Animal Planet in Real Life

a giraffe




lions eating their breakfast, a buffalo





my new desktop picture =) i wish i could post all my elephant pictures, we were so close to them!




so just checked out ryan's blog (kenya mission), & he knows how to put pictures inside his posts. why don't mine do that? hmph. oh computers. oh technology.

i LOVED the safari in Maasai Mara. it was so cool! it was just beautiful - watch The Lion King to get an idea of what it looked like. i think The Lion King was filmed in Maasai Mara. =p tee hee! we saw cheetahs & her babies following her, hyenas, a mama lion with her cubs nursing!!, 3 male lions tearing apart & eating their freshly killed buffalo, tons of giraffes (might be my new favorite, they're so funny), zebras (don't even look real), elephant families, and some elephants fighting (we could hear their tusks hitting each other!). it was so cool!!!

i loved being out in the heat, reminded me of home. =) we stayed in a tent camp, it was actually very nice. even though it was a tent, we had real beds & a real toilet, AND a mirror. i forget about mirrors until i come to nairobi. our shower was just inside the tent with a little wooden floor, but i liked it better than my tumaini shower. it was super hot, & if the wind blew just right, we could see the thousands of stars above us while in the shower, it was too cool. the drive there was neat, there would be nothing but land, some african trees, & animals, and then all the sudden a little Maasai village. the Maasai are a big tribe in Kenya. you know who they are because they wear these bright clothes draped over them, they stand out from miles away. we got to talk to a Maasai, he was very friendly & spoke very good English. he even spoke some Spanish! that was cool. he told us all about how when the men turn 14 or 15, they have to spear a lion & kill it. they keep the mane & wear it on special occasions. wow. he also explained that their wives are bought with cows, about 10 cows to a wife. it was very interesting. some of them choose to pierce their ears, so a lot of them have the giant holes in their earlobes that you may have seen on the Discovery Channel. very gentle people though, talking with the 21 year old Maasai man helped me realize that people are just people, all our cultures are just different. it's not weird, he was perfectly normal. his culture just has different customs & traditions than we do. what i think is interesting, is that some of their houses are made out of cow dung & sticks, but they all still wear those beautiful bright cloths & shiny beaded necklaces. where do they get their beads? fascinating stuff.

oh! we drove to the kenya/tanzania border! so i can sorta say i've been to tanzania. i think i like tanzania. =] once it hits the tanzania border, it becomes "the serengeti." COOL!!!

we also went to a river where we saw more hippos & crocodiles that came from the Nile. the crocs live about 100 years, are up to 3 km long, & only have to eat about 4 times a year. whoa.
our driver packed us a nice lunch: cucumber/tomato/ham sandwich, a passionfruit, slice of pineapple, chips, cookies, & mango juice. at the camp, we were fed VERY well, i was suprised & really impressed. i expected to be sleeping on cots & eating rice & green grams (like peas), but instead we had real beds & fried fish, meatballs, veggies, fruit at every meal, french toast, omelettes...it was great! i think the website for our camp is http://www.mountainrockkenya.org/. or .com. not sure, i tried to get a picture but it's not very read-able.

the trip made me want to come back to Africa & work somewhere that's a little more raw & rugged than where i am now. sometimes at tumaini i feel like i'm in colorado, i felt like i was really in africa on our trip. i guess it's just more of what i pictured though. i remember i'm in africa at tumaini when our water or power don't work for 48 hours. =]

i am so full of joy this week...i don't think it's just because i've been doing a lot of fun stuff. all my delight is in the LORD, so things just fall into place & i am filled with joy. i went for a run on the elliptical here last night, & i was just smiling. haha, hoping nobody was walking by & could see me b/c i was all alone on the elliptical smiling.....i didn't realize i was thirsty for the community i've had here, & i've gotten more excited as i've received vision for how to minister to some of the kids at tumaini. i'm beginning to look forward to discipling the older girls. i'm praying they can feel welcome to talk to me, & that what i try to teach them will plant a firm foundation that will remain after i leave.

time is flying by....

on another note, my entire family - grandparents & cousins included - got food poisoning on christmas day. my whole family in america got sick, & i'm in africa and didn't. go figure. they're better now, hakuna matata, don't worry.

oh ya on the safari, i sang The Lion King songs the whole time. didn't you expect it? "aaaah che vania, kedebe eeeee che la boooo waynia womba...waynia wombaaaa." at least i think that's how it goes. haha, i totally don't know. but i sang it anyway, dontya know bobby.

mmk, gonna try to post some pics. *crossing fingers*

Maasai Mara

I'm back from the safari!  it was beautiful, i loved it!  tons of fun, lots of neat things to see, very african.  

my internet isn't working so i'm borrowing someone's right now...here's a link to some pictures on another girl's blog!  www.web.mac/katietinney/africa.  

=D  

kt

Pictures for my last post

the gift my secret santa gave me - chocolate muffins & african serving spoons!




The purple grits/Peter Pan food

I will post more when I come back from the safari! =)

Christmas in Nairobi

We came to Nairobi for Christmas, it has been so fun! It’s so good to be in community with people who share the same passions as I do. They’re like my family here. =) We had a badminton tournament today, that was fun. Someone told me I looked athletic after one move, that’s pretty cool. =) especially if you know me well…haha! (I’m so not athletic). Then we had a barbeque and bonfire with smores….yummmmyyy…the crackers were graham with chocolate already on one side of them, and the marshmallows were sweeter than they are in the states.

Yesterday for Christmas, the girls all woke up early to do stockings. =) we bought each other normal stocking stuffer things, like tissues, pens, lotion, candy, and someone even gave us a hand towel! I didn’t bring one, I was so excited! We had hot chocolate & waffles with strawberries for breakfast. =)

Then, we all had a Christmas lunch/brunch at 1. Here’s another Africa story. Gary, you might appreciate this story. So I tried to make “pink stuff” as we call it at home, ya know the whipped cream dish with cherries & pineapples? But they don’t have cool whip here, so I whipped my own whipping cream. By hand. Later I found out that some of the girls have an electric mixer. Oh well. So I whipped the cream, and it looked like whipped cream, but it melted in about 10 minutes while I was filling it with the pie filling, sweetened condensed milk, and crushed pineapple. There’s not regular cherry pie filling, but I did find black cherry pie filling. Which turned the mixture purple. So when it melted, it looked like purple milky mixture with some black chunks in it (those were the cherries). So I googled “how to whip whipping cream” which I should have done long before I started putting it together. It said that in order to create a cool whip consistency, add about a cup of sugar; powdered sugar works best because it blends in quickly. So I added a cup of powdered sugar that I had leftover from some chocolates I made (another story). The sugar did not blend in; instead, it looked like that old kids’ toy called “foam,” the less slimey & not as sticky version of gak, remember that? I tried whipping it to make it back into whipped cream, but it was eventually hopeless. In the end, I didn’t serve it at the lunch. I just took my candies & it was okay. There’s a picture on this post, you can decide whether it looks more like purple grits or Peter Pan’s imaginary food from the movie “Hook.” =)

Only in Africa? Probably not. Ask my mom or old roommates about some wacky cooking experiences I’ve had.
Lessons learned?
1) Freeze the whisk & mixing bowl before whipping your whipping cream.
2) Don’t whip whipping cream. Just buy cool whip.
3) Next time, just heat up a can of corn & be done with it.


[real quick, here’s my “other story” about making chocolates. They turned out edible & actually quite yummy. I made “Martha washington’s, a chocolate/coconut/pecan candy. I did the conversions wrong though, & added about 4 times as much powdered sugar as I should’ve. Meaning, I probably put 8 cups of sugar in the mix instead of 2. Oops! Needless to say, they’re very sweet.]
So after our lunch, I can’t remember what I did. But for dinner, some of us went to the SIM Sudan’s house for Christmas dinner. It was verrrry yummy, the perfect Christmas dinner. With mashed potatoes & brown gravy that were EXCELLENT, the best carrots I’ve had in Africa, moist chicken, pumpkin pie, and more! Then we came back to the compound for a secret santa gift exchange. Lindsey asked me a few weeks ago what I wanted for Christmas, & she told my secret santa, who gave them to me! I planned on buying some wooden African serving spoons, so that’s what he got! I told Lindsey, “but I’d just be happy with a pan of muffins and that’s all.” So he baked me chocolate muffins. Mmmm, yes Amanda, they made me think of you. =)

On Christmas Eve, I went shopping and bought a skirt because I want to dress more teacher-like since I’ll be teaching in January. I wore my skirt to the Christmas Eve service we went to at a BEAUTIFUL Anglican cathedral. It was wonderful, there was a choir, candlelight, scripture readings, and an organ. My favorite was the version of The First Noel/Pachelbel’s Canon that the choir sang…it was beautiful. Jesus is so sweet. Do I say that every post? It’s true! He is so sweet, spend time with Him. He’s so sweet.

On the 23rd, we had an outdoor movie night. We watched Muppet Christmas Carol, The Nativity, & The Grinch. Only, I just watched part of the Grinch. I think he’s kinda scary. I really wanted to sing every word to every song on Muppet Christmas Carol, but I refrained, but only a little. =] “tis the season to be jolly and joyous…fa la la!” The Nativity was surprisingly really good. I recommend watching it. It’s the story of Jesus’ birth, but with a lot of history in it, and a lot of it is from Mary & Joseph’s perspective. I like it & was glad we watched it.

On the 22nd, the leaders of SIMPact hosted a Christmas dinner & party. Lasagna, salad, bread, and ice cream sundaes! The games were right up my alley…building a puzzle from the outside in, how many words can you make from “merry Christmas,” (we had 222…thank you Boggle & Wheel of Fortune), stacking Jenga, & writing down as many Christmas carol lines as we could think of – at tumaini, we’ve been teaching the kids Christmas carols for their play. I’ll never sing “hark the herald angels sing” without thinking about how I tried to explain the whole song to kids who don’t entirely speak English. Dorothy & Dwight’s house was decorated all Christmas-y, it made me feel like it was really Christmas. =)

Tomorrow will be a day of rest before we head to Maasai Mara for a safari! We’ll be there 2 nights & 3 days, and will come back the 30th.

I am currently seeking & processing the LORD’s plans for me in missions. I am enjoying working with the kids at Tumaini, but I really want to tell people about Jesus who have never ever heard…the kids are all pretty much believers, which is awesome, I’ll be doing a lot of discipleship & teaching; but, my passions always seem to come back to those who are searching for Truth & don’t know it’s in Jesus yet… so if you’d like to be in prayer with me about that, I would appreciate it! Thank you!

Merry Christmas!!! =)
kt

some December

Pictures worked! the top one is of our Christmas tree in Lindsey's living area that i told you i'd show post, & the second one is lydia, she lives next door to Tumaini, she's absolutely beautiful.

we arrived in Nairobi today for Christmas! i actually wrote this post last week, but the internet at Tumaini hasn't worked in awhile. so here's a little info. and i'll update more later!

there's a new kid on the block! ryan joseph, from texas (yahoo! or, yeehaw!) joined me & lindsey on wednesday. he's from houston, & we know some of the same people from TCU, even though he went to LSU. anyways, he was working in nairobi at a hospital for awhile but wasn't really doing much, so he explored other ministries. tumaini needed a guy, so he's here now! he's kind of like a chef, lindsey & i are very excited. haha! you can read his blog, it's on my list to the right : "kenya mission."

katie, adam, & austin (from north carolina) came to visit last weekend & we traveled to Lake Navaisha & to the Aberdare Mountains...which surround North Kinangop. it was lots of fun! kenya is really pretty. hippos are really scary.

i mean, really scary.

i didn't learn until the day before we left for the lake that hippos are possibly the most dangerous animal on the planet. they charge at people, & eat them. so guess what happened?? our boat got a little to close to someone's baby, & the mama started charging!!! ahhhh!!!

the tumaini kids were sort of sad for us to head to nairobi for Christmas, but they understand. it's good for us to take breaks sometimes, & the SIMpact team here all has Christmas together. it's good to be with familiar people & traditions, & this way we have internet & an oven over the holidays. Christmas isn't quite as big of a deal in Kenya as it is at home. But, on Christmas Day, the church we all go to in Kinangop has a big Christmas Day lunch at Tumaini, so our babies will be taken care of. =)

On my birthday, we will be heading out to Maasai Mara in southern Kenya for a safari! i hope i get to see a simba on my birthday! (lion) we're staying in tents, that should be an experience. it's the most tourist-y safari in kenya though, so don't worry, we'll be safe. and there's standard sized toilets. =]

ok i'll update more later! Merry Christmas!

kt

Faith Like a Child

i'm only posting 2 days in a row because we happen to still have the cable modem in our room, the office hasn't needed it back yet. plus, i wanted to try something new for uploading pictures.

and i had to tell you about these sweet kids again. =)

Every night, the kids either have Fellowship or Cell Groups. For Fellowship, the kids all get together & different ones lead prayer & worship time. It blesses me to see these kids leading one another in prayer or worship, it’s just so sweet. They sincerely love the LORD. I just learned this weekend that Matt’s brother, Steven, has had a relapse of his brain cancer, the tumor came back. I’ve been thinking about him all day, so tonight I asked the kids to pray for him & the Bowen family. I said, “sawa (okay), my friend, Steven, has cancer in his brain, and right now at this same time over in America, he’s starting treatment for it, so will you pray for him?” What they do in prayer is all pray at once but individually (I may have mentioned that in a previous post). They prayed for a few minutes, all of this Tumaini family praying for the same person who they don’t know. After Fellowship, Jackson & Gladys came up to me separately. Jackson said, “katie, don’t worry, steven will be fine.” Gladys said, “katie, nothing is impossible with God. He is a healer.” AWWW! Don’t you just love these kids?? So hakuna matata (don’t worry), Steven, 87 kids in Kenya who understand what it means to suffer have prayed for your strength & healing. =)

This made my heart happy………some ladies at Lindsey’s church in North Carolina made blankets for all the kids, & we received them in the mail today! A giant box! They’re so cute, all fleece with frayed edges, and they each have a heart in the corner that says, “Zaburi 4:8” – Psalm 4:8 – “I will lie down and rest in peace.” They sent a little homemade scrapbook with pictures of the girls in the youth group making all the blankets & sewing on the hearts. We were so excited opening the box of all the blankets, organizing them, taking pictures of them, etc. The kids will get them on Dec.20, the day before Lindsey & I head to Nairobi for Christmas with the rest of the SIMPacter team.

Sho-Sho & Guka arrived today! They’re “Grandma & Grandpa” to the kids here. They live in Germany but will be here until the beginning of January. We had a big dinner with them tonight that “Mom” (Cecilia) cooked…it was the best meal I’ve had in Kenya so far. All traditional foods, but mm! they were so good. The kids are SO excited they’re here. From what I notice so far, Guka tells great stories.

pictures didn't work. =/ they should work in nairobi in a few weeks!

kt

hellen weds michael

Hello! I’ve been here for about a week now…the kids get sweeter every day. They’re teaching me a lot of kikuyu. Each of the little kids has a “caretaker,” who is an older kid. So yesterday on a walk near a stream, Kevin got dirt all over his face somehow, so Joseph, a 14 year old, sweetly walked him down to the stream to help him wash his face off. Joseph might not be his caretaker, but that just shows how sweet these kids are. Or at Fellowship a few nights ago, little 2 ½ year old John fell asleep, and 11 year old Isaac held him while he fell asleep. It was just so sweet. Then I took John so Isaac didn’t have to hold him, and Fellowship lasted for about another 30 minutes, and John happens to be a chunk, a sweet one, but a chunk nonetheless. I’m learning more about what it’s like to be a mother. =]

This weekend was Michael and Hellen’s wedding, two people that go to Glory Assembly Outreach Karima, our church. Right off the bat I got to attend a traditional Kenyan wedding! It was cute. Very different. but then, also sort of the same.

Similarities:
- Bride wears white, bridesmaids match, groom & men all wear suits
- groom waits at the end of the aisle for the bride
- pastor talks about marriage
- there’s a moment of “speak now, or forever hold your peace”
- they make promises like vows
- they give each other rings
- the whole bridal party & family takes pictures after the wedding
- there’s a reception afterwards
- bride & groom feed each other cake
- bride & groom & bridal party have special tables
- they leave for a honeymoon

Differences: (keeping in mind that this is a traditional wedding, some do it differently)
- decorations were all different colors instead of just a few
- anyone & everyone helps decorate the church and cook the food (Lindsey & I made bows)
- to begin the wedding, the bride & bridal party arrive in a decorated car, & the bridal party sings & dances around the car while the bride stays in it. They sing a song to the groom saying they are presenting the bride to him.
- The bridesmaids walk in with the bride, who are traditionally all the women from the groom’s family, to give the bride to the groom.
- “speak now, or forever hold your peace” lasts about 5 minutes long. Or at least it did in this wedding. I think they take it very seriously.
- There’s about 3 different moments of “I do’s”
- They hold up their hands above their heads to exchange rings. The rings were brought out in a music box that played the tune of “fur elise.” (mom, it sounded like the one you have! That piano, ya know?)
- They sign the marriage certificate right there during the wedding.
- They wrap the bride’s train over the groom’s shoulder, that was cute.
- the event lasts all day. We got there a little before 10 am & left around 5 pm. It’s a big celebration!

It was great fun! The food at the reception was traditional Kenyan food. “Mokimo,” which is mashed potatoes mixed with greens & maize, whole potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. They were so sweet, Lindsey & I asked where the beginning of the food line was, & instead, the people wanted to serve us, and they did. It was so sweet. Someone also brought us a Fanta each. Yummyyyy! The walk to the church is about 45 minutes, uphill both ways. =) haha! But actually, it is! Of course there’s a downhill both ways, too. Because of the walk, I wore tennis shoes, but I still wanted to kinda dress up so I wore a skirt & actually put on makeup. I don’t wear much makeup here besides basic face makeup & a little eyeliner. I know, I know, hard to believe. =)

It’s only rained about twice so far, and both times have been at night. So it hasn’t been as muddy as I expected it. It sure is cold though! Luckily, my wool blankets & fuzzy socks are perfect for sleeping at night. I am plenty warm. =)

Lindsey & I are listening to N*SYNC Christmas album right now as I type this. Besides Jim Brickman piano, it’s the only Christmas music I made sure to bring. Oh, let me tell you how adorable it is when the kids sing!!! IT’S ADORABLE! Yesterday on the way home from the wedding, Krista Belle taught me how to sing a hallelujah song in Kikuyu. Of course I can’t remember it now, but I will later I’m sure. We’ve been singing some carols as much as we can with them because they’re first performance of their Christmas play is this Saturday! They have Joy to the World down FOR SURE (fo sho), but Hark the Herald Angels Sing is a little tougher. Strange words I suppose. Teaching them these songs, I think, “what is this word? Hark the Herald? Round yon virgin?” it’s kinda tricky to explain.

Lindsey & I were just talking about how we see God’s presence with us everyday, and she knows when people are praying for her, too! Like we’ll read something from the bible or a book at just the right time, or someone will say something encouraging at the right moment, or a song will just hit our hearts exactly how we need it to, or the kids will do something that remind us why we’re here. It’s awesome. Praise the LORD! Bwana asi fiwe! (that’s praise the LORD in Swahili – sounds like Buena ahsee feeway)

I am definitely in a different culture & starting to miss some familiarities, but it’s still a learning experience right now & I’m enjoying it! We have lots to do this week between the Christmas play & working for G.O.A.! Our friends Katie, Adam, Austin, & Ryan are coming from other places in Kenya to visit us this weekend & see the play! Should be fun!

-kt

i tried to post pics, but it didn't work. =/ maybe next time!

the name "katie" means "sit down" in kikuyu

hiiiiiiiieeeee!!!! i've been writing bits & pieces of things on my computer, so i'm just pasting them on here. if you got my newsletter, some of the same details might be on here. but, some are different. thanks so much for your prayers & comments!!!

aunt donna or aunt linda (can't remember who asked) - i think we are actually 9 hours ahead of you right now. it's 8:48 am here, & it's 11:48 pm there.

patty - thank you, exercise programs will keep her dopamine levels up & hoppin. =D have fun!

The ride up here was absolutely beautiful. I mean I felt like I was looking at a painting. The Great Rift Valley is just magnificent; it’s like looking at the Grand Canyon, only it’s green & there’s farms & villages instead of striped rock and sand. My ears popped during the whole trip. We drove through little African villages, & they really made me feel like I was on a movie set…it’s almost surreal to be here! It sort of reminded me of when you drive the backroads thru Texas instead of taking the highways, & you come across all those little towns that are still old western style….the drive to North Kinangop is kind of like that, only African.


I got to meet some of the kids when I arrived, some came to see Lindsey & meet me. The facilities here really are nice. Tile floors & the same kind of toilet & sink that we use at home. [sidenote: I just saw a bug fly into my suitcase full of clothes. ::sigh:: ] Anyways, I was in a maaajor culture shock for about the first hour or 2, until 3 girls came in to Lindsey’s room (she has a little living area) & we all looked at Lindsey’s pictures & played with stickers & little toys. That simple little hour was the grace I needed to feel like I’m where I need to be. Because honestly, at first I thought “where am I & how did I get here???” haha! This area of Africa is not at all how I pictured it. Yes, I saw Lindsey & Katie’s pictures online (there’s another Katie at another orphanage), but it’s so much greener & more mountainous than I expected. The land here is beautiful, it’s just scenery out of a novel or a movie. AND THE STARS! Oh moly, we’re so high up in elevation that you can see a bajillion stars. The 2 brightest ones were on either side of the moon when I first looked up…it looked like a smiley face in the sky. : ) Kinda like that.

Every night, the kids have “Fellowship.” They all gather in their big room & sing praise songs in Kikuyu & English. One of the teenage girls leads the worship songs, one of the boys (about 10 or 11 years old) sort of facilitated, & different kids in the room lead prayers. So I sng with them as much as I can, Lindsey introduced me & I said a few little words about myself, & then all the kids had prayer time. They all pray out loud to the LORD, individually, but still all at once. What a beautiful sound.

Lindsey has been so helpful! I’m so thankful that she’s been here awhile & can teach me about everything. The first night we cooked meat & rice on a burner someone gave us. We had some cosmic brownie Debbie snacks for dessert while we watched a hallmark Christmas movie & decorated our little Christmas tree. Lindsey’s mom sent her a Christmas package with a little tree & some ornaments & a nativity. It was a good December 1st thing to do.

There is so much “new” for me to learn & process here. I learned to brush my teeth a new way today to use less water. I just might do it that way forever. I liked it. =) My nighttime routine will need to be shortened (and that’s a very good thing) because I walk outside to the sink & it’s really cold here at night. I’ve said before that I could live out of a suitcase if I had to….the next 5 months will either prove me right or wrong. I do have a good sized table in my room & there’s hooks to hang some things! My blankets are very warm, there’s a big thick wool one.

The kids are PRECIOUS....soooo sweet. They're happy to teach me Kikuyu & Kiswahili. I'll include their story later about how Tumaini began. Many of the kids have only been here for about a year. Being somewhere completely new and foreign has made me cling to the LORD for peace. He gives it freely everyday. I should be clinging to Him no matter what, but it's been easier for me to see Him in Africa. Hm. I'm still working on what my role is here, the kids are a lot more self-sufficient than I expected. Right now I'm leading devotions at Fellowship & just loving on kids the rest of the time. When school starts back in January (it's holiday right now), I'll be teaching some.

I had no idea I was such a city girl until I moved to Africa. =)

Pictures may have to wait until I'm in Nairobi again...we're going there for Christmas.

lata!!!!
kt