What an amazing experience. Cason said it all when he described the beauty along side slums, dirt, and filth of Nairobi. When we flew in from the airport it was dark and so I did not see Nairobi well until the next day. What a shock! I was very intimidated by number of people and the hurried city life. Thankfully Nakuru (where we live) is a slower paced town and not quite as overwhelming as Nairobi. I am thanking God he did not send us to Nairobi!
The people here are caring and welcoming. We have been very blessed to meet Cate, the assistant treasurer, and her husband, Meshach, who is the pastor of our church. I am excited to get to know them! Jim and Alice Vanderhoof have taken us under their wings and have made these first few days so wonderful. It has been great having them with us and answering our questions constantly!
I have been floored by the incredible birds here! We have seen so many bright and neon colored birds, which has been a striking contrast to the somewhat brown landscape. We are excited to see how the rain transforms the color of everything though. We have been told there hasn’t been rain for a long time, but when it comes everything turns green and lush. Like Cas mentioned yesterday, I did get to see Zebras and Baboons on the drive in, which was great! We are hoping to go the park right by our house, but have to wait until Cason’s work permit comes in.
Our house is such a blessing. All of the noises from the city are carried up the mountain and through our windows and are oddly relaxing combined with the exotic birds singing to each other.
To all those who were worried about me touching and picking up animals… I have already disobeyed the warnings. It’s actually quite a funny story…
So, last night we were alone in our house for the first time. I was going to close the curtains when Cason pointed out a small yellow gecko stalking bugs on the window outside, so naturally I went running out there yelling for Cason to come look. Well it was a bright yellow lizard with red spots and common sense says to not touch bright animals b/c it typically means poison… so naturally I wanted to touch it. So while Cason stood beside me telling me repeatedly to leave it alone I slowly reached my hand up to touch it’s tail. The lizard the promptly kamikaze back-flipped off the window at my face, ran down me and off into the night. Needless to say we were both screaming, which turned to laughing, which turned to hoping that our screams didn’t alert the guards. What a great first night. Cason hasn’t completely forgiven me ;)
In other news I visited the baby center today! It was a quick visit but very fun. The children are beautiful and lively - I can’t wait to start working with them. A little 2 1/2 yr old named Timo climbed over the playground fence and into my arms within the first few minutes of being there. The older children (2-3 year olds) seem eager for more stimulating activities… but figuring out how to teach them and keep them interested will be challenging. I really need to learn some Swahili! But I am up for the challenge and can’t wait to begin. God has given us both strength and joy since being here, so we can praise Him for that.
Tomorrow (Friday) we leave for Tenwek for a field meeting… it will be great to meet all of WGM’s missionaries in Kenya, and to see some more of the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment