Swimming Again!

We spent another long day at the pool. Max was competing in a Nairobi Swim Association Meet. There were hundreds of people in a facility with little shade, 2 toilets, and no running water. It was not pleasant. However, we consoled ourselves by remembering that we were not sitting in a cold hockey rink for the day......

Max had a very good day! He received 2 medals: silver in 100m Individual Medley (combination of fly, back, breast, free); and bronze in 100m back stroke. He also missed a bronze in the 100m Freestyle by 12 hundredths of a second. He swam his personal best in all 4 races, broke two Rosslyn school records, and qualified for "AA" meets.

We were also surprised not to have sunburns after a day in the full African sun. We are glad that they make SPF 70! Really!

The "local" broom

"If it's in East Africa you can get it in Nairobi". We have heard this phrase many times. It means that you can buy almost anything you want here in Nairobi. The city imports items from all over the world (and especially from China). You may pay a hefty price for it however. Therefore, we make choices for which items we are willing to spend a ridiculous amount of money -- $12 for a box of Corn Flakes, for example.

The custodians and gardeners on campus have made such a choice concerning brooms. The plastic brooms sold at Nakumatt are somewhat high-priced. Because of the dryness of the land and the roughness of the concrete, an imported broom will quickly look like this.

Therefore the Kenyans prefer to use the "local" broom. Each gardener carries a stick of bamboo to work. Bamboo is preferred because the termites will not eat bamboo. On the way to work the gardener will gather leaves from a tree that have the texture for the work to do that day. Sometimes it is cedar, sometimes acacia, sometimes dried sticks.This morning Sammy was sweeping the courtyard of the Elementary Library. Here are the brooms that Timothy, and William were using today.












When they heard I was taking photos everyone wanted to get in on the fun! On the left is Meshack trimming the upper campus hedge with clippers. On the right is James trimming our hedge with a "local" panga (like a machete).

A Gift from Timothy

Last October I bought two large clay pots for our patio. I transplanted a large fern in one and could not find what I wanted for the other so it sat empty since then.

While I was away in Canada, Timothy our gardener planted the other pot as a gift to me. I just learned today the story behind this beautiful plant.

Some years ago Timothy and a man who owns a roadside nursery, became friends when a large hedge burned down – long story. This man owed Timothy a favour. So over the Christmas holiday, Timothy took a matatu to the other side of the city and asked the man to give him a special plant for my pot. He specifically asked for something with red leaves because that is my favourite. Timothy then carried the plant on his head back across town and transplanted it into my pot on the patio.

I am thrilled with this beautiful plant and also very touched that Timothy would go to such trouble to surprise me.

Let It Snow

We just returned from 3 weeks in Nova Scotia! What a special time of being with family and friends. It was beautiful to see the white landscape and to experience the Maritime climate. We were privileged to have a blizzard, an ice storm, a rain shower, and a glorious sunny afternoon. The boys made a beautiful snowman, went coasting and played in snow caves.
We spent most of our time with our families in Bridgewater. Of course Christmas and New Year's celebrations included our favourite foods (lobster, turkey, Chinese Take-Out, peanut buttter balls, candy cane ice-cream, cranberry sauce). We watched movies, played games, shopped, and got hair cuts.


We were hosted in Truro by the Schrock family – the Hosts with the Mosts! The boys enjoyed their 3 night sleepover with Kellan and we enjoyed eating so many wonderful meals (including a winter BBQ and Captain Crunch)!

Max and Simon had a skating party with their classmates from Douglas Street Elementary. It was a fun time and a good chance to tell friends about their African adventure. The boys were excited to see how their friends had changed in 6 months and to hear about their school adventures.



We even had our annual Yankee swap party! The venue was different but the crazy gifts and laughter were just the same!

Thank you to the many people who listened to our stories of the Kenyan people and offered words of encouragement and tangible gifts for our new friends. We are glad to be back here where God has called us, but we already miss you all!