It's going to be hard to condense and explain our time in Kawai as it was very interesting. Ole Salepu's place consisted of 2 houses and a couple of smaller buildings and fenced-in areas for the cattle and goats. One of the fences had a dent in it - an elephant had tried to ram through it recently! Yikes! Norakadau, Salepu's wife, has a house for herself. She was cooking over an open fire inside. The only light inside was from the fire and a small flame lamp. She was making rice and a potato/tomato/onion mixture as well as hot milk for the chai later. She would put a long branch in or out of the fire to raise or lower the heat under the pots. We ate in Ole Salepu's house about 100 feet away from the other house. That's the building we all slept in also. There were 3 rooms: the middle, dining area, then a sleeping area on each side of the middle room. The girls (me, Claire, Connie, Rachel and Rachel's friend, Steph) slept in one room and the guys (Pat, Kyle, Dan and Josiah) slept in the other. Except for the dog barking right outside the window now and then during the night, we slept pretty well. The mattresses were thin and a bit lumpy but we were warm and felt very secure and safe! So Pat and I decided that it was better than where we stayed in London where we were cold and felt very unsafe. There was no running water or bathrooms for us to use either, by the way. We brushed our teeth outside and found a bush to hide behind to go to the bathroom. We all survived just fine anyway! Oh, and the stars in the sky at night! WOW! What a sight. We have never seen so many stars! God is truly artistic!
Church Sunday morning was awesome, too. The people there were so welcoming and happy to have us there. We were all introduced in front of everyone. Dan and another man from the church interpreted for us. (Dan's fluent in Maa) An adult choir and a darling children's choir sang several praise songs. During the offering time, a lady brought up a gourd of milk as her offering. So sweet. The sermon was a bit longer than we are used to! We survived that, too! haha The people at the church love Jesus. You can see that on their faces! We all enjoyed meeting people that Crums have known and worked with.
Being at Ole Salepu's place with his family was significant for us since our Sunday School class has a connection with them. About 8-9 years ago, their 8-year-old son had cancer and Salepu sold 90 of his 100 cows to pay for his treatment in a Nairobi hospital. He let Dan and Connie know and they contacted their supporters to see about raising about $2000 to help him rebuild his herd. The letter about all this ended up going to more people than originally planned and about $20,000 was raised! 19 other farmers were helped that year from that area! Our class raised $500 toward buying Ole Salepu a cow so he asked Dan to ask me about taking his picture with his cows Sunday morning. I'll post a picture asap.
We spent Sunday night at the missionary house again and headed back to Nairobi on Monday morning. We were able to stop at the CMF training center near Narok for lunch and a tour from Dan. CMF has 8 medical clinics in the Maasai Mara district that saw 30,0000-40,000 people last year. Narok is where the main clinic is located. We have heard about the training center for years, so it was so awesome to actually walk around there!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sopa oleng!!
That's "A big hello!" in the Maa language. We learned a few words over the weekend while we were in the Maasai Mara area so we could communicate with the Maasai people we stayed with and went to church with on Sunday. We learned "Thank you" = "Ashe" (pronounced Ah-Shay) and "Very good" = "Sidai oleng" (pronounced Sa-die). Our weekend away from Nairobi was amazing, to say the least. Rachel asked me Sunday evening if our trip so far was meeting my expectations I had before we came. I told her it has SO greatly exceeded expectations for all of us!
We left Crums' house on Friday morning to drive out to a house in the Mara area that has been a missionary house until a couple of weeks ago. The family living there is back in the US on furlough now. The drive took us down through the Great Rift Valley and over roads that were varying in their bumpiness. That's putting it mildly! By Saturday afternoon, Dan had said more than once, "Is this a road?" When I say "bumpy" think of the roughest road you have ever driven on. Now triple the rocks and ruts and maybe that's about how bad some of the roads were for us. On the way to the house on Friday, we had a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. Dan and Josiah changed it in about 10 minutes with no problems. Then it started raining, which is good for the area, right? Well, then the "roads" become so slick and muddy that it's worse than icy roads in places. Dan drove through like a pro though, slipping and sliding and fishtailing like crazy. What a ride! Then we "took a wrong turn" (hard to find the "roads" which were now more like paths), and got stuck in mud twice! We all had to get out to lighten the load and the 2nd time, Kyle, Pat and Josiah had to push the Toyota Land Cruiser to get it up and out of the mud. We made it to the house and enjoyed a quiet evening together.
Saturday morning we were up and on our way to the Maasai Mara Game Reserve by 6:30am. We drove around the park from 8am until about 4pm. It's so hard to condense our day there! I'll have pictures galore to post later. I made a list of all the animals we saw. Dan and Connie said we were having a good day, seeing so many different kinds. Wildebeest, zebra, Thompson's gazelle and ostrich were the first to be seen. Then we talked to some people in another car who told us about a cheetah and her 3 "children." We found them and watched them for about 30 minutes. After that it was like a floodgate! We saw about 30 different types of animals and birds throughout the rest of the day. Lions, giraffes, elephants, cape buffalo, topi, hippos in the river, hyena, crested cranes with 3 chicks, several beautiful bird varieties, and many more! What has struck me are all the varieties of animals and the large number of most that we see. In a zoo you see a limited number of each animal. There were no fences here! =) So fun to see the baby animals, too.
From the game park, we drove to Kawaii, which is the area on the Siria Escarpment where Crum's used to live. What views we had all day of the savannah and hills and valleys! Beautiful! We spent the night with Ole Salepu and his family. Salepu has been a leader in the church and friend of the Crums for many years. He and his wife, Norakadau (sp?), were so sweet and hospitable! We had a bit of culture shock while there, but were happy to get to spend some time with them.
I am running out of time. I need to get going. I'll write more about the weekend later!
We left Crums' house on Friday morning to drive out to a house in the Mara area that has been a missionary house until a couple of weeks ago. The family living there is back in the US on furlough now. The drive took us down through the Great Rift Valley and over roads that were varying in their bumpiness. That's putting it mildly! By Saturday afternoon, Dan had said more than once, "Is this a road?" When I say "bumpy" think of the roughest road you have ever driven on. Now triple the rocks and ruts and maybe that's about how bad some of the roads were for us. On the way to the house on Friday, we had a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. Dan and Josiah changed it in about 10 minutes with no problems. Then it started raining, which is good for the area, right? Well, then the "roads" become so slick and muddy that it's worse than icy roads in places. Dan drove through like a pro though, slipping and sliding and fishtailing like crazy. What a ride! Then we "took a wrong turn" (hard to find the "roads" which were now more like paths), and got stuck in mud twice! We all had to get out to lighten the load and the 2nd time, Kyle, Pat and Josiah had to push the Toyota Land Cruiser to get it up and out of the mud. We made it to the house and enjoyed a quiet evening together.
Saturday morning we were up and on our way to the Maasai Mara Game Reserve by 6:30am. We drove around the park from 8am until about 4pm. It's so hard to condense our day there! I'll have pictures galore to post later. I made a list of all the animals we saw. Dan and Connie said we were having a good day, seeing so many different kinds. Wildebeest, zebra, Thompson's gazelle and ostrich were the first to be seen. Then we talked to some people in another car who told us about a cheetah and her 3 "children." We found them and watched them for about 30 minutes. After that it was like a floodgate! We saw about 30 different types of animals and birds throughout the rest of the day. Lions, giraffes, elephants, cape buffalo, topi, hippos in the river, hyena, crested cranes with 3 chicks, several beautiful bird varieties, and many more! What has struck me are all the varieties of animals and the large number of most that we see. In a zoo you see a limited number of each animal. There were no fences here! =) So fun to see the baby animals, too.
From the game park, we drove to Kawaii, which is the area on the Siria Escarpment where Crum's used to live. What views we had all day of the savannah and hills and valleys! Beautiful! We spent the night with Ole Salepu and his family. Salepu has been a leader in the church and friend of the Crums for many years. He and his wife, Norakadau (sp?), were so sweet and hospitable! We had a bit of culture shock while there, but were happy to get to spend some time with them.
I am running out of time. I need to get going. I'll write more about the weekend later!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Christmas Day 2008
We have had a nice, relaxing Christmas Day here at Crums' house. We opened presents at about 10am (a clue that our kids are all older!). We had stockings from Connie and family and each had a present to open. I wrapped up an impromptu gift for Kyle and Claire each also - cash, in Kenyan Schillings, to spend at the Maasai Market tomorrow and next Friday. They were happy to get some spending money! We enjoyed watching Dan, Connie, Rachel and Josiah open their presents from each other. Then they were able to use their webcam and Skype to talk to and see Sarah and Chris in California (it was going on midnight there). They opened their presents from Sarah and Chris in front of the computer. =)
We all pitched in to make our Christmas dinner. Kyle made the pumpkin casserole; Claire had made the cheesecake dessert yesterday and cut green beans today; Pat and Rachel worked on mashed potatoes; Josiah and I made up the yeast rolls; Dan taught Josiah how to carve the turkey; and Connie was the project manager doing lots here and there! We had a delicious, traditional meal. A church friend of Crums, Clarissa, joined us for the afternoon. Her husband is away during the holidays. She works for the UN here in Nairobi and was delightful and very interesting to talk to. She has lived in many places around Africa and the world in her career as a land expert. Developing settlements/towns in 3rd world countries is her specialty. Her husband is a wildlife artist with amazing talent. You can see his oil paintings online at www.paulaugustinus.com. Yes, they are all paintings, not photos...
We are going to the Maasai Market in the morning. We are looking forward to seeing what is available to buy for gifts, etc. Then we are leaving Nairobi by about 11am to drive to Maasailand, about a 7 hour drive. We will be out in the Mara area until Monday. Wonder what we will see and do out there?? More info. later. I will post again on Tuesday...
We all pitched in to make our Christmas dinner. Kyle made the pumpkin casserole; Claire had made the cheesecake dessert yesterday and cut green beans today; Pat and Rachel worked on mashed potatoes; Josiah and I made up the yeast rolls; Dan taught Josiah how to carve the turkey; and Connie was the project manager doing lots here and there! We had a delicious, traditional meal. A church friend of Crums, Clarissa, joined us for the afternoon. Her husband is away during the holidays. She works for the UN here in Nairobi and was delightful and very interesting to talk to. She has lived in many places around Africa and the world in her career as a land expert. Developing settlements/towns in 3rd world countries is her specialty. Her husband is a wildlife artist with amazing talent. You can see his oil paintings online at www.paulaugustinus.com. Yes, they are all paintings, not photos...
We are going to the Maasai Market in the morning. We are looking forward to seeing what is available to buy for gifts, etc. Then we are leaving Nairobi by about 11am to drive to Maasailand, about a 7 hour drive. We will be out in the Mara area until Monday. Wonder what we will see and do out there?? More info. later. I will post again on Tuesday...
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Have a Merry Christmas tomorrow! We are enjoying a bit less traditional one this year - especially weather-wise. It was about 80 again today and gorgeous. What I have noticed so much about Nairobi is all the flowers everywhere. There are flowers blooming in yards and along the streets all over the city. It's very tropical and green. Bougainvillea is in bloom year-round and in several stunning colors. Another colorful site are all the birds we are seeing. I haven't learned some of the names, but Kyle and Claire got great pictures this morning of 3 Crowned Cranes in Crum's acacia tree. Yes, Kyle and Claire were up BEFORE Pat and I this morning! Now that's a Christmas vacation miracle! haha
We enjoyed some Indian food for supper last night at a place called Diamond Plaza (DP). It was kind of like the Nairobi version of Colligny Plaza at Hilton Head Island. We ate outside and about 6 guys met us at a table when we walked up. They represented 6 different eateries in the mall area. Rachel and Josiah (mostly Rachel - we were so proud) took charge and started ordering for all of us. In about 3-4 minutes they were all gone then the food started showing up from all directions. We all ate and got full - even Kyle and Claire! So, no they are NOT starving to death here. =) Rachel had ordered dishes that were pretty mild and not so hot to eat, thankfully.
This morning, we went to the home of Augustine and Lista and their 2 daughters, Sylvia and Lona for lunch. Augustine has been the Crum's house helper for about 9 years and is a dear, wonderful man. They live in the Kangemi slum in a 3rd floor room about 12 x 12 feet, divided into 2 rooms. There were about 11 of us in the first room which is about 8 x 10 feet or so. Our lunch was delicious. Again, we were all full and enjoyed talking to Augustine and Lista and their family. The kitchen Lista made our meal in was probably about 4 x 4 feet. She made a brothy potato/meat stew that she served over rice. Bananas for dessert and then chai to top it all off. I took several pictures of very cute kids who were happy to smile for the camera!
Enjoy celebrating Jesus' birthday!!
We enjoyed some Indian food for supper last night at a place called Diamond Plaza (DP). It was kind of like the Nairobi version of Colligny Plaza at Hilton Head Island. We ate outside and about 6 guys met us at a table when we walked up. They represented 6 different eateries in the mall area. Rachel and Josiah (mostly Rachel - we were so proud) took charge and started ordering for all of us. In about 3-4 minutes they were all gone then the food started showing up from all directions. We all ate and got full - even Kyle and Claire! So, no they are NOT starving to death here. =) Rachel had ordered dishes that were pretty mild and not so hot to eat, thankfully.
This morning, we went to the home of Augustine and Lista and their 2 daughters, Sylvia and Lona for lunch. Augustine has been the Crum's house helper for about 9 years and is a dear, wonderful man. They live in the Kangemi slum in a 3rd floor room about 12 x 12 feet, divided into 2 rooms. There were about 11 of us in the first room which is about 8 x 10 feet or so. Our lunch was delicious. Again, we were all full and enjoyed talking to Augustine and Lista and their family. The kitchen Lista made our meal in was probably about 4 x 4 feet. She made a brothy potato/meat stew that she served over rice. Bananas for dessert and then chai to top it all off. I took several pictures of very cute kids who were happy to smile for the camera!
Enjoy celebrating Jesus' birthday!!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
We are in Nairobi!!
We landed last night (Monday, Dec. 22) at 9:15pm Nairobi time, Dan, Connie, Rachel and Josiah were there waiting for us. They have a land cruiser that we all piled into with all our luggage, It's beautiful here today! About 80 degrees and sunny. Nice cool breezes are flowing through Crum's house, which is just beautiful. We slept well last night and are feeling pretty rested by today actually. Today Connie, Kyle and I (Carlye) went to the produce market first thing. Connie bought all sorts of fresh veggies and fruits - papaya, mango, pineapple, potatoes, apples, bananas, etc. We met several nice people that she buys from regularly. Lots of hustle and bustle there. Then Connie, Rachel, Claire, Kyle and I went to a baby orphanage nearby to pick up Mercy, a 7-month-old baby that the Crums have been caring for now and then. We will have her until Friday. When we got there, it was time to feed the babies lunch, so we all helped. They were all old enough for solid food and were all hungry! Kyle was feeding 2 little ones (about 10-12 months each or so) at one point! Mercy just takes formula in a bottle. We all enjoyed helping out with the babies, Tonight we will go out for supper at the Java House restaurant, that we have heard about often from the Crums. We also went to the mall today which we were surprised to find very modern and Western looking.
London was quite an experience. We were on the plane for 9 hours because of sitting and waiting - first to de-ice the plane in Chicago, then since we were late getting into London, sitting and waiting to get to a gate. We took our pre-arranged shuttle to our hotel after we got through customs (which was a breeze). At the hotel, that I had booked online, the guy gave me a map and drew a dot about 4 blocks away. We had to walk to a "sister" hotel with all our luggage and carry-on bags! Yikes. We were pretty surly and beat after that. The room we checked into was tiny, about 61 degrees with the window open. We did however have a private bathroom with a shower. We did not feel secure really much at all, but took a nap and then left for the London Eye. We got a look at Big Ben right out of the subway station. Then riding on the London Eye (big ferris wheel - clear capsules to ride in) was awesome. You can see for miles. We took lots of pictures of the London area from up high. We got something to eat, walked around alittle then took the tube back to the hotel. We were relieved to see that our room had not been ransacked... (I just chuckled to myself...) We took another walk around the neighborhood and bought some baked goods for breakfast Monday morning. Then we turned in for the night. It finally got warm at about 3am when Pat figured out how to turn up the heat. We were happy to check out and say good-bye to that hotel! We had to walk the 4 blocks back to the original hotel in the morning to catch our shuttle to the airport. Our flight to Nairobi was smooth and on-time.
I'll write more later in the week. We are planning a trip out to Maasailand Friday through Monday. Christmas day will be spent at the Crums house. Bye for now!
London was quite an experience. We were on the plane for 9 hours because of sitting and waiting - first to de-ice the plane in Chicago, then since we were late getting into London, sitting and waiting to get to a gate. We took our pre-arranged shuttle to our hotel after we got through customs (which was a breeze). At the hotel, that I had booked online, the guy gave me a map and drew a dot about 4 blocks away. We had to walk to a "sister" hotel with all our luggage and carry-on bags! Yikes. We were pretty surly and beat after that. The room we checked into was tiny, about 61 degrees with the window open. We did however have a private bathroom with a shower. We did not feel secure really much at all, but took a nap and then left for the London Eye. We got a look at Big Ben right out of the subway station. Then riding on the London Eye (big ferris wheel - clear capsules to ride in) was awesome. You can see for miles. We took lots of pictures of the London area from up high. We got something to eat, walked around alittle then took the tube back to the hotel. We were relieved to see that our room had not been ransacked... (I just chuckled to myself...) We took another walk around the neighborhood and bought some baked goods for breakfast Monday morning. Then we turned in for the night. It finally got warm at about 3am when Pat figured out how to turn up the heat. We were happy to check out and say good-bye to that hotel! We had to walk the 4 blocks back to the original hotel in the morning to catch our shuttle to the airport. Our flight to Nairobi was smooth and on-time.
I'll write more later in the week. We are planning a trip out to Maasailand Friday through Monday. Christmas day will be spent at the Crums house. Bye for now!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Details
As we get ready for our trip, we are organizing, shopping and packing. We will be taking Christmas gifts to Dan, Connie and Rachel from their families in Indiana. We are also taking some items to them that are unavailable or expensive in Kenya like cereal, granola bars, taco sauce, lotions, candy, etc. Since we can check 2 suitcases each for no extra charge, it works out great for us to take stuff to them, then we will have several empty suitcases to fill up with our own stuff we buy there! Seems like we are going to have plenty of room for everything we need. Don't forget the sunscreen!
Another thing: We are driving to Chicago the night before our flight to stay in a hotel near O'Hare airport. The hotel will shuttle us to and from the terminal plus we get to park at the hotel the whole time we are gone. Breakfast is even included! What a great deal...
Another thing: We are driving to Chicago the night before our flight to stay in a hotel near O'Hare airport. The hotel will shuttle us to and from the terminal plus we get to park at the hotel the whole time we are gone. Breakfast is even included! What a great deal...
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Follow our blog!
Notice down a bit on the right side of this page, you can "Follow this Blog." You may need to sign up for a Google or eBlogger account, but it will be free. I believe you have to be a follower (?) of the blog to put a post on it. I am new to blogging, so I am learning as I go.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Crums
I posted a picture of Dan and Connie Crum's family today. We will be staying at Dan, Connie and Rachel's house in Nairobi. Josiah, who is a student at Azusa Pacific University in Los Angeles, CA, will also be there. We are all sorry that Sarah and her husband, Chris will not be there for Christmas! They also live in LA. Dan and Connie and their family have been missionaries in Kenya for over 20 years with Christian Missionary Fellowship. We have known them since our Ball State University days. They lived in North Manchester during their furlough from June 2006-June 2007. We LOVED having them a mile away from our house for that time! The Crums and McLaughlin's lived life together in Indiana- celebrated holidays, birthdays and Sarah & Chris' wedding, watched the Colts win the Super Bowl, took walks, drank coffee, got snowed in, etc. - so now we are excited about living life with them in their home in Kenya!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Picture
Thank you to our nephew, Zach Bagley, for the beautiful picture of the giraffes. Zach visited Kenya in the fall of 2006.
Getting Ready
We are getting excited about our trip to Kenya! We have all gotten the required shots (Yellow Fever and Hepatitis A) so we are all set in that area. I talked to Sandy Oler, whose family visited Dan, Connie and Rachel Crum in June 2008. She gave me lots of good advice about various parts of the trip we will take, which is similar to their trip. We will be spending alittle more than 24 hours in London, England on the way there, as a long lay-over. Sandy suggested some good ideas for traveling around London when we will be very tired from the new time zone. Kyle and Claire are getting very excited about the trip since we have been talking about it for months now! More to come later...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
