News from Kenya

Below is a copy of the most recent email I've received from Greg and Lisa, I hope this will bless you. Please remember to pray for them , especially for rain, and to support them financially as the Lord leads you! If you know anyone who wants a very good condition Buick Regal - not sure of the year, but fairly new, OR a convertible 1968 Oldsmobile 442, in fire engine red, let them know they will be supporting African orphans by purchasing one, or both, of Greg and Lisa's cars. Enjoy the news from Kenya.
Amanda

Lisa writes:
"We were able to meet our neighbors who sold the land for the house. Be sure to read the news letter to see the gift we were presented. It is a mother, her two daughters and a daughter in law, two teenage sons and 5 little grandchildren. (Not sure about husbands, they might be working, or it is not uncommon for the couples to live separately) They are very friendly, and the communication is pretty good. We will invite them to our home for a meal and visit once we get moved into our home. We keep praying that our cars will sell so we can finish our home. There will be so many opportunities to invite people who are willing to come to our house.
Fridays at 3:00 we do game time with the children in school. They have a soccer ball, Net ball (girls, like basketball except it is all passing, too rough to dribble) and volleyball. We brought two Frisbees with us. Those are a great hit! We taught 250 kids and several adults how to throw and catch. They love it! They had never seen one. This week we saved the big grocery boxes that Franklin started bringing home; They are the heavy duty kind that are a bottom and a lid. We cut a hole in the top of each one and used a strip of cloth on each side to go over their shoulders, put them on over their heads so that the box is at waist level, and told them they are a race car. Much fun running around the teacher and back five at a time in a race. The boys really got into the motor sounds (imagine that!) Greg even used the Sharpie to put headlights, taillights, and numbers on the side. We promised to do it again next Friday.

Sandy brought bead supplies with her and they love the beads. They all have pierced ears, that has been a great activity with them, and several have a real knack for beadwork. We usually make some jewelry after Tue. Afternoon ladies study.
We have officially started Swahili lessons. There is no q or x in the Swahili. But words do have combinations of mbw, nzu, ng’u, (at the beginning ) and other tongue twisters. Now that we have knowledge of the vowels, Swahili is easier to spell and pronounce an unknown word than English. The vowels only sound like themselves and don’t combine to make new sounds. A as in ball, E as in long a, I as in long e, O is long o, and U as in Boo. The children love to sit with the school readers and help with the words, they are good little teachers. And of course it is hysterical when we mispronounce.

We have welcomed 2 new babies. One couple that we didn’t previously know. That is baby Lennox. And Andrew and Maureen , had baby Edison. Andrew is on the crew that is roofing our house. There is an official welcoming with a reading and prayer for the parents and baby. Then a week later is the official coming out of the baby. More prayer, this time with little triangular shaped donut type goodies and tea with milk, (chai).Last week they asked me to be the official “take out “mama. Edison really squinted and threw his head around when the sunshine hit his face. Fredrick chuckled and said “Well, this is the way the world looks!”

It is supposed to be the rainy season, but the rains have not started. It is very dry and hot. We are praying for the rain, there will be no crops without it.
Today(Saturday) was Appreciation Day for Anderson and Lydia. Sandy and I were invited. It was really nice to be included. There were about 15 women. They brought gifts for them and had prayers and a little sermonette. Lots of visiting and LOTS of singing. We are beginning to pick up the choruses. The lunch was a dish called pilau. It is rice with beans, or chicken. It is a seasoning that is called pilau. So Saturday lunch was pilau with chicken, supper was pilau with beans (the usual Sat eve meal) and Sunday lunch was pilau with beans for Edisons coming out party. Good thing we like pilau! ( I began this paragraph Sat evening and now it is Monday evening) Sandy and I walked to Andersons on Sat morning. The youngest son is Brian. He is about 3 (he is all that and a bag of chips!) Lydia sent him behind the kitchen to take his bath before the company arrived. (The kitchens are small buildings detached from the “house” which is mostly used for sleeping. The living is done outside under the shade trees) So we watched this whole process. He had a bucket of water to bathe in, splashing around like a bird in a spring puddle, singing at the top of his lungs and dancing. Brian was born with dancing in his bones; he always walks with a wiggle, a beat, a hippity hop, and is a very good drum player. He is #7 of 8 children, the family’s’ entertainment, always with a huge smile, he is just adorable. So we were watching, out of the corner of our eye because he didn’t need any encouragement from us. One more detail, he was naked as a jaybird-except for the flip-flops and sunglasses! Makes us laugh just to think about it!

Today was our day off. We needed a few things from M*****. We start with our very organized American list. Shops begin to open at about 10:00, close at around 12:00-12:30 until 2:00-2:30 for lunch and prayers. Last week we were at Kenya Airways to take care of tickets. This is one of the most professional businesses in town. Three agents behind the desk. Even air conditioned (even 90 feels cool). So we were the first in the office-time to fire up the computers-apparently if no one has been in yet, there is no need. Believe it or not, they were not working right! Unplug, replug, plug into a different monitor, unplug, apologize, start the process over. (Its air conditioned, makes the waiting a little more tolerable). We did finally get it taken care of (two weeks ago the computers never did start up). Usually about 11:30 we start to divide and conquer if we can, it’s not unusual for a clerk to follow us into the street trying to find change for a bill. Last week we went to a “hardware store.”It is a shop about the size of a class room. The opening (about ¼ the size of the shop) has numerous items wired to the wall to show some things available, The rest of it is behind a wire wall with a counter. Four clerks are back there with one price book. There is a good selection on the walls (none of which can be accessed) all of the prices have to be looked up-in the one- yes- one-book by four men waiting on about 10 customers. There are no polite American lines; the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Each item is carried to you for examination, put back on the wall, the next thing brought over (“can we try the next size?, do you have one longer?, do you have one smaller?”) all separate trips, all interrupted by someone. Then there is the checkout process. The sales slip is written up, given to you for approval, taken back by the clerk, taken to the Mzee (older gentleman) who is seated behind a desk, given to him to be checked (this time with an adding machine) then the clerk takes your money, hands it to the Mzee, who is the ONLY one with access to a cash box, the change brought back and given to you, by a polite clerk who acts like the change is on fire! Whew! Greg was fantasizing about opening his own store; of course it was self serve with lines! Very efficient! There are a couple of newer grocery and Dollar General type stores that have opened. A little easier, not Wal-mart (which I typically avoided as long as possible in the states) but we are adjusting! So about 11:45 we realize we are only about 1/3 through the list, and there is no way we are going to get done, well organized list or not. So we are beginning to develop the African attitude of “well, maybe next time”. I will have to tell you about Sandy’s trip to the Dr in the next email. Shopping is fun and interesting if I have no expectations. Oh yes and I will have to tell you about the man we met in the Hardware Store.

Well I have written this in about six sessions, sorry if it sounds a bit disjointed. This living room is grand central, and our schedule is hectic. Now it is 6:45 Tue. Morning. I stopped typing last night to help Steven (a high school student with some homework). It was his class, he was totally lost, didn’t know how to use a concordance, which he needed to look up all of the information with. Then a visitor, then a counseling session, supper, shower, team meeting, bed. Now we are starting a new day!

Something I’ve been wondering-is it possible for a human being to mold behind the ears?
Well this is some day to day activities, the more spiritual side of our lives will follow shortly in the newsletter. If you have time, email us back with some news from home! We miss everyone, pray for you and talk of you often.

John and Sandy say hello!

Love Greg and Lisa

Please pray for rain"