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March 24 thieving monkeysSo I was violated by a primate yesterday!
My friend Anna thought it would be a great idea to stick a banana in my back pocket!
I was taking pictures of some monkeys before we ventured out on our safari Friday morning.
I thought she was just fixing my pocket
but as I turned around I saw a monkey slinking its way rather quickly in my direction.
My first instinct was to grab whatever was in my pocket
But I feared losing my hand and having a bloody stump so I turned around
and hoped it would be over with quickly and without injury.
It climbed my leg, grabbed its free lunch and sped away
before I could even see who the thief was.
Or… maybe I didn’t see because I was too busy screaming and trying to get away
as Anna was running across the lawn away from the scene.
I picked up a stick and tried to impale her with it,
in an effort to thank her for almost getting me gnawed on
by a flea bitten, sharp toothed, lanky, furry creature.
And that wasn’t my last run-in with these animals
While we were just about to take off into the park
I wanted to snap a last photo of one of the baby ones.
Well… while I was looking at one of them,
a mother, with baby attached to her belly, challenged me to a duel.
She stared me down and I backed off
but she proceeded to get all up in my grill so…
naturally, I ran away screaming and jumped in the van,
slamming the door as everyone who witnessed the scene howled.
Apparently I’m entertaining… but I’ll tell you one thing…
don’t mess with the wild, it’s a bad idea and I’ll bet that’s how people get eaten.
Like… “look at that cool hippo…take my picture next to it!”
MUNCH!
You know the rest.
The safari was awesome though
We drove around for a few hours, stopping for lunch on a cliff half way through.
Although we didn’t see any cats or elephants,
we saw many other animals which you can find in my Kenya Safari album
the animals we saw were:
monkeys
water bucks
zebras
warthogs
buffalo
thompson’s gazelles
impala
flamingos
black rhinos
guinea fowls
baboons
giraffes
hyrax
lizards
secretary bird
so, like I said, it was an awesome day!
God made some amazing creatures and landscapes…
I was lucky enough to experience some of it up close March 19 visitor's weekvisitor's week has been kicked off
our new short term additions to the team are
Brian's Mum
Tyler's Mum and Aunt
Anna J's Mum and Sister
yes... I spell mum with a 'u'
we have a bunch of fun things planned this week
safari, dinner at the carnivore, AIM orphan party etc.
Where is my family you might ask?
I don't know.... why don't you email them and ask...
just kidding
wish you could be here
miss you lots Don't drink the waternot just a catchy song from Dave Matthews Band
but a very important lesson while in Kenya - among other countries...
I wrote in my previous post about visiting Albert's family
well apparently there is more to that story
Gladys served me some chai that day
and I thought nothing of it while I was consuming it.
She had prepared some hot chai for her and some cold chai for her kids
she mixed the two for me to make them warm
The part I didn't think of what that the cold chai was not boiled!!
I consumed a whole cup of unboiled Kibera water
-the plot thickens-
I woke up at 5:30 am on Sunday morning completely ill
and continued throwing up until 11:30
the last thing to come out was the chai (apologies to the squeamish)
I was wrecked
completely drained, aching from trying to rid my body of the badness and running a small fever
at one point I got up and dressed and tried to join the world
but it wasn't long till I was back in bed again
I spent the whole day in bed, finally falling back to sleep at 7:30 that evening
and slept the whole night through
I woke up this morning feeling good as new - praise God
but I'll tell you one thing
I'll always opt out of the beverage options when visiting anyone in Kibera
looks like my nalgene is my new best friend! March 17 AlbertToday was such an encouragement to me
Saturdays can go either way for me
either I'm so busy I don't get lunch
or everything is cancelled and I don't have much to do
Today I decided to visit one of my young friends' house
Albert is 11 and can normally be found hanging around outside our house
He was obsessed with Curtis who recently came to Nairobi and that's kind of how I got to know Albert
A few of us were already visiting another amazing lady in the slum
and Albert is a neighbor to them so I snuck out and he took me to meet his mother
I quickly learned that Albert is one of 6 children
Pascal - 17
Albert - 11
Tobias - 9
Jeff - 6
Lidia - 3
Lisa - 3 months
Albert's mother is Gladys.
a strong and hard working mother
Their Father Daniel is equally as loving and hard working
which is why this family is such an amazing encouragement
With so many orphans and stories of death, beatings and abuse...
you are hard pressed to find many strong families in Kibera
But this family brings a smile to my face.
Pascal lives with his grandmother in the country
to learn some trades so he can get a job and help his family
today he came home to his mother to help her cook chapattis
She sells them on the side of the road
to make a few shillings to buy food and clothing for her children
Gladys told me that she loves her children very much
and that though it is hard to have 6 of them,
God has blessed her with disciplined children that are happy and even ask how they can help at home
as she tried to explain this to me in broken English...
Pascal just sat there smiling, making chapatis and helping her with English words when she got stuck.
Albert sat quietly until we were finished talking and then excitedly thrust a photo in my face
it was a picture of his mother and father on their wedding day
pointing to the man, he excitedly told me,
"this is my father, he is working right now but he is on his way to meet you."
I met the rest of the children except for Tobias - who was still at school
and tickled Lydia till she nearly peed her pants...
I couldn't help it though, her laugh is adorable
I went back to the neighbor's for a little while while as I waited for Albert's father to arrive
Meeting Daniel was great
his smile was a mile wide and as he rushed around his mind trying to find suitable English words to use
he settled on "thank you so much for coming to visit our family. you are very welcome here."
and though language is often a hurdle, it's never a struggle when it comes to making new friends
I talked to him and his wife for a little while
and Gladys even described Daniel as her lovable husband whom she still loves very much
They told me that their marriage is very important because
the children will be happy if the parents are happy and love each other
They said that there are so many families where the children are confused
they see the father beating the mother or there is yelling
and the children don't know what a good family should be like
and so they work very hard to keep their family strong
and they are doing a great job
I hope to go back next Saturday and visit them again
Albert's family is a breath of fresh air in this poverty stricken, socially distraught and corrupt slum
they are proof that God is indeed here
and He is working
and He is blessing
and He is sovereign and able to fill a family with love
even when there is no food on the table. March 15 2 monthsin two months...
I leave my home
I leave my family
I leave my friends
I leave these children
I leave this self
I leave this slum
I leave behind this part of my life forever
and that scares me
I had to leave a lot of these things 7 months ago
but it was much different
because all of it was still where I left it - relatively
this is not the case this time round and I'm not sure how to deal with that
You know, when I applied for this mission
I never thought about the fact that if I did go to Kenya I would eventually have to leave it
that was dumb
I am scared to go back and settle
I have been immersed in ministry daily and I can't imagine going back home,
getting a full time job, going to church on Sundays, living a materialistic, North Americanized life
sinking back in and pretending I'm comfortable
I can't do it
I don't want to
But I don't know what God has planned for me
so I pray for clarity and I pray for obedience and I pray that where ever He is, that He would bring me there
because I can't imagine a life of blindness to God's work in this world
two months and it's over
I don't know how this happened March 07 Constantly watchedA realization that can set your mood to negative instantly.
I don’t know if I could ever enjoy being stared at.
Just yesterday we were riding in the matatu to the arboretum for some quiet time.
The passengers of the vehicle in front of us were turned around in their seats,
inquiringly examining the passengers in our car.
I was annoyed, mostly at how they must know that we can see them,
and that they don’t see this as rude,
but also because it is impossible to go anywhere without being noticed.
Living in Kibera has given me an idea of what celebrities must feel like.
We are completely robbed of privacy.
You cannot leave the house without someone wanting to shake your hand
and just when you think no one is seeing you,
you hear the “how are you” from a doorway or inside a shop, attracting more eyes.
Sometimes I feel like I’m in a zoo. Only there are no rocks or caves to hide in.
Even the house isn’t private. There are kids climbing the gate
or a very bored guard watching us through the front window.
Yesterday though, God brought me to the idea of accountability.
I love when He gives me these ideas and I see things from another perspective.
We are unwillingly accountable to everyone when you think about it.
I’ve had an accountability partner before who would, with my permission,
correct me when I was struggling with something I wanted to rid myself of.
Then there is public accountability.
We are forever accountable even to complete strangers.
As a follower of Christ I should be accountable.
And I should ask the question… “when I am being watched, can Christ be seen in me?”
I would hope to say yes
but reality would probably tell me that a lot of the time the answer is no.
Definitely something to be constantly aware of.
Not just when the feeling of being stared at is evident, like in Kibera,
but at home, when it’s less noticeable.
I’m not talking about pretending to be Christ-like for gawkers.
I’m talking about being Christ-like, period.
Not for the onlookers but because that’s what I have been called to as a child of God.
One of my favourite passages in the Bible is from Ephesians 4:17-5:21.
Living as Children of Light
Maybe that’s when I could enjoy being stared at.
Knowing that others would experience the living and active grace of God in my life.
Not for the benefit of my character but for the ultimate glory of God. March 02 Fourteen FallsYesterday, on our day off, a bunch of us headed east to fourteen falls.
We didn’t really know where we were going
but Scott brought his Maasai friend Richard along for some guidance in traveling.
A few hours later we arrived at the site and after paying the small toll,
we headed down the rocks toward the drop off.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, the only falls I’ve seen being Niagara and Victoria falls (both wonders of the world),
and these were definitely not anything to rave about.
But as I stepped down the rocks for a closer view
I was once again struck with awe at the beauty of rushing water.
There’s something about water that just takes me in…
it’s ever changing, constantly moving, reflecting and beautiful
yet dangerous and frightening.
I was thinking the other day how much I missed living near the lake.
Lake Ontario is filthy and smells bad in the summer
but it’s huge and there is so much more to it than just water.
These falls were kind of like that.
They are filthy as anything and brownish in colour while garbage floats on the banks.
Yet they are still beautiful.
Fourteen falls has its purpose.
It takes all the dirty water from the river and pushes it into the ocean
while people bathe and wash their clothing upstream.
They don’t have to worry about where the water goes.
It is home to hippos and crocodiles and lots of fish that people eat.
And even provides entertainment for anyone daring enough to jump from the cliffs into its murkiness.
It reminds me of us.
We are filthy and dangerous and there is so much garbage in our lives,
yet God thinks we are beautiful.
He has an individual purpose for us.
We hired some boats to cross over the river
and walk right up to the underside of the falls.
The locals who were swarming for business gave us a dive show
consisting of 6 jumpers… two of which actually dove.
The rest just kind of plummeted.
It was funny though, partially because of lack of swimming attire
and because they were just like kids out there in the water.
We went back up to the top after that and walked upstream
to where we were told we could find some hippos.
Sure enough, a few adults and 2 babies were bobbing around in water
roughly 30 feet from the shore.
Their size is deceiving. They seem much smaller under water.
But they are huge which is probably why they are thought to be slow.
Make no mistake though, if you ever see one in the wild,
which you won’t unless you come to Africa…
they are actually quite fast and very aggressive.
One of the top killers in East Africa from what I understand.
They have a taste for tourists!
After bothering the hippos, who were apparently mating at the time…
we headed back home to enjoy the rest of our day off…
and enjoy it I did. A very good day indeed. |
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