All I want for Christmas...

It is a reality check on that phrase when you realize that rather than the latest gizmo or the greatest desert, you more desperately need one of lifes neccessities. Like electricity. When they flipped the switch and lifted the crane to the huge transformer outside our gate Andrew asked when we would get power. (this was on the 23rd of December) They assured us that we would have it by 5. Steph and I got home from our practices at 7 - to candlelight. We called and lodged a complaint then went out for dinner - noting that all our neighbors had light. After dinner there was still no power. So we called again. And again. And again. And assured them that the man was not here working on it, and no he was not in the neighborhood. Finally we went to bed...hoping for the best. Christmas eve dawned without the familiar hum of the refrigerator or the smell of breakfast cooking. So we called again. then we went to town and hunted down the electrician and brought him here to fix the problem. Were we ever glad when the expert finally arrived. He studied the situation astutely, picked up a stick and whacked the box with the connection to our house. Ta-da, there was light! So now the smells of chrismas baking are filling the house once again, we can play our christmas music and we are generally light hearted. (get it? I know, I know)

Back to Rondo

Some of you might have read my account of last time we went as a family to the Retreat center in Rondo, truly an amazing place. It is basically and few cottages with luxurious english garden type landscaping in the middle of the tropical rain forest. The best of both worlds, something for the adventurer (dad) and the sit and read a book vacationer (mom). Last time we were there dad and I hiked a few miles to the Yala river. This time we found out about a bat cave a few miles into the forest. It was truly an amazing hike. We found the cave....originally a mine shaft of some sort. Unfortunately we didn't have good flashlights so these were my best shots of the fruitbats that covered the roof of the cave.

We then hiked just a little further to the top of a very steep hill and saw that we were basically in the middle of the rainforest. Here are some awesome shots of that.

Oh, the luxuries of American Life

Now that I know I am returning soon, I am really looking forward to being back in a country where if your internet isn't working you can call the company and they can fix it in a number of hours, not weeks....Thus my failure to meet my November quota (and the fact that I can't get online when Andrew is online, which is most of the time)

All that talk about snow is really alluring as well, when the temp peaks at 90 degrees here. But I am making the most of my time here in Africa, as my next blog will show you.

Schools out and my comp. is on!

I have so much to be thankful for today.

I am thankful for my many energetic students who thoroughly trounced us teachers in the sports tournament, and are now off on their Christmas vacation.
I am thankful for the warm african sun that is at its hottest right now, and that has gently painted my face fire engine red today.
I am thankful for my body and God's amazing handiwork in creating an immune system that is now working overtime to combat a cold and an invader a little bigger than a virus.
I am thankful for food and the thanksgiving feast we will be having here on Saturday with all the Americans and Brits (I think the Brits just come for the food)
I am oh so so soooooo very thankful for my brother who has finally been able to restore both my mom's and my computer after a vicious attack by 6 different viruses on one flashdisk.
I am thankful for my friends and family and I wish there were some way I could be with all of them at once.
And I am thankful that I will soon be returning to Monroe to be with my CCM family there. Be aware - I just might show up on your doorstep some time in January.

Obama fever

Did you know there was a voting station for the US elections right here in Kisumu? Yes, someone had managed to secure two American flags and had set up two boxes in the middle of Kondele - one for Obama and one for McCain. The McCain box was the one over by the pile of stones. Our unofficial count has Obama with a hundred point lead. Fortunately, the US will not need to resort to counting those ballots.

Now we are waiting to see how the Luos react. Yesterday, the general opinion was that there would be riots either way, but God is good and things seem quiet this morning. It helps that those with nothing better to do have the option of going to Obamas home place and eating the bull they will be slaughtering.

God bless America!

The BIG test

Well, we are making history with our little high school. Our first class is taking the national exams. Every senior in the country is taking this same exam. All education to this point has been hinged on passing this exam. It is a big deal. The entire campus has had to make adjustments to ensure there is complete silence in the form 4 class as they take their exams. The candidates, as the students are called, are not allowed to take anything into the exam, no money, no hankerchiefs, only the clothes on their back, and even that gets inspected. Every morning the exams for the day arrive along with the external supervisor, the two invigilators (who watch the students take the test) and a police officer with an AK 47. The policeman is there to ensure no one sees the tests before hand and to arrest any imposters trying to take the test for a student. Amazingly the peace of God has been there and the students have been relaxed and free. Most of the conversation has been about how close they are to being done High School!

Wild animals

We have had a number of these around lately....

Liz the Maize Lady

I have a new friend here. Her name is Liz. She sells roasted maize (the hard white corn) outside the gate of the compound during the day. Actually she is quite the entrepenuer. She started with a little pan full of haot coals and a wire mesh on which she puts the corn to roast. A few weeks later she added a wheelbarrow of pinapples which she slices and sells per slice. The next week she had small sacks of raw potatoes for sale. And once she even made mandazies (like donuts, sort of). Liz is pleasantly plump with an emphasis on the pleasant. She brightens my day with her dimpled smiles. The cafeteria food has never been my favorite (beans and rice every day gets old real fast, especially when there is rocks in the rice) and so it is nice to have another option for lunch.

I think another reason I like buying maize from Liz is the wait. Maize must be eaten hot or else it hardens and could chip a tooth. So it is make it when you buy it sort of a business. So I get the perfect excuse in the middle of the day, when I am ready for a break, to sit on the side of the road and chat for a few minutes with Liz, who is really quite the conversationalist. We talk about silly things and serious things. She is essentially a single mom and is younger than I am, but she still has big dreams for the future. She never seems bogged down or worried about life. I appreciate that she treats me not just as a customer but as a friend.

I could send a student to get my maize, or even give Liz advance notice so I don't have to take the time out of the busiest part of my day. But then again, the 15 cents I pay is not just for the cob, it also comes included with it a little dose of perspective.

Youth fun day

Hey, just put up a few pics of the "Amazing Race" the youth did last month. It was really a fun time, though only a few showed up. The race ended at our house where we watched "facing the giants"

Class time

It has been so interesting going a whole year with these classes.

Form 2 used to drag their feet at every assignment, begging for more time to finish, many needing a few reminders to get them in, and a few who never did any assignments at all. Now they are racing to get their work done.

I rarely just teach in Form 3 - I have conversations with the class. "Mwalimu (teacher), what is the difference between the characteristics of the prophets and the importance of the prophets?" "Brenda, what is a characteristic of Jacob?" Brenda gets a twinkle in her eye. At the beginnning of the year I would have worried about giving her sharp tongue an opportunity to critique a student, but since she was baptized she has developed such a sweet spirit, with just enough wit to keep her fun. "He's cheeky" The kids all laugh, but that's OK, Jacob is confident enough to take it. "That's right, and you could say that he is important to this class because he adds alot of fun to it. I like cheeky students." "That's because you are cheeky!" I smile at Carolyn. Is it possible that this bright eyed, enthusiastic student is the same one who sat in her seat and stared at her desk the entire first term?

I walked back to my office later marveling at the work of God and the transforming power of His word. I'm just glad to be a part.

Catching up

Well, its been awhile since I've written. Of course we loved having Pastor Jim, Dr. Rand and Madison come out. It is so funny how much memory is linked to scent. As a little girl I used to love coming into the room Pastor Hamman had just left and smelling the aroma left behind. Oh, the things that impress small minds. Having the smell of his cologne in the house again brought back memories.

Schools been interesting this term. Five teachers left/are leaving the high school and have been replaced, though not really oriented yet. The primary has fared a little better with only three turnovers. I think we have some great individuals joining the team. Dan adds a lot of maturity, since he has kids the age of the rest of us teachers. Dennis is always working hard at his desk (a rarity in a staff room with eleven desks and no cubicles), though he joins in the laughs occasionally. The others I still haven’t gotten to know yet. Yeah, so you can continue to pray for my mom who has to interview all the teachers in addition to the regular responsibilities of running a school.

Anyway, I think all that has past and we are back to a "normal" schedule.

It's been fun having Andrew here. He still spends alot of time on his comp. But he has managed to build a few things, takes Jon back and forth to school and is part of the youth activities.

Andrews first ride

I asked Andrew if he wanted to drive. He didn’t think he would on his first trip across town. We were going to the church. It was a lovely day, and as we headed off I had completely forgotten the rumors of riots and the sounds of gunshots that were heard just hours earlier. Forgotten until we got to town. The remains were there. A pile of ash here, a garbage overturned there. It all seemed pretty calm in the aftermath, though. We would soon find that it was merely the calm before the storm. There were a lot of people at the bus stop…. More than usual. Uh, oh, too late to turn around. I hope those guys…bang! A hand hit the car, soon many more were pounding. A hard hit on the right. Just push through before they destroy the car. I revved the engine and kept moving forward “Keep driving, Cheri” Get out of the way, dude A light bump showed him I was serious. Just keep forward momentum Crash! Glass flew by my head as our back window succumbed to the force of a 10 pound projectile. More banging, but we were finally clear of the crowd. I hit the gas. “I see police coming” The riot was broken up behind us. We were out of there safe, but with a badly dented car.
The rumor is that the riots were in protest to the city bulldozing a row of kiosks (wooden stands where they sell goods) along the road where they were not permitted to build. Really it doesn’t take much to get unrest started in a city full of unemployed 20 some-things. Welcome back to Kisumu, Andrew.

PS: The second time Andrew went to the church with my Dad. The radiator pipe blew up and they waited around for an hour for the mechanic to fix it. Amazingly, he still thinks he will stay.

Solar Fury

Well, I have been in Kenya for over a year now, and it was just this week that I got my first major burn. I’ve had a little extra pink in my cheeks after some afternoons in the sun, but have managed to avoid any serious scalding. Until Monday afternoon. For our last hurrah before the family returned Jonathan and I spent most of the day at the pool, had lunch there, swam, laid in the sun and read books. After the family came in that evening, I realized that my legs were really burning after I hefted the suitcases into the car. Yep, they were raspberry red. My legs and back are still burning three days and 12 aloe vera applications later. Lesson learned: SPF 60 is my friend.

Family Reunited

Jonathan had stopped asking about Mom and Dad the last two weeks. 6 weeks is like an eternity to him, so it was easier to just settle into life without them. But boy, did he ever get excited when the plane came down and it really dawned on him that they were coming in. He rushed to the gate and was the first to spot them when they stepped off the plane. He could hardly contain himself. He was waving as hard as he could until they spotted him. When they came around the gate the excitement turned to awe as he assessed his brother. “He’s a big man!” summed up the changes that Andrew had undergone in the two years since Jon saw him. He must have repeated the phrase a dozen times throughout the course of the evening. There was a good half a dozen people there to greet the returnees, and help with luggage. In the end we got all 8 bags in the Pajero and headed home. It was great having the whole family around the dinner table again. Jon sat by Andrew and watched his every bite in undisguised admiration. “He’s taller than me!” was his conclusion. As the evening wore on we had fun unpacking the gifts Mom and Dad brought with them…though Dad and Andrew had trouble staying awake. We finally gave up on the unpacking and left the whole mess to be considered the next day. And as we all went to bed we could hear drifting from Jon’s room “He’s a big man!”

A tearful goodby

Well, I got two pieces of sad information this weekend. Well, I knew it was coming. One of the hard things about working with young people here is that they are often uprooted to go to university or a job. Two of my key players are leaving next week. Both are going to universities in Nairobi. I really am happy for them, but it I’m sorry to see them go.

I remember Richards first performance. He had a mic, but the audience still couldn’t hear a word he said. Over the last year he has been a wiseman, an angel, Jesus, a prisoner, a husband, an executive, a drunkard, an antiques buyer, and with each role he has gotten better and better. The last skit we did he was the only character, the entire thing was ad lib and he was absolutely brilliant. I laughed, I cried, it moved me, Bob. I also discovered some writing talent in Richard. He has that ability that I so completely lack to get a good point into a ten-minute script. Richard is faithful. There were a number of times when he and I would be the only two people who showed up to drama practice. We would keep working and encouraging each other. He is a good friend. He will be greatly missed.

And then there’s Esther. She is grace in a hundred-pound package. I was once accused of favoring her over the other dancers. It’s true. She does everything with excellence. Which is why she is off to college at the age of 16 having achieve higher scores in high school than even her brothers (who are now doctors). I am proud of her. She also has improved a lot through the year. She is gutsy, and would often end up doing the “flying” moves and has suffered a couple minor injuries through the years. She has grown in confidence on stage and in her portrayal of worship. She brings tears to my eyes when she dances. I was crying today when I was trying to introduce the last dance she did with us. We did creation calls, one of our favorites… Ester has a couple solo parts and a tricky lift which she did beautifully. As usual, she is going out in style

Well, I hope you will take this sentimental post as a reminder to appreciate those around you. Far too often we wait until departure looms to really reflect on how important our friends are to us - or what life will be like without them.

Thank you si....ah, ma'am

I saw something new today. A woman tout. A tout is to a matatu what a conducter is to a bus. So they ride the running board, calling out the matatus stops. They signal the driver to stop and go and are always on the lookout for potential passengers. Its a tough job and the guys who have been at it for awhile are ripped from pulling themselves in the moving mat multiple times a day. This gal was one of the best. She would jump in front of the other touts and flash a winning smile to potential customers, getting their ticket. She was this beautiful blend of charm and toughness and she was able to keep up with the big boys. Score one for womens lib...

Escorts

So lately I've been doing a lot of walking. With gas prices at 6 dollars to the gallon, it costs way less to use public transportation then to start up the car for just me to drive to the church. Another advantage of public transportation is the journey is broken up into three lengths. So it is pretty motivating to think that if I just leave the house 10 minutes earlier I can walk the first length (to town) then board a mat to kibuye. I have even walked all the way when I am not particularly pressed for time (it takes about an hour).

We had a Brit over for dinner Tuesday night who asked if it was annoying having everyone talk to me along the way. Not really. I mean, proportionately, there is about the same percentage of people who are friendly and curious here as there are in the States. In Monroe if I walk to church there might be two strangers who give me a friendly hello, but I only pass ten the entire time. Here the ratio is about the same - two for every ten. The difference is that every ten feet of sidewalk has ten people on it.

Oh, but there are the occasional escorts... guys who figure since they are walking the same direction as you they would make a good walking companion. I don't mind it too much. I keep a friendly distance and make light conversation. Once I walked with a maasai (in his full regalia) for quite a ways. He didn't understand a word of English, so that was good language practice. Usually after I politely decline to give them my number they will part ways.

Actually, three times this week one or more of the youth from the church walked with me part of the way. It makes for good relational building.

Do I LOOK Like I'm in Charge

I don’t know how many can relate to this but do you ever find yourself shouldering responsibility you didn’t apply for? I find with my mom gone the last few weeks I am being conscripted for more than I asked for. I am almost afraid to walk by the office, so often I have and there is someone sitting there looking a little lost. “Can I help you?” (maybe I should stop being so helpful) “Yes, I was told to wait for Cheri.” Last time I checked I have no authority to hire anyone so I don’t know why I’m getting all the applicants, the secretary can accept applications, but I guess the desperate ones want to see someone.

It seems like if Mr. Ongondo (the headmaster of primary and really the in-charge guy) is not looking for me Pastor Charles is. And why do the teachers need to ask me if they are going? I’m not the head teacher. We do have a head teacher on campus who is usually there but he seems to be absent at the most critical moments. I guess the weird thing is I don’t actually make any major decisions. I just get informed about the whole processes of everything and put my two cents in. Sometimes not even that. Anyway, I think I’ll try to stay home most of the day tomorrow.

New pics!

I have some new and have updated some old pictures on my picasa site. check out the link to the right.

A pile of .....

My dad was at one of our rural churches recently. The pastor there was so glad my dad (the regional overseer) was there because he needed help in dealing with an issue that was threatening to split the church. It seems an issue had arisen between one of the old polygamists in the church and the pastor’s mother. The pastor’s mother and a few other ladies were re-plastering the mud walls of the church. Part of the plaster recipe includes some cow manure to make it stick. Well the ladies had gotten the cow manure for the plaster from a friend down the road rather than going to the polygamist for his manure. Mind you, this is a major offence that has grown until it threatened to split the small congregation.
Some of you know that look my dad gets. A little twinkle in his eye, a tiny smirk under the beard. Finally he asked: “now, let me get this straight, this is all about cow manure?” The irony hit everyone in the meeting…except the polygamist. Makes you wonder how many church splits and relational conflict really boils down to a load of c__p.

Blackout

I woke up in the night…as usual, I thought. A couple hours of restlessness in this seemingly incurable insomnia. The past week had taught me that nothing seemed to help. I had some great prayer times, stretch, grade papers, read my bible, I always was up for at least an hour. But that night seemed different. My stomach felt heavy. Maybe something I ate… the feeling got worse. Finally it culminated with a face to face encounter with the porcelain. Yech. Well, glad that’s over with, get some sleep. I had a meeting in the morning. After my meeting I had to run downtown and get some laminating done at the mall. A half hours wait? I felt so tired, and my stomach was starting to hurt again. Might as well order a water at the cafe and get some grading done… I felt increasingly worse. Even the water was upsetting my stomach. I found it harder and harder to think and finally passed out. Literally. On coming to, I had a very concerned waitress hovering over me…yes, I’m sick, I…excuse me… I had never used the bathroom at the mall before, but on entering it on this occasion I decided it was too foul to even throw up in…. I swallowed it and headed back to my table, paid for the water…no, I don’t need to go to the chemist for drugs, I need to go home and sleep. Good, my half hour is up…The office store wasn’t done, but they offered me a chair while I waited. Then I felt it again… ok, just let me take a step outside…deep breaths…that’s better…back in now…why is the floor moving? The store manager caught me and insisted I call someone to drive me home. Steph came right away. I never did find out what was wrong with me. I was running a temp, but slept really well that afternoon and every night since. I took it easy the next day and was right as rain. I can only guess I had some bug.

I’m thinking of having a revolving door installed…

Exams finished yesterday morning. The teachers all had half hour slots scheduled with their classes to give back the exams and hand out holiday work. But most teachers are more focused on meeting their deadline for getting their reports in, so they get the exams back in between the tests if they can or in a ten minute period of time. So the kids are left pretty willy-nilly (they haven’t invented playground monitors here yet). Of course there is a big group who take to the field and arrange themselves into volley-ball, basket-ball, soccer and badminton teams. There are a few who sit on the benches and chat or stare at their feet and then there are the rest who make their way to my office in trickles or torrents.

Many want to listen to my music, some want to chill and chat. Often they have a problem to solve (“can you answer this biology/math/chemistry question, I can’t find/don’t understand the teacher?”) or a theological issue that’s been burning on their minds (“what is the difference between the mind, the soul, and the spirit?”) or they have a need to be met (three kids burned their lips in chemistry and I happened to have some sunblock chapstick). My dear friend Harriet (teacher in primary) stopped by for an hour. We work on the same compound every day, but only get one on one once a month or so! And mom wonders why I have to bring work home at night.

I havn't updated my pics for awhile but if you are interested there is a link over there on the right hand side of your screen.

Hi, and welcome to my blog

This seems to be a good alternative for those weekly, er, monthly emails I've been sending to friends and fam. How about a few numbers from the week to catch everyone up?

15 - days since Dad left
4,203 - times Jon has said "I miss Daddy"
5 - days until Mom leaves
2 - snakes we killed around the house (they were small)
70 - average temperature when we show up to school at 7am.
20 - average number of students wearing ski jackets at 7am.
5 - average number of students who hang out in my office during breaks and lunch period.
125 - papers I've graded
11 - hours spent in meetings
20 - price in dollars of what we spent to feed all the youth a full rice and stew meal.
7 - students suspended for cheating on their district exams.
2 - students disciplined for cheating on their subject finals.
30 - students in our church sunday
3 - sleepless nights
3 - students who had a parent die

So alot of ups and downs this week.