Mayfield

I'm staying at Mayfield Guest House at either end of my trip, where I stayed in Nairobi before. Many missionaries stay here when passing through. It is so true that you get to meet amazing folks and get to hear their stories. So far I've met Stanley, the big brother of Laura who I'll stay with in Korr; Joy and Martin whose recent adventures with the Samburu up in the north I've been praying for; and Ellen, who knows many of the same people I know because she used to work with Rendille! I already have lots of greetings to carry!

Miss Jackson in Kenya, again

My first time time back to Kenya since I left in August 2013

First blog post since then

First time seeing Loki Swanepoel and the children since Feb 2013 (I saw Grant a couple of years ago when he came to UK for his sister's wedding)

First EVER term-time holiday, I think!!

I'm heading back to Kenya for two weeks. Nairobi, Nanyuki, Korr...

I just a little bit excited!!

Gee, but it's great to be back home...

I was sad to leave Korr and Kenya. I miss the big skies and sunrises/sets and greeting people as I walk about town. I am sad that I couldn't complete the Kenyan school year and see Form 4s to their national exams. But I am enjoying being back home.



I thought that I would stop posting on this blog once I returned to the UK. After all, I'm no longer 'Miss Jackson in Kenya' and life here doesn't seem quite as interesting as life in Korr. 

However, a few friends have encouraged me to continue blogging. I suppose I can get round the title of the blog because a part of me is still in Kenya! And the adventure isn't over; the readjustment, I am sure, will be just as eventful as many times over the last year.  

For example, I have to share with you the excitement that was one of my birthday presents from my brother (in case you haven't heard already). I got a signed photo from one of my favourite people: Julie Andrews! (Julie's sister-in-law works at Jonathan's school and he put in a special request. I am so chuffed!)



"For Hannah, with love from Julie Andrews"

It is strange being back. In some ways it seems completely normal. So quickly I adjust to being back in my house, driving my car, going to the supermarket and putting out the bins.

Being back is also quite a novelty; discovering clothes and belongings I had forgotten, catching up with people I haven't seen in over a year, discovering changes in the city, enjoying the beautiful British countryside and appreciating modern conveniences, clean feet, ice cream and fresh fruit. I am even looking forward to the start of the new academic year; welcoming the new Year 7s, seeing old students and getting back into the school routine (not sure how long I will stay excited about that!)

I found a book devoted to the subject of returning from mission trips and I am led to believe that the next few months may be rather challenging as I go through what's called 'reverse culture shock' once the novelty wears off! And things are not the same here. There have been changes both at my school and my church. And I am not the same as I was.

Yet I am comforted by the fact that God does not change. Psalm 90 declares: Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. And in James: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

I change, people change and situations change, but God is a constant: great, good, loving, all powerful, forgiving, provider, holy, merciful, compassionate, gracious, patient, perfect, trustworthy.....(I could go on!)

Nairobi - next stop home

Nairobi - population 3 million. It means 'cold wet place' and it lives up to its name. As I write it is tipping it down with rain and it is cooold!

Nairobi is big, busy, noisy, dirty and cold! There is great poverty, crime, pollution and congestion. Personal safety is a big issue as pick pocketing and mugging and road accidents are real dangers. But it is an interesting place of contrasts and culture, new developments and promise.

There is mains electricity, faster internet, piped water, hot showers, mobile phone reception, coffee shops, cinemas, buses, tarmac and chocolate. I've stayed at a guesthouse full of missionaries and visitors who are coming and going and passing through.

I've had a good few days preparing to return (including sorting a new mobile and broadband at home), doing packing and shopping, saying goodbyes, and doing some evaluation/debrief stuff.

So, I have had my hair cut, travelled on matatus (crazy 14-seater minibuses with music blaring out), met up with folks for coffee, had photos developed, taken a new short termer grocery shopping, been to a colleagues church and home, packed my backs again.

I am looking forward to returning home but I will be sad to leave here. I have appreciated being immersed in a culture and environment so different from what I am used to; every day I feel like I am walking in a geography text book. In many ways daily life has not been that different. I teach, read, cook, hang out with friends, go to church. But I have enjoyed the simple living, amazing sunsets, starry skies, smiling children who want to play, people with big hearts, and seeing how God is working in the church and wider community.

It hasn't always been easy but I’ve enjoyed teaching here and being able to weave the good news of Jesus into ordinary classes and conversations with students. It has been a real privilege to be a small part of the mission work in Korr and get a taste for international and cross-cultural missions by supporting the long-term gospel work.

Being away from everything that is familiar, missing friends and family (including the arrival of nephew Sebastian), contending with language and cultural differences, and living communally, all have enabled me to learn more about God and about me. I feel God has done far more in me this year than through me as he teaches me to trust him.

After an overnight flight I get back to the UK early on 16^th August. It’ll then be a hectic two weeks moving back into my house, a family holiday and preparing for the start of the new academic year.

I am so grateful that I can return to my job as Geography teacher and Head of Year at LCHS. Once again I will be looking after the new Year 7 students. I’ll have a different office, different classroom and different team but I am really looking forward to returning to a familiar role and I am excited to return to re-join colleagues and students. I am mindful that gospel work is not limited to special missionaries or far-flung places and I pray that God will use me there for his purposes.

People here ask me when I will be back in Kenya. Well as yet I have no plans but I don’t think this will be the last I see of Africa and I await the Lord’s guidance for the future!

Tea

I got to spend part of my last day with Esther and Robert Wanga. Robert Wanga teaches at Tirrim Secondary School. I call him Wanga and the students call him Mr Wanga. Wanga invited me to spend some time with his family in Nairobi before I left and treated me to some of his cooking. We ate delicious fresh fish!

In the morning Esther drove me out to Limuru, a tea-growing area not far from Nairobi. I have wanted to see tea plantations (sad Geography teacher!) and I appreciated visiting the area with a Kenyan who knew how to get around and we happily chatted about Kenyan culture, development issues and living as Christians.

Limuru is one of the places where tea was first grown in Kenya. The tea bushes are established and grow well in the warm and wet climate and fertile red soil. Tea is one of Kenya's top exports, a key source of foreign exchange and a big employer.

We tried to visit the Unilever Mabroukie tea factory, where the picked tea leaves are processed, but they didn't fall for our sweet talking and wouldn't let us in!

Meet...the Junior Swanepoels

Grant, Abby, Caity, Loki, Owen and Miles

Here is a very special family. They live in Kurungu which is a 2-3 hour drive from Korr among people of the Samburu tribe.

I stayed with them several times in the last year, including the Christmas holidays. I greatly appreciated their warm welcome, discussions about missionary life, learning words in Africaans and playing with the children.

Grant teaches local men how to understand and teach the Bible. Lots of church leaders in Kenya lack a depth of knowledge about who God is and about the Bible. For many of these men, formal university training is not appropriate. Grant at the Kurungu Bible Training Centre aims to teach them the Bible so that they grow in their own faith, can teach the others and lead their congregations. 

He is also seeking to train other Bible teachers in the in order that they may teach others...ie set up more local Bible training Centres in northern Kenya.

Check out their Nomad's Pulpit Facebook page for details and news of their work as well as some of Grant's wonderful photography.

Meet...Pastor David

 



David Gargule is one of the pastors at AIC Korr. We call him Pastor David. Pastor David is one of the people we go to in order to understand local culture and how we should respond to it and fit in; his support in this is invaluable. We often discuss issues of cross-cultural mission and the way in which cultures are different yet God and the Bible are universal.
 
Pastor lives with his wife, Alice, and their five children, not far from us. The children are regular visitors to our house and they often bring eggs from their chickens for us to buy.

Pastor David has a real desire to share his Christian faith with his fellow Rendille people. Recently he was involved with an outreach to a local town to plant a church where there has previously not been one. The Korr church is currently supporting this fledgling congregation, especially until January when a pastor is arriving. And in June David was one of the Korr pastors that hosted a conference of over 100 church leaders from northern Kenya which, amongst other things, distributed solar MP3 players pre-recorded with the story of Jesus in local languages and explored the use of them. 

He recently visited South Korea, his first time out of Kenya, to make links with some churches there. And on returning to Kenya stayed in Nairobi for classes for his masters degree. Sadly I our paths didn't cross and I didn't get to see him in Nairobi.