Christmas in Kenya!

Christmas in Kenya. I know what you're thinking...what does one do for Christmas in Kenya? Well besides cutting down a Christmas shrub with a machete (which by the way was brown and dead in two days)...you can hand out food to the poorest of the poor...

On the day before Christmas Eve, Emily and I put on our long skirts, jumped on top of a landcruiser and headed down to the valley to a nearby UNHCR IDP camp to visit Kikuyu refugees.

We went there with bags of food, clothes, firewood and clean water. Once there we broke up into groups and handed out the items to the refugee families.

Seriously, seeing those refugees on Christmas like that. Thinking about how little they had, the things that they've been through. The stories they shared and the machete and spear scars that they showed. Humbling. I cant help but think so many people don't know, don't truly know what goes on in the world. Come visit me just for a week and I'll show you....it would change your life. For sure.

Anyway, so Emily and I spent the afternoon down there, completely, completely covered in dust. I have never been in a dustier place. I was caked in mud. I can't even imagine living down their in those UNHCR tents, no food, the dusty days in the dry season, and the cold cold nights of the rift valley... Thank God for your warm houses and Christmas cookies...

Then on Christmas Eve, Bob, Julie, Emily and I packaged up some rice, sugar, lard, salt, spinach, flour and maize...loaded up the 30 bags into the landcruiser and then handed out those bags to some of the poorest kids in the Kijabe area... It was another humbling experience, one that reminds you of what Christmas really is.

Kenya Thus Far...

So I am in Kenya for three weeks and loving every moment of it!

First on the agenda, a trip to Mombasa with my favorite family! Driving on the road from Nairobi to Mombasa, almost surreal. Especially when you're zooming in and out between semis crawling at 10 mph and other land cruisers whizzing by, passing when they shouldn't. All the while making sure you don't miss the zebras, giraffes, ostrichs, and packs of camels along the side of the road. All of which I saw (awesome by the way!). The beaches along the Indian Ocean at Mombasa are absolutely beautiful: white sands, clear waters, TONS of sea urchins. A good strong breeze helps to forget how heavy the humidity in the air is...which means my hair was wretched! Curly hair + humidity=frightening...

I enjoyed 5 days at the beach in Mombasa with the Mendonsas! It was a GREAT vacation. Emily and I took a ride on some camels one afternoon down the beach. I'll have to say that I think that camels are definitely one of my new favorite animals. There's something weirdly exciting about sitting on top of a hairy camel tromping down the sandy white beach. And something even more weird about kissing a camel after the ride. Both of which I did and documented with pictures...

On another afternoon Bob, Emily, Will and I went with some others on a "hike" through the shallows of the ocean out to the nearby reef. And I'll admit it, because I know Bob would say it anyway, I was ridiculously scared of the sea urchins and taking many cautious "feminine" (according to Bob) steps through the knee deep water. Hey, those needles on sea urchins are terribly frightening in my opinion! I survived though and have the tale of a hike out to the reef in exchange. That and we did find some really really beautiful purple starfish!

My time in Mombasa ended Saturday though and now I am in Kijabe, Kenya at the Mendonsas home where I will be with them through the holidays for two more weeks. I am excited for the Christmas season, the cookies, music and all that the holidays entail.

A Christmas Tree...oh did we find one! Well It's more of a shrub really. We headed out on our mission, "Get our Christmas Shrub" at 10 PM in the dark of night so that our "hacking" of a nearby tree located in the rift valley would go unnoticed.

So away we went and Bob literally hacked down a scrawny tree with a machete. And hack he did. Finally he cut it, we took it back to the house and decorated it Charlie Brown style.

I am certain that "O Christmas Shrub" will be playing in our house over the holidays...

My First Team. C'est Bon!

Wow.

I maintain. Two weeks in Africa feels like 2 years. It's amazing how you can be with people non-stop 24 hours a day, and feel like you're known them your whole life! I made some awesome friends on the team and felt very encouraged and blessed by them. I am positive that God sent some people in my life to be great friends...even though they are now on a plane heading back to the states. It's amazing the bonds of friendship that Africa can create. The things you go through to together...words can not even begin to express.

We had an amazing time! Between home visits up in the mountains, the landcruiser forgding its way over footpaths, muddy slopes and what seemed to be sometimes impossible roads, or no roads at all...amazing.

On Monday morning I was on my way to a home visit with Sarah and Carl in the Landcruiser with Emmanuel driving. It had just rained. We'd dropped off the other team members at their locations and were headed to ours. We were driving on a dirt road, which in this case was a muddy road. Bridges? Bridges are made out of logs. In the past we'd always joked about the day the land cruiser broke the log bridge and got stuck. That day finally happened. With Carl Sarah and I. We sat there for a moment as a crowd of men gathered. Emmanuel tried to floor it and get it out. No use. The wheel had cracked a log and was now stuck in its place. So what else is there too do, but hop out, skirts and all for Sarah and I, and push the land cruiser out. Carl, Sarah and I somehow managed to do just that, in our flip flops. We pushed the huge land cruiser out of the rut with about 20 Burundian men just standing by just watching. Sarah I always took a face plant in the mud, our flip flops sliding all over. As for us. We were smiling. Anything that makes a great story later often puts a smile on my face. Muddy or not...

Mount Songa/the hot springs in Rutana and the source of the Nile. A fabulous day. The climb to Mounta Songa was SO beautiful. treking along a mountain in Burundi passing children hurding goats. Pricesless. There was something so beautiful, so wonderful about it. We had an amazing time. However note to self. One bottle of water is not enough. I was through it by the time I was too the top. It was a warm day. But hey I ended upwith a great tan!

After a 3 hour jaunt across the country--we finally made it to where the hot springs were located. The men went over to their hot pool and hopped right in. The women, let's say its never simple for the women. After treking barefoot across a small river and arriving to our "hot pool" which was about 4 feet wide, 1 foot deep and with a naked woman in it; decided we were better off in the men's pool. So we hiked our way barefoot to where the men were. (Note: walking barefoot across rocks, a river, and cattle poo is not fun. I do not have tough feet!) However once we finally managed to join the guys in the hot springs, random mysterious water bugs were biting everyone. Within three minutes of getting in, I was out, trying to escape being bitten but an unknown creature. Yes I am saying creature. Some of my teammates were not so lucky. Still, a good story is always fun and we had a great time! (Us girls changed out of our suits hiding behind a shawl and a bush. We are a resourceful crew!).

I had a great time wearing Burundian skirts, called Kitange's. I wore my two skirts well and was more a Burundi Kazie (Burundian Woman), then ever!


All and all, it was a great first team. I learned alot about my role and made some great friends! I'll post some more pictures. However we all know it takes me a lifetime to upload on here. So if you want to see ever more pictures, check out my facebook!

To Stare or Not to Stare...

Here are some things to look for if you ever head up country in Burundi.

In the mountains of Burundi traveling by bike is extremely common, but pretty rough considering Burundi is mostly mountainous. So what should you did if you find yourself on your bike and need to get up that mountain...grab onto a truck...everybody's doing it.

And then when you're in the village, make sure you're looking real good because everyone and their mother (literally) will stop by and stare at you. Take note of the people in the window and door in the picture below, yes they were looking (staring, guaking however you want to put it), at me. The world literally stops when a "Muzngu" (white person) is anywhere in view. The world just haults; freezes. Everyone drops what they are doing to stare, shout "Muzngu," or in this case gaze for 2 hours straight into a house that is not their own in hopes that you might look their way.


What is typical of a Muzungu sighting? Let me tell you. Everyone pauses midsentence and stares without shame. If you're in a conversation dont finish it, if you driving a car let your eyes shift off of the road and cause you to hit a pothole head on. If you're on your bike, stop looking where you are going, but dont look away too long or you might just hit a goat if you dare to stare for too long. If people aren't justing staring, they are gathering and gauking. There are no rules here.

The look on people's faces? Priceless. My friend Karri likes to describe it as this...

Imagine a man walking by stark naked, not just naked put playing with one of those paddle balls as he is strolling along casually-no underware or a care in the world. Yes, you would be standing there in complete shock, jaw dropped, eyes following whether you want to look or not...this is exactly the reaction to that of a muzungu passing by or in this case, sitting in a house in a village. Everyone stares without shame.



Alright, on a serious note. What exactly what was I doing in a village which caused so many bystangers to take a look, other than my presense? I was in Gitega where I attended a care group meeting of our Child Survival Program (CSP). A Promoter exployed by the CSP program has meetings or care group once every other week with volunteers (10-15 mothers) of a local community who have been chosen to attend the Child Suvival's meetings which focus on messages about Diarrea, Maleria prevention, nutrition, and immunizations. After these meetings, the mothers then go and share with other mother's in their communities. These messages educate the mothers in these 4 different areas which in turn will hopefully help to prevent deaths of children under the age of 5 and promote better health and hygene. I had the privelage to sit in on a message about breast feeing and taking care of children aged 0-6 months.

I have to say that this was a moment of culture shock for me. Just realizing all of the informaton I have about health just by growing up in America. I know that diarrea is not caused by breast feeding. I was shocked to learn that a lot of mothers stop feeding their chilren breast milk when they have diarrea because they think it was caused by the milk. I was also shocked to learn that most of the mothers did not know that drinking alcohol while pregnant isnt good for the baby. It was also interesting to hear the mothers ask about family planning and how they could prolong breast feeding in order to prevent their periods so they could wait longer to have children. I couldnt help but wonder why I had this information and these mothers were just now hearing it. Where would they be without these health lessons? And the women getting these messages are only certain ones in certain regions. I was sitting there wondering why I was privy to such information and not even a mother when a lot of mothers around the world are struggling to help their children to survive diarrea. Yet a lot of them dont know truely what is in actuality causing the diarrea. World Relief's child survual program is amazing and it making life changes all throughout Gitega province. I was honored to be able to observe and take part in it.

Another shock for me: Diapers. One does not think about how important diapers are for babies until you are in a small hut with 22 children under the age of 2 and not one of them is wearing a diaper. Babies just go...wherever and whenever they please. Whether they are standing on the ground right in from of you or in their mothers lap. I couldnt help but wonder how such a small thing was not even possible for these poor families, there wasnt even cloth for diapers. I couldnt help but take for granted what we (in the states) have. I have never thought about "what if my children did not have diapers." Diapers are a huge problem and in reality would be a solution to some of the hygene problems that these families are facing. The lack of diapers aids to the problem of diarrea and other stomach problems. As human refuse is everywhere and on not only the children's clothes, but on the mothers as well, this can cause of a lot of the health problems...and all due to lack of cloth for diapers and clean water to wash clothes and those diapers that they dont have in. Just a thought.

Mothers who are reading this blog, take a moment and appreciate the diapers that you have for your child...

Here are some pictures of the women from the care group I sat in on.

Up Country

I went up country for the first time last week. I spent a day in Nyanza-Lac and a night in Gitega. The drive down the coast along Lake Tanginyka was beautiful! Nyanza-Lac is located in the Southern part of Burundi, down by the Tanzanian Border. This is the area where a lot of the Refugees are located that are returning from Tanzania. (In 1972 there was a conflict which caused many Burundians to flee the country. Most fled into Tanzania where many refugee camps were then set up. These Burundians have been in the camps since 1972 and are referred too as the 1972 Burundians). The Tanzanian Government has decided that all of the Burundian Refugees need to return home. So they are returning in large numbers heading back to their Provinces. Nyanza-Lac is the area where WR's Rehabilitation program is located. This program helps to relocate and establish the refugees that are returning to their land.

As we were driving along the road I saw many Blue UNHCR trucks with refugees piled in the back returning to their homes. It was definately something I have seen in movies or documentaries about Africa. I felt very "American" as I saw the trucks and sat there wide-eyed. It was even more personal to me, knowing that these were the refugees from the same camps along the Tanzanian Border as the Burundian Refugee family that I worked with for the past year in Washington DC. Definately brought some of their life into perspective.

After spending a day in Nyanza-Lac we drove to Gitega. Gitega is in the center of the country, completely mountainous and absolutely beautiful. Up Country Burundi is gorgeous, mountainous and green. I arrived in Gitega after dusk. The cool night air reminded me of fall back home. The air was so crisp, so cool. I went to WR's child survival program. It is located in a cove of Pine trees. PINE TREES! Apparently the building was built by an American Missionary family back in the day and they planted the trees. I just stood there, taking it all in, breathing the air. It definately had a feeling of Wisconsin, where I grew up. It was wonderful to get out of Bujumbura and see other parts of the country. I have heard about the countryside and been told that I would love it. And I did. There's something special about waking up and eating eggs made from palm oil and really really thick bread....mmmm....and just incase you are curious Palm oil is made out of these barry like things which come from Palm oil trees...

On the way back from Gitega we stopped at a market in the Mountains... Pictured below are sweet potatoes.

I am headed up to Gitega next week as well. Hopefully I will have an opportunity to take some more pictures!

Sunset over the Congo

Attached are some pictures that I took at Sunset of Lake Tanginyka, and over looking the Congo...

The Little Things...

Well, not much change in my surroundings here. Still settling in, and attempting not to think about home too much, otherwise I’ll be homesick. I miss urban ministry so much, I cant help but think about where I’ll be and what I’ll do in two years when I return to the states. It’s hard being in a foreign country, and one that is the poorest and ravaged by war for so many years. My friend Meg has been encouraging me to take note of things I like every day, therefore I am focusing on the good things instead of the so many hard things…

How do I spend my time? At work during the day and watching Prison Break at night. To my disappointment I reached season 3 last night only to discover that there is no point in watching season 3 because someone dies off (although this person does return in season 4—which is currently on TV.) The con—it’ll be a year at least before I can get season 4 of Prison Break to remedy this horrible season 3. So now what do I do to waste my nights…I guess practice my French…boring. There is something about trying to find a good book (which I don’t have or attempting to watch a movie and then the power goes out). The things we take for granted, electricity is a good thing!

A couple of things I have discovered recently:

Beef Brochettes are amazing, I need to escape my food in the house every once and a while to get some meat. A Restaurant down by the lake has some great beef on a stick, this is good. I can’t tell you how much a person craves protein when there isn’t any readily available.

A sweet treat: I have discovered that the one coffee shop in town sells 2 big sweet crapes for only $3. This is good to know, a new place to go when I’m craving something sweet.

A new Like: Coffee. Who knew, I know like coffee. I have forced myself to like coffee. I had discovered that in being here for two years I needed something to look forward to everyday, this has become coffee, with milk and sugar of course, I can’t do it plain… It’s slowly growing on me…

Sounds: The Rainy season. I love the way huge thunderstorms rollup over the mountains across the city and toward the Congo. It is awesome to sit out on my open porch and watch as the wind soars down toward the coast, shaking the house and thundering clapping so loudly that it makes me jump.

And how did I spend my weekend? Last night before I was disturbed with disappointment of Prison break season 3, I watching that when heard my first bout of gunfire in the night…C’est Afrique.

This morning, woken by Duncan with a text to go to Rusizi to go and see hippos. So I climbed out of bed at the crack of dawn to drive to this place down by the lake to see tons of hippos. I forgot my big lens for my camera, which was a bummer. Still it was good to see some hippos that are not in a zoo.

FYI hippos are huge in Africa!