The night before we left for Kenya, we met up with some friends from church for a small send off and some final goodbyes. During the party, Kris Rocke gathered everyone around to “bless us.” It was a wonderful experience that I feel has already brought many wonderful moments our way. Someone blessed us with safe travels and our travels were not only safe but flawless.... we were blessed with traveling mercies indeed!! Another person blessed us with smooth transitions and new friendships and that have also come to pass as we have met many wonderful people already... another blessed us with a strong and growing relationship with one another and I have been amazed at the peace and love I feel when I am with Joel. It is beautiful thing to experience God through your blessings! It has taught me to be free with blessing others and to hold back on cursing. How easy it can be to curse, especially in the heat of a moment, and how difficult it can be to bless. I hope that those who blessed us, have felt a return of blessings in their own lives.
Every day has been a new experience and as I learn more about the people and their culture, I find myself enjoying each moment all the more. It's a wonderful feeling when something as simple as going to the store becomes a new and noteworthy experience simply because it is not in the context of the culture that you are used to. Instead of a writing a novel (which I feel I could easily do :), I just want to highlight random thoughts, moments, or experiences that will allow you a glimpse into our life here in Nairobi.
~ A person can buy 5 Roma Tomatoes for the equivalent of $.15 and an avocado (that is TWICE the size of the avocados in the states) costs $.05. Produce is CHEAP!! I went to the market in downtown Nairobi on Saturday and bought over 50 pounds of fruits and vegetables for a little over $10.00. WOW :)
~ Many streets are not paved, and when it rains, it gets MUDDY! Kenyans are very talented at walking through the mud and keeping their shoes clean. I gave up on this task and bought “gum boots” (rubber boots that go up to your knees and wash off easily).
~ They have a store called Nakumatt that is similar to a Fred Meyer or Wal-Mart... there are many conveniences here that I did not expect...
~I found a group to play ultimate frisbee with!!
~We travel around town either by walking (YEAH for exercise!!) or by Matatu. Matatus are 14 passenger vans that drive on set routes and are aggressive on the road!! Many times they will weave in and out of traffic making sudden stops if they see a potential passenger and are consider by some to be bullies on the road. The lonely planet guide describes Kenyan drivers as BAD... and I see it differently, it's more of a talent to successfully drive on the roads here... there's such an ebb and flow to the traffic that doesn't exist in the states.
~They have ice cream here!
~Some fun Swahili words that you can use in your conversations:
Pole, pole: slowly, slowly
Karibu!!: Welcome!!
Asante: Thank you!
Sasa: Hello
Kwaheri: Goodbye
Lala Salama: Sleep well (this rolls off the tongue so nicely :)
I just also want to say ASANTE SANA (thank you very much) to those who sent me birthday wishes. Receiving letters from home was the best birthday gift I could have received this year, and it was so wonderful to receive even more blessings!! One of my prayers is that I will be able to bless others half as much as I have received this past month :)
Peace from Nairobi,
Mandy
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