat for one of their dance competitions--of course I had to try it on!

Chasing ostrich. I later learned that they are indeed one of the fastest land animals. I, myself, am not :)

My experience here has been rich. I've learned more about the abundant life--both the depths of suffering and poverty and the heights of beauty and the friendship of God. I couldn't ask for more.

Fasting: Part 2

So, I went where no other mzungu (white person) has gone. We climbed the mountain... in my car... prepared with sleeping bags and a big container of water we fetched along the way. From ground level you descend into the mouth of the cave. This particular mountain is still an active volcano and where people fast and pray is only one set of caves among about 8. Each cave is known for something different--some have monkeys, others have bats, this one is for prayer. The caves are a tourist attraction, so much so that when the guide for the tourists saw a white person among the Kenyans there he wanted to charge me a tourist fee!

There is a schedule and understood rules for your time at the caves--no food, only water (juice is ok--some even go without water), no showering (there's no water, so that's not really an option anyway). This is the main area with a campfire for fellowship and Bible study. We also slept here. I learned a lot of Maasai and Swahili trying to figure out the stories as they sat talking around the fire.

In the morning, evening and 3am you climb down into the "power room"! Inside is a big room where people pray. I wasn't thrilled with the 3am wake-up call, but when everyone is going, you go with the flow.

The place is huge. It's not just one cave, but a series of caves. You can walk underground for a long time. The main prayer area is a place called "long journey". You walk underground for about 30 minutes, crossing a dried up riverbed--maybe a lava riverbed. At one point the air goes from cool and crisp to dry and humid... You continue walking until you reach an area where you have to lay down and shimmy in to fit! The second time I went, we laid there for 5 hours of praying and singing!

My friend Eva and I encouraged one another. It was wonderful to have another woman there. All we'd have to say to each other was, "are you hungry?" "yeah, I'm hungry." And after we'd acknowledge it, we'd be fine.

I feel blessed that I got to go to the caves, not once, but twice. I really feel like God has answered my prayers and I believe He'll continue.

Fasting: Part 1

At the top of Mt. Suswa looking toward Mt. Longonot (on the left) in the beautiful Rift Valley

This post is from last October of last year when I had just returned from the caves for the first time. I started the post but didn't get around to publishing it. Since this time I've had the chance to return and also to reflect a little more on the experiences.
This past weekend I embarked on one of the most intimidating, scary and challenging spiritual disciplines for me: fasting. This experience was one of the memories I'll forever have with me from living with the Maasai. I had the privilege of being the first mzungu (white person) that we know of, to enter this holy place. We climbed up a mountain and entered caves... a place of prayer and fasting.

I feel like for several years I've been on this journey of wrestling with the idea of fasting; recognizing some potential benefit, but being too intimidated to actually dive into it fully. Maybe it was my spiritual immaturity but fasting was something that I did in the past mainly because I thought it was what I should do, perhaps it would help me connect with God. I really wanted to be obedient and seek God. I'm not completely sure my motivation was what it should have been, but I'd do it, only for a meal or maybe a day. At different times it seemed like God was asking me to fast, but I wasn't sure.

I was talking with a British friend not too long ago and she commented that when she had considered fasting, shortly after arriving in Kenya, she felt the Lord showed her that missionary life in so many ways is already like a fast. I deeply related to that thought. When I was growing up it was normal during Lent to give up something for that season in anticipation for the freedom of Easter. I'd give up chocolate or soda or something that I really enjoyed. It would be something that my youth group friends and I would do together. Fasting a lot of times is to abstain from food, but I suppose you can fast from a lot of things to help you focus on something else. Or maybe you give up something like TV to make time for something you want more time for. As a new missionary I don't know if you are mentally aware of it, but you deeply feel the reality of being away from your family and friends, you've given up your favorite foods, places to eat, your church and that fellowship. Most of the normal things you run to for comfort aren't really around. Because of all that has been removed you feel a similar heightened awareness to all that is happening around you and even to God--a similar feeling to the one you get while you are fasting.

In the past I've experienced fasting as such a lonely discipline. Even when I'd done it at a retreat with others also fasting we were instructed to be by ourselves. Other times I would fast alone and feel separated from others at meal times.

Jesus says in Matthew, 

"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you." 

So, I read this as saying, "Don't let people know you are fasting! Don't tell anyone, just do it by yourself in secret." After my experience with these Maasai Christians, I see a different aspect of fasting. I see a really beautiful new aspect of fellowship and joy in fasting. I read the passage from Matthew now to say that you shouldn't fast for the sake of showing others your sacrifice or to have others see how holy you are, rather, it's about connecting with God, worshiping Him and trusting Him to be enough. I'm seeing aspects of how much my individualistic culture influences how I read scripture. While fasting can be an individual discipline, it's also something that can be done in community. 

I have been studying the book of Esther and at the point of the story where she is contemplating whether to approach the King to appeal for the lives of her people at the risk of her life (approaching the King uninvited could mean death for her), she tells her uncle Mordecai to have all the Jews fast with her for 3 days and nights and she and her maidservants would also be fasting. They fasted together! It wasn't something Esther had to do alone, though approaching the King was something only she could do, she prepared herself for approaching the King with others. What? She didn't have to face that or prepare for it alone?! Fasting together was appealing to me, it just seemed right.

I began to ask God to give me people to fast with. 

My Muslim friends just finished their month of fasting, Ramadhan. They don't eat during daylight hours but many evenings I'd join them for dinner to break the fast with them after the sun went down. I was challenged by their discipline and faith during their "holy month." They seem to have a lot of unity in their faith as Muslim believers all over the world fasted together and gathered for prayer. I know that as Christians, we can approach our Father and know He hears our prayers anytime of the day, not just during a holy month, but seeing their discipline challenged my faith. I wondered, Is the church willing to sacrifice and go without in order to seek God? Am I willing? Continued...

My friend Rose braided my hair in preparation for the days ahead without showering

Descending into the caves... Let the adventure begin!

100th Post =) Jackson's Story

Nchaishi village is located next to one of Kenya’s main tourist areas, the Maasai Mara. This is Jackson’s story.

“When I would go to the villages I would say, you must welcome visitors! But the village people said, ‘we had white visitors stop by [on the way to the Mara] and they wanted to enter our homes. We told them no one was coming through our gate unless they paid us 500 shillings ($7) per person.’

People of Nchaishi milking goats

But, I told them, like it says in Hebrews 13:2: Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Don’t look at what color they are or who they are, if they are black or white, rich or poor, you should welcome visitors, you never know who God is bringing to you."

"A few weeks ago after the team from Michigan came and they had welcomed them into their homes, I asked these same villagers, ‘what do you think now that you have welcomed visitors? Have they not been angels sent by God? Twenty students who had no shoes or school uniform now have them. They have brought you a place to get clean water. At least 4 orphans have full-scholarships! You have entertained angels!"

Nchaishi students: They enjoy me trying to speak Swahili and Maasai

"Now when I mention visitors the people have smiles on their faces.”

'The Angels' trying to hide from the hot sun (you might argue, who wouldn't smile when your visitors look like this?!)

The new well site

Only a few more weeks before the well is ready for the people of Nchaishi to fetch clean water. This well reduces the distance for a clean water source for this community from 7 km to just over 1 km.