Bob's perspective

We haven't seen Bob lately but we know he must be around.... He left us this note... (if you don't know who Bob is see here)

Dear shirloks.

It bn gr8 to hve u cm n share my house.

U r an amazn famly

I luv da lttle 1, she so cute

looks lik u r vry @ hm in Knya.

It gr8 2 hv Baba Jesse hm , I mn John,

I ws so mbarsd whn mi tail felloff & hv bn keepn a lo prfile l8tlee,

U may hv herd dat Lzads di when der tails falloff in Knya
Dnt wory I am Tnznian ts growin bck.

Say Jambo 2 ur frens in NZ frm Bob,

Ps
Sory bout da spllin, Kiswahili is my 1st lnguage
 SSP
iv bean spiyin on u frm unda da sofar.

More Sunday adventures.... Tower climb and Masai Market

On Sunday after church the family joined John's university group for a trip up one of the highest buildings in Nairobi for a talk about the history of the city. We stood on a helicopter pad about 30 floors up and at the same time a gospel choir in costume were making a music video - lip syncing to their songs!

This is Kyama, the pastor for church planting at Mavuno Church

Spot the difference!!

Our trip to the Masai market was quite the experience. After a slight nappy mishap we were separated from the group. The market was fenced on all sides with one narrow gate entrance. Before we even neared the entrance the family was surrounded by 5 men who were encouraging us to come and buy. These guys we had been warned against - they take commission and railroad you into buying things at higher prices than locals can. Rule of thumb for bartering with stallholders is you ask how much - they give a price, you say 1/4 of that value then you slide together until you end up paying about 40% of original quoted price....
We tried so hard to shake these guys off but it was very difficult as they physically blocked your way and kept putting things into Emily's hands and encouraging the boys to spend... Below are our purchases which we are pleased with but not so pleased with the prices we paid. After eventually
re-connecting with the group we realised we had paid 5 times too much for the blanket! Oh well..

(The colour in this photo is terrible!) Think bright bright bright primary colours!

Things we brought at Masai market

-Masai blanket [John]

-Kenyan football jersey [Jesse]

-Sandels [Connie]

-Bangles x2 [Jesse/Finlay]

Mavuno Church

 Mavuno Church is a sister church of Nairobi Chapel, It was a church plant 10 years ago that has grown exponentially since then. They now have 8 church plants of their own. A church for all nations - We were thrilled to see a New Zealand flag (No Aussie one tho!)

 This is the tent for the kids aged 3-10, about 150-200 kids there this week

Adults worship tent... Note the motorbike props - It was Father's day in Kenya this week so John gets 2 this year! We had a fabulous time. It was a bit of an adventure as we ordered a taxi to get there but the church had moved sites so our fare was twice what we thought it would be Whoops!

Did you see Mr Man?

Roadside stalls

We have seen all sorts being sold either beside the road or on the road !- people walk through the traffic
You name it ; we've seen it for sale:

bananas
Fruit of any variety
Vegetables
Belts
Tents
Pots
pizza
Plants
Gates
Beds
Roasted corn
Snacks
Spiral staircases
playgrounds
blankets
laptops
clothes, shoes
chairs
shoe shining
Rubber mats for your car - cut and fitted while you wait
newspapers
outdoor furniture
suits
lampshades - He was wearing one on his head!

It's not all roses

Just in case you get the feeling it's all fantastic here are a couple of things we each are missing or don't particularly like about Kenya..

Finlay: The most common food is chicken - I hate chicken!

Jesse: You feel so sorry for the beggars and and you know it's better to give the money to an organisation but that doesn't necessarily mean it will help that particular child.

Connie: I miss my hot shower, I'm allergic to mosquito bites and I'm very uneasy with the clash of poverty and wealth here.

John: I love Nairobi life!

Bigfoot time! (Animal adventure Friday)

We had the MOST amazing day on Friday. Sadly John was busy busy. Can you see the 8 different animals we never see in New Zealand in these photos. Mr Man is hiding very well in one of these photos.....can you find him?

Can you spot the baby baboon?

This is where the under 3 year old baby elephants sleep with their keepers

Jesse riding a camel

Stacie the giraffe gave us kisses!!

The lake was shaped like the continent of Africa

Tortoise selfie!

Nairobi Chapel

 This is where 5000  people meet for church each Sunday.... they hold 2 services on Sunday morning and another on Saturday evening... It's hard to tell from the photos the scale of this marquee It's huge. From the sign you can see that simultaneously there are 5 services going on for different ages groups all over this enormous expance of grass... And yes even here we were checked by security guards with metal detectors!

Did you spot Mr Man?

Amani Ya Juu (Peace from above)

Amani Ya Juu is a peaceful oasis in the middle of Nairobi's hustle and bustle with a remarkable back story. John and the team from the course visited on Tuesday and I was kindly invited along. We were able to hear the story of how this ministry to traumatised refugee women from all over Africa began with a woman called Becky who was caught up in the war in Liberia, separated from her husband and forced to live as a refugee in a neighbouring country for more than a year. eventually she moved with her family to Kenya where she began a small group making placemats by hand with 3 refugee women to enable them to earn some money and to begin to live again rooted in the peace of Christ. It has grown into a thriving business employing 80 woman, producing 300 products and providing a wonderful restaurant/cafe in  a beautiful garden. and it's flourishing world wide.

Below is a short extract from the website... read more here:www.amaniafrica.org

Amani ya Juu is an example of how the power of peace, Christ’s peace, can transform isolated and broken lives into ones of celebration and hope. The story of Amani itself reflects what can happen when God’s peace truly takes root in hearts. From a fledgling group of hurting women to a vast network of diverse centers and cultures, the story bears witness to the power of Peace

 

The reconciliation quilt depicting how problems are solved and people are restored to peace in 10 different countries around Africa The dancing happy woman in the middle thankful for the cross of Christ (in red) and a broken African continent at the bottom. 

We were shown around the complex... the stamps used in the batik process... using wax to create a design on the fabric

 Then the cloth is dyed, laid on the grass  to dry and used to create the most amazing clothing, bags, tableware, toys, quilts Not to mention the beautiful jewellery and handcrafts.

This character is Whitcliff.. He's the guide on John's course - He was showing us how it was done - Inspired Emily to have a go too.

More scenes on Nairobi streets

Just one of thousands and thousands of stalls selling clothes

 This is a common delivery vehicle

 My first roadside purchase from Peter the rose seller - He was napping when I came along!

 This is Moses. He was pulling this load to Kibera slum

Cows wander often. They belong to the Masai warriors who just leave them to graze.

Newsflash

Connie likes to drink Kenyan tea!

One week already!

Just to let everyone know we have had our first week of holiday/settling in. Work begins now:)

Today John moved to the University campus for 2 weeks for his course in African Theology and Christianity... He was really excited about engaging more deeply with ideas/thoughts he's had since his initial visit to Kenya 7 years ago.

The boys begin school next week at Logos Christian School - a short 3 day week to begin with as they have end of year exams!! We think Maths should be OK!!! We visited briefly on Friday and bought uniforms and stationery and were very warmly welcomed. They will catch the school bus at 7AM , School begins at 8 and finishes at 3:30 then home again on the bus by 4:30/5 depending on traffic. Long days! They will attend for 6 weeks. Emily and I will check out the Kindy too and have been invited to some playgroups.

thanks for all the comments - we love hearing from home
Blessings to all

more photos to share

Caption Titles by Jesse and Finlay

Bigfoot time:

Meet Daniel our driver and guide, He is a laugh a minute and has been very good to us transporting us to where we need to be. He runs a safari guiding business but also works for Nairobi chapel

 Hi from the workers:

These constructions sites just scare us!!!

 Footpaths err...

You have to keep your wits about you as the trucks, matatus (Van taxis) and bodobodo - motorcycle taxis , cars, buses etc all race past at the speed limit - "As fast as you can go"

 Dad and the road hole

The roads are not in great shape either... left hand drive unless you get to spots like this one!

There were floods recently.

 Samsung galaxy playground

At our local shopping centre - Emily cried when we had to leave

 Freezing  

The locals thought we were nuts... It is there winter averaging about 20  but the sun was out and we were hot - Water so clear - well looked after. This is an outside pool within our gated apartment complex. There is also a gym.

Full size rhino made of metal

Road side stalls are everywhere selling everything you can imagine often handmade. beds, gates, pots, plants bananas, Men will deliveranything by hand cart... missed a good photo opportunity for one of these... maybe next week... oh and amazing bread delivery service - 8 trays of bread on the back of a bicyle

Find Mr Man

Try and find Mr Man. We are warming up to the hard ones(cheek post 3 for photo)

Pictures paint thousands of words

Burning off energy in Melbourne airport!

Dubai here we come!

Karibu Kenya! (Welcome to Kenya!)

 Home sweet home

Bob, our new pet.... he snuck in while the internet guys were doing cabling work!