It is now Saturday afternoon at the Instep homestead. Carla, Jeff, Terry and Shylo are off to a barbecue in town. I have decided to stay here and so has Beth Ann, the gal who has come to do a preschool with the 4 yr olds. Beth Ann is not feeling well and not feeling up to going and me, well I am just needing some peace and quiet!
It has been an up and down week. A new little one named Esther. A beautiful little girl that has been taken care of solely by her 9 year old brother for quite some time. He had been placed in a street boys home temporarily, for lack of another placement. As much as they had wanted to take him, Insteps policy is not to take youngsters that old. I understand it was heartbreaking for him to be separated from his little sister. The good news is that he has been now placed in another children’s home that has him in a foster home situation for a short period of time until they get their new home up and running. They may be able to take both children when little Esther gets stronger and healthier! God continues to be so faithful.
The hard part of my week is that my 85 year old father fell and had to be rushed to Harbor View Hospital. They knew he had a concusion and thought he had bleeding in his brain. Oh, to be so far away and something like that happens. My sister had only been home not quite a week and had to fly home. She lives in Salt Lake City. Dad is doing better and is not as critical as when he came in. He may be able to go back home to Anacortes Sunday or Monday. We had discussed ( my sister and brother and I) what if’s, but had not thought it would be our father! My sister is handling everything and I do feel somewhat guilty, but it is difficult getting back home and some flights have been cancelled coming into Nairobi. So I am praying , a lot!
Terry is starting some of his planned projects. Making shelving to store all the tubs that have been brought over with kids clothes and shoes, has been another TIA. At first the store had the plywood and then they did not! So hopefully it will be coming( in fact it is already there)! I am mending and sorting through all the tubs to see what we actually have on hand and of course getting to hold all the babies I want J )))))
The pace is slower here for sure and there is an emphasis on relationships that can get in the way of accomplishing any project, but over all things are going well. We have been feeling well and no Malaria, so all good!
Some of you may have been hearing the news regarding Kenya and the threat of attacks from Somalia. They are true, but we have not felt unsafe at all. The attacks have been focused on Kenyans, mostly in Nairobi. Because of that threat our other team that had planned on coming the first week in November is having second thought about coming over. I am going to miss not having them here, but totally understand their decision. We are being cautious, but living our lives. Carla, Jeff and Shylo are still planning on leaving Nairobi on the 7th of November and as far as we know should be able to get their flights out. So when and if they get out of Kenya, Terry and the team of Meredith and Sean will be in charge!!! Hopefully all will go well while they are gone…if not, we will try to miss them at the airport on our way outta town!!!
What....now there are 105
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Mud and tears
Oct 24, 2011
Now which one of you would think to tell me to take warm clothes to the equator….in Africa. I mean I never saw Tarzan wearing long underwear, just that diaper thingy. So, last evening: “Hey Jeff, I can’t find the heater in our room.” I say, while actually looking for a pile of kids to get under. Jeff, giving me one of his now world famous ‘what a dumb a**’ looks, says “We’re in the tropics, for crying out loud” but even I noticed that he was saying it from under his blanket. Who would have thought that it could get clear down to 70 deg F here. You laugh, but go sit under a sun lamp for 6 hrs and then see what 70 does to you. Before we came, the dry season began, but now that we are here, the rain doesn’t seem so dry to me, then that’s just me. True to form, when the Kisers are in Africa, the ‘blessings’ come. Now in Washington State we don’t necessarily call rain ‘blessings’, but here they do. It hasn’t rained hard, but it has rained every day…..good for the beans, and car body shops….more on that later.
Sandy has a pretty good hiding place. She goes into room 3 and gets behind a humongous pile of kids clothes an uses the sewing machine to repatriate different parts of dismembered clothes. Meanwhile the kids just blow by the door, never suspecting that hugs are just feet away. The 2nd law of thermodynamics is actually provable here. (Jeff….that is the axiom….I mean ‘thing that says stuff starts good and goes to h--- I mean to broken, ripped, smashed torn….bad.) Please hang with me as sometimes I have to tutor Jeff some. As an aside, I am really proud of Jeff, as he is using larger words more and more….he has learned to write in all capital letters.
Earlier in the day yesterday, I drove Joseph and Lil’ Twerp (Shylo) into Sabanga, the little village near here, to get maize and potatoes. The ‘roads’ were dry….unlike later….more on that coming up. So we get to the metropolis and find a door in a brick building that had some kernels of maize sprinkled around. So Joseph says to the lady standing in the door, “lots of words and noises that can’t be understood by mzungu”. She replied, “more noises and strange words”. This went on of about 5 minutes. At one point I broke in and asked J what the deal was. “Not made yet” he says…..we are negotiating. She wants 2650 Ksh and we will pay 2600Ksh. (50 cents diff). It wasn’t the 50 cents, it was who would win the match. Although she seem, to me, to be the better bargainer, J managed to pull it out and he chalked up another victory in the battle of the market place. A repeat performance at another place for the potatoes, and J was absolutely gleeful. “Did you see that” he says. “they didn’t have a chance!” Not exactly the world series of negotiation, I thought….but said, “it is an honor to be in your presence, oh Market Master.” So, back to home, 150 kg’s heavier.
So a couple of days ago, Jeff Lil’ Twerp and I went to town, and were picking our way thru the lead mines, when LT says to Jeff, “How do they fix these roads?” Jeff, giving me one of his looks, rolling his eyes says to LT. “I don’t know, I’ve never seen it happen.” Which brings me to the sad tale that I am about to tell.
Every night , after dark, Jeff takes the two or three Aunties that get off shift home. Most of them live within 6 or 7 miles, down little dirt lanes about 10 ft wide, sometimes having flat surfaces for 8 or 10 inches at a time. Some of these lanes are shaped like a barrel…maybe 3 ft higher in the middle than at the sides, which are sort of a ditch affair, with vertical dirt walls. This brings us to Kiser driving skills….or lack of it. This dirt, when wet becomes very much like ice…or like a known substance here….snot. So, with Jeffs genteel coaxing, I was easing my friend Toyota along the ‘road’, and then it was over. With a subtle ‘bang’ Toyota had come to rest against the left side wall of the lane….which is hard mud as well, with brambles hanging over it. Being as I have never liked damaging things, especially expensive things, I pretty much ruined my day….and probably longer. But bless his heart, Jeff looked over at me smiling and said TIA. I think he is a better man than me….but don’t you dare tell him. Anyway, long story short….like that ever happens with me……between 4 wheel drive, patience, and the winch, Toyota proved her worth again. Jeff wouldn’t let me get out of the drivers seat, Aunties got home, as did we. The damage wasn’t too bad….partially caved in left side panel, but nothing broken except my ego….and heart….I love ’ol Toyota.
And so, another day in Africa, and God has proven once again that He is good. This is life.
Now which one of you would think to tell me to take warm clothes to the equator….in Africa. I mean I never saw Tarzan wearing long underwear, just that diaper thingy. So, last evening: “Hey Jeff, I can’t find the heater in our room.” I say, while actually looking for a pile of kids to get under. Jeff, giving me one of his now world famous ‘what a dumb a**’ looks, says “We’re in the tropics, for crying out loud” but even I noticed that he was saying it from under his blanket. Who would have thought that it could get clear down to 70 deg F here. You laugh, but go sit under a sun lamp for 6 hrs and then see what 70 does to you. Before we came, the dry season began, but now that we are here, the rain doesn’t seem so dry to me, then that’s just me. True to form, when the Kisers are in Africa, the ‘blessings’ come. Now in Washington State we don’t necessarily call rain ‘blessings’, but here they do. It hasn’t rained hard, but it has rained every day…..good for the beans, and car body shops….more on that later.
Sandy has a pretty good hiding place. She goes into room 3 and gets behind a humongous pile of kids clothes an uses the sewing machine to repatriate different parts of dismembered clothes. Meanwhile the kids just blow by the door, never suspecting that hugs are just feet away. The 2nd law of thermodynamics is actually provable here. (Jeff….that is the axiom….I mean ‘thing that says stuff starts good and goes to h--- I mean to broken, ripped, smashed torn….bad.) Please hang with me as sometimes I have to tutor Jeff some. As an aside, I am really proud of Jeff, as he is using larger words more and more….he has learned to write in all capital letters.
Earlier in the day yesterday, I drove Joseph and Lil’ Twerp (Shylo) into Sabanga, the little village near here, to get maize and potatoes. The ‘roads’ were dry….unlike later….more on that coming up. So we get to the metropolis and find a door in a brick building that had some kernels of maize sprinkled around. So Joseph says to the lady standing in the door, “lots of words and noises that can’t be understood by mzungu”. She replied, “more noises and strange words”. This went on of about 5 minutes. At one point I broke in and asked J what the deal was. “Not made yet” he says…..we are negotiating. She wants 2650 Ksh and we will pay 2600Ksh. (50 cents diff). It wasn’t the 50 cents, it was who would win the match. Although she seem, to me, to be the better bargainer, J managed to pull it out and he chalked up another victory in the battle of the market place. A repeat performance at another place for the potatoes, and J was absolutely gleeful. “Did you see that” he says. “they didn’t have a chance!” Not exactly the world series of negotiation, I thought….but said, “it is an honor to be in your presence, oh Market Master.” So, back to home, 150 kg’s heavier.
So a couple of days ago, Jeff Lil’ Twerp and I went to town, and were picking our way thru the lead mines, when LT says to Jeff, “How do they fix these roads?” Jeff, giving me one of his looks, rolling his eyes says to LT. “I don’t know, I’ve never seen it happen.” Which brings me to the sad tale that I am about to tell.
Every night , after dark, Jeff takes the two or three Aunties that get off shift home. Most of them live within 6 or 7 miles, down little dirt lanes about 10 ft wide, sometimes having flat surfaces for 8 or 10 inches at a time. Some of these lanes are shaped like a barrel…maybe 3 ft higher in the middle than at the sides, which are sort of a ditch affair, with vertical dirt walls. This brings us to Kiser driving skills….or lack of it. This dirt, when wet becomes very much like ice…or like a known substance here….snot. So, with Jeffs genteel coaxing, I was easing my friend Toyota along the ‘road’, and then it was over. With a subtle ‘bang’ Toyota had come to rest against the left side wall of the lane….which is hard mud as well, with brambles hanging over it. Being as I have never liked damaging things, especially expensive things, I pretty much ruined my day….and probably longer. But bless his heart, Jeff looked over at me smiling and said TIA. I think he is a better man than me….but don’t you dare tell him. Anyway, long story short….like that ever happens with me……between 4 wheel drive, patience, and the winch, Toyota proved her worth again. Jeff wouldn’t let me get out of the drivers seat, Aunties got home, as did we. The damage wasn’t too bad….partially caved in left side panel, but nothing broken except my ego….and heart….I love ’ol Toyota.
And so, another day in Africa, and God has proven once again that He is good. This is life.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
ROCK STAR VISITS CHILDRENS HOME!!!!
Oct 22,2011
The ride to our home in the east was mostly uneventful….if driving thru a WWI trench warfare ‘no mans land’, while dodging donkeys, bicycles, people, motorcycles and misc. trucks and cars in our lane, is uneventful. One completely normal thing (for here) was that their were men with spray cans of white paint using a dot-dash method outlining each pothole. There is some outrageous rumor that the government is going to fix the road. So I suppose that it will be of benefit to highlight the problem areas….problem is, that the road is all problem area….maybe the outlines were being placed there as targets so Jeff wouldn’t miss any of them….which he pretty much did….not miss any. Anyway, it seemed strange to outline some of the holes when in reality, the whole road is a hole….maybe they did it for the spelunkers, to make it easier to find the mother lode…. Shylo seemed to enjoy the ride and I even caught here with her eyes open a couple of times.
“Prepare yourself” Jeff says, “the kids have gotten the word that you are coming.” “And me trapped like a rat in this infernal contraption.” I lament. And boy was he right! As we turned into the compound, this sea of little black children descended on Toyota like locusts in Egypt. As I opened the door, hoping to escape, all was lost when they mobbed me, taking me down like a cheetah takes a wildebeest. I did my best, and thought I might have a chance, until from the veranda I heard a frenzied chant “BABU TERRY, BABU TERRY, BABU TERRY……” All the while those whom I thought were my friends and family just stood and laughed…..laughed! While I feared that I might succumb to the urge to hug the little snotlockers. MarryMe (Merideth) yelled out “You’re a rock star!” And so for a moment, I basked in the glory…until I came back to my senses and began planning my escape.
The rainy season is mostly over, but the place is alive with new growth…the shama (field) is green with new beans and the vegetable garden has exploded….well not exploded, but is producing more than this place can use for now. Carla says they are able to even sell some of the goods. We have two new large greenhouses that weren’t here when I last left and they are full of things like tomatoes and peppers. Kinda surprising that almost anything grows here….they are even harvesting their own greenges!
I don’t know if I told you that SlowToGetIt and MarryMe have come on staff here and have begun to take some of the load from J & C. And just in time too, as I have come to add to Jeffs load….as much as I can.
J&C will be leaving Kenya for a month in a couple of weeks, leaving the care of Instep in STGI, MarryMe, Sandy and my hands…..foolish….yes….necessary…..yes. They need a break. Looks like I will be the only one with a drivers license, so have been snuggling up to Toyota and taking her for some short dates. So far so good. Meanwhile Jeff is giving me a crash (bad word in this context) course in his brand of Swahili, just incase I need to discipline Toyota. I am beginning to learn the difference of the roads from the not roads….there actually are designated places to drive…..mostly the impassable places.
I knew I was home yesterday when I heard Carla yell out to the playground, “Mellissa…..quit eating your clothes!!!”
The ride to our home in the east was mostly uneventful….if driving thru a WWI trench warfare ‘no mans land’, while dodging donkeys, bicycles, people, motorcycles and misc. trucks and cars in our lane, is uneventful. One completely normal thing (for here) was that their were men with spray cans of white paint using a dot-dash method outlining each pothole. There is some outrageous rumor that the government is going to fix the road. So I suppose that it will be of benefit to highlight the problem areas….problem is, that the road is all problem area….maybe the outlines were being placed there as targets so Jeff wouldn’t miss any of them….which he pretty much did….not miss any. Anyway, it seemed strange to outline some of the holes when in reality, the whole road is a hole….maybe they did it for the spelunkers, to make it easier to find the mother lode…. Shylo seemed to enjoy the ride and I even caught here with her eyes open a couple of times.
“Prepare yourself” Jeff says, “the kids have gotten the word that you are coming.” “And me trapped like a rat in this infernal contraption.” I lament. And boy was he right! As we turned into the compound, this sea of little black children descended on Toyota like locusts in Egypt. As I opened the door, hoping to escape, all was lost when they mobbed me, taking me down like a cheetah takes a wildebeest. I did my best, and thought I might have a chance, until from the veranda I heard a frenzied chant “BABU TERRY, BABU TERRY, BABU TERRY……” All the while those whom I thought were my friends and family just stood and laughed…..laughed! While I feared that I might succumb to the urge to hug the little snotlockers. MarryMe (Merideth) yelled out “You’re a rock star!” And so for a moment, I basked in the glory…until I came back to my senses and began planning my escape.
The rainy season is mostly over, but the place is alive with new growth…the shama (field) is green with new beans and the vegetable garden has exploded….well not exploded, but is producing more than this place can use for now. Carla says they are able to even sell some of the goods. We have two new large greenhouses that weren’t here when I last left and they are full of things like tomatoes and peppers. Kinda surprising that almost anything grows here….they are even harvesting their own greenges!
I don’t know if I told you that SlowToGetIt and MarryMe have come on staff here and have begun to take some of the load from J & C. And just in time too, as I have come to add to Jeffs load….as much as I can.
J&C will be leaving Kenya for a month in a couple of weeks, leaving the care of Instep in STGI, MarryMe, Sandy and my hands…..foolish….yes….necessary…..yes. They need a break. Looks like I will be the only one with a drivers license, so have been snuggling up to Toyota and taking her for some short dates. So far so good. Meanwhile Jeff is giving me a crash (bad word in this context) course in his brand of Swahili, just incase I need to discipline Toyota. I am beginning to learn the difference of the roads from the not roads….there actually are designated places to drive…..mostly the impassable places.
I knew I was home yesterday when I heard Carla yell out to the playground, “Mellissa…..quit eating your clothes!!!”
Friday, October 21, 2011
Hide your children...I'm back
October 2011, the beginning
So, leaving home 5 days ago and losing contact with the known world, I have not had the inclination or energy to produce archive able material. Having previously set the standard so high, that I now fear that I may not be able to amaze you with my wisdom, knowledge and grasp of human nature…..or be able to construct such dribble as in prior ramblings.
Oct 16th arriving at the airport, there was Victor….yes, that Victor (ask one of the two that have followed my blog from the beginning [Sandy or me]). Now I like Victor, but I’m really not much for man hugs in public. I may be the only person in history who their baggage handler has ran thru throngs of people just to hug. “going back to Africa?” he asks with a hint of sarcasm. “yes” I replied, “I left something over there and I need to go find it.” “must be important if you need to travel so far” he responds. “seems to be…..can’t live without it…..my heart.” I say, still wondering what happened to me.
Then all of a sudden, it was the next day for us and the same day for you, and Sandy and I were carefully unfolding our legs and arms so as not to break anything before departing into the Amsterdam morning. I still believe that our luggage has more room than we do, and so may ask next time to trade places with it as we travel internationally. It was here that we found that Shylo’s luggage was not sent thru to Nairobi and that it was scheduled to spend an extra day in Holland….once again prompting me to ponder switching with the luggage. But my favorite wife managed to use her beguiling ways to get the luggage on our plane. Oh, Shylo is a cute little twerp that managed to attach herself to us. 18 yrs old, from Pasco, WA and notably the granddaughter of the chairman of the board of Rehema Instep Ministries…..not that that had anything to do with pressuring us to take her….but I’m sure you understand.
8 hrs into the next leg of the journey, on the Dutch airline KLM, one of the flight attendants announced that they had found a hearing aid in a lavatory and said that the owner could claim it. Now don’t hold me to this, but I believe that mostly people that can’t hear wear hearing aids….so, if that’s the case, announcing over the intercom system might not have the desired affect…..think about it…..hey..I may be getting some of the pizzazz back……
Ok, at Nairobi International Airport, (I try to say with a straight face), we managed to get thru immigration soon after the other 430 people did, and so were able to continue our ‘slowest line choice’ record. The 6 or 7 of you that have faithfully endured this blog will be surprised, as I was, that our luggage, including Shylos’ made it undamaged, and that the customs agent looked at the Rehema tag and just waved us thru….I thought I was in a dream…..but wait, there is more….our ride to get to our hotel was actually there….probably because he had fallen asleep….and gets paid by the hour. So, although he wasn’t the best taxi driver in Nairobi, he did know where Marble Arch was….which is good as he works there.
Because it was our early afternoon, and it was about midnight in Kenya, we enjoyed our horizontal 6 hrs looking at the ceiling before heading back to the airport… you see we had to be there before 8 am to check in for our 10 o’clock flight to Kitale….. I was relieved to know that TIA is alive and well and that I hadn’t imagined how Africa is…..our 10 am flight would be leaving right on time….at 3:30.….which wasn’t exactly true.. Oh we did board the plane at 3:30, but due to something, like maybe the pilot hadn’t arrived yet, we didn’t actually take off until about 4. But lucky for us, Jeff lives in Africa, and had no illusion the flight would be as posted….but, he was there….happy to see Sandy and Shylo…..but Toyota was ecstatic to see me…..knowing that my kidneys were probably healed…..but more on that next time….I’ll share about our welcome at Instep……almost felt like home…..Lord help us!!!!
So, leaving home 5 days ago and losing contact with the known world, I have not had the inclination or energy to produce archive able material. Having previously set the standard so high, that I now fear that I may not be able to amaze you with my wisdom, knowledge and grasp of human nature…..or be able to construct such dribble as in prior ramblings.
Oct 16th arriving at the airport, there was Victor….yes, that Victor (ask one of the two that have followed my blog from the beginning [Sandy or me]). Now I like Victor, but I’m really not much for man hugs in public. I may be the only person in history who their baggage handler has ran thru throngs of people just to hug. “going back to Africa?” he asks with a hint of sarcasm. “yes” I replied, “I left something over there and I need to go find it.” “must be important if you need to travel so far” he responds. “seems to be…..can’t live without it…..my heart.” I say, still wondering what happened to me.
Then all of a sudden, it was the next day for us and the same day for you, and Sandy and I were carefully unfolding our legs and arms so as not to break anything before departing into the Amsterdam morning. I still believe that our luggage has more room than we do, and so may ask next time to trade places with it as we travel internationally. It was here that we found that Shylo’s luggage was not sent thru to Nairobi and that it was scheduled to spend an extra day in Holland….once again prompting me to ponder switching with the luggage. But my favorite wife managed to use her beguiling ways to get the luggage on our plane. Oh, Shylo is a cute little twerp that managed to attach herself to us. 18 yrs old, from Pasco, WA and notably the granddaughter of the chairman of the board of Rehema Instep Ministries…..not that that had anything to do with pressuring us to take her….but I’m sure you understand.
8 hrs into the next leg of the journey, on the Dutch airline KLM, one of the flight attendants announced that they had found a hearing aid in a lavatory and said that the owner could claim it. Now don’t hold me to this, but I believe that mostly people that can’t hear wear hearing aids….so, if that’s the case, announcing over the intercom system might not have the desired affect…..think about it…..hey..I may be getting some of the pizzazz back……
Ok, at Nairobi International Airport, (I try to say with a straight face), we managed to get thru immigration soon after the other 430 people did, and so were able to continue our ‘slowest line choice’ record. The 6 or 7 of you that have faithfully endured this blog will be surprised, as I was, that our luggage, including Shylos’ made it undamaged, and that the customs agent looked at the Rehema tag and just waved us thru….I thought I was in a dream…..but wait, there is more….our ride to get to our hotel was actually there….probably because he had fallen asleep….and gets paid by the hour. So, although he wasn’t the best taxi driver in Nairobi, he did know where Marble Arch was….which is good as he works there.
Because it was our early afternoon, and it was about midnight in Kenya, we enjoyed our horizontal 6 hrs looking at the ceiling before heading back to the airport… you see we had to be there before 8 am to check in for our 10 o’clock flight to Kitale….. I was relieved to know that TIA is alive and well and that I hadn’t imagined how Africa is…..our 10 am flight would be leaving right on time….at 3:30.….which wasn’t exactly true.. Oh we did board the plane at 3:30, but due to something, like maybe the pilot hadn’t arrived yet, we didn’t actually take off until about 4. But lucky for us, Jeff lives in Africa, and had no illusion the flight would be as posted….but, he was there….happy to see Sandy and Shylo…..but Toyota was ecstatic to see me…..knowing that my kidneys were probably healed…..but more on that next time….I’ll share about our welcome at Instep……almost felt like home…..Lord help us!!!!
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