06.11.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 2:57 pm by Hannah
For those of you waking to the news of a bombing in Nairobi and
wondering…we are ok.
It seems that at about 9:00 this morning a suicide bomber headed
for the airport changed his mind and instead blew up in front of the
Ambassador Hotel. Thankfully, Seth was not in town this morning, as he
is often in this part of town.
It happened about 20 minutes from our house in downtown Nairobi -
we’re on the outskirts of Nairobi.
From the info that I have right now, there were 7 people seriously
injured and 30 more with various wounds. The only person killed (at
least that they know of) was the bomber himself.
I don’t know now what it was about but I’m sure you will have a
much better report by the time you read this.
We just wanted to let you all know that we are ok and not going
into town today. : ) Please pray for us, and for all the people in
Ministry here that we will be an example of the peace and hope of
Christ.
Pray for the Kenyan people as this is one more strike of fear in a
time when the city is already on edge because of the recent rash of
gang violence.
More Roadsigns to come later…we’ll see how much time the kids give
me today. : )
Hannah
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05.27.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 11:42 am by Hannah
Sunday the Children’s Sunday school did a special number for church.
They did a dance.
As you may have guessed, Kenyans seem to be born with rhythm and any good tune is a chance to dance/move/jive with the music.
Coming from a society where dancing has never quite broken free from its ties (in reputation and/or reality) to sensuality it is refreshing to see joyous, heartfelt, innocent dancing for Jesus.
Keziah was delighted to see all the “tids dancin’ Momma!” and joined in with her own little dance by her chair.
Church here is done in a very orderly fashion but also has a very exuberant nature in its order.
Having the chance to witness the Body of Christ in a different culture has given me such a bigger picture of heaven. Oh the joy of worshipping the Lamb in “spirit and in truth” when we get there.
Wonder if we’ll have to learn how to worship all over again?
A lot of my pre-conceived ideas are getting a raking over.
Seth turns professor this week. FTT (where he will be teaching) is a Kenyan missionary training school - by Kenyans for Kenyans, mainly. Seth has been asked to teach a course on “Principles of Finance and Financial Reporting” and “Servant Leadership”. Both subjects (in my unbiased opinion) he is great at. I’d love to sneak in and just blend into the classes for the next two weeks but something tells me I’d have a difficult time not sticking out.
“Would the cute Mzungu in the last row, please stop giggling and take your two (beautiful) children outside to play?” : )
Pray that he is able to communicate what these students need to hear/learn from the Lord.
Pray that the accent barrier (they do speak English here: just with a STRONG Kenyan accent) does not hinder the message that needs to get out. And pray that Seth enjoys and learns from the experience.
~Roadsign of the Week~
Sign across the road from our compound “Car wash, Pub”. As in you and your car can come get sloshed together. : ) The combination of services available here are often rather amusing.
Hair salons here are called “Saloons” This can be rather shocking when the Pastor’s wife announces an appointment at the local saloon.
~Food Find~
Cadbury Mint-Choc Bars. These two-bite-size candy bars have become one of our most favorites. Keziah refers to them as “family snacks” because we usually eat them together. They’re a mere 10 schillings (about 15 cents) and are a cross between a York Peppermint Pattie and a Tootsie Roll. MMMMmmmmmmhmmmmhhhhmmmmm. Yum.
Just hanging out on the counter in the kitchen
our porch Kez’s favorite place to play
This Picture is for all those Bethany Friends This is in Embo Kenya kinda funny huh…
The Izaak Walton??
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05.17.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 9:58 am by Hannah
Yes, folks I have now attained the wise and mature age of 28. Adults in Kenya do not usually celebrate their birthdays and were quite amused at how exciting I considered the event. But, what can I say…why pass up a chance to celebrate! : )
Seth took me to a local tourist restaurant called Carnivore. The heart of the restaurant is a huge fire pit with long, William Wallace type, swords set on a rack above the flames.
Each sword laden with a different type of meat…
As a girl whose childhood nick name was “Carnivora”, to say that I was delighted would be putting it lightly.
I had a hard time not jumping up and down and clapping my hands.
The waiters brought the swords around at intervals and carved the meat off right on to your plate.
My apologies to all you vegetarians out there; but it was sooooo good.
After stuffing ourselves with lamb, beef, chicken, crocodile, pork, turkey, and ostrich we were treated to a rousing Kenyan Birthday song by the waiters – complete with drums and dance.
Definitely an experience to remember.
Keziah had her own birthday gift for me.
Earlier in the day as I came out of my room I found Keziah, on a couch cushion stage, with magnetix microphone belting out:
“Da B-I-B-L-E! Yes, dats da book fo me! I stan awone on da wer of God! Da
B-I-B-L-E!”
It was hilarious, touching and amazing all at once.
I am truly beginning to understand the verse that says “ I have no greater joy than to know that my children walk in truth”. I can only stand in awe as I watch the Father draw the heart of my daughter to Himself.
In this time of change and feelings of insecurity just watching the love of God play out in the life of a child, my child, brings such a reassurance of His love and trustworthiness.
I can only pray that my life as His child will be such a testament to those around me.
Life continues to be an adventure here.
Seth was in an accident the other day…He’s ok, no physical damage done, and other than having to get the car fixed it really was not a huge deal. Keziah, however, on hearing that our car had got “an owie” wanted to know if she could “gib it a tiss”. : ) If only that worked on “hurt” cars too. : )
Pray for us that we continue to operate in the grace that God gives for the moment and have the humor to learn from it as well.
~Roadsign of the week~
“Nairobi, Home of the Hot Dog”. And all this time I thought hot dogs came to be in Chicago! The most humorous thing about this sign is that the hot dogs here taste like vegetarian hot dogs. Not sure what exactly is in there…maybe I don’t want to know but they sure don’t taste very “meaty”.
~Food Find~
Ok, since this letter seems to be all about meat; Ladies and Gentlemen…I Hannah Beth Jankovsky have forever endeared myself to all junk food addicts (namely my husband) by learning the art of home made chicken nuggets.
No, chicken nuggets are far from normal Kenyan fare. But they are the normal fare for a certain Seth of mine. I think if he could have, Seth would have sainted me for this achievement.
My tie-dye boys.
My birthday present from Seth…a canopy bed.
Carnivore!
Being Tigers!
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04.28.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 1:10 pm by Hannah
We went to the Market the other day. Not the normal grocery market but the Massai Market.
The Massai people are like the Africans you see in National Geographic. Like what you think of when you think African. Not all of them wear the traditional dress but a good number still do. They carry around spears too. They are a fierce, loyal, and in general very friendly people. Though you really wouldn’t want to get on their bad side.
Every weekend they have open air markets around the city where they sell hand-crafts, souvenir stuff, and every day African stuff.
AMAZING! Beautiful work…I don’t even know how to describe it. They just have really incredible stuff.
And they have really incredible sales tactics. Maybe scary would be a better descriptor. I had Jared strapped on so for the most part they didn’t push me around to much. Though I did get a few offers for my baby…which I turned down very firmly. : )
Everyone had “a very reasonable price for you today” and we had one man tell us that he accepted “vegetarian money also”.
We asked him what on earth he meant by that…he just looked at us like the ignorant Mzungus that we must appear to be and said “green money”!
So, good news to all you “vegetarian money” users. They’ll take your money here. : )
The rainy season has come and with it lots of bugs!!! Yuck!
Yesterday Seth (our resident fierce protector) waged war on the bug army that had invaded our deck, and won the day in a brilliant and massive cloud of DOOM. They were still gone this morning so he must have really done a job of it.
So far we haven’t seen any horrific bugs (like cockroaches) though there is one called the “Nairobi Fly” that, if it bites you or gets smashed on you will burn your skin. Pleasant.
There was a whole battalion of those on the deck, but no more.
Thankyou all so much for your prayers and correspondence. I know I say this all the time but you have no idea how much it means to us.
Life here is so different and difficult in ways we have never experience before and knowing we are surrounded in prayer by “such a great cloud of witnesses” makes all the difference.
You inspire us with confidence and comfort us with your prayers so THANKS! We couldn’t do this without you.
~Roadsign of the Week~
Sign seen on a public restroom downtown, “Rehabilitation of Public Toilet”. Hhhmmm. I wonder how they rehabilitate them. Might be a good skill to learn…I can think of quite a few public toilets in the U.S. that could use some rehabilitation. : )
~Food Find~
Ceres’ Fruit Juices. There is no description for how yummy these boxes of 100% fruit juices are. So far we have tried out apricot, peach, apple/pear, passion fruit, mango, white grape, regular grape, kiwi/strawberry, and cranberry/kiwi. YUM, YUM, YUM! Even Seth had to admit that they really are better than Tang…and that’s a big concession for him.
Bread Fruit different huh…
The Equator
Just some of the local wild life
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04.15.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 11:21 am by Hannah
In letters long ago I told you that Seth and I had affectionately named our new abode “the concrete jungle”. Well apparently no one else had the same brain flash and on the naming of our compound (new construction so it hasn’t had a name all this time) some genius decided on “The Space Apartments”.
As in outer-space.
Just so you don’t get the wrong picture of our host culture this was not an example of Kenyan creativity in the least. In fact when they announced it at the compound meeting there was more than a little outrage.
Seth took the opportunity to wonder aloud at the decision when “we are the only aliens on the property”. He said there were a few chuckles but most everyone just looked at him as though he were green and had antennae sticking out of his head. : )
One man suggested that they paint the constellations on the sides of the buildings…he only barely escaped stoning.
So we can now honestly claim to be aliens in space! Some of you may think this fitting, I know.
Last night I had my official “how to make ugali” lesson. I’ll make some for any and all interested parties when we get back. It is probably one of the blandest foods I have ever eaten…but the stew they eat with it!!!! MMMMMmmmmhmmmmm!
Ugali (ooo-golly) is basically maize flour boiled in water till stiff. Kind of like what happens to corn meal mush that has sat a few hours. They then slice it and eat it with a delicious cabbage based stew. I am a convert.
Anything that goes with that stew is worth eating just to get the stew. Seth, Keziah, and Jared have not seen the light as I have and throw disdainful glances from afar whenever I indulge in the wonder of Ugali and its accompanying dishes.
~Roadsign of the Week~
Sign posted in the grocery store on a very large stop sign, “Stop Dudus!” Given our current potty training situation, there are moments when I would completely agree.
The Swahili word for insect is dudu. So the signs are just bug spray advertisements (raid or doom). But Seth and I cannot help but laugh hysterically when we see them. And every one looks at us as though we are freaks, not a terribly new thing as we stick out like sore thumbs here and are generally stared at whenever we go out in public.
~Food Find~
Other than Ugali. : ) Keziah has discovered “YoGo Ices! These handy little treats are kind of like otter-pops (you know that you can get at Wal-Mart) but are fruit juice and milk.
You can also get the pure fruit juice kind. Keziah LOVES them and is an avid fan of the after nap ice-ee tradition. Kenyans, however, are shocked that I would be giving a child so young something so cold!!! In Kenya they are of the firm belief that eating or drinking cold things will give you a cold…especially young children.
I will never forget the shock and dismay on Rahab’s face when she saw me give Jared his frozen chew toy. : )
Yes folks, he is standing…watch out world.
Kez and Rahab making mandazis.
Now if I could just get to it.
I wonder if they really read the suggestions…and what they do with them.
One small section of the city of Nairobi.
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04.07.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 12:39 pm by Hannah
Great Friday.
Yesterday was Good Friday. The entire city of Nairobi shut down, and took the day off. The construction workers who are finishing the building in our compound are here today (Saturday) but on Good Friday not a soul was to be seen working.
Christianity, seems to be so much more a part of the culture here (a bit odd considering that I come from a “Christian country”). I guess, really, you could say all religion is more obvious here. Ramadan apparently is also a national holiday as are the holy days of various other religions. From what I am told, Kenyans love holidays and so have 1-3 national holidays every month.
Its been interesting to observe a society where religion and government/national policy are at times very closely tied, and religion is also a very major, obvious, pillar of that society.
In some ways it is wonderful. I am still happily caught off guard when going into the grocery store on Sunday and shopping to the sounds of praise and worship music.
In other ways it is difficult to accept the harsher sides of culture that are “a part of the religion”. The older Muslim man with his two young wives in tow.
I can’t say that I have drawn any huge conclusions from my observations…still trying to figure out the effects of societal structure here.
But it was interesting/funny/odd/wonderful to have the entire country pause in respect to our Savior’s sacrifice so may years ago.
Pray for us as you celebrate this year. I, especially, am used to family, traditions, big celebration, ect. at Easter time and am feeling the familiar struggle of homesickness as the holiday approaches with out all the familiar trappings.
But at the same time, when all the familiar is stripped away, the real reason we are celebrating takes on a whole new meaning.
Let me wish you all a very Happy Easter! And as you pause to pray over your Easter meal pray that we here, will live out and share the reality and the joy of the Easter season with those around us.
There are many “religions” here clamoring (quite literally) to be heard. Pray that our message will not be a religion but a Person, the Savior, Who longs for all to know His love.
~Roadsign of the Week~
Sign in Nairobi “Children’s Traffic Park”. Yes, believe it or not, there is a park here just for children to hop on their bikes and do what their parents do every day – sit in traffic. Its complete with lanes, round-a-bouts (THE Nairobi way to get anywhere), and stop signs.
I did notice a few missing elements, however. There were no hawkers bartering with the children to sell their wares in the middle of traffic, and the black smoke and exhaust were also not quite as prevalent. : )
~Food Find~
More Indian food… and they think it’s African food
Curry, Chapatti, Samosa, ect…
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03.27.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 11:41 am by Hannah
As Seth reported the other day…all was well the week of the Uganda Trip. Seth had the opportunity to teach during the conference while they were there and gave a 3 hour class on the history of missions.
He really enjoyed the trip (took amazing pictures) and though we missed him (dreadfully) we were all ok at home. Thankyou all for your prayers…I never like being away from Seth and in a different country it seemed even more daunting but the Lord was faithful to us. The time passed quickly and there were no major mishaps.
I did have to brace up my womanly courage and deal with the nasty, furry, slimy, gray wormy creature climbing up the sink in my bathroom but in the end I was the conquering hero and said creature has never been heard from since.
This last week has been an adventure in potty training!! Oh yeah! We have been having a difficult time finding diapers Keziah’s size. It seems the only brand we can find on a regular basis are very expensive and just happen to be produced by Al Jizeera (sp?), not exactly an organization we want to be supporting. So, needless to say, the time has come for Keziah and Momma to spend some time in the bathroom. Praise the Lord for tile floors!
She’s doing fairly well for having a Mother who is at a total loss as to the mysteries of potty training (all suggestions and advice are very welcome) and is especially taking to the M&M rewards that come with “goin’ potty”.
Pray for us. That we survive this step of child-hood…we don’t really have any other choice but to persevere, but pray that all involved come through unscarred. : )
New guards on our compound. We have set out befriending them with cold sodas and hot Mandazis. Pray for them (and us) as we seek to impact them for the Lord. Justice & Justin are the night guards and Patrick & Collins are the day guards.
~Roadsign of the Week~
Sign seen in Uganda, “Schmuck’s Investments”! : ) Now there’s a company to put money behind! Oh, the power of idioms! Those little cultural sayings that vary, not with language so much, as with culture. The other day I explained to Rahab what I meant by calling Keziah a “booger”. She was more than a little amused and considering the day we were having had to agree with me.
~Food Find~
Dorman’s Coffee. Can anyone tell me if they have Dorman’s in the States…if not I will be transporting large amounts. I’m a sucker for good coffee (I grew up minutes away from Seattle, its to be expected) but now I think I have become an addict! Brewed just right this stuff is INCREDIBLE!
Toilet training masters (in the making),
Seth & Hannah and our slightly drippy crew Kez & Jared
At the source of the Nile River.
Overlooking the Rift Valley.
This valley starts here in Kenya and wanders all the way to Israel.
Man selling charcoal. Yes, there is a bike under all that.
They stopped Seth on the road here and demanded that he come sign the book. : )
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03.22.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 1:16 pm by Seth
Due to unseen circumstances Hannah is unable to write the normal beautifully written and executed Road signs for this week. Please bear with me on this one…
This past week has been a crazy one we want to thank everyone who has been praying for us during the time I was away in Uganda. Things went great in Uganda and at home. Hannah had a full week with moving to the Germo’s and watching their three year old daughter Ellie while Nancy was out of town daily for a nursing conference.
On the ministry end Dan and I had the opportunity to speak at a 5 day conference on mission mobilization for ELIM Pentecostal Church a denomination in Uganda. There was a huge response to the new found knowledge they began to see the great commission as a church mandate not a mandate from Christ to the Western world. We are hoping the excitement we saw there will not die off but grow in this group.
The kids are doing great and as we have enjoyed the week with Paul Hartford our supervisor from the US we are ready for the day of rest that is coming soon. Today we attempted a trip up country but we were forced back to Nairobi with electrical issues on the 4-runner.
I did see a funny road sign this week but Hannah will fill you all in about that soon enough. We love you all and wish to know your prayer concerns. Please feel free to write and let us know if there is anything we can petition the Father on your behalf about. We miss you all and are looking forward to your replies as usual…
Seth, Hannah, kez, and jared
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03.09.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 10:47 am by Hannah
One Day In Kenya
Morning breaks to the sound of the Muslim call to prayer that is broadcast over the loadspeaker from the Mosque five blocks down from us and get up whenever the kids manage to pry us out of bed while bellowing for their Weetabix (the Kenyan breakfast of Champions).
Seth’s days generally revolve around working with the FTT office or preparations for the future Global Intern Site that Bethany is starting here in January.
FTT stands for Finish The Task. It is an organization for Kenyans by Kenyans equipping Christians for Missions.
I am at home with the kids. Rahab (our wonder of a house-helper) comes four times a week to help out with house work and teach me Kenyan culture and culinary fare. Lately we’ve been trying to make friends with the other Mommas and children in our compound and keep the guards happy with freshly made Mandazis (the Kenyan equivalent to the doughnut) and tea.
Seth is often home in the late afternoon and we generally spend the evenings at home relaxing occasionally taking a trip to the corner Dookah …that would be our soda stop. : )
Monday and Friday evenings are supper and Swahili lessons with friends Pastor Karanja and Joyce.
By 7:00 we are at home for the night. The sun goes down at 7 (year round) and being out after dark is not a wise choice here.
So on the rare day that there is no unexpected circumstance (such as the random sprained knee/car problem/gas leak in the stove/canceled meetings) that is what our day would look like.
By the way thankyou all for your prayers for Keziah. It was a sprain and she is healing up nicely. Her limp is completely gone today and she is back to her extremely active self…just a little more cautious on wet tile floors.
This next week Seth and Dan Germo will be traveling to Uganda to do some teaching at a Missions Training School…Please keep us all in your prayers. Pray for Seth to be a blessing and to be blessed through it. He will be teaching two 90 minute classes on the history of missions. Pray that he is able to prepare and communicate what needs to be heard and that he won’t get too nervous.
Pray for me and the munchkins. We will be staying with Nancy Germo and helping out there as she has a nursing conference scheduled the same week. Pray that we will be a blessing to her and that the time will pass quickly while our guys are away.
Pray for the safety of all of us…the guys traveling and us (women and children) at home. It seems that often things go wrong when the Men are gone so please pray for the Lord’s protection and wisdom during this time.
~ Roadsign of the week ~
Hand painted on a crude wooden sign “Road Works Ahead”.
As in working roads are so rare here that when there is one it is to be noted. : ) You think road construction in the States is bad!!! At least they do road construction! We’ve almost gotten lost in some of the pot-holes that are the roads around here. : )
There are actually roads in Kenya that have been on the maps for twenty years (or more) but have yet to be built.
~ Food Find ~
Hot Dog flavored chips. As you all have guessed, Seth and Keziah are avid fans. I think they just taste like Ketchup but all in all they “ain’t that bad”! I personally go for the grilled meat flavored chips or Nyama Choma Crisps.
Whoever said modern art had no purpose?
A little bit of the security system that is everywhere in Nairobi
Bird in the trees…
Kenyan birds are much bigger and louder.
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02.28.07
Posted in RoadSigns at 1:18 pm by Seth
Thank you for praying and responding to our e-mails were very grateful
to know that we are connected with our friends and family. Keziah is
doing better after some thought and another day we realized she has
most likely sustained a sprin to her knee. She slipped on the floor
the other night and landed funny. There has been no fever or redness
so the Doctor is thinking it is only a sprain. Today as the day
progresed she began to move about more not walking but crawling a
little and scooching. Please continue to pray for us as she heals up
and we will keep you all posted as we know more
In Him
seth
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