just writing really quick to let you know i'm still in Africa! haha! i haven't had time to write a long blog lately...
i'm teaching class 6 & 7 english, 7 science, & 6 computers.
i was here by myself last week while ryan & lindsey traveled to visit some friends on the coast; it was a good time to be alone with the LORD.
here's some prayer requests...thanks for your prayers SO MUCH!!! i felt lifted up last week, i wasn't going on my own strength, it was awesome. thank you!
- communication among the Tumaini staff
- team unity
- pray that satan wouldn't discourage us, and that'd lindsey & i would be reminded that God has placed us here specifically (thanks for the encouragement from everyone by the way!!!)
- meaningful conversations with the kids and teaching staff
- that i would keep in mind that i'm here for the glory of the LORD! it's easy to focus on tasks, but i want to remember that i am here as a Light
- that i have wisdom to know where to apply to school districts. i know it seems early to think about it, but with limited internet, i don't want to apply to 4 or 5 districts, applications take sooo long.
thank you thank you thank you!!!!
we have a spiritual life conference next week, feb. 5-8. =) ryan goes back to texas next week, we're going to miss him!
k bye! =)
kt
1.27.2009
1.18.2009
School Days & Kibera
Hello! I forgot to mention in my last post that I visited a church in Nairobi with my friends, and we took communion; the whole congregation (about 50 or 60 people) stood in a big circle, and on my left was a woman from India, and on my right was a man from The Congo. And I was from America. But we were all in Kenya. It was so cool.
I am back at Tumaini now; the kids have a new schedule. They’re in school until 5 pm, have about 1 hour of free time & have a schedule to follow until bedtime. I’m praying for wisdom on how to go about meeting with the girls to begin discipleship…I don’t know what to do. They have school on Saturdays until lunch time, and study time for 3 ½ hours on Sundays. There’s a new girl here, a Kenyan, whose job is to be here for the girls as a counselor and guide. She will be really helpful I think. =)
Since the kids have school on Saturday, there’s not really a weekend. So tonight, Lindsey & I are making hot chocolate and watching Gilmore Girls dvd’s to have our weekend time. =)
I started teaching this week, mostly classes 5, 6, & 7 because they understand English better. Here are some notes about the school here…
- There’s a different schedule everyday.
- 10:20-11:00 AM – all staff and students have a “porridge break” (surprisingly, I like it!)
- 1:00-2:00 PM – lunch
- 3:30-5:00 PM – games/music/drama/studying (all the teachers participate in the outdoor exercise & games…)
- Planning is not as big of a deal, things are much more laid back & flexible. So, I don’t really know what I’m teaching tomorrow. And everyday when I get into class with another teacher, I don’t really know what I’m teaching.
- Learning is mostly auditory because of lack of materials. Most of the teaching follows exactly what the Teacher’s handbook reads.
- Students are very well-behaved.
- To teach the digestive system, the teacher related some parts to “you know when you slaughter a hen, and you find the…” It’s true that people learn better when something’s relevant.
- Teachers switch classrooms in between classes, not the students; it’s opposite in America – the kids are the ones who change classrooms.
- Because teachers don’t have their own classrooms, they don’t do any cleaning/re-organizing/setting up at the end of the day unlike in America. They also share all their materials.
- When a student wants to answer something, he raises his hand and snaps repeatedly, saying “Teachah! Teachah!”
- Teachers only record grades at the end of every month. We’ll give grades all the time, but nothing is recorded until the end of the month – in America, we do this daily.
- Saturday school is a normal thing.
There’s a lot of differences, it’s really interesting. I take notes whenever I can just so I’ll remember. There’s a lot more day-to-day pressure on teachers in America I’m realizing. Today after school, one of the kids said, “Teachah katie, give me 5 minutes & I’ll teach you Kiswahili.” So on my journal, he wrote a bunch of words that I would use inside the classroom, in Kiswahili! Things like “do you understand?” book, pen, desk, please, “what does this mean?” etc. isn’t that sweet?
Kibera
Last week in Nairobi I spent a day touring Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi (and largest in the world). I went with one of the SIM staff members who lives there & 2 girls that were visiting Kenya (one worked in Nairobi for a year). It was about a 20 minute walk to get to Kibera from where I stay, not very far at all. The staff member took us first to his house where his wife had chai tea, popcorn, & bread with butter prepared for us. =) She said we needed energy to walk through Kibera. They live closer to the beginning of Kibera, which looks just like a miniature town. While we were walking, he said, “Katie, don’t be shocked. This is their way of life, where they’ve grown up, & they love it here. This is their home.” He was talking about the community of Kibera. I think because he said that, I wasn’t very shocked, I was just prepared. It’s kind of hard to describe. You know how some places in America have houses or lofts all connected? Like in the Northeast or in California? Well, just about every house in Kibera is connected, but the walls may not be cement; they may be used tin. After seeing the villages in Maasai Mara, this didn’t seem too bad. Some Maasai build their homes out of cow dung & sticks. The closer to the major road, the nicer the houses were (with cement walls). It really is a little miniature town…like, looks miniature. The streets are narrow and lined with little dukas (shops).
After our first stop at his house, we went to a school where one of the girls with me used to teach. She said the improvement at the school was unbelievable. They were adding a 2 story building of about 4-6 classrooms, & the kids had desks instead of big rocks to work on. When I say school, I mean 3 rooms with chalkboards & a little dirt yard in the middle. It was exciting being there during construction. Next we walked for about 30-40 minutes. The views from the hills in Kibera are amazing, overlooking either more of Kibera or more of Nairobi. Houses look like they’re stacked sideways instead of on top of each other, does that make sense? There is nowhere for trash to go, so for a lot of the time, we just walked on trash. Next we visited a school that had a library! It was the first day of school, but most of the kids didn’t go. Our friend informed us that that’s typical at that school on the first day…very different from home! Then we walked on for about 5 minutes & came to Joyspring, a school that’s run & funded by a church in Nairobi. About 300-400 students attend, there are 3 little school buildings (one is 2-story), and the entire school is on property a little smaller than the typical Chik-Fil-A building. 3 of the teachers didn’t show up on the first day of school, so my friend there said the headmaster & his wife (the secretary) were a little stressed. Matatu prices (taxi) were raised right after the holidays by at least 1000 ksh (shillings), so a lot of people were stuck up-country and couldn’t come back yet. Also, some teachers were “stolen” by another school…I’m not sure why, I imagine because of better pay? Lindsey & I joke that sometimes we might be on another planet because some things are just so different. Not in a bad way, just, super different. Even though Kibera is a slum, for some reason I wasn’t as “shocked” as I imagined I would be. It wasn’t that bad, just lots of trash & very small homes, schools, and shops. It did make me sad to see kids walking around the slums without shoes, though.
You can read Ryan’s thoughts on Kibera on his blog (on the right of my page…Kenya Mission). He has a picture. My computer is being suuuper slow…I have a feeling it’s because it’s 5 years old…=/ it’s makin’ me nervous! So I’m not uploading any pictures until I delete some things. I’m praying it lasts until I get home!
Most of what I’ve learned about African culture is just about the opposite of American culture. Thus, I am still adjusting to living somewhere completely different. I am missing Fort Worth lately...=/ I’m still enjoying learning here, but the differences can be overwhelming sometimes; I think since school started, it opened up a whole realm of “new.” It was almost like culture shock all over again. And so, that’s why I’m missing Fort Worth lately. Instead of the newness being super exciting, it’s a whole lot to process because school here is so different from in America. It’s so neat though, I can tell people are praying for me. Really!!! I wake up with joy in the mornings, or I receive sweet text messages from other SIMPacters. Today I got a call from Matt! He told me his brother’s tumor is shrinking! The second thing Jackson asked me when I got back to Nairobi last weekend was, “Katie, how is your friend, Steven?” so I’m excited to tell him that the doctors are calling Steven’s progress a miracle!!!
If you go to the Ft. Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, eat a funnel cake for me. =]
Super long post, thank you for your prayers sooooo much!!!! Bless you!!! =)
I am back at Tumaini now; the kids have a new schedule. They’re in school until 5 pm, have about 1 hour of free time & have a schedule to follow until bedtime. I’m praying for wisdom on how to go about meeting with the girls to begin discipleship…I don’t know what to do. They have school on Saturdays until lunch time, and study time for 3 ½ hours on Sundays. There’s a new girl here, a Kenyan, whose job is to be here for the girls as a counselor and guide. She will be really helpful I think. =)
Since the kids have school on Saturday, there’s not really a weekend. So tonight, Lindsey & I are making hot chocolate and watching Gilmore Girls dvd’s to have our weekend time. =)
I started teaching this week, mostly classes 5, 6, & 7 because they understand English better. Here are some notes about the school here…
- There’s a different schedule everyday.
- 10:20-11:00 AM – all staff and students have a “porridge break” (surprisingly, I like it!)
- 1:00-2:00 PM – lunch
- 3:30-5:00 PM – games/music/drama/studying (all the teachers participate in the outdoor exercise & games…)
- Planning is not as big of a deal, things are much more laid back & flexible. So, I don’t really know what I’m teaching tomorrow. And everyday when I get into class with another teacher, I don’t really know what I’m teaching.
- Learning is mostly auditory because of lack of materials. Most of the teaching follows exactly what the Teacher’s handbook reads.
- Students are very well-behaved.
- To teach the digestive system, the teacher related some parts to “you know when you slaughter a hen, and you find the…” It’s true that people learn better when something’s relevant.
- Teachers switch classrooms in between classes, not the students; it’s opposite in America – the kids are the ones who change classrooms.
- Because teachers don’t have their own classrooms, they don’t do any cleaning/re-organizing/setting up at the end of the day unlike in America. They also share all their materials.
- When a student wants to answer something, he raises his hand and snaps repeatedly, saying “Teachah! Teachah!”
- Teachers only record grades at the end of every month. We’ll give grades all the time, but nothing is recorded until the end of the month – in America, we do this daily.
- Saturday school is a normal thing.
There’s a lot of differences, it’s really interesting. I take notes whenever I can just so I’ll remember. There’s a lot more day-to-day pressure on teachers in America I’m realizing. Today after school, one of the kids said, “Teachah katie, give me 5 minutes & I’ll teach you Kiswahili.” So on my journal, he wrote a bunch of words that I would use inside the classroom, in Kiswahili! Things like “do you understand?” book, pen, desk, please, “what does this mean?” etc. isn’t that sweet?
Kibera
Last week in Nairobi I spent a day touring Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi (and largest in the world). I went with one of the SIM staff members who lives there & 2 girls that were visiting Kenya (one worked in Nairobi for a year). It was about a 20 minute walk to get to Kibera from where I stay, not very far at all. The staff member took us first to his house where his wife had chai tea, popcorn, & bread with butter prepared for us. =) She said we needed energy to walk through Kibera. They live closer to the beginning of Kibera, which looks just like a miniature town. While we were walking, he said, “Katie, don’t be shocked. This is their way of life, where they’ve grown up, & they love it here. This is their home.” He was talking about the community of Kibera. I think because he said that, I wasn’t very shocked, I was just prepared. It’s kind of hard to describe. You know how some places in America have houses or lofts all connected? Like in the Northeast or in California? Well, just about every house in Kibera is connected, but the walls may not be cement; they may be used tin. After seeing the villages in Maasai Mara, this didn’t seem too bad. Some Maasai build their homes out of cow dung & sticks. The closer to the major road, the nicer the houses were (with cement walls). It really is a little miniature town…like, looks miniature. The streets are narrow and lined with little dukas (shops).
After our first stop at his house, we went to a school where one of the girls with me used to teach. She said the improvement at the school was unbelievable. They were adding a 2 story building of about 4-6 classrooms, & the kids had desks instead of big rocks to work on. When I say school, I mean 3 rooms with chalkboards & a little dirt yard in the middle. It was exciting being there during construction. Next we walked for about 30-40 minutes. The views from the hills in Kibera are amazing, overlooking either more of Kibera or more of Nairobi. Houses look like they’re stacked sideways instead of on top of each other, does that make sense? There is nowhere for trash to go, so for a lot of the time, we just walked on trash. Next we visited a school that had a library! It was the first day of school, but most of the kids didn’t go. Our friend informed us that that’s typical at that school on the first day…very different from home! Then we walked on for about 5 minutes & came to Joyspring, a school that’s run & funded by a church in Nairobi. About 300-400 students attend, there are 3 little school buildings (one is 2-story), and the entire school is on property a little smaller than the typical Chik-Fil-A building. 3 of the teachers didn’t show up on the first day of school, so my friend there said the headmaster & his wife (the secretary) were a little stressed. Matatu prices (taxi) were raised right after the holidays by at least 1000 ksh (shillings), so a lot of people were stuck up-country and couldn’t come back yet. Also, some teachers were “stolen” by another school…I’m not sure why, I imagine because of better pay? Lindsey & I joke that sometimes we might be on another planet because some things are just so different. Not in a bad way, just, super different. Even though Kibera is a slum, for some reason I wasn’t as “shocked” as I imagined I would be. It wasn’t that bad, just lots of trash & very small homes, schools, and shops. It did make me sad to see kids walking around the slums without shoes, though.
You can read Ryan’s thoughts on Kibera on his blog (on the right of my page…Kenya Mission). He has a picture. My computer is being suuuper slow…I have a feeling it’s because it’s 5 years old…=/ it’s makin’ me nervous! So I’m not uploading any pictures until I delete some things. I’m praying it lasts until I get home!
Most of what I’ve learned about African culture is just about the opposite of American culture. Thus, I am still adjusting to living somewhere completely different. I am missing Fort Worth lately...=/ I’m still enjoying learning here, but the differences can be overwhelming sometimes; I think since school started, it opened up a whole realm of “new.” It was almost like culture shock all over again. And so, that’s why I’m missing Fort Worth lately. Instead of the newness being super exciting, it’s a whole lot to process because school here is so different from in America. It’s so neat though, I can tell people are praying for me. Really!!! I wake up with joy in the mornings, or I receive sweet text messages from other SIMPacters. Today I got a call from Matt! He told me his brother’s tumor is shrinking! The second thing Jackson asked me when I got back to Nairobi last weekend was, “Katie, how is your friend, Steven?” so I’m excited to tell him that the doctors are calling Steven’s progress a miracle!!!
If you go to the Ft. Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, eat a funnel cake for me. =]
Super long post, thank you for your prayers sooooo much!!!! Bless you!!! =)
1.07.2009
World on Fire
I can't copy & paste right now for some reason, but I recommend watching "World on Fire" by Sarah Mclachlan on YouTube.
A lot has been going on since my last post! I am still in Nairobi. =) Lindsey & Ryan went back to Tumaini last Friday, but I stayed for a conference that's Wednesday through Friday; it's on Islamic traditions, beliefs & practices, it's fascinating.
The past week has been wonderful. The LORD is "pulling my heart strings" I guess you could say; He is faithful in saying "when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me." I want to do so much more. Now that I'm actually walking on this land, I want my feet to go to the places that need The Savior, and I want my hands to literally be the touch of Christ for people. There is so much freedom in Christ, I wish I could just joyfully shout that, and people would know it & believe it & receive it right away.
The SIM Sudan team was here this week for a conference, too, so I've spent a lot of time with them this week. I'm so thankful to have crossed paths with them!! My roommate was a doctor there, and her stories & pictures were amazing. I was a little sad to see them leave actually, but as soon as they did, I felt the LORD's grace kick in, & I was motivated & challenged & ready to go back to Tumaini and serve.
I will head back to Tumaini this Saturday, and I begin teaching Class 6 English Composition on Monday. They have a Kenyan teacher, but we are splitting the class because he carries some other duties in the school. I got to read my students' last essays they wrote, & it sure was fun editing those! haha! I actually really enjoy editing papers....I can't remember if I mentioned that a few posts ago. Plus, you really get to know people when you read what they've written.
I am also hoping to start discipling the teenage girls within the first 2 weeks! I found a book in the SIM Kenya library here that will help me plan & is full of scripture, & I'm bringing them pens & journals. Please pray that the girls would be motivated & committed to learning more about the LORD. They have lots to do during the week (homework, soccer, etc.), but I want them to know more about the heights & depths of our Savior!
Thank you x1000 for your prayers!!! Here are some things you can pray for specifically:
- unity among our little 3 person team
- effective communication within our team, between us & the staff, within the staff, and between us & the kids
- guidance in lesson planning since I don't have much access to materials or internet (any writing topic suggestions are appreciated!)
- wisdom in understanding what the LORD has planned for my future...there are other ministries I would like to visit while I'm here & I need to sort those out!
Thank you so much!
On another note, I may have re-developed an allergy to gluten. ::sigh:: Good thing the diet at tumaini is mostly rice, cabbage, carrots, & beans! No gluten there! it's already gotten better since I cut back on wheat products. I've been eating a lot of chinese food & peanut butter. but I have been eating bread sometimes...so I don't think it's siliac, just a little wheat allergy that I've had before. hakuna matata, no worries.
Here's some things I've been up to in case you wondered:
shopping - i've been looking for cushy sandals that i can teach in, and after 3 weeks, i found a pair that fits & is cushy & a little stylish for only 129 ksh ($1.60). playing apples to apples with funny people. saw "the day the earth stood still" with popcorn, kitkat, & coke for only 400 ksh ($5) - lame movie, i don't recommend it. eating peanut butter. eating peanut butter on bananas. eating peanut butter on apples. eating peanut butter on rice cakes. (shrimp on a stick, shrimp sandwiches, shrimp platters...). learning the dance to "we're all in this together" from high school musical. i mean, wait, what? we didn't do that, psch. sure. 23 year olds? nah.
...............
=]
coming soon on katiegoestokenya....
....my trip to the kibera slums, home to 1.5 million people & 2/3 of Nairobi's population.
12.31.2008
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*
12.30.2008
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
12.27.2008
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! =)
12.26.2008
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
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
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