Countdown to Christmas

Last week I got to help out at a holiday bible club at a Nairobi church. Part of each day's craziness involved practising for the play that was performed during today's church service. Titled 'Countdown to  Christmas', the play told the story of the Old Testament; of God's plans and provision for His people, culminating in the birth (and death and resurrection) of Jesus.

Treasure

Last week I went to a conference with other people who work with AIM in Kenya. This was a refreshing and relaxing time, and it was great to meet others and find out what God is doing in different parts of the country. 

I heard about how modern technology is being used to bring God’s message to the Gabra, another nomadic tribe in the north of Kenya. Few of the Gabra people have heard about the good news of Jesus, they can’t read and don’t have access to Bibles or churches. Yet the Bible in Gabra language has been recorded onto these easy-to-use solar-powered MP3 players which are then distributed to interested villagers. Up to about 20 people can listen to the recordings at a time, which they do at night until the battery runs out! The people have been excited to hear the message and often memorise passages and then pass on the Treasure.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Treasure indeed!

A taste of home

Who'd have thought I'd miss something as ordinary as blackcurrant and apple squash?! The juice drinks available here are very sugary and blackcurrant isn’t very common. Today I discovered a selection of imported Robinsons drinks and started by buying the blackcurrant and apple. Next might be pink grapefruit.

Holiday project

First stop: Nanyuki

Part way between Korr and Nairobi is the town of Nanyuki. Nick and Lynne rent a house in there.Nanyuki is on the equator and beside Mount Kenya. The highest mountain in Kenya is normally hidden in clouds and it became a joke about whether there is actually a mountain there. One day I did get a peek at the peak but I didn't have my camera with me. 

Despite being on the equator it is cooler in Nanyuki than in Korr, and also wetter, because of the altitude; a bit like a normal summer day in the UK!

This part of Kenya has very good farmland and there are lots of Indian and British owned farms in the area. There is also a British army base (where soldiers do desert and forest training) so there are lots of coffee shops and facilities for expats.

Shopping was strange, after weeks using what I had I suddenly had the opportunity to go shopping and also had choice. In a few weeks I will have the challenge of shopping for the next stretch in Korr.

Nanyuki was a pleasant re-introduction to downcountry ways of life. It felt like a treat to have mains electricity and water (rather than Korr’s solar and bore hole) and television, although there were power cuts and variable water pressure. I was able to eat out, ride in a tuk-tuk and go to an English speaking church.

Next stop: Nairobi

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drive downcountry (flash flooding field trip)

Last week I left Korr and travelled southwards overland. The first few of hours’ drive is on unmade roads and travel is tricky at the best of times but even more unpredictable in the rainy season. Riverbeds that are dry for most of the year become soft and muddy and we did quite a lots of slipping and sliding. We were pleased to cross straight through a major river that was in flow without much trouble. Soon after, though, it started to rain heavily and we rolled down the flaps on the back of the Land Cruiser to stop getting too wet!

There’s not much vegetation to intercept the rainfall, the ground quickly becomes saturated and infiltration rates slow down. We watched as the water flowed straight over the surface and into channels. Water levels in these channels rises very quickly to flood the land and roads but fortunately they also go down quite quickly.

We came to a place where the road was blocked by one of these fast moving flows. Whilst they are not necessarily very deep, they are fast and could easily sweep a vehicle away. An army truck had already stopped to wait which was a real blessing as we were able to follow them as they picked the best route through the water and back onto firmer tracks.

While we stopped for the water to go down enough for us to cross we were able to stretch our legs. You can see a wave of water coming down the channel.

We called in to visit the Form 4 students who were almost at the end of their final exams and not long afterwards we reached proper tarmacked roads. The journey in the back of the Land Cruiser was much smoother after that although it got noticeably cooler as we climbed higher. I put on a jumper for the first time in three months!

Along the way we spotted an elephant and ostrich.

In my first 12 weeks in Korr I didn’t …

…wear long sleeves
walk or drive on tarmac
use a washing machine
print anything or use a photocopier
go out in trousers
use a white board
wear a seatbelt
go upstairs
make or received a telephone call
have clean feet for any length of time
buy anything from a shop
get cash out
walk on carpet
wear socks
see a snake (yet!)

These are just some of the things that are very different about life in Korr. I thank God he has helped me cope with the various challenges and adapt to the differences. Now I am away from Korr I miss the wide open skies, the bright sunshine, the simplicity of life and how very friendly everyone is! I look forward to going back next month but am enjoying city life for a while first.

Hot!

 

 

 

It is about this hot every day. Now it is the school holidays I can have a nap after lunch when it is hottest. Going to bed it is mid 30s. In the morning it is cooler - high 20s.

This week is the first full week of the big end of year school holidays. I have enjoyed cooking, baking and reading - things that I have less time to do when school is on (just like at home!)

Tomorrow I am heading out of Korr overland. This could be an adventure as the rains make the roads unpredictable. On the way to Nairobi we are calling in on the Form 4s in Laisamis for their leaving party as their exams are almost finished. Lynne is taking a big goat stew and I have made cake.

Superb starlings

These birds, called superb starlings, are brilliant flashes of colour.  Unlike other wild animals, they do not blend in with the brown landscape. They are the most common bird that I have seen. When they get the chance they come to drink from the dogs’ water bowl outside the back door. They are very bold and seem to take the welcome mat as a personal invitation to come into the house!

Have you heard the raindrops drumming on the rooftop?

This morning I was woken up by the sound of rain on the metal roof of my room. It was quite soothing until I realised rain was blowing on my bed through the open window. Putting on my waterproof and rolling up my pyjama bottoms to trek to the toilet in the wet made me feel like I was camping in UK! It was almost cold – about  20°C.

The Night of the Scorpion

After nine weeks in Korr I have at last seen my first scorpion. I was just walking back from the shower and saw the elusive creature in my torch beam. He was about 10cm long and a light orangey colour. I quickly ran to tell the others and Nick jumped up to come to my rescue. However, I’d run not out of fear but out of excitement; I wanted to share my discovery! It took some time to relocate Mr Scorpion who then came to a sudden death under Obailey the night watchman’s sandal! In the drama of it all I forgot to take a photo.

Fear not, unlike in the poem with the same name as this post, I wasn't bitten!

His goodness restores my soul

This is Khobosso, who lives across from me. Last Sunday she ate lunch with me and we tried to talk to each other, me using my limited Rendille and Swahili, she with her limited English. She found this tapestry of Psalm 23 written in Rendille and as she is learning to read and write Rendille at school she was keen to try and read it, sounding each word aloud. And I read it in English. The picture of God as a shepherd, leading his people to pastures and water and guarding from danger is something Rendille pastoralists can identify with particularly well.
 

Farewell Form 4

This week we bid farewell to the Form 4 students who are at the end of high school, a bit like Year 13. All very last minute, we discovered that unfortunately the school is not able to be registered as an exam centre. So our students had to pack up all their books, personal belongings and mattresses and travel to Laisamis where they will stay for the next month whilst they sit their KCSE (Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education) exams. It was a sad day as these are the first students to go through the school and it will be a big upheaval for them to be in a different place as they sit these incredibly important exams. However, we know that our heavenly father, who is at the centre of the school, is in complete control and will be with the students.

In this photo you can see the truck all packed and ready to leave, with the students on top! It should have taken them a couple of hours to get there depending on what the roads are like following the rain.

We pray for the students as they sit their exams away from school and then as they await results which will determine future studies and/or employment. For many of them it’s not just their future that rests upon their exam results but also that of their extended families who will be supported financially by these students.

What's for tea?

These are some children I met on my way home recently. They had been to town to get supplies – cooking fat, rice, flour, sugar and a sachet of seasoning. Brought in small quantities from one of the traders in town, these are the main food stuffs for local people. Along with tea, little else will be eaten.

I eat quite well at the moment. We have food brought from downcountry. There's also a fridge for storage. In January I move house where facilities will be more basic so far more canned and dried food.

School uniforms

I've noticed a few local children wearing UK school uniform jumpers. They must have got here through some charity donation or secondhand clothes dealers in the cities. The children have no idea what the logos mean (you see all sorts of other 'western' logos on clothes worn along with more traditional garments) but are pleased to have an extra layer to keep them warm on chilly mornings (mid twenties!) In the picture on the left the children are on their way to school - you can see their school uniforms. I have taken photos of a few of these, googled the school and sent the headteachers a copy of the picture! Suddenly the world gets a lot smaller!

Our borehole

Some of us in Korr are very blessed to have this borehole provide us with water. It is just by where I live but the water has a bit of a journey before we can use it. The solar panel is used to pump the water from underground up to the big black storage tank on the hill (you can see it in the distance in the picture).This provides the pressure to get it to the individual houses nearby. In the compound where I live it is used to fill a storage tank that feeds the tap and shower.

There is another similar borehole that connects to taps at the schools and other community taps. People walk a long way to get water. Often children are sent to fill barrels of water which they then roll home. People also use the wells, especially for the animals.

It is about the time for Kenya's short rains. Korr normally gets less rain than other parts of the country and often it comes later. But we have already had a few rain showers this week. Last night I watched some stunning lightening on the horizon just after sunset. The rain is much needed but can cause real problems getting around as roads turn to mud and rivers can make roads impassable.   

Tales of a school nurse

One of my duties at school is that of 'nurse'. Students who are unwell during the school day or who have an ‘injury’ (usually cut feet from playing football barefoot) see me for first aid or basic medicine eg painkillers. Or they would like a note to be excused for wearing flip flips instead of shoes. I also have a supply of medicines for including antibiotics, anti-malarials and antihistamines. In the UK some of these medicines would only be prescribed by a doctor. However, there is no doctor in Korr, and students live at school so parents are not responsible for their ill children. There is a dispensary with a nurse but it is not always open and can take a lot of time to get seen. Seriously ill students are taken to hospital in town if a vehicle is available.

I am conscious that there are illnesses here that are not common in UK and that students’ immune system and general health is often not great. I brought a book with me called ‘Where there is no doctor’ and refer to it for advice on African ailments and best treatments. In most cases a plaster will do the job. For most other things painkillers, water or rest is sufficient. Surprisingly, some students are already sure of the diagnosis when they come to me (it’s always very serious!) and determined to take medicine which will deliver an instant cure.

Last week I saw a boy with a sore foot; a football injury. He was keen for bandage/painkillers/antibiotics… I told him that he’d probably be OK by the following day and prescribed rest, teaching him the phrase ‘time is healer’. He left me rather put out that I hadn’t at least given him a bandage. However the next day he came to see me and quite proudly told me that his foot was almost better. The swelling had gone down and it wasn’t sore anymore!

 

Visit to a go'ob

Not long after I arrived in Korr I visited a go'ob, the name given to the traditional village. Several families live in go'ob, surrounded by a thorn fence and with smaller thorn enclosures inside for animals. The houses are called mins and are made from acacia tree wood bent into a dome shape. Over these are put fabric, animal skins, cardboard boxes.

An outside view of a min



I sat on camel hides and it was surpisingly spacious inside. It was also smoky as the fire, on which our chai was brewed, is in the corner.
 

Word soon got out that there were visitors and these two children peered in to the min to get a glimpse of the mzungu.

Assembly

I took this photo in assembly this morning.  Students stand in rows marked out with stones.

The scouts do some marching, the flag is raised and then students sing the first verse of the national anthem:

Oh God of all creation

Bless this our land and nation
Justice be our shield and our defender;
May we dwell with unity, peace and liberty;
Plenty be found within our borders.

Form 1

I teach Form 1 Biology (four 40 minute lessons) and English (seven 40 minute lessons including one on Saturday). There are 20 students in Form 1, ranging in age from 14 to about 18. Some students do not know exactly how old they are and their age can change from week to week! Tirrim Secondary School is still quite new. These are only the fourth year group to start the school. They love having their photo taken, don't like doing homework (or preps as they call it as they live at school), are reluctant to wear their ties properly or tuck their shirts in (kind of forgivable in 40 degree + temperatures) and complain if I make them remove their non-uniform jumpers, insisting that they are cold (it may be 35 degrees!). Yet many are keen to learn and for some great sacrifice has been made by their families and communities to send them to school, despite their being no real fees. This morning a student asked if he could apologise to me.Yesterday he had been late and, along with some others, had been argumentative and uncooperative. Whilst that sort of behaviour isn't unusual to me, the voluntary and genuine apology was!

Watermelon

This afternoon the kitchen sent over a treat - watermelon! There's not much fruit to be had in Korr and it was a hot afternoon so I liked it a lot!

Praise the LORD, all nations!

Praise the LORD, all nations!
Extol Him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love towards us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures endures forever.
Praise the LORD!

Psalm 117

Cocoa, prayers and scorpion stings

Every Sunday evening us wazungus (white folk) meet to pray. At the moment there are just four of us and yet this has been a special time together. Last time, as we sat drinking cocoa, chatting about recent events and preparing to pray, the night guard brought in a local lad who had been stung on the hand by a scorpion. Nick and Lynne have a simple hand generator and electrodes are placed on the site of the sting and the point the poison has reached. The guard turns the handle and slowly the pain subsides. It is thought that the electric current denatures the protein in the poison. But  this wasn't the first time as a similar thing happened the previous Sunday evening when a lady was brought in having been stung on her foot. Scorpion stings are not uncommon and can be serious so this ‘treatment’ at Nick and Lynne’s may be life-saving. I have yet to see a scorpion so there's no photo of one, but below is the generator contraption. I wonder what will happen this Sunday evening!?

Water droplets in the desert

This picture was taken as the sun was going down. I think the way the late afternoon light is reflected by plastic bottles looks striking and, in some ways, like water droplets. There’s no formal waste disposal in this part of Kenya; most rubbish is burned and the remaining metal/glass is buried or left in piles of ash around the town. Other rubbish is blown by the wind until it is caught by trees and thorny scrub vegetation; ugly in the daytime but pretty at sundown.

                                    

Various visitors

For the first two weeks I was here I think the local wildlife was being kind to me. I didn’t see many small (or large) creepy crawlies other than bees and wasps in my room and the occasional small lizard. The wasps and bees are pretty big and noisy but I am told they are normally harmless.

It seems that at the weekend they decided I’d had long enough to settle in. Cockroaches, beetles and spiders have all been to introduce themselves and most have survived! The most annoying of my visitors are moths; I hate the way they flutter in the light of my head torch and bathe in my basin of water.

Yesterday the pigeon, who lives in the roof, got confused by the washing blowing in the wind. He flew into my room instead of this nest. Try as he (and I) might, he couldn’t find the door. Meanwhile, I noticed a large, furry spider like the one in the picture. I would normally politely ignore spiders but I have been warned about this one and told it is best to kill them. Once I had ‘dealt’ with Mr Spider I resorted to getting the night guard to help with Mr Pigeon (using the only bird-like word I know in Swahili or Rendille - chicken!) and he managed to catch it.

You’d think that word would get out that I don’t welcome visitors to my room? Well, apparently not! This morning Mr Spider’s brother was brave enough to put in an appearance – see him pictured on my pillow! He didn’t last long either! 

However, I have yet to see a scorpion, a snake, a hyena or a lion…perhaps they will be the next visitors!?

 

 

The singing wells

I walk past several wells on the way to town and school. Most now have concrete and brick surrounding walls and trough. I often see people collecting water and also watering camels. However, most Rendille warriors looking after the camels are very reluctant to allow photos to be taken of their camels. 

The other day, as I approached this well, I heard chanting coming from way down in the well. Turns out there were six men in the well, each above the other and braced against the walls of the well. They were singing to keep the rhythm of passing buckets of water up the well. The guy at the top emptied the bucket into a basin at the top which was then either put into the animal trough or emptied into containers.

The view from my desk

My classes were having start-of-term tests today and I so didn't actually teach. This meant that I was able to plan next week's  lessons in advance which is a rarity for me! Above is the view from my desk/classrooms. It reminds me that I am actually here!

Football

Lads playing football on the school field.

My first ride standing in the back of a pickup...

This afternoon I went out with Judy and some other Rendille evangelists to two go'obs. I rode there standing in the back of the pickup (see below) on a dirt track. After drinking chai in a min (one of the homes) I played games and sang some songs with some of the small children (the Okey Kokey went down well!). Then, in the shade of an acacia tree, Judy and her friends sang songs (wonderful Rendille tunes), shared stories from the Bible of God's love and forgiveness and prayed. I think I may have been more of a distraction so I held back at the second go'ob we visited! In the absence of trees they sheltered beside the truck.

 

Women and children were keen to hitch a lift in the pickup to the nearest water source. I counted at least 20 people (it was hard to count amongst the water containers whilst hanging on myself) squeezed on the back, along with the sticks to build one house! As we bounced along they soon started singing traditional songs with wonderful harmonies and leader/response parts. Combined with the tinkling of the women's head dresses it made an incredible sound!

My bedroom

This is my room, in a kind of prefabricated metal building with a concrete floor and corrugated iron roof. It is nice to have my own space. It is in a simple compound next to Nick and Lynne’s house. There is an outside toilet opposite and a shower with running water nearby.

Baking...and I made some cakes!

My first attempt at baking in Kenya...all-bran muffins in the stove-top oven. They went down well with our visitors!

First day of term

Me and another volunteer outside a classroom ready to issue text books on registration day.

Lessons start tomorrow after registration today. I'm going to be teaching Biology and English, as well as being school nurse/first aider. I am really enjoying the adventure and novelty of everything at the moment. I walked to school on my own this afternoon - an adventure in itself when there aren't roads, signs or normal landmarks. However, with a small detour I managed it: head towards 'town', go past the wells, cross the dried up river bed, up towards the town (a mixture of brick and concrete buildings and traditional huts), right past the mosque, line up the two hills on the horizon and towards the school compound. And along the way say hello (neebey) to locals dressed in traditional costume, children dressed in very little and school students! Takes about 20 mins!

Welcome to Korr!

 

Young herdsmen hurriedly cleared the dirt airstrip of their goats and sheep as the tiny six-seater MAF plane bumped to the ground. Children flocked round to see the plane. As I climbed out Nick and Lynne arrived in their well-used green Toyota pickup. They were here to meet me and drop off some other passengers who returning to Nairobi.

 

The plane soon left in a cloud of red dust and I'm left in the middle of nowhere. No roads. No street lights. No mobile reception. No proper shops. We have internet via satellite, solar electricity and an outhouse with pit latrine. The shower now has running water, only recently installed. Water from a borehole is pumped, using solar energy, up to a tank on a nearby hill. this creates the pressure in the taps and shower. By the afternoon the water is nicely heated by the sun so you can get a warm shower, a real blessing when it's so hot, dry and dusty.

 

I am living in a two-roomed prefabricated building next to Nick and Lynne's house and to start with will eat my meals with them. They have been very welcoming and have already shared some fascinating stories of their 30 years living here and the work of which they have been a key part.

I went to church this morning. Much of the meeting was in Rendille and the songs were in a traditional style, often unaccompanied. I quickly picked up the words for God and Jesus and was excited to see that, whilst the style of service is different to UK church, we all worship the same loving creator God who loves the everyone in the world so much that he sent Jesus to earth so that whoever believes in him can have eternal life. I am part of God's worldwide family!

Term starts this week here as well as in the UK and I'll find out what I'm going to be teaching. It looks likely that I'll be teaching a fair amount of English. There'll be lots of differences between Tirrim Secondary School and LCHS but I think I'll save that for a different post!

 

School's out for the summer

I made it to the end of term and have been spoiled by colleagues and students with gifts (including two dead rabbits!), cards and best wishes. I feel very loved. I'll miss everyone at school but leaving has been made easier by the knowledge that I'll be back. 

There's now something like 37 days to go until my departure for Kenya. It's going to be a busy few weeks but things are starting to come together, especially finding tenants for the house. They move in on Thursday so I've got to move out a bit earlier than I'd have liked, but I'm very pleased that the house is let.

So I'm going to be a bit nomadic for a few weeks before I head off to south of France catering (kind of a working holiday) on Oak Hall (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2lyopmebgQ) cycling holidays on 9th August. After that I have 48 hours back in UK before flying to Nairobi, Kenya.

Here are a couple of links to videos giving idea of where I'm going and what I'll be doing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbZ46OIFZWU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_TpsXPk0bk

49 days to go...

...not that I'm really counting days down just yet. Although I do know that there are just nine school day get-ups until the end of term and once school is out for the summer it really will be just weeks until I fly to Nairobi to begin my Kenyan Adventure.

For a long time I've been interested in Africa. It probably started with watching movies like Born Free and hearing about the work of Mission Aviation Fellowship at Sunday school. Since then I've learnt at school, then taught, more about Kenya, read missionary biographies and watched movies like The Constant Gardener. For some time Kenya has been on my 'bucket list', but to live and work there rather than go as a tourist. However I've always put off doing anything about it because I was scared of the unknown and I didn't know where to start. I also wondered if it was really what God wanted me to do rather than just something I wanted to do.

I've become increasingly aware that God gives us interests and abilities for our own enjoyment but also that he may use us. So it's God who has given me this heart for Kenya and has brought me to where I am now. Over the last 18 months it has been wonderful to see God work in situations; I spent last Easter in Tanzania with my sister (http://missjintanzania.primaryblogger.co.uk/), I met someone who works for Africa Inland Mission (AIM) and circumstances at work made it seem the timing was right to pursue the possibility further.     

I've been accepted to AIM's short term programme 'Synergy' and I leave for Kenya in August. For a year I am going to be living in a small town in the north of the country called Korr. It is in a remote part of Kenya which is mostly desert and home to nomadic tribes like the Rendille who herd camels. I don't know all the details of what I'll be doing but one of my main responsibilities will be teaching local children Biology and 'Bible' in a high school. I'll also be involved in building relationships with the local community, sharing with them the good news of Jesus.

I'm very excited about what the future holds. It's very humbling to think that God will use me in this way. At the moment I'm preoccupied with practical arrangements for departure, particularly finding tenants for my house. Although I am coming back, saying goodbye is going to be hard!  I'm also very aware of the physical, emotional and spiritual challenges that I'll face living in an environment and culture so far removed from what I am used to. I really value prayers for the transition and adjustment!

Yet I also know that God, who has been so faithful in my life so far, has plans for me that are good and for his glory. Once out of my comfort zone I am going to have to trust him even more. And having brought me to this place he's not going to leave me but will continue to provide for me, protect me and guide me.