Okay, perhaps only the first one. But boy did we see a lot of animals! We are wrapping up our 2-day safari to Amboseli National Park, and the wildlife seeing was out of this world!
But to me, of course, was the view of one of the greatest volcanoes in the world. Rising 16,000 feet above the savanna floor, and over 19,000' tall in all, was the stunning Mt. Kilimanjaro. Absolutely amazing to see it dominate the entire skyline for over 50 miles from end to end! Wow.
So what wildlife did we see? Well, there were innumerable zebras, wildebeests, gazelle & elephants. As in 1000's of the first three and hundreds of the last one. Lots of musk ox/water buffalo (whatever they're called). A dozen or more hippos and water bucks. And about 12-15 lions, including a number of cubs & a fresh kill (yummy!).
Of course I'm not going to forget about Janell's favorite - the giraffe. Alas, there apparently are not many twigas (Swahili for giraffe) here in Amboseli right now, so we've only seen about ten. Janell is obviously not overly thrilled with that...lol.
Janell, Jake and I have had a few bouts w/minor illnesses this week - mostly a cold for Janell & stomach issues for Jake and I. However, it's nothing we cannot handle, except that all three of us had to miss our last church service on Sunday, the worst day of it. BUMMER!
Anyhow, thanks again for your continued prayers & support. We are absolutely in awe of Kenya and could certainly see ourselves serving permanently here. God created some of the most beautiful people and land in the world, and combined them in Eastern Africa!
Praise His holy name & thank you, Lord, for allowing us to share Your love here in Kenya!
Bob
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Well today was our last Saturday here. Our last VBS! I asked to speak to the kids at the end of VBS today, and should've known better, as of course I started crying! Shocking I know. It was great to have Bob there today! All the kids are mezmorized by the big Mzungu guy! It's cute.
Tomorrow we will enjoy our last Sunday service; and then we are having ALL of Pamela's family here for dinner! We leave for Safari early Monday morning, and won't be back till late afternoon Wed. so we don't have much time left with them, which is very sad, and makes me cry a lot. But I try not to think of it, and am trying to live it all up right to the end!
Enjoy the pics! We have had Internet at home now for a week, and it's been so nice to be able to load pic easier, and to not have to always walk to the Internet Cafe!
So Kwaheri for now, and enjoy the pics! Yesterday Pamela and Bob and the boys enjoyed a 12 hour day going on a tour 2 hours outside Nbi, to Hell's Gates, Nakuru Lake, and Mt. Lagenot. Jessica and I spent the day at an Orphanage holding and feeding babies! It was a great day!
P.S. we were able to purchase hundreds of bags of rice to hand out to the children at VBS to take home to there families! Thank you for your financial support which allowed us to do this :)
the boys in a hot spring with a Massai
Bob's team at VBS won the untangle game!
Pamela and boys at Hells Gate
Pamela and boys with a Lava Rock
Bob and Jess giving out Rice after VBS
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Random Pictures
Jacob and Pamela's nephew Shadrack! eating burritos
me and "my" Kibera kids! the girl I am holding LOVES to rub my arm!
me and Pamela's neice Samara! I love naked brown butts!
in America we have exersaucers! In Africa we have plastic tubs to play in
Pamela and Jacob doing a Word Search together
P.S. we are NOT ready to leave :(
God is Good
Read note below~!
more of the front shop area
more of front shop
in back of shop which will be an apartment....looking through door to shop
outside looking at front of shop, which will be renamed for sewing business
front shop area, door and window
more of the front shop area
more of front shop
in back of shop which will be an apartment....looking through door to shop
outside looking at front of shop, which will be renamed for sewing business
Hey all, wanted to let you know we were able to find Pamela's Mom an Amazing shop for her sewing business within walking distance to her home! The place is on a Main Road, where vacant shops are unheard of! And it was such a God thing of how we spotted it! Here are some pics of the shop. Hopefully next week we will have pics to share of the shop filled with her business stuff!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Random thoughts and stuff
Just some random things that have crossed my mind while here:
Yay: Bob arrives tonight
I miss having a microwave
At resteraunts here when you order a drink (soda) they ask if you'd like it warm or cold........there is a theory that drinking cold soda will give you a cold.......hmmmmm (pamela)
I wish Kayla was here!
They don't have hard taco shells
The boys LOVE brown eggs
When we get up at 10:00am, they laugh as that is mid-day for them.......Hee
It makes me mad that there are so many Orphans and the govt. makes it nearly impossible to adopt and give them a better life
I wish I could vacuum the living room rug; instead we use a course brissel broom
I did not like the Market brokers, chasing me around the market to get a sale
Glow sticks that we brought are a HUGE hit! Especially when the power goes out; the neighbor kids come to us for light!
To keep your shoes clean you gotta wash them atleast every other day
I love brown babies with runny noses and bare butts!
Thank you all for your prayers! and for support..... we have been able to purchase stuff for Pamelas mom to start her business, and will be able to get football supplies for Pamela's brother in laws football ministry!! It's been a blessing to serve and help in these ministries! And you are a part of that! :) Blessings to you
Yay: Bob arrives tonight
I miss having a microwave
At resteraunts here when you order a drink (soda) they ask if you'd like it warm or cold........there is a theory that drinking cold soda will give you a cold.......hmmmmm (pamela)
I wish Kayla was here!
They don't have hard taco shells
The boys LOVE brown eggs
When we get up at 10:00am, they laugh as that is mid-day for them.......Hee
It makes me mad that there are so many Orphans and the govt. makes it nearly impossible to adopt and give them a better life
I wish I could vacuum the living room rug; instead we use a course brissel broom
I did not like the Market brokers, chasing me around the market to get a sale
Glow sticks that we brought are a HUGE hit! Especially when the power goes out; the neighbor kids come to us for light!
To keep your shoes clean you gotta wash them atleast every other day
I love brown babies with runny noses and bare butts!
Thank you all for your prayers! and for support..... we have been able to purchase stuff for Pamelas mom to start her business, and will be able to get football supplies for Pamela's brother in laws football ministry!! It's been a blessing to serve and help in these ministries! And you are a part of that! :) Blessings to you
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Habari to all!
Well, I got a chance to speak to Janell at length today - two phone calls, half a dozen emails and perhaps 20-25 text messages. GREAT chance to catch up. Here's some stuff we chatted about:
Electricity - Unlike clothespins, electricity is not overrated...lol. The power had been out for two days, then the groundskeeper was able to get it working again, and now the entire neighborhood's power went kaput. As of 9pm their time (2pm ET, 11am PT), they were without electricity. Unfortunately, they lost most everything in their fridge - bummer!
Boys - They are having a great time. Jake has said that he "maybe" he wants to live there, because of all the new friends he & Noah have made. Both kids have plugged in quickly to local kids-scene and have made tons of new mates! In fact, when the schoolkids (it's still the school year over there) get home, they come straight to our place to ask for the boys!
Ministry - It is going great and they are seeing things come along wonderfully in their various ministries. This past weekend, a whopping 125 kids showed up for their VBS that they are running! And the soccer camp has been a great success so far. Please keep praying that the Kenyan's minds & hearts remain open to God's grace for them! Thanks for your support here!
Donations Part - Some of the things that our support money has gone to include supplies for the Vacation Bible School (crafts, etc.), supplies for the soccer/Bible camp (soccer balls, cones, etc.) and materials for Pamela's mother to run her small business (she is a seamstress) and generate revenue to support her and her family! The Kenyans have been extremely grateful for these things, that couldn't have happened w/o your support! Thank you!
Please continue to pray for the four of them, as well as myself as I head over on Friday! Please especially pray for Jessica & her hubby, Steve, as they are really struggling w/being apart from one another. They have only been married two months, so a full month apart is understandably very tough at this early stage of marraige!
And while you're praying, praise God for no health nor safety issues to date, and for putting so many people in their path, that are open to the Gospel, to minister to!
In His Grace,
Bob
Well, I got a chance to speak to Janell at length today - two phone calls, half a dozen emails and perhaps 20-25 text messages. GREAT chance to catch up. Here's some stuff we chatted about:
Electricity - Unlike clothespins, electricity is not overrated...lol. The power had been out for two days, then the groundskeeper was able to get it working again, and now the entire neighborhood's power went kaput. As of 9pm their time (2pm ET, 11am PT), they were without electricity. Unfortunately, they lost most everything in their fridge - bummer!
Boys - They are having a great time. Jake has said that he "maybe" he wants to live there, because of all the new friends he & Noah have made. Both kids have plugged in quickly to local kids-scene and have made tons of new mates! In fact, when the schoolkids (it's still the school year over there) get home, they come straight to our place to ask for the boys!
Ministry - It is going great and they are seeing things come along wonderfully in their various ministries. This past weekend, a whopping 125 kids showed up for their VBS that they are running! And the soccer camp has been a great success so far. Please keep praying that the Kenyan's minds & hearts remain open to God's grace for them! Thanks for your support here!
Donations Part - Some of the things that our support money has gone to include supplies for the Vacation Bible School (crafts, etc.), supplies for the soccer/Bible camp (soccer balls, cones, etc.) and materials for Pamela's mother to run her small business (she is a seamstress) and generate revenue to support her and her family! The Kenyans have been extremely grateful for these things, that couldn't have happened w/o your support! Thank you!
Please continue to pray for the four of them, as well as myself as I head over on Friday! Please especially pray for Jessica & her hubby, Steve, as they are really struggling w/being apart from one another. They have only been married two months, so a full month apart is understandably very tough at this early stage of marraige!
And while you're praying, praise God for no health nor safety issues to date, and for putting so many people in their path, that are open to the Gospel, to minister to!
In His Grace,
Bob
Since Janell wasn't able to go into full details about the electrical issues, here they are via email from Janell:
"Now onto our new issue. yesterday after returning home we noticed there was no power. so we thought okay another round of a short power outage. then about 4 hours later i went outside and noticed everybody else had power but us. so we try to talk with people and figure it out. the guards took us to the main switch for the whole compound and the fuse for our house was disconnected. So we went to house number 1 where they know the number for our landlord and she said the power company was out earlier and disconnected some as well as hers. and she had paid for her electricity and was not late, so she called them and they came out several hours later and apologized and reconnected it. well by time we got back and found this all out it was 8:00 and electricity company was closed. so we got up this morning to try to call power company and pamelas phone is dead. ugggghhhh so she has headed downtown to the company to figure it out. the girls paid for 2 months of power and we checked our balance and had hardly used any so they must have mistankly pulled ours instead of someone elses. they dont have them marked. so we are going on now 2 days of no power and a refrigerator full of warm food. we are so pissed. and of course the system works so differently here. but pamela said she was going to ask for compesation for there mistake of our lost food.it rained all night so it is a muddy pit here now. Welcome to Africa! :)"
And from Jessica in an email to Nancy (her mom):
"It's SO very hard being away from Steve and only being able to get a message every 2 or 3 days. It’s getting harder and harder as each day passes. It’s so hard to have no communication. I feel so separated. As for calling Pamela’s cell - Pamela has to constantly buy what is called "airtime" He phone uses airtime to place calls to anyone, to receive calls from anyone and to send and receive texts so, when all her airtime is used up, she has to wait till we go into town the next time and buy some more airtime. Also lately we've been having problems with our electricity (we currently don’t have any but should get it later today) and her phones dies. We visited the market yesterday and will be going one more time when Bob gets here. They have almost anything you can think of (coffee, baskets, wallets, placemats, knives, bracelets, key chains, paintings, figurines, coasters, etc). So we paid for some more VBS supplies... tonight is our 2nd night of soccer. The soccer program is helped run by Pamela’s brother-in-law, Everence. Friday we are going to buy some extra soccer balls, some cones and some penneys for them.... the number of kids that show up to play and how far they walk is incredible. Last soccer night we gave them some glow bracelets and tonight I think I’m going to share a few verses and then were going to pass out some candy to them. Tomorrow will be our first day helping out with a program called music for life. We’re still not sure what exactly well be doing. It could be anything from laundry, to stapling, to teaching etc. Friday we are going back to visit in the Kibera slums. We bought some bubbles to blow and play with the kids. We’ll also pass out some candy to them.Saturday will be our second day of VBS. Last Saturday there were close to 150 kids and we were running out of supplies. Praise the Lord! This week we are expecting it to double!"
As you can see, there are definitely some issues that we need to be praying about. Also, please pray for my trip over, as heavy thunderstorms are predicted for Friday afternoon in both Cleveland and Chicago, in addition to some possible complications w/my British Airways flight from London to Nairobi.
Bob
UPDATE at 10:16am (about an hour later): I was able to speak w/Janell on the phone and the power came back on as I talked to her. Albeit illegally. (long story). They should have full, legal power back in the next 2-3 days. The electric company admitted their mistake - they attributed the last payment to the wrong account.
"Now onto our new issue. yesterday after returning home we noticed there was no power. so we thought okay another round of a short power outage. then about 4 hours later i went outside and noticed everybody else had power but us. so we try to talk with people and figure it out. the guards took us to the main switch for the whole compound and the fuse for our house was disconnected. So we went to house number 1 where they know the number for our landlord and she said the power company was out earlier and disconnected some as well as hers. and she had paid for her electricity and was not late, so she called them and they came out several hours later and apologized and reconnected it. well by time we got back and found this all out it was 8:00 and electricity company was closed. so we got up this morning to try to call power company and pamelas phone is dead. ugggghhhh so she has headed downtown to the company to figure it out. the girls paid for 2 months of power and we checked our balance and had hardly used any so they must have mistankly pulled ours instead of someone elses. they dont have them marked. so we are going on now 2 days of no power and a refrigerator full of warm food. we are so pissed. and of course the system works so differently here. but pamela said she was going to ask for compesation for there mistake of our lost food.it rained all night so it is a muddy pit here now. Welcome to Africa! :)"
And from Jessica in an email to Nancy (her mom):
"It's SO very hard being away from Steve and only being able to get a message every 2 or 3 days. It’s getting harder and harder as each day passes. It’s so hard to have no communication. I feel so separated. As for calling Pamela’s cell - Pamela has to constantly buy what is called "airtime" He phone uses airtime to place calls to anyone, to receive calls from anyone and to send and receive texts so, when all her airtime is used up, she has to wait till we go into town the next time and buy some more airtime. Also lately we've been having problems with our electricity (we currently don’t have any but should get it later today) and her phones dies. We visited the market yesterday and will be going one more time when Bob gets here. They have almost anything you can think of (coffee, baskets, wallets, placemats, knives, bracelets, key chains, paintings, figurines, coasters, etc). So we paid for some more VBS supplies... tonight is our 2nd night of soccer. The soccer program is helped run by Pamela’s brother-in-law, Everence. Friday we are going to buy some extra soccer balls, some cones and some penneys for them.... the number of kids that show up to play and how far they walk is incredible. Last soccer night we gave them some glow bracelets and tonight I think I’m going to share a few verses and then were going to pass out some candy to them. Tomorrow will be our first day helping out with a program called music for life. We’re still not sure what exactly well be doing. It could be anything from laundry, to stapling, to teaching etc. Friday we are going back to visit in the Kibera slums. We bought some bubbles to blow and play with the kids. We’ll also pass out some candy to them.Saturday will be our second day of VBS. Last Saturday there were close to 150 kids and we were running out of supplies. Praise the Lord! This week we are expecting it to double!"
As you can see, there are definitely some issues that we need to be praying about. Also, please pray for my trip over, as heavy thunderstorms are predicted for Friday afternoon in both Cleveland and Chicago, in addition to some possible complications w/my British Airways flight from London to Nairobi.
Bob
UPDATE at 10:16am (about an hour later): I was able to speak w/Janell on the phone and the power came back on as I talked to her. Albeit illegally. (long story). They should have full, legal power back in the next 2-3 days. The electric company admitted their mistake - they attributed the last payment to the wrong account.
prayer
Jambo friends and family!
I only have a few minutes left on internet. But need to ask for prayer! We are having issues with our electricity, perhaps Bob can write more details. But it was a mistake on the power companies end, and we are having problems getting them to fix it. So we are now going on day 2 with no power, which isnt so bad except that we just stocked the freezer and refrig with food that is now all BAD!!!! and it's not cheap to buy food. Please pray that this issue will get resolved today, and that funds will appear for us to replace our food supply.
Also pray for Jessica and her husband as they miss each other extremely, and Satan is using that to get them both down. Pray against the enemies schemes in this situation.
Asante Sana
I only have a few minutes left on internet. But need to ask for prayer! We are having issues with our electricity, perhaps Bob can write more details. But it was a mistake on the power companies end, and we are having problems getting them to fix it. So we are now going on day 2 with no power, which isnt so bad except that we just stocked the freezer and refrig with food that is now all BAD!!!! and it's not cheap to buy food. Please pray that this issue will get resolved today, and that funds will appear for us to replace our food supply.
Also pray for Jessica and her husband as they miss each other extremely, and Satan is using that to get them both down. Pray against the enemies schemes in this situation.
Asante Sana
Sunday, June 14, 2009
more pics
jacob and monica at the National Reserve
Jacob with his new football (soccer) team
noah chatting with a new friend! he finds them everywhere!
leaving Kibera, mama flo on my left and sister Pauline on my right (pams sister)
pics
Jacob playing at kibera slum
getting ready for vbs with my african mama and a baby i decided to adopt that day
jacob and his new bf Joseph
Habari my friends and family. Was not able to load pics for my last post, so am here again to try for a 2nd time!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Jambo
Okay so I have to say that clothes pins are overrated!!! hee :) its so much easier just to hang your clothes right over the line without the pins! That was my chore this morning!
Well it's been a week. We have enjoyed just getting used to Kenyan culture and trying to fit in as much as we can! Yes we here the occasional Mzungu Mzungu! :) But that's okay, we use our Swahili and say hello and go about our way.
We have been to several markets this week, to get supplies for VBS which starts tomorrow, as well as food, and yesterday went to Textile alley for fabric for Pamela's mom to sew all of us outfits! The boys even chose there own fabric for there outfits!
Today is Pamela's birthday so to celebrate we are taking the whole family to Nairobi Natl. Park. A mini Safari out the outskirts of town! Pamela's family has NEVER been there, so it' s a real treat for them. Speaking of treat, I ordered pizza the other night for dinner, and Pamela's sisters have never had cheese, so it didn't go over well. Can you fathom being 19 and 21 and never having cheese.....that is the reality of so many here! I am so blessed to be here to encourage and help them.
We went to Kibera last night, where one of Pamela's sisters lives with her 3 kids. I was so proud of the boys, Noah made a 1 sec. comment about all the rubbish and that was it, they were off playing with the kids the whole night in the slum!! Didn't matter that it smelled or that there was rubbish everywhere, or that children were running around 1/2 naked. They had a blast and want to go back :)
We are going to try to find bubbles so we can have fun blowing them with the kids next week when we go back. I so want to open up a Nursery school there! Many of the kids don't talk cause they cannot go to school due to money. Oh just breaks my heart.
Thanks for all your prayers! None of us have been sick, and were sleeping pretty well. The boys are doing pretty good overall. They have there moments; but there hearts are genuine and loving the kids here!
In our compound there are many kids, each day after school they come knocking on our door asking for Jacob and Noah. It's so cute!
Noah makes friends everywhere we are at. And a lot with adults. They love talking with him, and the LOVE his Lego guys!!!
Okay I am going to go for now. I am going to try to load more pics. Interenet is slow, so we'll see if it works or not.
So for now Kwaheri :)
Well it's been a week. We have enjoyed just getting used to Kenyan culture and trying to fit in as much as we can! Yes we here the occasional Mzungu Mzungu! :) But that's okay, we use our Swahili and say hello and go about our way.
We have been to several markets this week, to get supplies for VBS which starts tomorrow, as well as food, and yesterday went to Textile alley for fabric for Pamela's mom to sew all of us outfits! The boys even chose there own fabric for there outfits!
Today is Pamela's birthday so to celebrate we are taking the whole family to Nairobi Natl. Park. A mini Safari out the outskirts of town! Pamela's family has NEVER been there, so it' s a real treat for them. Speaking of treat, I ordered pizza the other night for dinner, and Pamela's sisters have never had cheese, so it didn't go over well. Can you fathom being 19 and 21 and never having cheese.....that is the reality of so many here! I am so blessed to be here to encourage and help them.
We went to Kibera last night, where one of Pamela's sisters lives with her 3 kids. I was so proud of the boys, Noah made a 1 sec. comment about all the rubbish and that was it, they were off playing with the kids the whole night in the slum!! Didn't matter that it smelled or that there was rubbish everywhere, or that children were running around 1/2 naked. They had a blast and want to go back :)
We are going to try to find bubbles so we can have fun blowing them with the kids next week when we go back. I so want to open up a Nursery school there! Many of the kids don't talk cause they cannot go to school due to money. Oh just breaks my heart.
Thanks for all your prayers! None of us have been sick, and were sleeping pretty well. The boys are doing pretty good overall. They have there moments; but there hearts are genuine and loving the kids here!
In our compound there are many kids, each day after school they come knocking on our door asking for Jacob and Noah. It's so cute!
Noah makes friends everywhere we are at. And a lot with adults. They love talking with him, and the LOVE his Lego guys!!!
Okay I am going to go for now. I am going to try to load more pics. Interenet is slow, so we'll see if it works or not.
So for now Kwaheri :)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
06/10/09 Update by Bob
Habari!
Got a chance to speak w/Janell on the phone this morning, in addition to having already exchanged several emails. All is going extremely well, and we'd all like to thank you, again, for your support through both prayer and finances to make this trip a reality! However, please keep praying, as there is a lot to do yet. God has answered an abundance of prayers so far, that's for sure, and I give Him tons of praise for that!
When I talked to Janell, they were at one of the markets (Noah wasn't real thrilled w/some of the smells...lol) gathering supplies for Vacation Bible School, which kicks off on Saturday. They are busily preparing for that, as it will be one of the signficant features of the time over there.
This evening, they will be having their first round of soccer camp, where 40-60 young ones will gather to play soccer and listen to the gospel. This will be a weekly event on Wednesdays. I'm sure Jake will be excited, given his passion for football (what they call it outside of the US/Canada).
The boys are acclimating very well with very few episodes by other, and are making a ton of friends. Evidently there are numerous children in the complex they are staying in, and they've now played w/pretty much all of them, surprise, surprise (our kids, "social"? nahhhh...lol)! The big hit has been the glowsticks that were donated to us to take - the African children (and adults!) have absolutely LOVED them, as it gets dark very early over there (7pm). They plan to hand them out, en masse, at soccer camp tonight, as the kids have to go home after dark.
Noah has probably learned more Swahili than any of us, and isn't afraid to use it, which the Kenyans just are loving!
I asked Janell if she had seen any creepy-crawlies or other "unfriendly" species. She said that the only thing they've really seen are numerous small lizards, which Jake thinks are totally cool. One major plus is that Nairobi sits both at a high elevation (5,600 feet) and has a cool climate (highs in the low 70's this time of year), so bugs & stuff aren't as active there as in other parts of Africa.
The boys aren't thrilled about the milk over there. Don't know about Jessica, but my three LOVE their cereal, but the boys have been passing on it, due to the different taste to the milk. So far, though, that's been the only food issue.
Janell has said that Nairobi is both very "americanized" and impoverished, making for a very surreal setting.
As far as transportation goes, apparently they've either been walking most places, or traveling w/Sandi, who has a car.
Speaking of the Stoltfus', please pray for Brian, as he's back in Sudan as of Monday, flying relief flights, I believe. Sudan is one of two heavily war-torn countries in Africa (the other is Somalia), so it can sometimes be very dangerous, so please keep him in your thoughts/prayers!
Janell & Jessica are planning on taking Pamela's younger siblings to Nairobi National Park on Friday. NNP is one of many national parks in Kenya that is home to numerous giraffes, lions, and other large game animals. That interesting thing is that it is situated right on the edge of Nairobi! Fortunately, the animals tend to not stray into town at all, because finding a lion in your backyard, probably wouldn't be good, haha.
Well, that's about all for now. Just wanted to give you all an update! Thanks again for your prayers and support - we love you guys!
In His Service,
Bob
Got a chance to speak w/Janell on the phone this morning, in addition to having already exchanged several emails. All is going extremely well, and we'd all like to thank you, again, for your support through both prayer and finances to make this trip a reality! However, please keep praying, as there is a lot to do yet. God has answered an abundance of prayers so far, that's for sure, and I give Him tons of praise for that!
When I talked to Janell, they were at one of the markets (Noah wasn't real thrilled w/some of the smells...lol) gathering supplies for Vacation Bible School, which kicks off on Saturday. They are busily preparing for that, as it will be one of the signficant features of the time over there.
This evening, they will be having their first round of soccer camp, where 40-60 young ones will gather to play soccer and listen to the gospel. This will be a weekly event on Wednesdays. I'm sure Jake will be excited, given his passion for football (what they call it outside of the US/Canada).
The boys are acclimating very well with very few episodes by other, and are making a ton of friends. Evidently there are numerous children in the complex they are staying in, and they've now played w/pretty much all of them, surprise, surprise (our kids, "social"? nahhhh...lol)! The big hit has been the glowsticks that were donated to us to take - the African children (and adults!) have absolutely LOVED them, as it gets dark very early over there (7pm). They plan to hand them out, en masse, at soccer camp tonight, as the kids have to go home after dark.
Noah has probably learned more Swahili than any of us, and isn't afraid to use it, which the Kenyans just are loving!
I asked Janell if she had seen any creepy-crawlies or other "unfriendly" species. She said that the only thing they've really seen are numerous small lizards, which Jake thinks are totally cool. One major plus is that Nairobi sits both at a high elevation (5,600 feet) and has a cool climate (highs in the low 70's this time of year), so bugs & stuff aren't as active there as in other parts of Africa.
The boys aren't thrilled about the milk over there. Don't know about Jessica, but my three LOVE their cereal, but the boys have been passing on it, due to the different taste to the milk. So far, though, that's been the only food issue.
Janell has said that Nairobi is both very "americanized" and impoverished, making for a very surreal setting.
As far as transportation goes, apparently they've either been walking most places, or traveling w/Sandi, who has a car.
Speaking of the Stoltfus', please pray for Brian, as he's back in Sudan as of Monday, flying relief flights, I believe. Sudan is one of two heavily war-torn countries in Africa (the other is Somalia), so it can sometimes be very dangerous, so please keep him in your thoughts/prayers!
Janell & Jessica are planning on taking Pamela's younger siblings to Nairobi National Park on Friday. NNP is one of many national parks in Kenya that is home to numerous giraffes, lions, and other large game animals. That interesting thing is that it is situated right on the edge of Nairobi! Fortunately, the animals tend to not stray into town at all, because finding a lion in your backyard, probably wouldn't be good, haha.
Well, that's about all for now. Just wanted to give you all an update! Thanks again for your prayers and support - we love you guys!
In His Service,
Bob
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Our first few days
Here are some pics of the house, and boys at church and us at Pamelas parents house! Enjoy
Jambo! We are here in Nairobi! Don't have much time so gonna just highlight some stuff till the next time :)
Flights went really well. Boys were perfect on the plane!!! Only time there was any issues with them was in London airport where we had to wait 4 hours! And they have NO play area for the kids! :(
Our house is great! I will add some pics!
Our first full day we spent at Pamela's parents home where they cooked us a great African spread! It was awesome!!! Then we got some grocery shopping in early evening, had dinner at our house; then went to bed at 8:00!!!
Today we went to the Kibera Slum to Pamela's Parents church! It was awesome. The kids there had been practicing some drama and songs to put on a show for us! Church was 4 hours long; typical in Africa.....the boys did AMAZING!! Sang, and played with the kids the whole time!!!! Made lots of friends! :)
Then hung out at church for awhile, then headed into town got some food, the kids enjoyed playing in the sand (dirt) and on playset then headed to the Cafe where we are now; and ya there getting a little on the bored side. So gonna go for now! Tomorrow we will hook up with Sandi Stoltzfus and head to there ministry site here in Nbi!
Thanks for all your prayers!
Jambo! We are here in Nairobi! Don't have much time so gonna just highlight some stuff till the next time :)
Flights went really well. Boys were perfect on the plane!!! Only time there was any issues with them was in London airport where we had to wait 4 hours! And they have NO play area for the kids! :(
Our house is great! I will add some pics!
Our first full day we spent at Pamela's parents home where they cooked us a great African spread! It was awesome!!! Then we got some grocery shopping in early evening, had dinner at our house; then went to bed at 8:00!!!
Today we went to the Kibera Slum to Pamela's Parents church! It was awesome. The kids there had been practicing some drama and songs to put on a show for us! Church was 4 hours long; typical in Africa.....the boys did AMAZING!! Sang, and played with the kids the whole time!!!! Made lots of friends! :)
Then hung out at church for awhile, then headed into town got some food, the kids enjoyed playing in the sand (dirt) and on playset then headed to the Cafe where we are now; and ya there getting a little on the bored side. So gonna go for now! Tomorrow we will hook up with Sandi Stoltzfus and head to there ministry site here in Nbi!
Thanks for all your prayers!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Time
The time has come~ this time tomorrow we will be in the air on our way!
We are filled with many emotions right now; and just can't wait to land in Nairobi~
If I may, please specifically pray for safe flights, and for smooth times during our lay-overs; and for a smooth procedure through customs in London and Nairobi...........
Kwaheri for now! I hope to update from Nairobi on Saturday!!!!! If I can get myself away from kissin and hugging on my African family :)
We are filled with many emotions right now; and just can't wait to land in Nairobi~
If I may, please specifically pray for safe flights, and for smooth times during our lay-overs; and for a smooth procedure through customs in London and Nairobi...........
Kwaheri for now! I hope to update from Nairobi on Saturday!!!!! If I can get myself away from kissin and hugging on my African family :)
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