09.23.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 3:49 pm by Hannah
“Welcome home”!
I think we both could have hugged the customs agent as he stamped our passports and smiled his welcome in our direction.
After 24 hours of travel, 38 hours of no sleep, 8 ½ months of absence from the land of our Fathers, and many, many days of homesickness Seth and I agreed as we gazed at the welcome sign posted beneath a huge American flag that we had never been more patriotic.
Keziah summed up the moment with a joyful crow “ we at owr ‘Merica home!”
Though we loved Kenya and the adventures that God gave us in that sunny land nothing can quite compare to these United States that truly have been blessed by God.
Since arriving at home the familiar blessings of life and family at home have been overwhelming at times.
Oh, the wonder of a big, juicy, rare burger with pickles and an ice cold root-beer.
I think the waitress at Applebee’s was more than a little amused at our amazement over the food. : )
I find myself feeling strange and a little bit guilty when I turn on the water and it comes out hot…more often I just use the cold.
Kez and Jared have done great.
Adjusting super fast and super well.
They’ve been sleeping pretty close to normal and we are way less tired than we were expecting to be.
Yeah!
Grandma, aunts and uncles have delighted our little munchkins to no end and Keziah wakes up asking “can I see Gwama”
Thank you all for your prayers.
Transition is never an easy task with small children but the prayer and support we have felt through the process has been a huge comfort and an oh-so-big help.
And now the joys of giving you the full story!
This Wednesday we will be traveling to WA to see and share with all of you there that have gone on this journey with us.
Sunday, September 30, at 2:30 we will be at Northern Peaks Christian Fellowship in Sedro-Woolley.
We would love to meet with you, give you a personal THANKYOU FRIEND and a bit more of a taste of this Africa that we have come to love. For all of you that are in between MN and WA, if you look up when you hear a plane passing over on the 26th you just might be able to see us waving our greetings to you…ok maybe not but we will be thinking of you.
For those of you in MN we will set up a meet and eat when we get back mid-October.
~Roadsign of the Week~
Sign seen on many of the streets of home “STOP”. Now you might not think this remarkable but it struck me the other day after a few outings on the streets of Litchfield, I don’t remember ever seeing one stop sign in my entire time in Nairobi…not that anyone would stop at them anyway.
Probably why there are none to be found.
~Food Find~
Mc Donald’s. Never will I forget the look that crossed my dear hubby’s face on discovering a McDonald’s in the Amsterdam airport. Joy sublime…with a bit of drool at the mouth. : ) Considering our four carry-ons and two sleepy children we moved through that airport at record speed.
Kez and Friend
Matatu merging.
Rahab makes pizza.
Baby Elephants at Play.
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09.08.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 6:54 am by Hannah
And for those Kenyans who are not in the road there is a faster means of travel that brings the same “I may die any second” life on the edge kind of thrill.
May I introduce the infamous “Matatu”.
The means of travel for 95% of Kenyans…and any and all extreme sports tourists that visit the country. Matatu drivers are known for their skills in forging paths where no vehicle has ever gone before…
And in paths that no vehicle should ever even consider going (ie. Sidewalks, jogging trails, driveways, any place that there is no formidable barrier).
The funny thing is that most of them have stickers on the back that say “be a courteous driver, please give way”. Most Matatu’s are a 14 passenger Toyota van.
There is a driver…who does the driving. And the conductor…who collects passengers, collects money, and when all the seats are taken hangs off the side of the van hollering for more passengers to come aboard. There is now a law against overloading Matatu’s but in the not to distant past (and not all that uncommonly now) you could see one of these wild rides stuffed with twenty plus passengers. Each Matatu is generally a privately owned vehicle and the décor is of utmost importance…
The general goal seems to be to take some western/American/Christian/Musical slogan and plaster it in sticker letters to your van. The result is often humorous and sometimes puzzling.
Here’s a few we’ve caught as they whiz by:
“God is Able” – Good thing cause without Him you may not live through the experience.
“Snipers” - Very appropriate as the goal seems to be to take out as many other moving objects on the road as possible.
“Bruised and buttered” - ????????????????? No joke, we see this one all the time.
“E=MC2″ – Ok, must be the smart people bus.
“In God We Trust” – Once again, it’s a very good thing cause He is your only hope on this ride.
“Divas” - This one comes complete with ear-piercing music videos. You can see the people inside vibrating along to the bass.
“The City Hoppa” – These are actually a company and are a bigger, comfier, safer ride.
“Half-Baked” – As in you must not have spent enough time in the oven if you’re climbing on this machine. Seth just asked Rahab what other Matatu’s she’s seen. She just looked at him like he was a crazy person and told him that she had never noticed that they said anything other than where they are going…
To answer the question now burning on all of your lips: Yes! We have ridden on these contraptions…and lived to tell about it. I have actually only been on about 5 Matatus. Seth has been on them numerous times and oh, the stories there are to tell…
Coming soon to a church near you…if you live in WA or MN. : )
~Roadsign of the Week~
Sign on a tanker truck “Foul Drainage Sub-contractors”. HHhhhhmmmmm. I can only guess at what this means. As observed before Kenyan culture is a very polite and discreet culture…
~Food Find~
Bag of guts. Yes, in the meat case at our local Uchumi you can get (along with your chicken and sliced ham) a bag of innards….and I don’t just mean kidneys, heart, ect. This is more like intestines. To go along with that grilled goat head.
I may be a proficient cook but I have yet to find a use for this meaty treat…somehow I don’t think Seth would go for gut stew.
P.S. pictures wouldn’t come sorry all…
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