Masudi, the chef

Masudi finished his one-year course of "Food Preparation" at Aviation College late last year. After my return to Kenya in February, I took him out for lunch to celebrate his graduation. We ate at the very fancy Hilton Hotel. We both enjoyed the food, but it was too much for me. I sent some of mine home with Masudi :)

Outside the entrance to the hotel

Masudi was quite fortunate to get an 'attachment' at the Hilton!

It was an intense 4.5-month training period.

Please pray for him, as he now looks for a job (after finishing the attachment).

Celebrating birthdays

One of my favorite things to do in Kenya is to create simple birthday parties for my friends. There isn't much of a culture of celebrating birthdays here in Kenya. I guess it gets lost in the shuffle of surviving one day at a time and just living daily life. So... I bring the party! Sometimes they happen at my house, sometimes at their house, and sometimes at a restaurant. If we celebrate in someone's house, I make cake, cookies, or brownies. Yummy!

Emily

On March 6th, after a baptism at our church, my former homegroup had a reunion. We also celebrated Emily and Kim's birthdays. There were 12 of us in my small house. We had such a great time! In fact, I was enjoying myself so much... that this photo of Emily is THE only one I took! I did make a short video, though, of us singing "Happy Birthday" to the two of them. Click here to view it.

Masudi's birthday is March 14th

Rose and I helped Masudi celebrate his birthday. We also helped him eat the "Tuesday-buy-one-get-one-free" Pizza Inn pizza! And... we each had a scrumptious Creamy Inn "Perky Peanut Parfait"!

Collins turned 20 on March 30th

 After "Wacky Wednesday" burgers at Steers, the five of us - Sammy, Rose, Collins, Masudi, and I - walked across downtown Nairobi to Sno Cream. It has existed in the same location since 1954! They serve all sorts of ice cream - a selection to meet anyone's taste preference! I was disciplined and got a bowl of fresh fruit.

Margaret, Jim, and Derrick's birthdays are all on the same week

Derrick and Jim spent a weekend with me. We had great fun on Saturday! First stop was Uhuru Garden for some Kenya history. The park was created to honor Kenya's 1963 independence.

Our next stop was Splash Water World - a first for all of us. Unknown to us, there was a special event going on. It seemed as if half of Nairobi was there! No problem - the more the merrier!

The event was to promote reading among children. The boys each got a free book of local poetry and I also bought them each an issue of a new children's magazine.

The boys liked the water slides - a first for both of them. But they spent the majority of their time in the pool - a very rare experience.

Kenya vs. Uganda football match

Ryan and his friend, Robert

Julie and I at the match at Nyayo Stadium

Masudi

Jim

Nairobi Agricultural Show

Neither one of us had ever been to any of the Agriculture/Trade shows in Kenya. They're held annually in the large cities - Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, and Kitale.

This was one of numerous displays and exhibits.

 

Masudi enjoyed trying such rides for the first time in his life!

Showing some of Nairobi's landmarks to Masudi

Memorial bearing all the names of those who died when the US Embassy was bombed in 1998.

Kenya's High Court

KICC (Kenya International Conference Center) 

and a statue of Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya's 1st president)

Downtown Nairobi, as seen from the small lake at Uhuru Park

Masudi was excited to go out onto the lake in one of the peddle boats

Another fun day with Masudi

Our 1st stop was to the Sheldrick elephant orphanage 

They have also rescued this orphaned rhino. All the elephants and rhinos are eventually released into the wild after being fully rehabilitated.

Our next stop was to the Giraffe Center. 

What fun Masudi had giving one of them a "kiss"!

We strolled around the nature trail, as well.

We cycled the entire day - around 20 miles (30 kilometers) total! 

It was a great outing, including two stops for a cold soda

and another longer one for lunch!

March Prayer Letter

• Please continue to pray for my health!

• Pray that I would always be sensitive to what the Lord is doing within my ministry and that I would then move there and come alongside Him.

• Charles and Agnes

1. Praise God that their son, Tony, is okay after being struck by lightning!
2. Agnes has a recurring debilitating problem that continues to flare up.
3. Create income - Agnes is almost finished with her sewing classes; I will soon buy her a sewing machine – Pray that she can acquire a steady stream of customers.
4. I bought a bicycle and large bag of potatoes for Charles; his plan is to sell them door-to-door.

• Joe

1. That his strength would continue to increase
2. That he would find something productive to keep him occupied
3. That he would make some good friends. For a variety of reasons, Joe moved from the church compound to a flat in Kayole.

• Collins is in his last year of high school. Please pray that he would focus on his studies, as well as good character traits.

• Masudi finished high school last year. Please pray that there would be a way for him to either further his education or to pursue a trade.

• Pray for the Sudanese guys that are in school through our church’s Rehema ministry. Pray that they would focus on their studies. Also, please pray that no more items would be stolen from them. This is unfortunately a common occurrence in Kenya’s boarding schools.

• I have friends from the States visiting me at the end of the month. Please pray that the various endeavors in which they’ll be engaged would go well.

The Lethargic Village of Shimba Hills

Time moves really slowly in this remote, lethargic village! They don't even get newspapers until mid-day. We spent a lot of time just sitting in silence.

I was ever aware of the rivulets of sweat running down various parts of my body.

This is Masudi and his mom, Stella. She's sorting through some spices for making rice pilaf.

Masudi, cutting open another coconut for me to enjoy

Madi is Masudi's nephew. He's eating a papaya - fresh off the tree. I got the other half. De-licious! Besides fresh papaya and coconut, I also had fresh oranges and passion. Fruit grows like weeds here!

Masudi, relaxing in the wheelbarrow he uses to fetch water

Masha is carving a toothpick for me.
He's using a frond from a coconut tree.

This is Masudi at school. He shares the desk with another student. He's in Form Two (his sophomore year). Please pray for him.

May Prayer Letter, 2006

PRAISE -

Safe travel to two far corners of Kenya during the month of April. I went to Mombasa to visit with Masudi (actually we met in Ukunda). I got to see his school and meet the family he stays with. We also had lunch at a nice restaurant and spent a few hours at the beach. It was good to re-connect with him and get caught up with one another.

Secondly, I traveled to Migori District (in South Nyanza Province). I accompanied Claire (a British gal from my church who's in Kenya working with an arm of Wycliff Bible Translators). She ministered during four teaching sessions in two days. We stayed with the pastor of the church. We had a nice bonus of an afternoon along Lake Victoria at Muhuru on the Tanzanian border. We got to see some Nile Perch that had been caught that day. We also got to spend a couple of hours at Lake Nakuru National Park. We saw lots and lots of animals - flamingos, zebra, buffalo, giraffe, rhino, gazelle, waterbuck, and warthogs. It was incredible to say the least!

Karo and Jeremiah's church recently held a "Love Offering" service. I was one of their special guests. They're raising money for a PA system and a keyboard. Their goal is 100,000/= ($1,500) and they were blessed with 25% at this function. They were quite pleased!

My friend, Cyndi (from Omaha) arrived safely last week. She'll be in Kenya for five months. She's rented a place on the same compound where I stay in Nairobi.

PRAYER REQUESTS -

Please remember to pray for Karo as she gives birth to her baby. It should be any day now! Pray also that all of their needs will be met.

Collins, Masudi, Masha, Musyoka, Rose, and Sammy all start back to school next week for their second term. Pray that they will develop not only along academic lines but all aspects of their character.

Wisdom for me as I frequently disciple and counsel various friends. This can be quite a challenge in a cross-cultural setting.

"LIFE IS NOT A REHEARSAL. WE ONLY HAVE ONE LIFE TO LIVE. MAKE IT COUNT." - Pastor at Mombasa Pentecostal Church