Last hello before the storm! Hope this finds all of you doing well. We think of all of you so often and wish you were here to share these amazing experiences with us.  I wanted to write once more before life becomes busier. Things have definitely already sped up for us and, yes, we are feeling a bit overwhelmed at what’s before us. But we serve a God who delights in showing Himself strong when we are weak, and He is who we put our trust in.

I’m too behind to share all that has transpired the past 2 weeks, but I’ll share a few thoughts as they come to me. The RVA campus is fenced and gated. This has only happened recently-actually after the Nairobi US Embassy bombing last August. ( Such a dense population of Americans was seen to be an easy target). Just outside the main gate are the dukas (or shops) serving the neighborhood. Dukas like these are a common sight everywhere I have been in Kenya, but I am still not used to them. They look like shacks-made of wood or tin with tin roofs. They are painted bright colors, if they are painted. And they usually have large advertisements on any available surface-everything from Coke to Blue Band (the margarine of choice here) to cigarettes to beer . If they were in the states we would think they were abandoned and would never imagine they were places of business.

We walked down to have lunch at a duka the day the power was off all day. We went into Nehemiah’s Hotel (Hotels here are restaurants). There was a dirt floor, open windows and doors (no screens) and no electricity so it is semi-dark. There were about 5 tables, each different from the others, and about 15 chairs-each different from the others. On the wall was a chalkboard with the menu. We all ordered kitaweo and chapatis. Kitaweo is a vegetable stew relying heavily on potatoes and cabbage. The meat is like a garnish on top, but it is excellent! Chapatis are flat, fried breads. They are made of wheat flour, but are much heartier than a tortilla-also excellent. A large plate of stew and a chapati (enough to fill non-teenage male appetites) cost 45 shillings or about 60 cents. If you splurge and get a soda, add 17 more shillings and you still have a great meal for less than a dollar. This gives you an idea of the local economy where the average income is probably between $250 and 300 per year. And this is a more prosperous area than much of Kenya. I am becoming more and more aware that in the eyes of many of our national neighbors, we are millionaires. It’s an odd feeling and somewhat uncomfortable.

I have mentioned Grace to you before. She continues to be a blessing to me and we are becoming better and better friends. But I am a little uncomfortable around Grace because I have so much more than she does, and that’s with having left all but 560 pounds back in the states. Yet she does not seem to be bothered by the fact. She is just so grateful for the work. I find myself almost embarrassed by the amount of laundry I do. She helps me hang out about 2 loads a day. She, on the other hand, does all of her family of 5’s laundry on Saturday when she also makes samosas to carry the 45 minute walk to RVA and sell late in the afternoon. At this point I don’t even know if I want to get over that uncomfortableness to be comfortable with living with so much in the midst of so much need. It drives me back to the Father again-a good place to be. I need God’s perspective.

Switching gears, because of God’s financial blessings in our life, we were able to go to one of the Game Parks and see yet another facet of God’s creation. We went to Lake Nakuru National Park which is about 60-70 miles from Kijabe. I could give you another narrative on the roads in Kenya, but I will spare you and simply say that I have never before gotten bruises from a bus trip before this trip.

To further illustrate the Kenyan view of Americans I will give you the entrance fee for residents (which we are) and US tourists. The sign said residents pay 150 shillings (about $2) and others pay US $27!!

God blessed us and allowed us to see some really neat things. Besides the countless numbers of zebra, wart hogs, impala, gazelle, cape buffalo, and flamingos (which were amazing and very close to the bus) we saw a small pride of lions-one male, 2 female, & 3 cubs. We also saw a baby rhino and mother. Rhinos, having no natural enemies, don’t reproduce at the rate of most other animals and therefore seeing babies is a bit rare. We also had a close encounter with 2 large, malebaboons. Not my favorite part of the day, they were so bold that they came to within 1 or 2 feet of us (and we were a group of about 20) to try and steal food from our picnic. Our picnic was taken standing and with vigilant eyes for the return of these rascals. And they did return several times. We had to run them off with rocks. We also saw some colubus monkeys and about 20 giraffe. It is really something to see these animals outside of a zoo, in their own homes.

Well, I’ve rattled on enough. I need to finish my library bulletin boards and a few items around the dorm before the boys arrive on Monday. We are excited to finally meet them, but as I said earlier, we are a bit overwhelmed. The boys continue to love it here, but they will be stretched too, these next weeks. Please pray for all of us, as we do for you. Much love from us,

Nancy