Simba Safari

Welcome to Nairobi National Park, right on the outskirts of Nairobi city. It's fenced on 3 sides along the boundaries of the city and open on the fourth to link up with other national parks like Maasai Mara.  The famous wildebeest migration is on at the moment so we only saw a few wildebeest. 

Below you can see photos of: zebra, ostriches, antelope, hartebeest, buffalo, giraffe, lions hippo, and luckily a rhino. (They are very shy). We also met a Maasai herdsman, and went for a walk to view a crocodile. (Thankfully it wasn't sunny so we didn't see him!) We had a WONDERFUL time thanks to our friend Daniel. As you can see it wasn't particularly warm - Well it is winter here:)

President Barack Obama is in Nairobi Kenya

Today is a big day for Kenya. It's the first time President Obama has visited. Everyone here is very excited about his 3 day visit. They have gone all out to welcome him including resealing roads, planting tress and planting new grass. Sadly this only happened 2 days ago so they had to paint it green because no grass grows that fast!

The boys were particularly excited as they got to have a day off school because the State House (Where the Kenyan president lives) is not far from Logos school.

Yesterday the boys came home very excited saying they had seen "The Beast" Obama's car and several FBI agents had waved at them after disembarking from five huge helicopters. The teachers and children ran out of their classes and across the field to the fence which was just next to field.
Here is a video that was posted to youtube from a different angle.

PS Emily learnt two new words today: Obama and Kenya!

More photos to tell the story....

Below are several random shots while driving ...... just to give you a taste of the sights...

 Next,  interesting things we've seen while out walking

 I don't know how African's can carry such amazing loads on their heads!

Below - a wall we see every day, beautifully made

 Nairobi is in spruce up mode ahead of President Barak Obama's visit, there is a HUGE amount of beautification going on all over the place - Roadworks everywhere!!!)-

 This progress doesn't work for Vanga Rd just opposite our road, This sign says "Rehabilitation of Vanga Rd, Start date 10 June 2014, completion date 10 December 2014"  - This week two piles of gravel arrived, good things take time I guess.

 Out for a walk:)

 A banana plant in flower

Emily's classmates having fun:)

 I want to do it myself!!!

Mamlaka Hill Chapel

 This last Sunday we visited another one of the Nairobi Church family, this time Mamlaka Hill Chapel. This was the site where Nairobi Chapel worshipped at the Nairobi University, In 2005 Nairobi Chapel moved to Ngong Rd, while the church at the university became Mamlaka Chapel (Mamlaka means 'authority' in kiswahili).

Mamlaka has about 2000 people coming to three services on Sunday morning.

On the  wall inside the office was this cool banner...

Yes, Mamlaka sent a team to NZ in 2014, spending time in Dunedin, and Tauranga, and a number of other places.  We met Frank, who went to NZ with the team, spending time at St. John's Roslyn in Dunedin.
'
During the Viral church planting conference we met Joseph. He and his wife Alice are about to embark on  two exciting life adventures - One their first child and secondly they plan to travel to Wanganui in February to take up positions as pastors in a church there.

We went to visit them on Saturday, We  drove to a place called Kinoo about 20kms north of Nairobi. Joseph gave us fantastic instructions which included driving past Kinoo and off the highway, underneath it and back onto it again (not part of the instructions was flying over an unseen speedbump)...

"drive back to Kinoo and past 'national oil petrol station' Keep left and start slowing down, Watch out for the unruly matatus -public transport vehicles-

matatu - these obey their own road rules including driving
on the wrong side of the road!!

while you are at it. You will see a blue 'car wash' signboard on the your left and an exit immediately after it. Exit the highway and make a sharp left turn - Drive a little past the car wash then take the first right....'
At this point, the road was more of a series of speed bumps formed in the dirt, along with many obstacles to avoid - donkeys, goats, people, boda bodas (motorbike taxi), tuk tuks, etc

But really - no dramas - our little Nissan Note is doing pretty well.

We had such a wonderful time with this special couple and look forward to spending more time back in NZ.

Joseph and Alice were part of the Mamlaka team that went to NZ in 2014. Before we came here we had seen a fantastic video of Alice's reflections of NZ.

Another week is under way....

A day in the life of... Connie

How do I spend my day here in Nairobi?

Typically the alarm plays me a nice melody at 6am.... The chaos begins.....
Make 4 lunches/snacks plus breakfast for children and I
6:20am Wake the boys... errrr this means tickle/urn on the light, cajole, strip off the covers, drag - you get the idea
Wake Emily if she hasn't woken yet dress and feed her
Load Emily into the cool backpack along with usually a laptop and run to the waiting school bus by 7am. Sing along to loud christian music while bumping along the back lanes collecting children as young as 3 for school/kindy... Marvel at the number of kids that can sleep while being shaken up! (Some wake at 5:30 to make the bus) or hone my kiswahili thanks to Driver Danish, or Rose the bus monitor or several of the less shy children :)
Arrive at Kindy usually by 7:30 or just after depending on traffic. The boys swap buses at the kindy and continue on to primary school... arriving about 8am.
Emily and I spend half an hour joining the Kindy teachers for worship (African style!) and devotions- this week looking at women in the Bible
Teachers Beatrice and Florence are delightful with the 9 children in the creche and I love joining them singing nursery rhymes, action songs and bible songs and stories as well as free play. When Emily is settled and happily eating her snack I sneak out and visit some other 10 classes of 3-6 year olds. They have been preparing for "Presentations"- a concert for parents next week... much singing dancing, introductions of themselves and their families in Kiswahili and memory verses in both English and Kiswahili. It has really reinforced my belief that if you have high expectations of children they will rise to meet them. By 11:30 it's time for some outside fun - Everyone is still wrapped in several layers of jackets and scarves while Emily and I are in our summer 1 layer:) Swings slides, seesaw and climbing frame. Sometimes Emily is getting tired so we head home at this point - other times we stay for lunch (rice or chappattis with lentil soup and greens) and she has a snooze while I pop out to other classes again -often sharing about life in NZ, singing some songs  , answering questions etc.
Home time involves walking for 10 mins to the big shopping centre (usually I have something to post or to buy) then catch a bus (quite crowed) to our nearest shopping centre, Usually buy 1 or 2 bags of basic grocery items and walk another 25mins to our apartment.  (Potatoes/ apples/onions/mangoes and bananas picked up from a roadside stall ) Often E has dropped off to sleep just before I get home! Transfer her to bed- carefully.
Bit of lunch often eggs as they are cheap.... some housework, quick catch up on emails and facebook. or a walk with John- if E had her sleep early
Begin preparing tea, listening for the ph call to say the boys have been dropped at the gate about 4:45pm.
Snacks and homework for the boys
Tea (Dinner for you kenyans out here)
Game of cards?/ blogging?/ dishes!!
Bed
That's my day

A fun evening with Joe and Whytcliff

Jesse teaching the guys how to Hongi:)

We had a wonderful evening on Thursday with these 2 characters. Joe is a Korean American on John's course and Whytcliff was the Kenyan guide. The family played the quiz game we invented about NZ with them so we could practise before using it with the children at school the next morning. Lots of laughs and good kiwi kai!

School

Schooling in Kenya is VERY different from in NZ. 

The boys attend Logos Christian School which has more of a focus (than local Kenyan schools)  on developing children's gifts. They have a great Arts programme of music, and art.  The classes are small - Jesse has 11 in his room and Finlay has 18. The rooms are small - repurposing an old house with some extra classes added later. The library is in a treehut!:)

The obvious differences include as you can see wearing a uniform and catching a bus. The children and I wake at 6:15 to catch the bus at 7am. It takes an hour to zigzag our way around the bumpy roads collecting children from their estates (Multiple apartment blocks enclosed by security walls and gates). School officially begins at 8am and ends at 3:30 but allowing for traffic issues this usually means the boys are there by 8:30 and don't get to be picked up til 4:30 and are finally home by 5:30 at the latest. Other differences are schooling from 18 months (Kindy is 18 months- 5years) and Primary school from 6-14). There is strict discipline: 2 year olds line up with their hands behind their back before walking in straight lines to the playground, they learn to sit cross legged and are expected to be toilet trained! Lunches are monitored so there is no biscuits or sweet foods allowed. School lunches are encouraged (Chapati and greens, or Rice and bean soup or Ugali and fish). It is run on a high school timetable with different teachers for different subjects. The teaching style is very textbook orientated and teachers talk while children take notes. There is a big focus on fact learning. Exams happen twice a term: Maths, English grammar and composition, Science, Social Studies: Kenya focussed , Kiswahili - both reading and writing and CRE Christian Religious Education.

Finlay found his feet very quickly making new friends and loves learning Kiswahili. Jesse finds it difficult because of the teaching style and is pleased there is a football tournament to look forward to.

Below are some of Emily's classmates: (There are 9 if they are all there that day and 2 lovely teachers:)  ).

Jikaze Commuity, Rift Valley

Dear Viewers

We went to the Rift

Valley on Saturday.
In the Rift we visited

a place called Jikaze. It is made of

people from 3 different tribes who in 

 the post election violence (2007) fled to

the Rift Valley. A man named 

Pastor Francis pooled the people's money 

together and paid for land. They divided

it up for the 165 families. Pastor

Francis pulled these some 800 

people together to Jikaze.

Pastor Francis told is that the well is 280m deep. Americans paid for it.
People live in mud huts. They are building a school. They are making their own bricks 26 ooo of them!
It was interesting and amazing because of it's history.

More info here: a movie:

That's Saturday for you.

Yours sincerely

Jesse

Viral Church Planting Conference

This last week we were able to be part of Nairobi Chapel's annual church planting conference 'Viral'. We joined with about 500 others from around the world in a three day conference.

Nairobi Chapel has one clear mission: to make disciples of Jesus Christ. One of the ways which they seek to do this is by planting churches. Nairobi Chapel is in some ways more a  church planting movement rather than a church.  There are many, many church plants that have come out of Nairobi Chapel.

Their current goal is to plant 300 churches globally by 2020 and they are well on their way to doing this.

It began by celebrating the 13 new churches that had been planted in the last 12 months. This doesn't include the numerous church plants that have been planted by daughter churches of Nairobi Chapel.

It ended by celebrating the 18 churches about to begin with the next 6 months.

It was an amazing and inspiring time. There were some world class speakers from various churches in Nairobi and from the U.S.A. And we have been privileged to connect up with some over the week.

One of the highlights of the week has been meeting a team that is planning a church plant in London. It is a joint partnership of Nairobi Chapel and Grace church in Indianapolis. The team were commissioned today at the Sunday service. The team of seven (plus 5 in Indianapolis) will spend six months in Indianapolis and then six months in Nairobi preparing before committing to seven years together in London.

The Kenyan London team plus lead pastor Todd and Angeline from Indianapolis.

Emily came to the whole conference, the youngest delegate She had many people enthralled by her cute factor!

We have also met several Kenyans who have either spent time in New Zealand or who are about to go there for ministry work. It is a very small world, and so strange to be talking of shared acquaintances and experiences in New Zealand with Kenyans in Nairobi.

After church we were blessed with spending the afternoon at Pastor Oscar's (NC's senior pastor) house for an amazing lunch with the team from the Viral conference.

Another week ahead, another adventure.

John will be involved in the post conference retreat and Connie and the family will be back into school and Kindergarten.

The boys have really enjoyed making some good friends through church the last week and are looking forward to continuing the friendships.