Chickens on a Matatu

So matatus are my main mode of transportation (aside from my feet!) Matatus are the size of a mini-van that drive along specific routs (like a bus) and hold officially hold 14 passengers (but I’ve never been in a mat that had less then 20!). Matatus are affordable, mass transportation in Nairobi- we have buses (especially in the city) but out where I live you are either walking or catching a mat. So I was taking the matatu to a neighboring town to go to the vegetable market where I buy my veggies every Wednesday and Saturday. I bought my fruit and veggies (and for all you who know me well, aren’t you impressed that I actually BUY and EAT vegetables!!!) and caught another matatu home. We were driving for a while before I noticed something different. I was sharing the matatu with not only 18 or so passengers, but 3 live chickens as well! They were just kind of shoved under the seats. Gotta love it!

A slight amendment...

A slight amendment to my previous post. I guess Nairobi flies CAN fly. I only know this because one was flying (well FALLing is more like it) into my lap, and that one had wings. Hadn’t seen any with wings before. Learn something new everyday!

Invasion of the Nairobi Flies!!!!!!

So it's not quite as bad as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" or anything, but still!!! Ok, so Nairobi Flies are these teeny, tiny bugs (that incidentally don't fly) but come out during the wet seasons to wreak havoc on all. They are really little, and don't buzz or make noise or anything. They don't spin annoying webs or get into your food. They just kind of crawl around. What's makes them so bad you ask? They are kind of like a bee, in that in order to defend themselves, they have to die. They are sneaky these flies- when you squash them they secrete this acid that blisters and burns you. They are about the size of an ant, so thats what makes them so sneaky- you think you are just brushing off an ant, but really you just spread burning acid down your arm. I, thankfully have not had any acidic experiences yet- but friends tell me that these little guys get into your clothes or crawl on you when you are asleep and defenseless.

I tried to take a picture of this stealthy bug- but mine didn't turn out too well (these are TINY little guys) so I'm cheating and borrowing an encyclopedia pic. So here is the little menace- doesn't look too scary, huh? These little guys are seriously something out of a Sci-Fi movie or something!

Just Some Random Things About Life in Kenya

Ok, so I realized that all the posts I put on here for the past 2 weeks have been pretty serious. Things in Kenya are still very serious, but I figured you all needed to see some of the lighter things too. Life in Kenya continues on. We are all concerned about what will happen here, but we continue to live too.

So here are some of the random things I’ve seen or done in the past few weeks:

This may be one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while. “Tena” in Kiswahili means “again” or "repeat". So why on earth would a company name and market toilet paper called Tena in Kenya? I’m all about recycling and everything, but this is a little more earth-friendly then I want to be!

I just found this candy bar “Trixy”. It’s supposed to be kind of like a Twix bar- but I really only like it because it makes me think of Golum in the Lord of the Rings “trixy hobbitis”. It really doesn’t taste like a Twix bar at all. And the wrapper is somewhat deceptive as to the amount of “caramel” actually included in the product. I haven’t really found any yet. But it does have chocolate on it!

I’ve had several more Safari Ant encounters recently. Hope you like these pictures, they came at great peril. I had to sacrifice my feet to a few safari ant bites to get them! (I moved off the path to take the pictures, but I didn’t realize that I stood right in a huge pile of them. At least they didn’t get up my pant legs! That’s the worst!)

And here are some of my kids:

So keep praying for Kenya, but I am really glad that I’m here. I’m sad for the country, and concerned about its people, but I’m glad I’m here, experiencing this with them. The good and the bad.

Back to the Grind- well sort of...

So some things are slowly getting back to normal here. My school opened this week and I was able to go into Nairobi for church on Sunday. But other things are far from normal. So many people are homeless- either their homes were destroyed in the chaos, or they have been forced out of their homes and areas. There are 2 different refugee camps in walking distance from my house- 2 different camps for 2 different ethnic groups.

We were able to contact a lot of the families that we work with in Nairobi- their houses are still standing, but food is a major concern. All of the shops around them have been destroyed, so even if they had money to buy food- there isn’t anywhere to buy it. So now we are working out how to feed these families.

Here is the break down of casualties during all of this:
250,000+ internally displaced people (but we are hearing rumors of figures as high as 600,000)
5000 Kenyans as refugees in other countries
600 dead

Please continue to pray for Kenya. Tensions are still high and there are many things that need to be resolved before Kenya can even start to rebuild.

Kenya's National Anthem

O God of all creation
Bless this our land and nation
Justice be our shield and defender
May we dwell in unity
Peace and liberty

Plenty be found within our borders.

So keep praying for Kenya. Things have quieted some around the country, but tensions are still high.

Pray for Kenya

Things are still pretty intense here. The reports I’m hearing haven’t changed much in the past few days. We are all still just staying put for now since it’s still safe where I am living.

The front page headline on all national newspapers was “Save Our Beloved Country”.

Please pray for Kenya. Pray for wisdom. Pray for all the people who are displaced (BBC is reporting figures somewhere around 70,000 internally displaced people). Pray for some type of conclusion to all of this violence.