We're Home! (AV)

Hello! We are safely back in Canada, and thought we would post some more pictures of our trip now that we have ridiculously fast internet.  

At Shelter Jordan Christian Hostel in Amsterdam on our way to Nairobi (Thanks for the recommendation Thomas!)

Amsterdam

Nairobi, Kenya

Our lovely kitchen upon arrival.

Taking the Form 1 girls out for lunch in Kitale.

(left to right: Everlyne, Centrine, Winifred, Angelina)

Mercy Home

Brenda and Sheila

Teaching Sunday School

Early foundation stage of the high school.

Lake Naivasha

The view from the house we stayed at in Kampala, Uganda

Chapati and ndungu lunch at Iroko Boulevard in Kitale.

High school 

Laina Moja Market in Kitale.

Candice, Brian, and someone's finger.

Pikipiki ride to town!

The contractor with the classrooms in the background.

Crazy boys at Mercy Home.

Mary and me (I know I shouldn't have favourites...)

High school students (left to right: Moses, Sara, Vincent, Joseph (front), Ann, and Centrine)

Giraffe Centre outside of Nairobi.

Blue Sky climbing gym in Nairobi.

Coming Home!

We've been in Nairobi for the past two days, and we will be flying to Amsterdam this evening.  We land in Vancouver Wednesday afternoon!  See you all soon!

Candice and Anna

Pictures (CV)

Hi Everyone! 

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks. 

1.  1.     Kayaking on the Nile.  It was super hot and the fantas that our guide packed for us to enjoy as we floated back downstream were heavenly. 

2  2.  It wouldn’t be a true representation of this trip if we didn’t throw in a little bit of ridiculous.  This is in Jinja walking up to the main road to catch transit to Kampala.  The point of the picture was to capture the banana trees in the background, but things got a little out of hand. 

3 3.     This is helping out at a feeding program in Kampala (kidsinspiringkids.org).  Our job was just to help the smaller kids scramble back up the steep hill without spilling their porridge.  It proved to be a rather challenging task due to the unfortunate combination of a steep slope and sweaty sandals.  

4. 4.   These are three of the girls we stayed with in Kampala.  From the back:  Esther, Prossy and Erin.  They are showing us how to eat a Jack fruit.  

5. 5.  Back in Kitale… This is what the high school looked like as of last Thursday.  It’s so exciting to see it actually looking like a school now!  The rafters have been finished since this was taken, and today they are going to put the iron sheets on for the roof.  

6  6.    There was a games day/track meet up the road at Kiungani Primary so we went along to cheer for Mercy Home.  Apparently Anna and I were the most exciting event there and everywhere we went a crowd of about 20-30 kids would follow us.  Most of them were too shocked to say anything and just stared at us, so after greeting them we tried to keep on the move as much as possible.  

7.7.     This is the dining hall in the girls’ dorm.  We were attempting to get the Standard 6-8 students to write sponsor letters, but it was a bit of a failure because we didn’t structure it quite enough.  We managed to get a few, but for the most part it was just the younger kids coming to draw pictures.  Kaitlyn Griffiths, if you’re reading this, the boy in the green shorts is Michael Wanami!

In case we don’t manage to get a blog up before we go, we’re planning to take the Easy Coach bus from Kitale to Nairobi on Sunday the 24^th. 

MunguAkubariki (God bless you),

Candice

(Mercy) Home Again (CV)

Hi Everybody,

We’re safely back in Kitale, Kenya.  The elections were peaceful for the most part, and we are very happy to be back to our old stomping grounds.  We have two more weeks here and then we’re flying back to Canada.  We arrive in Vancouver March 27^th, 2013. 

Here we come cheese! 

Candice

Election Status (CV)

Still in Kampala.  We had originally hoped to go back to Kitale on Friday, thinking that the results from the election would be announced on the same day as the voting took place (Monday).  But the results weren't actually announced until either last night or this morning, so we've been delayed a bit.  According to the front page of the New Vision newspaper, Uhuru Kenyatta is the new President of Kenya. 
Our new plan is to head back in a couple days, most likely on Monday.  We'll keep you posted! Thanks for following.

Blessings,
Candice

Pictures from Naivasha

Thanks to a very fast internet stick borrowed from Clifford, we are finally able to share pictures from our trip to Naivasha a couple weeks ago.  They’re of our tent at Crayfish camp, and our day exploring Hell’s Gate National Park.  Unfortunately we aren’t able to post any more recent pictures from Uganda because they’re all on Anna’s camera still and we don’t have the little cord thingy to get them onto the computer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A (AV)

Yo, peeps!

 We’re still in Kampala, and enjoying staying with our new Ugandan family.  Yesterday, we went to church with them.  It is small, outdoor, and held at somebody’s home about twenty minutes away from where we are staying.  Afterwards, the eight of us (Clifford, Prossy, Esther, Erin, Grace, Philda, Candice and me) went out for lunch at a local restaurant before heading back home.

Yesterday was the day of the Kenyan election.  We continue to pray that God’s hand will be in it, and that there will be peace.  If all goes well, we plan on heading back to Kenya on the eighth. 

 

We thought it would be fun to do a little Q&A for y’all.

 

Q:  Favourite Kenyan food?

A:  Ugali with sukuma wiki and pilau (spiced rice dish).  AND MANGOES!

C:  Ugali with sukuma wiki and chapati. Even me, I like mangoes.

 

Q:  Favourite mode of transportation?

C/A: Piki Piki! (Motorbike taxi)

 

Q:  Do you have bad tan lines for Janelle’s wedding?

C/A:  Ahhehe.. maybe?  Sorry, we’re working on it.

 

Q:  What has most surprised you about your first trip to Kenya?

A:  I knew that there would be a culture shock, but I was surprised at how much of an impact it had on me emotionally. 

 

Q:  What is your favourite part of the day at Mercy Home?

A:  Eating dinner on our front steps while visiting with the students after they’re out of school.

C:  Morning.

 

Q:  What is most different between your first trip to Kenya and this one?

C:  Last time I was part of a team that had leaders who had been here before.  This time, I’m the one with experience, so I have to be a little more on my toes and independent.  I love having Anna here because she’s always game to do fun stuff on short notice!

 

Q:  Worst sister-fight so far?

C/A:  It was probably over a mango.

 

Q:  A lesson learned?

C:  It’s all for Jesus. 

A:  Looking to God for rest, and learning more about trusting in His power. I need to rely on Him for strength because my own efforts aren’t enough and leave me feeling drained.  Also, Nutella and Peanut butter make most situations better.

 

Q:  Theme verse? 

C:  “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Matthew 13: 45-46

A: “The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:5-7

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew

10:39

 

Some funny quotes from the trip so far:

 

C: Did you do anything fun today? 

A: silence

C: Did you do anything today?

A: (defensively) Yes, so much.  (Pause).  I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

 

“Will God raise it from the dead like He did for Jesus?” –small Brian (referring to Anna’s dead camera). 

 

“It’s just overwhelming because all my life I’ve known everything.” –Anna (referring to Kenyan culture, our first day in Nairobi). 

 

“Oh shut-up and get a life kids.” –David Ochana (muttered to the kids running after our car yelling, ‘howayou mzungu!  Howayou mzungu!)

 

“I’ve never been so happy to see a hipster.” –Candice (after seeing an Indian wearing shorts in Eldoret).

 

Uganda Thus Far (CV)

“Do not take the night bus,” is pretty standard white-girl-traveling-in-Africa advice.  But how were we to know that when we booked tickets on the noon o’clock bus leaving Eldoret it wouldn’t leave until after dinner?  We spent a total of 8 hours loitering near the Kampala Coach booking office expecting our bus to arrive “any minute”. Luckily two of the girls who have graduated from Mercy Home and are now attending college in Eldoret, Lucy and Jennifer (hi and thank you Katalina!), came and kept us company for a while.  

Our bus finally came, and we lurched off into the sunset around 6:30pm.  After a fairly uneventful journey, we arrived at the deserted office in Jinja, Uganda at 12:30 in the morning.  Luckily we had the number for a taxi driver who came and brought us to the Mto Moyoni retreat centre.  Thanks for the suggestion AnnaBettyBurns!  We finally got to our room at 2am, showered off all the travel nasty and collapsed into bed. 

We spent a total of three nights in Jinja.  To sum up our stay:riverside hammocks, motorbike rides, frustrating banking, frustrating phones, good food, geckos, rude men, hot sun and KAYAKING AND SWIMMING IN THE NILE RIVER.

We left Jinja around noon on Wednesday and arrived in Kampala about two hours later.  We are staying at a friend of a friend of a friend of our parents’ house until any unrest from the Kenyan election on March 4^th has blown over. So far we've spent our time relaxing on the shores of Lake Victoria, playing cards with the girls at the house, studying Swahili and reading.  It's been a pretty chill last couple of days.  This morning we went to a children's feeding program in the ghetto... hot, hectic and awesome!

I’m enjoying Uganda, but missing Kenya more than I’d expected.  I miss Mercy Home, I miss Swahili and I miss ugali.  I’m looking forward to getting back to my comfortable Kitale stomping grounds for a few weeks before coming back home to Canada.  

God bless you richly,

Candice

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” 
Hebrews13:8                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Building/Richard (CV)

Tomorrow morning we will leave Mercy Home bright and early to begin our journey to Uganda.  We are planning to stay in the city of Jinja (on the source of the Nile!) for 3 nights, and then head to Kampala for about a week and a half. 

Things are going well with the high school building project.  I finally feel like I have a handle on keeping track of finances and I am quite proud of my organized excel sheet.  I have now been to the hardware store and the lumber yard in Kiminini so many times that people have begun to stare a little less at the white girl buying all the cement, timber and other building supplies.  It has even become a bit less awkward to go to the worksite because they have employed a few ladies so the ratio is no longer thirty-five to one.

I was surprised at how much time was spent on the foundation.  Clearly I was a bit ignorant on the process.  I would have just dug a hole and poured cement in it, but apparently there are a few more steps than that.  So far I have been impressed with the quality of the work, and I am learning loads about construction!  Now that the foundation for the classrooms is done, progress is a lot more obvious.  The walls are now at waist height, and it is super exciting to be able to see the classes taking shape.  The boys’ dorm is about a week behind the classrooms (we had to wait for approval from the health authority) so they are just finishing digging for its foundation. 

I am a little nervous about leaving behind my accounting responsibilities to go to Uganda, but I am looking forward to coming back and seeing how much progress was made while I was gone. 

As a side note, I just wanted to do a quick blurb on one of the boys at Mercy Home.  Obviously, it would be best not to have favourites.  But of course I do.  Richard Wekesa without a doubt makes top 5 in my books.  He is in Form 1 (grade 9) and he’s one of the sweetest boys I know.  He is also a total goof and never fails to brighten my day.  I found out recently that he is the only student at Mercy Home without a sponsor.  If anyone has been considering sponsoring a child at Mercy Home, then please let me know.  It is $50/month.  I cannot even express how much I would appreciate it; he is like a little brother to me!  Also, even though the other students already have one sponsor, Mercy Home is always looking for more. Now that the children are getting older many of them will be going to college and it will be helpful to double up with sponsorship to make it more affordable. 

Blessings,

Candice

Naivasha Trip

Well, I am definitely learning how to be flexible.  I had such a great plan and it has been foiled.  On Wednesday I wrote a long blog post about our recent weekend trip to Naivasha. I pre-typed it on our computer at Mercy Home, put it on a flashdrive, and brought that flashdrive to an internet café in town where I was planning on posting it along with pictures.  However, my brilliant plan was ruined when I plugged it in. Apparently a virus ate the file. It is gone now, and of course I was super smart and deleted the original file off our computer.  Go Anna go. File gone….enough said.

Here we go again.

We left Mercy Home early Sunday morning and headed to Kitale where we planned transfer to another vehicle.  The moment we got off the matatu (bus) in town, we were swarmed by people asking us where we were going.  We decided to ignore most of them, until one man came up to us and we decided that we should follow him.  At this point we were a little overwhelmed and not really knowing who to trust or what to do.  This is an incredible story in itself, because earlier that morning we prayed that God would protect us throughout our journey and specifically that he would place people on our paths that would help us.  The man that we followed brought us to a ticket booking office, and guess who was standing there?  It just so happened that Epong, the social worker at Mercy Home, was picking up a few packages from that same office at the perfect moment.  Epong was then able to translate for us and help us figure out what bus to get on.  What a testament of God’s faithfulness.  Sometimes I forget how present God is in even the small moments of our lives.  He cares even about the little things, and He is so faithful.  That was a really great lesson for me, and a great reminder.

 We were dropped off on the side of the road in Naivasha, and then rode a piki-piki to the town center, where we got on another matatu that would take us to our destination; Crayfish Camp.  The matatu driver tried to charge us 500 shillings for a 20 minute ride, which is absolutely ridiculous.  You definitely have to stay on your toes here or you will be ripped off.  Luckily, we had asked in advance how much the matatu should cost, and it was 80 shillings per person.  Good try Mr. matatu driver. Good try.

After a long day of travelling we arrived at Crayfish Camp at about 4:30pm.  We were so excited to be camping in a tent!

The next day we planned on exploring ‘Hell’s Gate Gorge,’ which was located about a kilometre from our camp.  We walked down the road to the park gate, where we were approached by two men trying to convince us to rent bikes from them.  We had decided earlier that we were just going to walk instead of bike through the park because we thought it would be too expensive.  However, they gave us a good deal so we decided to take it.  We now had two bikes for the entire day, as well as a guide that would show us all the main attractions of the park.  I am so glad that we decided to do this, because if we had been walking by ourselves without a guide, we would have been very lost.

We ended up biking about 25km in total along a dirt road surrounded by African scenery.  It was so amazing! It ended up being like a safari on bikes (which, in our minds, in 100x cooler!).  We saw giraffes, zebras, gazelles, buffalo (don’t worry, they were in the distance), monkeys, and even Pumba! We also had the chance to go rock climbing, which Candice was particularly stoked about because she has been missing climbing with her friends in Victoria.

After biking 10km or so, we stopped at a picnic area for a bit of a rest.  Then, we left our bikes and started our hike through the gorge.  It was so neat! We were very glad to have Simon Peter, our guide, with us because he was able to show us the area, and educate us a bit about our surroundings.  Here is a good quote from him as we walked barefoot through a small path surrounded by long grass:

“This here is snake territory. You may see green pythons or small black mambas.  There venom is very poisonous you know.  If you get bit…very bad.” Candice and I looked at each other and laughed hesitantly as we hurried alone. Oh my…

After an incredible day of experiencing the nature side of Kenya we arrived back at our camp around 4pm.  We were happy to find a group of tourists that had just arrived at the campground.  It ended up being a safari group that planned on exploring the area for the next week.  It was very exciting to see other white people. Ya! Instant friends! There were people from Spain, Australia, and even from Canada! There was actually a man from Victoria who lives not far from Candice.  What are the chances! We also met a lovely Canadian girl named Rachel who was taking a week out of her three month stint of volunteering at an orphanage in Nairobi (the capital of Kenya). That was rather exciting!

The next day we woke up early again and began our trip back to Kitale. Long story short, 9 hours and 6 matatus later we arrived back at Mercy Home.  We had a great trip, and it was nice to get away for a bit, however, it was great to be back and see some familiar faces again.   We now have a couple days left here before heading to Uganda for two weeks. 

Sending hugs from Kenya to Canada!

Anna

 

Pictures coming soon.