Chickens and Community

A happy family

When I got my chicken I thought they would be nice to have around.  I thought it would be nice to have some fresh eggs.  I thought it would be good for the kids to help look after them.  But they have proven to give me so much more then I had thought. 
My chickens have shown me the reality of community here in Kenya.  You know, we are told that Kenyans live in a deeper reality of community than westerners but I didn’t really  understand.  ‘My’ chickens are not ‘my’ chickens.  How I feed them, bed them, graze them, breed them, and distribute them is open to everyone’s opinion.  It was naive of me to think I could bring five chickens into this compound and individually raise them.  How it really works is that at each intersection in which a decision must be made I am given various opinions and then expected to choose one.  Or they choose one and carry it out, then maybe ask if I like what they did.  Fidelma, my good friend and house help, loves those chickens like her own.  She cleans the coop, changes the water, and lovingly looks after the mama hens and their chicks.  These things give her the right, in her Kenyan world view, to make decisions and/or give her opinion about the chickens.  For example, to a Kenyan, chicken meat is better than eggs.  So when my hens wanted to start roosting she really wanted to put 10 eggs under them.  When I wanted to eat the eggs she would scold me for not saving them for the hens to sit on.  I didn’t want 10 chicks, because 10 chicks quickly become 10 chickens and we don’t have enough room for three hens to have to 10 chicks each.  So we compromised with six eggs under each chicken.  But even with this last hen when I only put six eggs under her she had to smile and laugh at me, like I was crazy for not wanting more chickens.  I laughed back and told her I hoped not all six eggs would hatch...unfortunately...they all did...then the next hen had six chicks too.  So now we have 12 chicks (quickly becoming chickens) and three hens and one very loud rooster, King Herod.
Another thing I love that my chickens have shown me is how Kenyans see blessings. 

When I look at those 12 chicks running around after their Mamas I see 12 chicks and a future head ache.  But when adult Kenyan men and women see our chicks they swoon.  They call them ‘cute’ and ‘beautiful’ and ‘miracles’ and most importantly they call them ‘blessings’. See even to a city dweller they are not that far removed from people who have or are in hunger.  Who have or are wondering where their next meal will come from.  Who have or are worried about paying for their children’s school fees.  Those chicks represent the hope of food and money.  I told our one friend that I wanted to start giving the chicks away before they were full grown and ready for eating.  I asked if this was okay.  He said that of course it was and that he would be happy to show us who to give them to and how to give them.  In this way I am happy we have 12 chicks and more on the way because giving a kuku is a really special gift to a Kenyan.  I think for me as a ‘white person’ its a way better gift then money.  I’m showing some cultural awareness and I’m hopefully not feeding the idea that ‘white people’ have money trees in their back yards.  So chickens are a blessing.
I’m thankful God has helped me let go of my need to hold on tightly to my autonomy.  I don’t fully comprehend the depth of the Kenyan community yet.  I’m still learning and watching for ways in which people act out the, “what’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine.”  “Your blessings are my blessings.”  As Allen, our guard put it when we drove in with our new car months back, “Now we have a car.”  And when I brought home those hens I realized everyone was so excited because, “Now we have chickens”  There is something wonderful about being apart of a WE!  Many of my friends have smilingly reminded me, “We’ll be eating chicken for Christmas”  Yes we will!

This is Julia

Day old chick with Mama

What's a Pre-Wedding? (Homestay #3)

In our first few days of staying with the Wambua's Isaac announced to me that we were going out one night to a pre-wedding committee meeting.  What's a pre-wedding?  I knew what the words meant but not exactly what a committee did and why.  So off we went one evening at around 7:30 to a little restaurant a short distance away from his place.  It was dark when we got there and we parked in a compound and climbed up some rattly metal stairs to the back of a large building where there was this eating establishment.  I never know how people find these places!  Anyway, when we arrived there was probably already 20-25 young people around a huge table sipping chai and discussing the pre-wedding.  Most of the speaking was done in Swahili so I just picked up pieces as they chatted.  There was one person in charge of the committee and he ran the show.  As Isaac explained to me the point of the committee is to raise money for the pre-wedding event, which in turn raises money for the wedding event! It's really a huge fundraiser and quite common for couples getting married here.  So, as it went on I discovered to be a member of the group each person had to make a significant financial pledge that would be fulfilled before the day of the pre-wedding event.  Also, the committee would make plans as to how to perform the pre-wedding event.  Throughout the meeting the chairperson delegated activities.  He also made sport with the rest of the members fining them for using their cell phones or talking with their neighbor and not paying attention to him.  Also, they would be fined if the refused a job delegated to them! They all seemed to enjoy it! I was thinking how different this is from home but how cool it is that these 25 friends come together to support their friends in marriage.  It really is a community event to pull off your wedding and bonds people together closely.

 Then two days later came the pre-wedding event.  It was supposed to start at 4 pm.  But, this is Africa and I have come to quickly realize start times are more like suggestions.  Actually, it isn't really a big deal most times either.  Once one keeps things in perspective that this is an event about people not the time.  Isaac took all of us over to the event at 5:30 pm, still not started.  The kids just ran around a bit in the compound and things got started around 6.  Before even entering the compound we had to pay just to enter the event.  All of the money going to the wedding for the couple to be.  Then, we sat and waited.  There was a short program some choir singing, a sermon, and a few other items until we got down to business.

Waiting for people to arrive

Let the program begin

This is Ian's idea of a good time

Rooster takes his place at the keyboard

Unfortunately, it was too dark for me to take many pictures.  Like this rooster one above.  Since it was getting late Amie and the kids went back home after the preaching and singing.  I stayed on with Isaac to watch how a pre-wedding works.  In a nutshell what happened was that people come with donations.  Every possible group in their local church makes donations by coming to the front and lining up before the MC.  People bring their donations and in front of everyone the MC takes the money usually announcing their donation and places it in a basket.  After each group would go the money would be taken to counters who worked the night keeping a running total of the money coming in.  So each group in the church went, families were invited to come, choirs were invited to come, friends, and any other possible connection. There was a special designated time for each person to come and some people went up a couple times.  They would line up single file and then begin the process of making their donation.  Then after that they did some raffles for gifts and then a really cool game of auctioning a cell phone.  Except each person could only bid 50 shillings.  So, one person puts 50 on the front table and then they "own" the phone until the next person places 50 on top of theirs.  Then it is the second person's phone.  This goes on for awhile until the MC feels it is getting close to the money they wanted to make on the phone.  Then according to Isaac the giving really picks up as people think they might have a shot at getting the phone for 50.  Whenever the MC says the game is over it's over and that last person gets to keep the phone!

Another interesting thing is that all the money raised at the pre-wedding is controlled by the pre-wedding committee.  The couple has to make a budget and submit it to the committee.  If the committee thinks the bride has budgeted to much on the dress they will tell her and she has to adjust to them!  It's up to the committee how it is to be spent and if there is a short fall the money must come from the committee's pockets.  So they have alot of ownership of the whole thing.  If there is extra money left at the end of the wedding they decide how to spend it.  Give it to the bride and groom which is common or something else.  One time Isaac said a committee decided to donate the extra money to a pastor/missionary working in a hard place in Kenya! It was a very new experience for us but we learned alot!  It was very cool to watch how people come together to help each other.  Kenyans are very generous towards one to another and help each other with the little they can.

Mercy and Grace

The Wedding

 We were so excited to go to the wedding of Noah and Alice.  We know Noah's father as one of the instructors at the kids swimming lessons and Fidelma took Amie, to meet Mama Noah one day when they were walking by her house in Likoni.  Noah's family and Alice are members of the Mbaraki AIC church were we go occasionally.  We don't know the family that well, so we felt awkward going to the wedding.  Our trepidation was set aside quickly as we were warmly welcomed. 

We did not know what time to go to the wedding.  Fidelma said in the morning maybe around 10 or 11.  I, Jon, casually asked the pastor knowing time in Africa is different altogether and not wanting to offend him.  I "just sort of" brought it up in conversation asking what would be a good time to arrive.  The pastor kind of just shrugged at me, and said sometime in the morning would be good.  No problem right! Well, when you have kids and have to arrange things this gets complicated for us Canadians! 

We arrived at 10:45 am. Upon our arrival we didn't realize we would be an honoured guest.  Our friend, who pastors the church, took us to the pastor's office where other clergy attending the service were gathered.  We waited there, talking amongst our selves until the service was ready to begin.  Which eventually started around 12:45.  We were then ushered into the front row of the church of a packed out church!  Not the second row. The front row.  Clergy, involved in the wedding or not are treated with a lot of respect and honor.   This was a little unnerving and awkward especially because we would much prefer to be treated as everyone else.  But, we did not want to offend anyone and we just did what we were told.  The good thing about this situation was that we had no guessing about where to go and what to do. 

 So what was the service like?  It was really a service with a wedding in it.  We sang worship music until the bride came.  There was lots and lots of singing.  Choirs sang that represented the bride's local church and then the groom's church.  After singing for a while the procession began.  If you think people walk down an aisle slow in Canada come to Kenya!  It took about 25 minutes to have everyone slowly walk actually "dance" down the aisle.  It was really cool whether it was the matrons of honor or the best ladies. They each had their own song and did a real slow cool dance down the aisle.  It's like their moment in spotlight and everyone loved it!

The bride and groom then sat on opposite sides of the church with their family.  With a big table in the middle of them.  At the table sat the ministers who were officiating or who were acting as support.  The above picture is of the Grooms parents on their side of the church.  Each parent had a chance to greet and speak a word to the congregation before the actual wedding of the bride and groom. Below is a picture of the ministers and that's right the pastor in the middle is on a cell phone! Weddings are so different here.  It didn't seem to be a big deal that he was on the phone.  Everything is fluid in the wedding.  It's just life happening.  It's a beautiful moment but it's not like in Canada where we are trying to make it something more epic than it is.  The whole thing was very fluid from start to finish things happened that we were like what? Did that just happen?  Like when some of the bridesmaids were dancing down the aisle and another bridesmaid came scooting up the aisle with a bottle of perfume and sprayed all four of them with it.  No one even flinched when that happened.  Or everytime the choir went to sing they had the wrong background tract on the CD. So, they would go through about 5 or six songs to find the right tune for the choir. But, it's no big deal!  No horror on the bride's face.  This is life and this is their wedding.  Life isn't going to be perfect and neither is the wedding.  So, why create an idea of life that isn't reality?  Life and marriage are not perfect they are a bit messy, funny, eccentric even at times why shouldn't the wedding be a nutshell of actual normal life?? It was great we loved it!

 

The below picture is Fidelma, Amie's good friend.  She is in the choir and very good friends with Mama Noah.  We had a great time watching her dance it up in the choir as the celebrated the wedding. 

There were so many fascinating moments in the wedding this was one of them.  The presentation of the rings.  When the bride and the groom placed them on each other the did it high above their heads for all to see in the church.  A open declaration to all of their commitment.  Another intriguing moment that did not happen was there was no kissing! When we told Grace that when we returned she was shocked.  That's not a real wedding she trying to explain to us.  The kiss does not make them married! Instead of a kiss the bride unbuttoned the grooms jacket and put the wedding certificate they had signed in his inside pocket closest to his heart.  I think it was a sign that this wedding is more than romance it is about a covenant of love with each other.  As "special clergy" at the wedding I was invited to pray for the groom and the bride with all the other visiting pastors.  What a privilege to be right in on the action! 

 The wedding cake table.

 There were four tents set up in the yard at the church.  One tent for the grooms family, another for the bride's, another for the bridal party, and a fourth for, you guessed it, the clergy.  We felt a bit awkward again being separated from the people but this was no time for a statement to be made.  Just go with the flow. 

 The food was fantastic.  Kenyan food at it's best, pilau, rice, chapatis, stew, veggies, and a soda!  Being given a soda here is a very special thing.  When we visit friends here they will almost always go out and buy a little soda to share with us. A big sacrifice for any family.  We loved the simplicity of the whole thing.  A wedding is an all day event here.  But, everything just happened all at once.  After the service we walked out of the church.  It was then picture time! So for the next 15 minutes the MC just shouted out whose turn it was for pictures.  He moved the people are an army sergeant very effectively!  Then we ate!  After eating more music and dancing.  We will add video of it later.  The women of the church welcomed the new bride to their married women's group with quite a dance!  Very fun! Then, onto gift giving.  There is no table here for gift giving.  Each person presents their gift individually to the Bride and Groom.  When it was our turn we were heartily greeted and thanked by the bride and groom for coming.  It was a very special moment we were happy for them and thankful for the opportunity to share in this important moment in their life together. 

Its so hard to say it all for you.  If an event reflects its attendants this wedding summed up so much of what we love about Africans.  They are thoughtful, affectionate, spiritual, giving, frugal, thankful, and uninhibited. They dance and move and sway without hesitation. They shout and hoot and call with joy.  They hold hands while they talk to show they are with (alongside) each other.  There is always a smile and a hand to hold. They do life together.  Its messy and beautiful all at once.

Jon and Amie

The market

Fidelma and I went to the large wholesale market here in Mombasa this morning.  We both needed veg and fruit so we decided to go together. 
This is a huge indoor/outdoor market.  I don't know the exact size of the place but I'm guessing 3-5 acres.  Everyone who sells veg and fruit all over mombasa and surrounding areas comes to this market every morning to buy their produce.  It is then pulled in carts all over the city and country side.
The ground is layers of garbage and mud.  The place smells like a big mix of garbage, produce, animals and diesel.  I can still smell it when I think about it now.  People are pushing and yelling and sweating.  There are Mamas sitting on potato sacks with little piles of produce all around then.  "Karibu Mama" they say as we pass "Welcome Mama".  Young men come up to us and ask if they can carry our bags. "Its too heavy for you Mama!  Let me help you." (of course they want a little something) I say, "siku ingeni, asanta" "maybe tomorrow, thankyou"  We come to the cabbage section of the market.  Piles and piles of cabbage.  Big piles of cabbage.  The first mama says, "50 shilling".  Fidelma looks at me and says, "how do you see it Amie?"  Of course I have no idea what to pay for cabbage.  She say, "We'll keep looking."  We walk on then she leans over and starts hitting the cabbage.  They are big, hard, bright green cabbage.  Beautiful.  She looks at the young man and says, "how much?"  He says, "35 bob."  She smiles.  She takes two and I take one.  She had just told me they were selling them for 100 bob across the ferry where she lives. 
We keep moving, slowly weaving our way through the people sitting on the ground selling and the people hurrying around us.  We stop to buy some avocado.  Big beautiful avocado.  The mama and Fidelma start talking about the price and which are good for today and which for tomorrow.  Fidelma has to touch each one.  Some she holds twice until she is satisfied she has found the best ones for us.  All this bent over at the hips.  Bum up, head down, bag between the feet, hands searching for just the right fruit.  Its rude for a woman to squat.  Better to bend straight over. 
Moving again. Don't step in the mud.  Don't step on the oranges.  Step over the bolder sticking out of the ground.  We buy some garlic from a man standing with a box of garlic.  "10 bob each Mama. How many, mama?"  He has a beautiful smile. 
Then we head for one of the covered areas.  I need some shade and Fidelma wants to greet a friend who sells melon.  He's very happy to see us and meet Fidelma's mzungu (white person) friend.  We buy some melon and ask if we can leave our heavy bags with him while we go buy the rest of our things.  He's very happy to help. 
We find ginger, hot peppers, green peppers, carrots, peas, spinach, onions, potatoes, parsley, lemons and sakuma (a green leaf Kenyans love). 
The most interesting thing that happened though was at the tomatoes.  Turning a corner we were suddenly standing in front of crates and crates and crates of tomatoes.  I mean you have never seen so many tomatoes in one place.  All in wood crates with cardboard scrapes on top and tied with twine.  Tomatoes on the ground stepped on and covered in flies.  TOMATOES!  Fidelma got herself somehow in the middle of these crates where other woman and men where standing.  I looked like they where all talking about something.  I had no idea why we where just standing there.  Then a young man grabbed a crate and poured out the contents on the the mud, garbage ground.  Fidelma and five other people circled the pile on the ground and bent over at the hips.  So, I bent over too thinking I could help pick our tomatoes but Fidelma quickly stopped me and said "I am choosing." Each took a different number of tomatoes in their hand and showed the rest what they had taken.  They then put what was in their hand in their bag.  They choose again.  Fidelma took two.  Another took five, and other took four. And each time they paused to show everyone that they had taken the agreed amount.  I realized as I watched that they had all put in to buy the crate and then worked out among themselves how many they could each take from the crate.  Amazing!  What a great idea.  We got at least 3kg of tomatoes for 100 shillings ($1.20 CDN)
After retrieving our bags from the melon guy we went to the part of the market that is in an actual building.  There is a mama there who has a stall and sells spices.  She is a big beautiful mama, with a bright laso (piece of fabric) tied on her head and a warm smile that takes up her whole face.  I've bought from her many times before and the first time I sent Fidelma to the market alone I told her to go to Mama Hadija.  So when Fidelma and I walked up she was very happy to see us.  I asked her about the spices, rice and beans.  And got her to tell me some words in Swahilli.  Fidelma suggested that I go visit her in her home soon.  Mama Hadija loved the idea!  We then had to exchange phone numbers, a very common thing here.  She told Fidelma to bring me next Sunday.  She said she would phone me.  Very different from home, but very neat.  I'm excited to go visit her if I actually get to.
Then we were off heading toward to road.  It's a bit of a hike out of the market.  You have to navigate through matatus (14 passenger public service vehicles) and mud puddles and people.  As you walk in and out there is a large used clothing market.  But, we had done enough shopping for one day so we headed straight for the road. 
Back home now I'm exhausted!  Between the sun, and heat, the people, the heavy bags and the walking I'm pooped!  But it's those experiences that make me love living here. 

I have scrubbed, bleached and air dried all the produce and we are ready to eat!

More on Safari

Here is a little sampling of video of our time on Safari.

On Safari

We have had a wonderful time with Dad and Mom as they have spent a month with us in Kenya. They head home tonight on their flight. One of our hi-lights of their trip was that they took us on safari! What an amazing time we had out at Amboseli National Park.

Crested Crane.
Hippo! We saw quite a few of these big creatures in the park. Usually they were under water though so we were lucky to get a good glimpse of this one.


I love this pic in the background behind the lions you can see the elephants grazing.



Lunch time! Well actually we didn't get to see a scene from Planet Earth or anything but a bit of cat and mouse game between the wildebeests and the lions. Our guide said lions are lazy and the wildebeests are just teasing the lions because they know they are not hungry. Anyway good entertainment for us!

Cabbage will never look the same again

Cost of living is something that affects everyone, whether you are in Canada or Kenya. I had a conversation a couple weeks back with our day guard about the cost of living in Kenya. Something I found interesting is that we usually determine in Canada that life is expensive when the cost of gasoline goes up. I am speaking generally here, but when gas hits 1.20 a litre we start thinking wow life is expensive I need to cut back.

In our conversation the guard explained to me how the cost of everything in the market has been going up. A cabbage is going for 80 shillings in some places, a tomato could be going for 10 shillings (when before you could maybe buy 3 for 15 or so), when you only make 200 or 300 shillings in a day this is very bad news. As the guard explained your whole paycheque for the day goes to just feeding the family one meal. So, what do you do when the kids are crying and hungry in the morning and at lunch? How do you find a way to pay rent? Let alone school fees for the kids? Kenyans eat simply but when the staples of their diet are too costly what are they to do? These are the challenges people are facing here. He explained to me that in some places duka owners were not even stocking things like tomatoes because they knew there was no point their clientele could not afford them at present time. He tells me all this while I stroll in happily with 6 tomatoes in a plastic bag. It shocking how insulated one can become from the daily struggles that are happening to people right around the block from you.

The cost of fuel versus the cost of basic daily survival really impacted me. When life gets expensive at home we cut down on our driving. Instead of making 2 trips to town in the week, we make one. Instead of eating out once a week, we stay home. But, here for so many there is no buffer. Most people are already living on the edge. People get by day to day that is how life is lived. They don't know where the next meal is coming from tomorrow. They are completely dependent on God to provide. As many people say in Mombasa, "Inshallah" which is an Arabic term for "if Allah wills, or if God wills." We hear Mu$ lims and Christians both use the term.

So, I know I can't look at a cabbage the same now. It is a symbol of what the daily struggle is for many here in Kenya.

Just Tuk Tuk(ing) around

One of the joys and some days trials of living here is the Tuk Tuk. We can get around our little island of Mombasa for between 1.50 - 2 dollars a ride on one of these. We all squeeze into one and are off. They are everywhere so it usually isn't a big deal finding a ride. The bigger deal is negotiating price. Knowing some Swahili helps alot! One of the great things about them is that we have gotten to get to know a couple drivers very well. Instead, of just picking up random guys to drive us we call up Sammy or John to drive us if we want to make a longer trip or do multiple errands.

For, the most part we do enjoy riding in the Tuk Tuk and are extremely happy they are here in Mombasa because we have a relatively cheap way of getting around our island especially because we do not yet have a vehicle.

We are praying about getting a vehicle though and hope to have one in the near future. Many times riding in Tuk Tuk's is an adventure. Like two nights ago when the kids finished swimming lessons and we caught a guy outside the pool. He had a terrible Tuk Tuk and we were breathing in exhaust and bouncing like crazy the whole trip. He picked all the short cuts in town to get us home which is nice but very very bouncy! At one corner we came across a pretty big disturbance where some guys were yelling at each other and there was probably around 150 people gathered. It was at that place we got stuck in traffic and I really didn't feel comfortable in the situation as there were 2 or 3 men that started doing double and triple walk by's our Tuk Tuk looking in at our bag at my feet. Our Tuk Tuk guy turned around at the same time I noticed all this and said make sure you have your bag secure! So, it's always an adventure! God has been so good and kept us safe as we have traveled around Mombasa over the past few months. We are very thankful for that.

Here we are riding in Sammy's Tuk Tuk. You can pray for Sammy as his Tuk Tuk has broken down and the owner is not willing to repair it leaving Sammy out of work for the past few weeks. We miss him very much!


These two pictures below are of John the Tuk Tuk guy. I met him one day and he said the one thing he refused to do was charge mzungu's (white people) an unfair price. We had a great talk about why he decided to do that. I got his phone number and he has been one of our regulars ever since! He sent me a picture of him with his family.

Nairobi

We are in Nairobi right now doing language training. We are learning so much and have great language helpers who are young people living in Nairobi. More on them to come in a later post. On our day off this past weekend we went out and visited an elephant orphanage and also the giraffe center. It was quite a little adventure for the Chalmers family! We had a great taxi driver who made sure we were early to the baby elephant viewing. Because as you can see many people from all over the world come and see these babies everyday! We happened to start a conversation with the woman beside us as we waited for the elephants and we found out she was from Israel! Amazing how the world meets in the big cities whether you are in the U.S. or Africa the big cities of the world seem to have more and more in common with each other.

We had great fun at the elephant orphanage and enjoyed watching these babies suck back their bottles in no time!



The giraffe center was a lot of fun too. The kids all fed giraffes and were able to pet them. Amazing standing eye to eye with a giraffe!


Afterwards, we sat down for a drink in the tea room area of the giraffe center. Fanta soda has become the kids new favorite drink in Kenya!

At Scott Theological In Machkos, Kenya

The view at Scott Theological.
Amie playing with some of the kids during break time.

I wrote this post yesterday night while there was no internet...

It’s 8:30 pm at night and I am sitting outside under a small light outside the Scott Chapel building. Mount Ilke looms on the side of the Scott campus and small lights dot the hills indicating little homes for the Kenyans here. The dogs are barking loudly on the hills and the night critters are creaking not unlike what I am used to in Saskatchewan. In some ways this moment feels like a writers dream. Every sense is heightened to the new noises and any moving lights. It is like the feeling I could get before my big college volleyball matches. Anyway, enough with the sentiments.

We are here at Machkos now. It was a splendid drive up here. (I think the British folk in our group may be wearing on me a bit!) I was on the wrong side of the bus on the drive up but some people were able to see giraffes on the drive up from Nairobi. It was amazing to see the building taking place all along the way here. Everywhere there is road construction, buildings going up, men at work. And not just a few men there are hundreds and hundreds of Kenyans at work building Kenya. Coming out of Nairobi the rugged beauty of the place cannot help but take your breath away or maybe that is all the dust you are breathing in as you drive! There is rocks, massive outcrops of escarpment type hills, beautiful trees, and dry grass. All over the landscape is people. People people people they would be sitting in the middle of fields by themselves on their cell phones. They would be standing in groups of 20’s on the side of the street. There would be shops dotting the roadside with perfectly painted coke sellers and everything else you could want.

Scott is a beautiful campus. Today on a walk Amie and I met a fellow Canadian couple who teach here. They have been teaching and living in Africa for many years. Prior to just recently moving here they were at Kijabe at Moffat Bible College. This wonderful couple were so kind to us and Andrew the professor offered to pass onto me some of the key insights he has come to in regards to teaching Kenyans. He has some things written out and some articles that he is preparing to give me electronically! What a blessing to run into this couple today. We are going to stop by later and chat more with them.

The kids are still working on adjusting to all the changes we have been going through. Ian is tired but having trouble getting in a regular routine of eating and napping. Which is probably harder on us as parents than on him. Elijah today enjoyed himself but at times seemed a bit disoriented by his surroundings, which is abnormal for him. Grace seems to be doing alright but still needs to do a bit of adjusting to the new place. We are sleeping in dormitories. So we are in separate rooms Elijah and Grace in one room. Amie, Ian, and myself in the other. Please just pray for our settling in here and continual adjustment to Africa. Unfortunately, this will be posted late because the internet is down at Scott right now. Blessings for now!

Traffic Jam

Well, this gives traffic jam a whole new meaning! It is crazy to think we are only weeks away from being on Kenyan soil. What things will we see? We look forward to sharing them with you here on the blog.

Thanks for all your prayers and support over these past weeks. We continue to trust God for full support by June 13th (the deadline AIM has given us for financial clearance). We would love to chat with you more if you feel God may be leading you to participating in this ministry with us.

Our Vision for our Work in Africa

Consider, that around 1900 there was approximately 10 million Christians on the continent in Africa and now there are well over 300 million that would say they adhere to Christianity.

This is a massive shift and one that truly may be unprecedented for Christendom. As Amie and I have considered this issue, we have come to see the importance of training Africans in a solid biblical understanding of Christ and his Word as a necessity. With the great growth of Christianity there is a lack of "spiritual infrastructure" for the training of the next generations in the gospel and for the continuing outreach of the gospel to the nations and cultures who have not heard the good news in Africa.

We have been struck by the term "theological famine relief" as the key phrase of our vision for going to Africa. Here in North America we have so much wealth, education, and opportunities. Obviously, this is disproportionate in regards to what Africa has. "Today, unlike almost any other earlier period, the money and the strong education institutions of Christianity are in one part of the world, while the majority of the active believers are located elsewhere" (Mark Noll The New Shape of World Christianity). We here in North America still have a very important role to play in the booming church of what has been coined the 'global south.' We have a great responsibility to our brothers and sisters in these nations to share the education and theological knowledge that we take for-granted here.

"The gospel belongs to every one in every culture; it belongs to no one in any one culture in particular" (Noll, The New Shape of World Christianity). We must share what we have with other cultures and peoples and continue to pass on the good news of Jesus Christ and the riches we enjoy in Him. We must seek to continue to mobilize men and women from all nations to go to the rest of the nations that have not heard the good news.

Enter Pwani Bible Institute for the Chalmers. This small bible institute on the coast of Kenya in the city of Mombasa is where God has called us to work. To teach, to share our lives, and train up ministry workers for Kenya and the continent of Africa. We know this will not be easy. It is extremely difficult to leave everything and everyone we know and love here in Canada. The closer our departure date comes the harder it becomes. But, as our pastor said last Sunday, "a pilgrim doesn't truly have a home." Our home is with Christ and we are compelled by His love for us to share it with others in Mombasa.

We appreciate all your prayers, participation, and encouragement as we trust God on this journey to Africa.

The African Century

I just was checking the Globe and Mail site and they have a special feature about Africa. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/africa/

It's worth checking out and reading if you are at all interested. They are calling this 'The African Century." Africa is about to reach a billion people, has great natural resources, and a young population. There are still many serious problems in Africa that cannot be sugar-coated but a few of these articles speak with great optimism about the future of Africa in the world.

Here is a short quote from one of the articles. "Its popular image is still the same: hunger; corruption; war; poverty. But take another look. Beyond the stereotypes, Africa’s potential is explosive. Its human talents, its vast natural resources, its rising democracies and new technologies – all are reaching a tipping point that could send it surging dramatically upward.

The economy of sub-Saharan Africa is projected to grow by 4.75 per cent this year, faster than the world average, and will accelerate to an impressive 6 per cent in 2011, according to the International Monetary Fund. It will be the strongest recovery that Africa has ever managed to achieve after a global downturn, and it is testament to its greater resilience, smarter policies and growing popularity among foreign investors."

The mission field in Africa is changing. We are excited to follow God's call to Kenya.

A ocean view in Mombasa

Here is a picture our friends who are serving with AIM sent us of Mombasa.

Politics in Kenya

Kenyan politics have been marred by corruption over the years. I am half through a very interesting book on the political situation in Kenya called, "It's our Turn to Eat." The book follows the life of a man who stood up to corruption in Kenya and actually had to hide in England for a time because he was scared for his life. The book does a good job of introducing some of the key issues in Kenyan politics to a newcomer.

So, just recently on BBC news they ran a story about a new draft constitution for the country. A big part of this is moving away from concentrating so much power into the hands of the president of the country. Read here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8600559.stm

Hopefully, some of these measures will stem the tide from the election violence that marred the last Kenyan elections. This will be an interesting story to follow in the days to come. For further interest I also follow another Kenyan news service at http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/

Where is Kenya??

We have been asked by a few people, "where is Kenya?" Here is a map of Africa with Kenya hi-lighted. The Equator runs right through the middle of Kenya. Mombasa is right on the coast of the Indian Ocean.

Some facts about Kenya

1. Before 1920, the area now known as Kenya was known as the British East Africa Protectorate

2. Kenya is named after Mt. Kenya the second highest peak in Africa

3. In the centuries preceding colonization, the Swahili coast of Kenya was part of the east African region which traded with the Arab world and India especially for ivory and slaves. (This is of interest to us because we will be on the coastal region. This trading accounts for the Islamic presence along the coast.)

4. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore the Kenya region, they built Fort Jesus in Mombasa in 1593 to solidify their strength in the region.

5. The vast majority of Kenyans are Christian with 45% regarding themselves as Protestant and 33% as Roman Catholic. (Yet, in the Mombasa area the stats are different.) Sixty percent of the Muslim population lives in Coast Province, comprising 50 percent of the total population there.