07.17.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 12:35 pm by Hannah
Confirmation attained. I, Hannah Beth Jankovsky, am not going crazy.
Sunday night I woke up to the gentle rocking of our concrete apartment building.
Concrete buildings don’t rock…or at least their not supposed to.
I woke up Seth and asked if they have earthquakes here…I think he was just answering in his sleep cause he mumbled that he didn’t think so, rolled over, and went back to sleep.
Having been in three previous earthquakes myself I was pretty sure of what I was feeling. The next morning Rahab just looked at me like I had two heads when I asked if she had felt the earthquake.
I must say, confidence in my sanity was getting its own shaking.
But I was thoroughly vindicated when Seth called mid-morning and told me that it was confirmed on the news (cause you know everything on the news is true : ). There really was an earthquake.
We are all ok. I’m actually the only one here that even felt it…either that says something about me or something about everyone else.
We’ll just say its everyone else.
I think it was rather bad closer to Tanzania.
Different sort of rockin’ all together at church on Sunday. It was Youth Sunday and they had a speaker and a “Jesus Rap” group.
It was quite the worship service.
I was entertained to see the reactions that were soooo like those in an American church. Watching the Kenyans around me react made me feel right at home.
About half the church (youth included in that half) were LOVING it.
Another 40% were rather lost and seemed unsure how to react to this unusual noise coming from the front.
And of course, there was the last 10% who knew exactly how to respond to such wildness and sat sternly enduring the show.
So African and American churches have some similarities after all: The whole people factor. : )
Seth and I had to stifle our laughter when one of the worship leaders leaned over to us during the service and said (with a rather joyous pride on his face) “we are having church like America today!”
Yes, all those American music videos do have a far reaching influence.
The Kenyan view of America has afforded us much amusement and a bit of sadness as well.
~Roadsign of the Week~
Sign posted as part of the compound rules “No hooting within the compound”. I’m half tempted to have you all guess the meaning of this command but half afraid of what your replies would be. : ) That is the Kenyan way of saying “no honking your horn”. It just makes me laugh though cause, I don’t know, it just seems like it could mean a few other things.
~Food Find~
Grilled Lamb Skewers. Seth and I found a Turkish restaurant that has amazing and delicious meat. Lamb is one of the more major proteins here and we were only more than happy to join in this cultural norm. This particular place marinates their lamb in a black pepper blend and then grills it over the fire.
Have I ever mentioned my deep appreciation for meat? Yum, Yum.
!!!!!!!!Visa News!
Thankyou all so much for praying. Seth had our supervisor come down with him and they went to one of the higher up immigration officials. After they convinced him that I was Seth’s wife and my name change was listed in the back of my passport he stamped all of our passports (no extra charge) and we are good for another three months…and we only need two. Praise the Lord! And thankyou, thankyou for praying!!!!!!!
Hangin’ Out With Dad!
All the windows here have bars on them…Kez and Jared consider them their own personal jungle gym.
Our electrifying little guy.
Yes, this is an avocado next to our i-pod and a 500ml soda bottle.
Happy Birthday to Rahab!
We had a party for Rahab and she was so excited she could hardly eat.
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Posted in RoadSigns at 11:29 am by Hannah
VISA, VISA, VISA! COME AND GET IT!
If only it were that easy.
Since we got here Seth has been diligently working on getting us a
student visa…or really any visa that will fit our situation and time
needs.
Every time he has gone down to immigration they tell him that all of
our paperwork has been lost. We’re not even in the system.
This last week he finally got pounded out a special visa that fit our
needs perfectly and today he went down to finish the final details of
said visa.
He is down there now and just called; they gave him the visa but are
now saying that they can’t do the same for me and the kids.
As of tomorrow we are officially illegal here.
We’ve been trying to get this done since we got here.
We were just going to plan a trip outside the country but were told
not to…that we would be able to get the visas in time.
If we are unable to get the visas we will have to leave the country
asap for 5 days and then come back in on a tourist visa again.
This wouldn’t be such a big deal if we could just cross over to Uganda
or Tanzania but we have to leave the East African Community. Which
means we’ll have to travel farther and last minute prices, as you can
imagine, are far from friendly.
Anyone care to meet us in Egypt for a week or so? We could use some
relaxation with friendly and familiar faces. : )
So please pray. Pray that our visas come through or that God provides
for last minute travel.
Pray that we don’t lose our patience with a culture and system that
views time, deadlines, and accomplishment so differently than we are
used to.
THANKYOU ALL! Knowing you all care means the world to us and makes
situations like this so much easier to bear.
We’ll keep you posted,
Hannah (& Seth, Keziah, and Jared)
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07.01.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 1:34 pm by Hannah
As you’ve heard me mention before we have an angel that has seen fit to bless us in our home by coming 3-4 times a week.
She does our laundry (by hand) and helps out with kids, house-work, cultural mind bogglers, and protects us from shrewd hawkers who attempt to smart us out of our “huge American fortunes”.
She’s even gone to deal with a few dookah (small roadside snack shacks) owners who dared to cheat “her Wazungus”. : )
We met Rahab, shortly after our arrival here. Rahab has been trying to save up enough to go to college but has had a difficult time finding a job that pays the bills and allows her to save toward school.
Its kind of a vicious cycle – you can’t get a job that pays well without further education but can’t save up to go to college cause you can’t get a job that pays well – and around the cycle we go.
We were delighted to be able to give her a job with a good wage; many thanks to our generous supporters – that’s you.
To get to our house every morning Rahab traveled (by foot and Matatu) an hour and a half.
This last month the rent was being raised on the slum shack that Rahab called home. And by slum I mean open sewers, mud huts, rats, garbage, no security, ect.
After some prayer, consideration, and discussion we moved Rahab into our spare room.
With the lack of rent, the lack of fare money, and the lower food bill Rahab should be able to attend college by the time we leave.
Your support dollars (or should I say schillings) hard at work. : )
Rahab will be able to attend a two year school gaining a degree in teaching, and an edge in society from which she will be able to bless many others.
We, in turn, are blessed to have this dear girl in our home. She’s teaching me all manner of Kenyan fare and we are attempting to introduce her to American food – its not working very well. Though she was much impressed with chicken nuggets and chocolate chip cookies.
She and I have begun befriending and evangelizing all the other house girls on the compound – one life changed last week 20 to go… Be in prayer for Patricia, she’s just a babe in Christ but visibly a new creation.
Rahab has thanked us over and over again for providing her with a job that allows her to move on in life.
We can only turn her in the direction of those who have sent us here. We cannot thank you enough for allowing us the privilege of being on the front lines of your ministry here. The people we have met, the experiences gained, and the lessons learned are, indeed, priceless.
So, many thanks to you from us and our good friend Rahab.
~Roadsign of the week~
Sign posted around Nairobi “Hospital ceilings are boring. Please drive carefully.” Amen and amen! Now if only all the other drivers on the road would pay attention to these signs.
~Food Find~
Fresh from the tree Avocados! Rahab went upcountry to visit her home village a few weeks ago and brought back fresh avocados from their tree. I have never in my life tasted an avocado this amazing. Creamy, buttery, smooth and oh so very delicious. Kez and I made very short work of these wonderful treats…we offered to share with Seth but he said he was not even tempted.
The manly binky, for all your teething needs.
No sweat, I gottcha covered!
Rahab and her fiance’ Nick
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