Happy Birthday Max!

This morning at sunrise we had 13 boys come to our home for a celebration! Today is Max’s 11th birthday and we planned a breakfast party. Because no one wants to travel after dark we thought it was a wise idea to start the day with a party.

The party actually started last night when Max’s friend, Isaac, stayed over night. Isaac lives an hour bus ride away so his parents could not make a special trip here so early in the morning.
The boys took part in a scavenger hunt that led them all over campus counting windows, studying the colours of flags, measuring basketball courts.

Then we ate a feast – orange smoothies, fruit salad, angel cake with strawberry sauce, egg and cheese pizza. It was marvelous and delicious.


A special note to all you bakers ...... making Angel food cake from scratch at 6000 feet above sea level requires real skill. I am not bragging but my friends were laughing behind my back when I shared my plans and then were wide-eyed impressed when it was more than one inch tall.

By 8:10 the crew had left for school and I was alone with crumbs all over the floor and an army of ants waiting to get in.

It was then that I received a text message from Cathy (our house helper). I was so glad that she was coming to help me clean up – only she wasn’t. Her text told me about a militia group of Kenyans that were disturbing the city today. It was not safe for her to travel to us. There were vehicles being burned and gangs walking the roads. There was a huge police presence on the streets to quell any mob groups. The matatus (public transportation) stopped running before 8:00am. And so most Kenyans are home today. Unable to get to work, they will wait until it seems to be safe.

This group of outlaws is called the mungiki and has been active in Kenya since 1980s. This week they are protesting a newly released report from the United Nations which calls for the removal of the Police Commissioner and the Attorney General (due to their involvement in killings following last year's post-election violence). While the mungiki's most famous trick is burning matatus, they are also known for scalping people.

I have been reassured that mzungu ("white men") are not targeted in this type of event but it is hard to know when you will be in the wrong place at the wrong time…… All after school activities have been canceled for today. The students at Rosslyn Academy will travel home after school under the cover of prayer.

There is no way to know how long this protest will continue. Maybe a day, maybe a week. But for tonight we will have a quiet evening at home looking at Max’s baby pictures.