Prayer for a hurting nation

What a strange way to end the year…in lock down on a compound in Kenya. This is the fifth day that we have not been allowed to leave the compound for safety reasons. However, the time here has been special. All of the compound gathered on Sunday for a time of worship and prayer. Then today again we met in prayer for the nation and people of Kenya. So many are hurting. So much confusion, anger, and fear. It has just shown me again what a sinful world we live in. Please be in prayer for peace, and that God would use these circumstances for good.

If you are unsure as to what i’m talking about, you can read up about it on the bbc website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/

It has been neat to see how the body of Christ can uphold and encourage one another. The long-term missionary families have taken all of us short-termers into their homes for meals since most of us were emptying our cupboards on purpose to go on vacation to the coast! We would have been fine but meals probably would have consisted of rice, pasta, and who knows what else. I had just gotten to the point of no milk, butter, sugar, oil, fruits, vegetables, bread, eggs, or yogurt (a definite staple in our house! ) So thank God for the family of believers here around us in Kenya. Hopefully everything will calm down soon in Nairobi and Mombasa so that my housemates and I can go to the coast on Thursday as planned!

Anyways…I just wanted to let you know I am SAFE. I am taking all precautions seriously but am not living in fear. Rather, I am thanking God for his protection and His provision. God is good ALL the time…and all the time God IS good.

Merry Christmas!

Click on the link below to see my Christmas newsletter in pdf format:
dec2007_blog.pdf

Looking for a King

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Even though I’ve heard the story of Christ’s birth hundreds of times, there is always something new to ponder. Tonight I watched the Nativity for the second time. The thought I can not seem to grasp is how absolutely amazing it is that ALL of GOD became flesh in the form of a small, innocent, helpless baby. King Herod was searching for the coming Messiah, but was looking in all the wrong places. He looked for power. Jesus came to earth as a baby. Herod assumed a Messiah would be born in wealth. The Christ was born in a stable. Herod hated the Messiah because he feared losing control of his kingdom. But the lamb of God came as a sacrifice not an earthly king…He was born to die. The absolute humility of it all! Jesus’ heavenly Father COULD have provided a better place for Mary and Joseph to stay. Why did He allow his own Son to be born in a stable?

A friend sent me a song that really reminds me that that night long ago was probably not a “silent night,…all is calm, all is bright”. The stable was dirty, not beautiful as often portrayed. Mary’s labor was painful, just like any other birth. Joseph was probably so distraught that he couldn’t provide better for his expectant wife. “But the baby in her womb…he was the maker of the moon. He was the author of the faith that could make the mountains move.” (Labor of Love by Andrew Peterson) And Mary pondered these things in her heart…

Does camel taste like chicken?

I can now answer this question I’m sure MANY of you were wanting to ask! ha. NO. Camel does NOT taste like chicken! It is in its own category, but can actually be quite tender and flavorful! I was able to taste this delicacy while photographing the Christmas party for the SIMKenya national staff!

Christmas happenings:
*My roommate bought another box of Christmas lights and this time they don’t need a converter so there is no opportunity for me to burn them all out! I think we’ll put them up this evening (Beth, I’ll still think of you when I see them up )
*Each of us housemates invited our mentor (long-term missionaries) to come for a Christmas dessert & coffee night this past Wednesday! It was so much fun! We baked for it, decorated with fresh greenery from outside (so what if it was rosemary rather than real pine needles!), lit candles, and of course, sprayed my new Christmas tree fragrance spray! The evening was really special and I think the mentors all enjoyed it!
*I am hosting a Christmas brunch at our house on the morning of the 25th! I’m excited to be able to serve on that day and not have time to mope that I can’t be at home. It’ll be a good day! In the evening we’re planning to watch the Nativity with anyone from the compound that wants to join!
*My friend Katie has invited a Kenyan family from her work place to join us for a meal tomorrow! They have 2 little boys so it could be quite exciting around here!

Today I finished my last day of office work until the new year! Everything shuts down in Kenya over the Christmas holidays. Many go up country to their shambas (farms) to be with family. Then elections are this year on the 27th. Please be praying for no political turmoil in Kenya during this time. Also please pray for the future president that he would be able to put aside any tribalistic tendencies and focus on the needs of the Kenyan people above his own.

Christmas concert

Tonight was absolutely amazing! We arranged a taxi to the church I attend here in Kenya. First there was a children’s program which was so great! It was done in complete Kenyan style…with bits of Swahili thrown in, sufarias for props (Kenyan cooking pots), African-influenced costumes, and music with great rhythm! I loved it! Several of the children were even dressed up maasai style! One little girl (about 8 or 9) sang, and I sat in awe at her voice…so incredible at such an early age!! I’ve never enjoyed a kids Christmas program so much in all my life!

After the children’s program was a Christmas concert outside. Several groups sang some African songs (maasai style) and the congregation joined in for Christmas carols (once again done in African style!!). I can’t even describe the music. All I can say is that the Africans have been blessed with the gift of song. And tonight they passed on the blessing to me. If I could pass it on to you I would do so but I don’t think I’d have the same effect

Chinese or Mzungu?

I thought you all would appreciate hearing this story. Last week I went with my friend Katie to her ministry site an hour+ from Nairobi. This afternoon, she met up with several of the women she worked with and they all asked her where her Chinese friend was. Katie was so confused but finally realized they were talking about ME!! Katie reassured them I was not Chinese–that I was a mzungu. But they refused to believe her even when she showed them my picture on her camera!! They thought my hair was raven black (which it certainly is NOT…it’s actually bleached from the sun right now) and that my eyes looked like those of Chinese (which is absolutely ironic considering I have blue-green round eyes). I had a great laugh out of the story. I’ve never been mistaken as Chinese before. There’s always a first.

Christmas baking!

Yesterday I spent all morning baking! I made Swedish cardamon bread and am posting a photo for Grandma and Mom to see. I also made peppernuts but was not as happy with how they turned out. The recipe I found online must not have been a good GERMAN recipe…I think it was actually Danish so that’s what I’m blaming it on! ha. I’m also posting a photo of our Charlie brown Christmas tree, the lights that I was so proud of before I realized I forgot the transformer, and my roommates singing Christmas songs together.

Oh yeah, this is Africa

You know you’re in Africa when…
1. You wake up to pouring rain, and your first thought is “Oh no! I forgot to bring in my laundry!”
2. You know there’s no electricity, but you still put a plate of food in the microwave to try to heat it up.
3. You are so excited to put up Christmas lights that you plug them in without a transformer and blow them out after only a few minutes.
4. You leave for church 30 minutes late and still know you’ll get there before the first song is over.
5. You are scared to leave the compound after 6:30…(I’ll have a complex when I get back to the States! ha.)
6. You have to break out a newly purchased bag of napkins to wipe off the mud you either fell in or that was splattered on you.
7. You have to make your own cream of chicken soup … and cook your own pumpkin for pumpkin pie.
8. The highlight is a new missionary who moves on the compound and has new movie selections!
9. You’re crammed into a matatu (a van taxi) with 21 other people and a live chicken.
10. Your grocery list is prioritized by what is lightest and can be carried home.
11. You buy cell phone minutes at local corner shops for as little as 100/- ksh (about $1.50).
12. You substitute half the ingredients in a recipe rather than go to the store.
13. When a ride in a private car feels like a novelty.
14. When a night on the town consists of grocery shopping and a taxi ride home.
15. When you can buy something really quite nice at the outside market for only 200/ksh (about $3.50).
16. When you have 3 girls in a kitchen chasing a rat.
17. You get tangled up in a mosquito net and STILL wake up with bug bites.
18. When the first sign of fever is diagnosed as malaria.
19. When you have to stop the car to allow the zebras to cross the road.
20. When you have enough time to make a list like this

VBS photos now posted

glimpses of Christmas

I have had a GREAT week so far! It started with a wonderful weekend filled with glimpses of Christmas. i went to the German Christmas bazaar on Saturday as well as to our short-term coordinator’s house to decorate sugar cookies! Also, I was surprised on Saturday morning when I walked downstairs and found a Christmas tree in our living room. Granted it’s about two feet tall and made of wire…very modern looking…so it’s different than I’m used to but I still love it. One of the girls in our house made an advent wreath with greenery from outside. Several times this week we have spent part of our evening in the living room singing together…sometimes acappella and sometimes with guitar and keyboard.

We had a large group at Biblestudy this week and it was so amazing as we went around the circle and prayed for each other. Some prayed in French, others in German, Swiss German (which IS quite different from German!), and Mandarin. What a beautiful picture of the nations all joining together to worship God.

On Tuesday I went into Kibera slum to photograph the vacation Bible school ministry that is going on this week! All of the schools shut down in December so the short-termers that are still here with no ministry have put on a VBS at 2 of the schools…each with several hundred children. What a challenge to come up with craft ideas although I was quite impressed with what you can do with paper muffin cups and toilet paper rolls. I have posted some photos of the VBS and the beautiful children who attended.

Yesterday I had a rather forced holiday. The electricity was off from 9am to 5pm and everything on my to-do list needed a computer and/or the internet! So I was able to spend a longer time with my mentor, even enjoying a cup of tea on the back patio… I was also able to walk down and pick up a Christmas package that was waiting for me! My family sent quite a few fun things to help me get in the mood for Christmas Candles, sprinkles and cookie cutters for sugar cookies, mint m&ms (always good , a cd and the movie “the nativity” (which I would recommend if any of you didn’t watch it last Christmas when it came out!) etc. I think my favorite thing was Christmas tree fragrance which smells so real! So i sprayed it on the advent greenery and enjoyed the smell as I listened to some new music.

Well, today I am trying to get caught up on office work, so I’d better get back to it! Have a fabulous day.