Little Blue Dress

I finished the dress I was sewing for Brina.  It was fun and very easy to make.  Unfortunately though, it does not fit her.

Seth decorated my hair with flowers; then I had him take a picture!

I got it halfway on her and could barely get it back off of her!  There was no way her other arm was going in the little dress.  So I’ll probably try to make her another one sometime.  Next time, I won’t use the pattern bodice.  I’ll copy the bodice size from one of her other dresses.  The skirt part of it is plenty big enough.  I had fun adding the little appliquéd heart as a finishing touch.  

My next sewing project is curtains for Seth’s room.  I brought this puppy material from the States, intending to make curtains for him from it.   

When we moved into this house, however, and I saw the size of our windows, I thought, “There is no way I’ll have enough of that material for his curtains.” 

Yesterday BJ and I measured the windows to have curtains made for our living room and dining room.  (I do not have THAT much material on hand to do those myself, and sewing them by hand would take forever!)  We measured Seth’s windows too while we were at it.  I got out the puppy material again just in case it might work.  Seth and I were both really excited to find that I had just enough material for his curtains!  They are cut out now, and I'm ready to get started.

Laundry on My Mission Field

What does it take to keep up with laundry on the mission field?  A close eye on the sun!  Yes, I have done the mad dash scramble of jerking the clothes off the line trying to keep those huge raindrops from undoing my day's work!

Every mission field is different, and a lot depends on how remote you are.  In New Guinea, my mom washed clothes in a bucket for many months.  Then later, she had a wringer washing machine with a very loud lawnmower motor.  I can still remember the sound that thing made as it beat our clothes to death! 

I am so thankful for my wise mother.  Even after we had the wringer washer, she still took the time to teach my sister and I how to wash our clothes by hand.  She told us, “You may end up on a mission field someday, and you need to know how to do this.”  She was right. 

My first three months in Kenya, I washed our clothes by hand in the kitchen sink while we saved up money to buy a washing machine.  As I scrubbed Seth’s muddy play pants, my mind recalled those days my sister and I tumbled and rolled around in the thick, clay mud of Wembu village.  I remember watching my dear mother loving and patiently scrub out our dirty clothes over and over again.  I knew if she could do it, then so could I! 

But today, I am spoiled . . . well, no, blessed!  I have a washing machine that has never given me a single problem, and I even have a propane dryer for rainy days.

I rarely use the dryer.  It gets used occasionally during the rainy season when I don’t get the clothes out early enough in the morning.  My washer is electric, so when the power goes off in the middle of a load . . . I just have to wait patiently until it comes back on, and try not to think about the dark clouds rolling in on the horizon!

The sun dries our clothes most days.  It usually does its job within a couple of hours, and it is free!  During the dry season, when we have no rain, I don’t have to be in a hurry to get them out on the line.  However, during the rainy season, in order to get them dry, I have to hang them out pretty early in the morning before the afternoon rains roll in.  It does not do to leave wet or even damp clothes in a basket overnight.  Things mold and mildew in a hurry in the tropics.  If they must come in before they are dry, it then becomes necessary to drape them all around the house to dry overnight.  Or if they are still really wet, I use my dryer!

And now I'll share a tip that I learned since coming to Kenya.  The sun is very hard on clothes.  One problem is that the sun bleaches the colors after some time.  So I’ve learned from Kenyans to turn the clothes inside out before hanging them on the line.  This way, the sun does not fade our clothes as quickly. 

Lunch:  homemade corndogs
Supper:  Fish and "chips"

Raymond

This morning, Brina and I once again rode the “bus” to church.  The church van looks like a “matatu" (public transportation vehicle), so I get a lot of surprised looks on the way to church.  An mzungu (white) lady and her baby riding public transportation???  It doesn’t bother me a bit as long as I know the person who is driving!

Raymond came to church today.  I’ve posted about him in previous posts here and here.  Raymond is about 9 years old, and he is deaf.  When I got there, he was already in Junior church, so I passed Brina off to waiting hands, and I went to be his interpreter. 

Raymond is on the left.

I soon realized that this kid is sharp.  He doesn’t have a lot to say, but his eyes are constantly moving taking things in.  I was amazed at how he grasped so much of what was going on even without paying close attention to me.  He is very sure of himself and confident.   Bless his heart, he came to church all by himself today.  

Junior Church

A couple of BJ’s sign language students signed “This Is the Day” for Raymond during Junior Church.  They were doing everything they could to make him feel a part of it all.  I was so proud of them for using what they’ve learned for God’s glory and for this precious deaf boy. 

I felt I did poorly interpreting Pastor Oloo’s message.  He preached a good message in Swahili in fast forward speed!  (He talks extremely fast!)  If I am just listening to him preach, I get most of it.  However, my brain has to work overtime to understand it.  Then when I try to use even more brain power to interpret what I just barely understood, well, unfortunately, I run out of brain power!  Raymond fell asleep during church.  One minute I felt like crying, and the next minute I felt like laughing.   It was then God spoke gently to my heart, “Are you doing your best?”  I could honestly say yes.  I was trying with everything that was in me to put it out in sign language.  His next words to me were sweet.  “Then that is enough.”

There were 5 baptisms today.  It is a blessing that this ministry continues to abound even when their missionary is on furlough. 

After church, Brina and I joined about 20 other people in the church van for our ride back home.  The more the merrier!

The Week Has Flown By

It’s been several days since I posted.  Safaricom, our internet/phone service decided to discontinue the great, unlimited plan we were using for the internet.  So now we connect to get mail, upload any pages we want to read, copy and paste a blog post, then disconnect because it sure runs down our credit fast! 

Needless to say, it makes blogging a bit more of a challenge.  I’ve been trying to figure out how I’m going to keep up with it.  I’ve not even taken any pictures this week because I know I will want to post them!  I do need to keep taking pictures though, and then I’ll probably just be able to post one at a time, depending on how long they take to upload. 

So anyway, that’s why it’s been quiet on my blog.  However, it has not been quiet around our house!  Life’s still been going on full swing around here.  BJ has Monday and Tuesday to relax a little, and then starting on Thursdays, his weekends rush by in a blur.  He is in and out so fast, that we barely see him at all! 

KSL in his sign languages classes came to a halt for about four weeks as he’s had to stop and lay a foundation in English grammar.  You can’t learn a new language if you don’t know basic grammar and how to build sentences.  So his students have had a crash course in English.  BJ never thought he’d end up being an English teacher, and he’s “threatened” several times to stick me up there in front of his class to expound on nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs!  I told him I didn’t mind if he didn’t mind being a babysitter!  Hee hee

For some reason, the potty training is not going as well this week as it did last week.  I’m not sure if I’ve not been as focused on it, or if my timing is not right, or if she’s just flat being ornery!  However, it’s only made me more determined to try for week three!

We’ve ordered First Grade for Seth.  I’m praying it makes it here safe and sound.  Now I need to plan our goals for this next school year.  I know things I want to do with him.  The question is will we have time to do it all?  He loves learning KSL and Swahili.  Basically, I just teach him some signs and words each week in both languages.  He is picking up on Swahili pretty well just hearing it used among the people.  He doesn’t converse freely in it yet, but he understands a lot of phrases, words, and sentences.  BJ and I enjoy speaking it around the house, and then we break it down for Seth to understand each word and verb form.  He’s catching on!   

I want to teach him the recorder this year in school too.  I have to laugh at the ridiculous possibility that I could teach anyone music.  BJ gives me a teasing look in church when I cannot even keep time clapping with everyone else!  I can sing on key, and I even learned a couple of instruments by ear growing up, but my problem has always been with timing.  Oh well, I’m sure we’ll have fun blowing some notes together!

I'll try to put a picture or two in my next post.

* Tonight we are having chicken/sausage gumbo over rice with homemade rolls.

Kenyan English

I thought it would be interesting to do a post on some of the English words we've had to learn since coming here to Kenya.  Before I go any further though, I want to make it clear that I am in no wise belittling or making fun of the English spoken here.  Much of it is carried over from British English because Kenya was a British colony until 1963.  Some of it is probably unique to Kenya.  But it is still English.  Have you ever wondered why English is different around the world?  I believe it is because cultures are different around the world and culture shapes language.  So here we go.  I will give you the word used here in Kenya, and beside it, I'll give the American definition for that word. 

Boot--the trunk of your car

Bonnet--the hood of your car

Hoot--to honk the horn in the car

Pick--to pick someone up  (I will pick John from school.)

Biscuit--a cookie

Scone--an American biscuit, also a dinner roll

Chips--French Fries

Crisps--potato chips

Washroom--restroom

First floor (the floor above the ground floor)--In America, it is our second floor.  This has gotten me so lost and confused here in Kenya!

Cooker--stove

Nappy--diaper

Football--Soccer

Overspeed--to go over the speed limit

Take--means to eat food or to drink something  (I will take chai now.)

Zed--The letter "z" is not "zee"; it is "zed".

Speaking of Bloopers . . .

I posted last week about my recent missionary bloopers.  And on the Baptist Missionary Women blog, they are linking up their language bloopers this week.  It caused me to remember my very worst language blooper in Swahili and one of my most embarrassing moments.

Last year during language school, our teacher, Ndelegwa, would come to our house four days a week for three hours a day to teach us.

Then one day a week, usually on Tuesdays, we would go to Hekima Language School for our language class.  This gave us the opportunity to use our Swahili with the other students and some of the other teachers there.

 

Well, one Tuesday, I really embarrassed myself while talking with some of the teachers at Hekima.  I was telling them about when BJ and I were courting in Bible College.  The Swahili word for “college” is “chuo”.  The problem is that you only have to change one letter in that word to get different words.  For example, “chui” is leopard, and “choo” means restroom.  So, yes, you’ve probably guessed what I said.  I was telling them all about our courtship, and, unfortunately, I misidentified the location of our year and a half long courtship!  They burst out laughing, and I realized my mistake!  I felt my cheeks flush deep red as I tried to regain my composure!  Talk about most embarrassing moments!  I guess every missionary has "growing pains" when it comes to learning the language, but that one was BAD!!!  I will never forget it.

A Boy and His Dog

Drinking a smoothie

Relaxing together

"Bruce, you're my best doggy."

The dog is ever faithful following his boy around.  The boy has enough energy to flat wear the dog out!

"Thank You, Lord, for giving my boy his heart's desire."

A sticker very lovingly placed right between the dog's eyes

* We are having fajitas for supper.  I LOVE Mexican food!  What I wouldn't give for Ted's right about now!  My OKC friends know what I mean!  I can't seem to make fajitas (or anything Mexican) like they make it!

Deaf Bible Club

I am staying home from church today with some kind of stomach bug.  BJ had it, and Seth had a mild case of it.  Now it is my turn.  I don't want to pass it around the church, and I do hope it stays away from Brina.  We've been sick quite a bit these last several months, but she always seems to come through unaffected for which I am very thankful.

We've had some real answers to prayer lately.  First of all, BJ was able to pick up his work permit on Thursday!  The next step is to get Seth, Brina, and I on there too.  We also need to get Brina's paperwork in order--birth certificate and American citizenship, etc.  So we still need prayer as far as our paperwork goes.  It always seems to be such a long process.

Another answer to prayer happened yesterday.  Yesterday was BJ's first Bible Club at the local Deaf School here in Nakuru.  He has spent weeks training his sign language students in songs, verses, and signs to use with the children.

BJ's KSL class at Grace

The KSL students were nervous, but they did great!

We had really been praying because the headmaster of the grade school was giving us some problems about holding a Bible Club there since we are Baptist.  He had given us yesterday as a trial day, but told us that he was not sure we would be allowed back in again.  A lot of people had been making this a matter of prayer, especially the sign language class.  Well, the headmaster did not even show up yesterday, and the children and the teachers all had a great time during the Bible club.  BJ does not think we will hear anymore from him in the future.  We will still pray though that the door will stay open. 

Two little deaf boys, David, and Raymond, go to this school.

Interpreting in church for David

We met David at church, and BJ met Raymond at a hearing Bible club one day.  When they saw BJ show up at their school, they were excited!  BJ motioned for them to come see him, and they both started toward him.  David looked at Raymond and signed, "He means me."  Raymond signed, "No, it's me."  They both knew BJ, but didn't realize that BJ knew both of them!  I am quite sure the other deaf children got told all about the white man who knows sign language!  Please keep praying for this ministry.

I want to go with Seth and Brina to the Deaf Bible club soon.  Hopefully, I will be able to bring back some pictures for you then.

Brina's in School Now!

We started flashcards with Brina a couple of days ago.  First, I go through them with her rather quickly and we just let her look at the cards.  Then we go back through them a second time, and this time Seth helps me.  One of us holds the card, while the other one signs the word or the number to her.  Seth enjoys being the signer.  Her little eyes follow everything we do.  We are having lots of fun being Brina's "teachers"!  And in the picture, it looks like she is having fun being our student!

After we went through the flashcards with her today, Seth insisted on teaching her addition . . . in sign language too!  His addition fact for her was four plus five.  He found it difficult to sign the answer for her though.  Nine in KSL requires both hands, and he was holding the cards in one hand!  He just didn't have enough hands for that one! 

Potty training is going really well.  I did it a little bit with her last week, but I wasn't real consistent since I was trying to get the hang of it again.  Since Monday, however, we've been very consistent.  For me, it's an all day thing.  I "clock out" at about 9:00 p.m., her last feeding of the day.  

Monday and Tuesday were quite discouraging.  Wednesday, I saw a tiny little bit of progress, just enough to make me even more determined to keep at it.  Then yesterday, some things began to click in her little mind.  Oh, we still miss lots of them.  But now, when I hold her over the sink, and she sees us in the mirror, she tries to go!  She's putting it together!  Hooray!  

When she goes for me, I make a big deal of it, and we do this little shake back and forth to make her smile.  It's pretty fun actually.  Crazy to hear myself saying that!  I will say that it is much easier at 4 months old than it was at 1 month old.  I believe that babies can begin training that early, but Brina is now more alert and aware of things (like seeing us in the mirror), and she can also hold her head up which makes it much easier for me to hold her in position.  

We're getting better at this too.

It's so fun being a mom AND a teacher!

My sweet, chubby-cheeked girl

 * Johnny Marzetti with Focaccia bread.

A Double Rainbow

Have you ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go right?  Everything seems to take longer than usual, everything is more difficult to accomplish, and you have to keep stopping to correct the kid(s) umpteen zillion times.  That was my yesterday.  Halfway through the day, I was on my knees in my room confessing my irritation and begging God for His help.

Then on the way church, He gave me on of those special blessings--a "pick-me-up".  With all of the rain we've been getting, we've been seeing a lot of rainbows lately.  But this one was the brightest rainbow I have ever seen.  The colors were so bold, and it was so bright, it looked as if it was glowing.  On top of that, it was a double rainbow.  I remember seeing double rainbows in New Guinea too, but I've never seen them when we've been Stateside.  Maybe it has to do with the equator?

By the time we got to church and I could take a picture, the colors had faded somewhat and the double was gone.

Light streaming through the rainbow.  So pretty.

But for me, God had ministered peace to my heart.  He is in control, and His promises (all of them) still ring true!

This morning in my devotions, He gave me a couple of verses for my day.  Psalm 40:3, 16, "And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God:  many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. . . Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified."

A song and praise on my lips has an effect on those around me.  I have a feeling that if my attitude is one of gratitude today, things will go a whole lot better around the house!  That is my goal for today.

* Something simple for Seth and I--tomato soup and grilled cheese.  BJ is in Nairobi today.  I gotta plan some special things for us to do together for our Mommy/Seth day. 

Mother's Week

Not just Mother's Day; for me it's been Mother's week.  Last Thursday, I got geraniums for Mother's Day--lots of them with four different colors of flowers.  I planted them in pots, and now I have geraniums everywhere on my front and back porches, and even inside the house.

I thought that was my Mother's Day present and that was more than enough.  I LOVE flowers and plants!  Monday however, BJ did our weekly grocery shopping and brought home steaks for Mother's Day.  Now that really got me excited!  He grilled them for us yesterday.  We had to have a good meal to go along with steaks so I made ranch roasted potatoes (a new recipe and so yummy), green beans, candied squash, and Focaccia flatbread.

We all enjoyed our Mother's Day meal, and I felt very loved by my hubby.

He was not done yet though.  After supper, I opened a gift bag that he had brought out of hiding.  Inside was the most beautiful kitembe.

In New Guinea, it is called a laplap.  Here in Kenya, it is called a kitembe or a kanga.  A kanga, however, has writing across the bottom of it, and this one doesn't, so it is a kitembe.  In New Guinea and in Kenya, they are worn by ladies as a wrap-around skirt.

I love the deep blue color!  It has African animals on it, and across the bottom are the colors of the Kenyan flag.  So very beautiful.  I am loved by a sweet man. 

So I had a wonderful Mother's Day--a couple of days before Sunday, and a couple of days after Sunday.  It has turned into a very special week for me.

Just Like Daddy

For being a boy, Seth sure likes clothes.  When he spied some of his daddy's clothes on the couch waiting to be folded, he wanted to try them on.  I think it made him feel like a big boy to wear Daddy's clothes.

Seth called this "the big shirt".  Kids are so much fun!

 

I got a great idea from Jolene's blog this morning, and I had to do it with Seth.  He simply filled in the blanks all about his mom.  

 

Some of his answers are precious to me like:

I like it best when my Mom hugs me.  And . . . 

My favorite thing to do with my Mom is read books.  

For my weight and age, he refused to guess and write a wrong answer on his paper, so I HAD to tell him those answers.  :)  My precious little perfectionist. 

Her favorite thing to do is have fun with me.  I don't feel like I spend near enough time with him, but may he always see it that way!

* Fried eggplant for lunch today and chili for supper.

Learning New Things (Bloopers!)

It's a chilly, cloudy, misty morning--a perfect morning for a cup of hot chai and blogging.  BJ and Seth are gone to men's prayer meeting, and Brina is down for the count, asleep.  The dog's been fed.  Ah, time to relax and tell you about my recent bloopers.

Last Thursday, Kendi and I had so much fun.  After most of our housework was done, she became my teacher.  She showed me how to make ugali.  That was fun!  I am one of those cooks who insists on measuring everything; Kenyan ladies never measure anything.  They just pour and add until it looks/feels right.  I insisted we had to measure the flour out though or I'd never be able to make it again by myself.  So amidst much laughing, she humored me and measured out what she thought the amount of flour should be.  It totally messed her up!  Ha Ha  The ugali turned out stiff!  She also had difficulty stirring it high up on my stove because she is used to stirring it down low over a small charcoal stove.  We had a great time together though.

Then after the ugali, I asked her to show me how to tie Brina on my back like the ladies do here with their babies.  I had tried it that morning by myself over and over until Brina decided she'd had enough!  Her face in the mirror looked as if she was saying, "Mommy, you have no clue what you are doing.  Why don't you just give it up?"  I don't give up though!  So Kendi gave me another lesson.  It looks so easy when she does it!

Brina was smiling in there!

See how she's sitting up so straight and secure looking?  Now check out my attempt at it.

When I do it myself, it feels like she is falling over to one side.  Looks like it too.  Look at her face.  Not quite as happy about it by this time!  And . . .

Mom, this is for the birds!

There is definitely a learning curve to it!  Okay, now on to my recent bloopers!

A couple of weeks ago, BJ was not here, so I paid Kendi myself.  He normally just hands me the money, and I give it to her.  That week it was up to me though.  I could not find it in paper bills, so I ran upstairs to our change container and counted it out that way.  I counted it three or four times to make sure I had it right. I gave it to her, and she went on her way.  

She came back on Thursday and asked me if I knew how much I'd paid her.  I told her what I thought it had been and she humbly told me that the amount had been 200 shillings short.  Kendi has proven her honesty many times over, so I knew she was telling me the truth.  But I also knew that I'd painstakingly counted that money out three or four times.  I was so confused.

Well, last week, I found out what my problem was!  BJ was again gone somewhere when the trash man came to get his fee--250 shillings.  I ran inside to get 250 shillings.  I handed it to him, and he quickly handed the coin back, saying he needed 250 shillings.  I replied that the coin says 50 on it, but alas, it says 50 cents.  No, it was not an American coin; it had the picture of a Kenyan president on it.  I figured that 50 cents and 50 shillings were the same thing.  I ran back in to get 50 shillings.  This time I made sure the coins said shillings and not cents.  I apologized and told him that I didn't realize that Kenya has cents too.  All this was in Swahili, by the way.  He looked at me like he didn't believe me, like I was trying to pull something over on him.  He was probably thinking, "Lady, if you've been here long enough to know Swahili, then you know how our money works too."  How embarrassing!  BJ always handles the money; how should I know?

I later asked BJ what this 50 cent coin is for.  He told me that it used to be used here in Kenya, but it is rarely used now.  It is worth only half a shilling!  For some reason, they are still minting them, but no one wants them.  Anyway, that is how I messed up Kendi's pay too.  I remember giving her a bunch of half shilling coins!  Kendi and I had a good laugh over my blooper!

* Today I will make chicken stew with homemade biscuits.  

And oh, by the way, the vote was unanimous in our household.  We want our BLT's to stay BLT's, not all diced up as bruschetta! 

It Feels Like Spring Time!

Everything is green and growing again after the dry season.  Seth, Brina, and I couldn't resist spending some time outdoors.

 

 

Birds are everywhere in our yard.  BJ recently brought home this beautiful bird feeder which is now hanging in the tree outside outside our living room window.  I love it!  The birds love it too!

With it feeling like spring time, I am in a gardening mood.  Seth and I are having fun planting.  We planted sunflowers behind this hedge.  They have pushed through the soil, and I counted 26 of them in a row back there.  My back yard is going to be beautiful very soon. 

We also planted lettuce, green onions, radishes, tomatoes, and cilantro in pots.  And I tilled up a small plot and planted some eggplant seeds.  I am already seeing little green shoots coming up!

Last night, my hubby brought me home some geraniums so I can hang them under our front verandah.  He says it is my Mother's Day present a little early.  So sweet.  I can't wait to plant them in pots and hang them up. 

I never thought it would feel like springtime on the equator!

* Today we will have Ceasar Chicken Wraps for supper.  And for lunch, I want to try a recipe I saw recently for BLT bruschetta.

Newest Family Picture

This morning we all dressed up and trekked out into our wet yard for family pictures.  BJ backed the car up, set the camera on top of Seth's booster chair, and we all posed prettily.  Seth did great and repeatedly gave us those fake smiles.  Brina on the other hand?  Well, she did okay too besides spitting up milk all over us.  Her little window of happy time after she eats and before she sleeps was fast closing on us, but we managed!  Hopefully, it will make a nice prayer card.

 

Bruce has quickly become one of the family.  He is a very obedient dog and very low-keyed.  I am not a dog-lover, but I really like this dog.

He's in the background and doesn't require a lot of attention which makes me want to pet him all the more!

I think the boy is more devoted than the dog!

When BJ got home with Bruce the other day, Seth rushed out the door, saying, "I want to be his boy!"

Bruce likes Seth, but I think he's actually adopted BJ as his "boy."  He follows BJ around wherever he goes. 

And here's our little munchkin

* Tonight we'll have leftovers before church.

My Helper, My Teacher, My Friend

Many missionary wives in Africa have someone who comes to help them in their homes.  My mom never did in New Guinea.  She would pay someone to keep her huge flower garden looking immaculate, but she never had help inside the house.

In Karen, my house was tiny.  There were times that BJ suggested that I hire someone to help me, but I always insisted that I could do it myself.  I greatly value my privacy, and it was also probably a pride thing.  I wanted to feel like I could do it myself.  My tiny house in Karen was a full-time job to keep clean.  The houses here are not insulated, and the dirt and dust settles over everything daily. 

Then we moved to Nakuru.  My house quadrupled in size, and I was 7 months pregnant.  Dry season was just starting, and the dust was unbelievable.  BJ again lovingly suggested that I find someone to help me out around the house.  He added that it would not only give that person a job, but it would also greatly help my Swahili to have someone to talk to and use the language with.  By the way, BJ has far surpassed me in Swahili because he has far more opportunities to use it . . . and because he is smarter.  :)  He protests that, but it's true!

I had to admit that it was a good idea because I have to learn this language.  I have no choice.  I have to interpret from Swahili, and if I cannot understand what is being said, then I am of no use to the Deaf.  Besides that, I want to learn it.  Swahili is a beautiful language.

So now let me introduce to you my sweet friend, Kendi, and her three children.  

Don't they look just like their mother?   From left to right, her children are Blessing, James, and Collins.  Blessing and Collins are twins.  Kendi's husband is a deacon in our church. 

Kendi comes to my house on Mondays and Thursdays for several hours.  Thursdays work out well because BJ is gone all day in Karen, and it is a blessing for me to have someone around when he is not here.

Those first couple of weeks, I struggled to understand anything Kendi said.  Remember Nakuru Swahili sounds different than Nairobi Swahili.  On top of that, Kendi is very soft-spoken.  I could barely hear her!  Yet, my #1 rule was that we would only speak Swahili together in the house.  Needless to say, I have learned from her a whole lot of new words that I did not know, my reception in understanding the language has vastly improved, and I've gained a close friend.  As we talk, laugh, and work together, I am growing to love this dear lady who is probably very close to my own age. 

Now let me share a conversation I had recently with her littlest, James.  A couple of weeks ago, he came sidling up to me after church with bright eyes and a shy smile on his face.  Oh, by the way, those eyes of his always look like they are thinking up all kinds of mischief!  He asked me in Swahili if I like bugs.  I told him, "No."  Then I asked him if his mom likes bugs.  His answer was a quick "No" as well.  I soon realized that James is every bit the talker that Seth is!  He talked and talked to me in his squeaky, 3-year-old voice, and I didn't understand hardly any of it!  I am just to the point again where I can understand adults in Swahili; I've not yet gotten to the point of understanding baby talk in Swahili!  I acted like I understood him though, and that was a mistake.  He asked me a question, and was obviously waiting for an answer.  I shrugged, and said, "Sijui."  (I don't know.)  Then he wanted to know why I didn't know!  By that time, I was in too deep to get out! 

* Today we are having Mexican casserole.  Two Mexican meals this week--not a usual thing, but I am wanting Mexican food really bad right now!

Ummm, I need some more practice making ugali and sukuma wiki!  When I get them down pat, I'll add them to my Kenyan recipes page.   

Fenesi

When BJ and Pastor Oloo returned from western Kenya, they brought back a large tropical fruit that we had never seen before.  It is oblong and over a foot in length.  It is called Fenesi.  Pastor Oloo gave us some and showed us how to eat it.

Here is some of it cut into pieces.  This was only a third of it!

The yellow is the only part that you eat.

You pull the yellow pieces off the fruit (not real easy), push the seed out, and eat it the yellow piece.  It tastes somewhere between a banana and a pineapple.

Yellow part with its seed.  The seed was inside the yellow part.

We all three really liked it.

Seth is signing "delicious".

* Today I am going to try making ugali for supper.  It will be my first time to make it.  I will also make sukuma wiki (greens) and Kenyan stew to go with the ugali.  We'll see how it goes!