Amen and Amen!!

We have been attending a local church on Sunday mornings called Karura Community Chapel. It is a non-denominational fellowship with a Kenyan Leadership Team of 3 pastors, 8 lay person staff, and a congregation of Kenyans and ex-patriots. Kenya is a Christian nation. The church here is very active in social justice issues. In the midst of the post-election violence in January, the churches were vital in bringing stability to the nation and in providing food and shelter to the thousands of displaced people.

It is a 25 minute walk for us to reach the church site. The main service takes place in a large tent, and a series of shipping containers have been converted to classrooms for the children’s programs. There is a second tent for the teen service and a Swahili service. The main tent seats about 400 people and the platform at front is always decorated with huge bouquets of flowers (at least 4 bouquets with 150 rose blooms each).



The service resembles a contemporary Canadian worship service in many respects. There is always a worship leader and band that sings hymns and choruses that we are familiar with. Today’s music included rock, hip-hop, and rap. There was also a youth drama team. Like our Canadian churches they use the PowerPoint projection system for the worship and teaching time. Technology is good for African churches because it means that they are able to avoid the costs of hymn books.

Karura is a very active church and in its 10 years of operation has planted two other churches. Activities announced today included upcoming men’s breakfast, marriage retreat (which includes salsa dancing), and Mizizi class (“spiritual roots”). Karura and other local churches have a vision of empowering youth by linking sports with social, physical, and sustainable community development activities. The KYSA group will work on capacity building, environmental stewardship, and character development. The kickoff event was a soccer tournament and 550 young people came to play! The website for Karura Community Chapel is www.karuracc.or.ke

Kleenex and Coca Cola

Some people have been asking about the products that are available to us here. You might be surprised to learn that many of the same products you purchase in Canada, we can purchase here. But we don’t, because they are too expensive!

We do buy KLEENEX tissues and toilet paper, although it is much rougher than the Kleenex brand you might use! We have been fortunate to find HEINZ ketchup – some things we do not sacrifice and it does taste just like home.

We can also buy CADBURY chocolate items, but these taste nothing like the Cadbury at home. Simon likes the hot chocolate and I have become fond of the Bournville bars.

The baking supplies are a bit of a challenge. There is “home baking flour” which is white, but there is also “Atta mark 1 flour” which is a combination of wheat flour, sooji, pollard, and fine bran. It is very nice in pizza dough, muffins, pancakes.

COCA COLA is available here – but no Pepsi! There are a few cans but everyone buys their pop in 300 mL glass bottles. The boys think this is a real treat! It costs 17 shillings per bottle which is 25 cents Canadian. However, the Coca Cola light (diet Coke) is 40 shillings (60 cents) per bottle.

WEETABIX has become a staple in our family as it is for most. I know it is expensive in Canada, too, but I paid 462 shillings this week (7 dollars)! It is very important to get a good amount of fibre on a daily basis in order to keep diarrhea under control. We were all sick for 10 days a few weeks after we arrived and the doctor prescribed Weetabix. It worked like a charm! Kelloggs CORN FLAKES is also available here – Tim paid $10.60 for this box!
The names that you may not be familiar with are BROOKSIDE milk, BIO yogurt, HAPPY COW cheese, PICK’N’PEEL juice, MUMMIAS sugar, HEAT spices. I purchase EGGS fromone of the school receptionists who has a little hobby farm. I pay 250 shillings for a flat of 30 brown eggs complete with feathers and other goo. The interesting thing is that the egg yolks are white not yellow (Cadbury Easter Cream Eggs wouldn’t make sense to Kenyans). Eggs are also stored at room temperature (even in the grocery stores) and have no expiry dates!

Swim Team !

Last week Max and Simon tried out for the school Swim Team. I have never seen them swim so fast or so well. There were 40 students that tried out in their age category and it was sad to see many that did not make the team. But Max and Simon are thrilled that both have made it!! This means that, starting today, they have 2 practices a week after school.

The coach of the swim team is Suzanne Mwaura. She is a former member and coach of the Kenyan National Swim Team and was recruited by Rosslyn Academy last January. She seems very nice and reports are that she is an excellent teacher. She also teaches swimming in the school Phys Ed classes. Tim has volunteered to help with the Swim Team because he is not involved in any other extra-curricular activity right now.

The pool is beautiful. It is 25 metre long with 6 lanes. There is a large change room and shower building and a kiddie wading pool for the toddlers on campus. The water is not chlorinated – it is salt water. There are several pool staff that work every day to keep it clean. On weekends the pool is open for families and staff to swim and play. Because the weather is cool, sometimes we are the only family in the pool! We have become friends with the lifeguard, George. We have learned that most Kenyans living in Nairobi do not know how to swim.

Our Backyard

As I write this I am sitting on our back deck looking out over the VALLEY behind our house. It is a magnificent backyard! The view is covered in lush vegetation and beautiful BANANA TREES capture my attention. Tim and the boys love to look across the valley at the “ROCKET PALM”. We have been told that things grow very quickly here in Kenya and even in the month since our arrival, we can see how the plants have grown and filled out. Because this is winter many of the trees do not have flowers yet. Gradually we are being surprised by the appearance of new colours. For example, it looks like our back hedge will be covered in tiny ORANGE BLOOMS. The famous flame trees are not yet in bloom but there are other large trees covered in RED, PURPLE, and WHITE BLOOMS.

There is a small CREEK (called Karura Creek) that runs behind our house and borders the edge of the Rosslyn campus. We can’t see the water from our deck but have been assured that any variety of creepy crawlies can be found there (snakes, for example). We also saw what we believe to be a MONGOOSE, near the edge of the creek (it really looked like a 3 foot rat with a 3 foot tail).

On Saturday morning while we ate breakfast we were delighted to watch three MONKEYS in the trees behind our house. Apparently there are lots of them near our house but we had never seen them before – probably because we didn’t know where or how to look. They swing in the trees and then make a dash for the MAIZE (corn) that is planted near our hedge. They are very frightened of people so we have to be very quiet while we are watching -- sometimes hard to do when they are swinging so wildly!

We also have many BIRDS flying around our heads. Just now I see four IBIS sitting in the tree. They are a cross between a crow and a vulture. Really. And there are many of them making noise all over the place. There are also tiny little birds called WEAVERS. They hang upside down and the male builds the nest (woven of course) to attract a female. If the female likes the nest then she will stay; if not, then she knocks it out of the tree. We see many of these nests lying on the ground. There are also pretty birds which our gardener, Timothy, calls QUIET PEOPLE fluttering around the yard. They are black and white, very clean and silent. They especially enjoyed being near while Timothy was working in our garden because they got some nice worms. Timothy works for us two days a week.
Here is a picture of our garden before and after TIMOTHY, THE GARDENER. He and I are looking forward to planting some new things. He transplanted the roses and made a beautiful rose garden for me. The only part of our backyard that I am not fond of is the SLUGS. Each morning there are a few crawling near the plants. They are at least 6 inches long. Really. Yuck. Timothy enjoys throwing them down into the valley and I enjoy watching him do it.