It's Medicinal

It’s Medicinal

April 6

Ednah is Nick’s older sister. She is a single mom and here in Kenya that’s not necessarily a good thing. She’s smart, funny, and caring of others. BUT this girl cracks me up every night we eat dinner.  As with most people they believe their country is the best, and Ednah is no different. However with Ednah it’s not necessarily the government is so great but rather it’s the foods that Kenyan’s eat.  To her everything in Medicinal and everything has properties that will heal what ever ails you.  She even tried to tell me that Ugali or African Cake is medicinal.  Now I’m not stupid so I know there is nothing medicinal about ugali. All it is is a corn type meal that is cooked so long and then you form it to look like a cake. It’s a basic staple food here, but there is no way that it’s medicinal by any stretch of the word

Tonight we basically had leftovers, which included rice with potatoes and mashed potatoes, ugali, and some greens. Now I’m not terribly fond of greens, and these were OK, not my favorite but I ate them. With the first bite, Ednah says, “you know, these greens are medicinal.”  It doesn’t matter what is on the table, to Ednah everything is medicinal. 

But then again i was told that drinking very cold water will make you cough. And that you can get a cold from being cold, which is false. I had to explain to Alice and Ednah that colds are from a virus, and virus’s are in the air we breath. In order to catch a cold you need to breath in the cold virus, and if you’re susepital to getting a cold you will.  Ednah’s daughter, Michelle, caught a pnenomah when she was a month old. Apparently she got very sick, so Ednah quit her job to take care of her daughter. She moved in with her Mom and now Michelle is a healthy little 7 month old. For some reason Ednah believes that Michelle will get sick again if she gets a little bit cold. Now I know that won’t happen unless Michelle has been exposed to some sort of sickness. Hopefully my telling Ednah that has helped some. Michelle is an adorable little girl. She’s so funny and makes faces to make you laugh. 

I'm an Oreo

I’m an Oreo

April 2

Today was quite the day. Pastor Kibet and I finally got the bulletin printed after messing with the printer for over an hour, and then we went to town. Now we happened to get a ride on a motorbike. No not two motorbikes, only one. Yes, Pastor Kibet and myself plus the driver were on the bike.  AH yes you can do math and yes you are correct, 3 of us on one little motorbike. I was in the middle, therefore I was an OREO!!! It was the highlight of my day to be honest.  Halfway to town the bike stopped working and it needed fuel. Did we stop for fuel? NOOOO We got off and the driver laid the bike down and did something and then he started it again. It was like magic.  All of a sudden it stopped then it started again. Once in town we walked to the place where we were going to get the bulletin copied, but that shop was closed, so we just went to another one where it turned out to be cheaper to copy. YEAH US.... After that we walked on over to Iroko Twigs Hotel for a bite to eat, and then we got another ride on a motorbike, but this time I was with Mike and Pastor Kibet and Jesse went with another fella. 

Once I got home I got the bulletin folded for tomorrow’s service.  See, Lisa isn’t the only one who can do the bulletin. Only mine is in East Africa and is the only one in Kitale that I know of. LOL  (Lisa, I knew it was a lot of work, but I didn’t really realize until I started doing it myself. You, my friend, are amazing to do it every week.!!!!)

Now my biggest worry is getting this bulletin set up on another program so someone from the church can continue it after I leave. This is going to be difficult to get accomplished because I need a book that tells me how to use another program. I’m not as brilliant as Lisa. Not exactly sure how I’m going to do it, but I have a plan. Only plan A, no B is in the works yet. LOL

I was told the nicest thing today. Pastor Kibet told me that he wished I had another younger daughter, so he could marry her and he could be my son. NOW isn’t that the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard?  He’s such a sweet man, I wish I had another daughter so he could marry him. But alas I only am blessed with one lovely daughter and she is now 30 years young. 

What I LIKE

What I like

March 30

There are some things here in Kenya that I like, I mean I just plain ole like em. 

1. The  weather here in Kitale is awesome. I couldn’t ask for better weather even with the rain and the mud. The weather here is perfect!! 
2. #2. The people here in Kitale. Now not everyone has been warm and receptive, but the people that I’ve met are wonderful, warm, and caring folks. You can’t go wrong with people like that. 
3. #3 The area around Kitale. This area is rolling hills, with farms and communities. It reminds me of the Stafford area in Portland, but just not with the big expensive houses. 
4. #4. The schools that I’ve been in.  These are great schools. The teachers are dedicated to the art of teaching and I believe they all want to be the best teacher they possibly can be. 
5. #5. The students here are wonderful.  They are not perfect by any means, but they teach me something everyday.  For the most part they all work hard to achieve good marks, and they ask some of the best questions I’ve ever heard. The best one by far was, “Do you think God is pleased with you because you love your dog?” Great question!! OH I answered YES, I do. 
6. #6. AIC Church Naisambu. Love this church. Love the Pastor. Love the people. Can’t say more than that!!!

Town

Town

March 29

I went into town to pick up a HP printer cartridge for the church’s printer. I need to get some things printed and I figured the least I could do is pick up a cartridge of black ink.  

Sometimes it’s really hard getting people to listen to me. I had to push my argument with Pastor Kibet about not getting the old cartridge refilled. I asked him if he knew for certain what was in the filler ink? He didn’t know, so I told him that it’s a very good chance that it’s not all ink and that can ruin the printer, and then does the church have the money to buy a new printer? Then he wanted to print the bulletin everyweek on this little printer. So then I asked him what would be the cost of the ink to print the bulletin’s compared to having the bulletin photocopied. AND because we know the owner of the photocopier maybe we can get a good discount on the copying. Then compare the different costs and go with the lesser one. See to me this just makes sense, but here in Kenya they don’t always think that way.  It’s crazy

Then I can’t believe how people here on the farm are treated. I’ve heard yelling and just plain ole not talking nice to the workers, what the heck is up with that? I mean, come on now. If you are a Christian, is that the way you should treat people? How would Jesus treat people. Did He berate them, and tell them they are dirty and not good for anything? NO, Jesus never did anything like that. It’s just not right what goes on here, and yet I don’t know if I can say anything to Alice or not. 

Last night Alice was going on and on about how her children bless her with things. She told me that the tile in the house, curtains, locks, toilets, sinks, etc were all bought by her kids and this is God’s way of blessing her. She asked me if this happens in the U.S. I told her no it doesn’t, not like she explained. Our kids do other stuff for us. After that I kept my mouth shut. Personally I think she was bragging about what her kids do for her, knowing that I only have one daughter who is recently married. I don’t expect Robi and Drew to buy me stuff for my house. OH PLEASE! I want them to set up their own home, where they will laugh, love, and grow old together. That’s what I want from my daughter and son-in-law. I want them to love each other with abandon for the rest of their lives, and I’ll be totally happy with them and for them. That’s how God will Bless me, not by material things. I want what really counts in life. Besides if I call my kids and say, “hey I need some help with ...” they’ll come and help me with whatever it is. That is more important than buying crap. SHEEESSSHHHH

Sorry I had to vent!! 

Safari time

Safari Time

March 28

Found out today that I’m going on a safari. Well, not really a safari, more alone the lines of seeing the sights. I get to go to Lake Bagoria, Mombasa, and Maasai Mara. Maasai Mara is a National park where we’ll be able to see Elephants, lions, leopards, chetahs, buffalo, rhino’s, hippo’s and a ton of other animals. I’m excited!! Then I looked into Mombasa and I’m hoping we go into the old town and see what it’s like, and then there’s a place where hand made crafts are made and can be purchased. 

At Maasai Mara I’m hoping to get lots of photos of as many animals as I possible can. OH and a sunset or two.  I’m looking forward to get out of Kitale for a bit. This town doesn’t have a lot to offer in terms of entertainment, and right now I could use some entertainment! The only form of entertainment here is the TV and like always Alice is talking during the program and I can’t hear a bloody thing. UGG!! Oh well such is life here in Kenya.

BuckyBeaver in Kenya

Bucky Beaver in Kenya

Tonight I went to a neighbors house to visit an old woman. I never did get her name, but she is Dena’s mom. Now Dena’s Mom is 96 years old, and she has one front tooth that sticks out past the rest and you see it when her mouth is closed. She was born here in Kenya and when she was younger she babysat for whites that lived here in Kenya. Now the whites were most likely British since during that time in Kenya, Kenya was a colony of the British Empire. Anyway, Dena’s Mom was so funny. She kept asking the same questions over and over again. To me it’s obvious that she’s on the verge of allsheimers. (I know I spelled it wrong, but I can’t find it on this dictionary on my computer) Here in Kenya the family takes care of their aging parents. Dena’s Mom was pretty much shocked to find out that I live basically alone (except for Vee who lives with me). She didn’t understand why my daughter didn’t give me her daughter to live with me so I wouldn’t be alone. Then she didn’t understand why I didn’t have cows, chickens, and a farm so I can stay busy.  She wanted to know why my daughter didn’t care for me, and I had to explain that in America not all family members live together. Well Dena’s Mom didn’t like that idea. She told me again that my daughter needs to give me her daughter so that I won’t be alone in my house. It was kinda funny cause she keep repeating herself asking who I was etc, and then we went through the whole question and answer thing again. Then she asked me if I had a wife.  YES a WIFE.  She thought I was a man, and then a few seconds later she was talking to me as another woman. Who knows where her mind was, but I must say she was funny.

Cricket in my shoe

Cricket in my Shoe

March 27

I was getting ready to head out to school the other day. Now my shoes aren’t in the house unless they have just been cleaned. No one wears shoes in the house here, we mostly go barefoot inside. So I was on the front porch getting ready to put my shoes on. Now for some reason I decided to shake my shoes to make sure there wasn’t a beetle in them.  Well, no beetle, but a cricket came out and jumped away. At first I was startled a little, and then I laughed cause how often in life do we have a Cricket in My Shoe.

The other day I was home alone, well not really Ednah was home but she was in the other house watching some stupid Nigerian movie on the tele. Anyway, I went down to my bedroom got what I needed and came back towards the dinning room. Well, low and behold there is a cockroach skittering down the hall. What do I do? Get a shoe and smash it? Nope.  Run away screaming in terror? ME? screaming in terror? Hardly! What I do is create a brand new game for everyone to play. I call it “Kick the Cockroach”.  What fun it is too!  You kick the cockroach down the hall and see how long it takes to kill it!  It’s quite fun and entertaining to boot! HEY what can I say, this town is pretty much dead when it comes to entertainment. A girl has got to keep her mind occupied least we go insane. lol

OH and I swat at the flies on a hourly basis as well. I use my fan that I bought in Liberia, and it works really well for the purpose of killing flippin’ flies.  Ednah told me that there is a wasp here that if it stings you, you will sleep for 2 days.  So far I have not experienced this and I’m praying that I don’t either.