Flip Flops for Foreign Friends

One of Tracy's good friends, Colby, from Lorena had a birthday party and requested that guests bring new flip flops instead of gifts.  He boxed them up and sent them to Tracy so she could pass them out to people in Kenya who needed shoes.  We went to the IDP camp in December to try to pass them out.  We didn't get them all given away there because the crowds of people were so great that we couldn't even get the shoes to the people who needed them the most.  We were able to go again a few weeks later.  This time we took two people who work at the hospital with AIDS patients.  They took us to their client's homes which are some of the neediest people.  We were blessed by the time we spent with them.  They were some of the most gracious and loving people in spite of the conditions they live in.  We were always invited into their homes to sit and talk for awhile.  It is nice to sit and visit and just get to know people from all walks of life.  We are thankful that God has allowed us to be in Kenya and hope and pray that He can use us in some small way to bring glory to Him.  Here are a few pictures from the shoe distribution.

We took a picture sent from Colby to show the kids who their "hero" was that sent them new shoes.  They thought he was really cool because he is wearing a football uniform!

Putting new shoes on their feet

This is what most of the shoes looked like if they even had shoes.

Inside one of the UN (United Nations) tents at the IDP (internally displaced people) camp.  It was small but still they had a board set up as a couch so that they could have friends over to visit

Outside the tent with the family

Another family that got new shoes

Another family that got new shoes

This little guy got spider man flip flops and a Flash Gordon doll.  He was so happy.  (Linda's Dad sends small stuffed animals and toys periodically and this Flash Gordon was one of them.  It's amazing how something so small to us is treasured by the kids in Kenya)

I love this picture.  These kids were jumping up and down because they had some new shoes.  Their faces show so much joy!

Early Morning Football!!

You gotta love it! Watching the Texas v Texas A&M football game at 4:30 am on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Nothing like eating chili and drinking coffee at 4:30 in the morning. Nice hair everyone!

Kijabe Town Primary School Field Trip

You may remember us talking about the Kijabe Town Primary School. This is a school located about 20 minutes from us in a remote village. The children in the school were not getting fed at the beginning of the school year and we soon got involved in helping feed them. Thank you to all of you who have helped us in that endeavor. Philip has been taking the Moffat Bible students to Kijabe Town since October. We have gotten to know the Standard 6 (6th grade) teacher and his family. Right before we flew back to Texas in the end of March, Joseph, the Standard 6 teacher, told us that the students wanted to go with us to the airport to see us off because they have never been to the airport or to Nairobi at all. Many had not even left Kijabe Town. We decided that we should take these kids on a field trip to Nairobi. The date was set for July 31st and the planning began. We were to visit the airport, animal orphange, KICC building (tallest building in Nairobi) and a museum. So last Friday we woke up very early (it's school break for our kids so their enthusiasm was lacking) and headed to Kijabe Town. We rushed as usual only to get there and wait about 30 minutes for the other bus to arrive from Mai Maihu. This is what happens just about everytime we go somewhere. We rush and rush and arrive on time only to wait! I'm sure that if we were to decide to get somewhere when we got there and not worry about being on time, we would miss something or someone would have to wait on us. We just can't get over our Western mentality of being time oriented. It just isn't like that here. So when the second bus arrived, we all gathered around and said a prayer asking God for safety on the roads and thanking Him for the opportunity that He had granted us. Kenyans cannot believe that we can't pray in our schools because it is very much a part of their lives everywhere not just where it is deemed appropriate. I think they have that part right!

Waiting on the bus


We made it down the bumpy dirt road to Mai Maihu where we stopped and picked up sodas and loaves of bread. These items were for the kids lunches. They got a room temparature soda, a loaf of bread, a banana and a sausage. The saddest part to me was watching some of the students put their loaf of bread in their bag or purse to take home to their family. It made me realize what I take for granted everyday.

Lunch!

The students had a wonderful time in Nairobi and thanked us many times for the field trip. I'm still sure that we got more out of our time with them than they did on the field trip.

Petting a cheetah. What you don't see is the four other cheetahs being distracted by about 5 employees of the Animal Orphanage. About 30 seconds after this photo was taken, one of the employees threw a ball and this cheetah sped away so fast we didn't know what had happened. We quickly went right out the gate. Quite an experience!

Kijabe Town Primary School Standard 6 Class !

Christmas Pagent in Stonetown

Since there was no Christmas Pagaent for us to go to on Christmas Eve and no Church service either, we decided that we could do our own production in our hotel room on Christmas Eve. Here are the results below. It really was a precious pagent!

The Angel of the Lord! She is bold that's for sure!


Elizabeth AND Mary

Zechariah

The angel of the Lord appears before Zechariah

A speechless Zechariah and someone who wants to know what Zechariah is trying to say.

Zechariah and Elizabeth

The angel Gabriel appears before Mary

Joseph and Mary riding a donkey to Bethlehem

Wise man visiting Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus

The cast and crew of the production!

Around Stonetown

Here are a few pictures from around Stonetown on the island of Zanzibar.

This is the church we went to on the 23rd of December for Christmas Caroling.

This is a chamber where many slaves were kept during the slave trading days of Zanzibar. It was very small and hot.


This is a huge stingray. It took us awhile before we could even figure out what it was. I've never seen something like this!


Another view of the stingray

The entrance to the fish market. You learn really quickly how to breathe through your mouth!

If you want a loaf of fresh bread this is where you get it!

Zanzibar is also called the Spice Island. There were spices everywhere for purchase. The spices from Zanzibar are so flavorful that a smaller amount is needed in recipes. We learned this the hard way when I made chili and used the amount of chili powder called for in the recipe. It was so hot we could hardly eat it.

Colorful kikoys/kangas (wraps) and scarfs were plentiful!

These are the streets in Stonetown. It was easy to get turned around and go down the same street several times before you found where you were going.

This was our favorite place to eat. It was an Italian Ice Cream parlor that served good lunches and suppers as well. I think we ate there about 6 times.

Zanzibar is famous for it's doors. The doors used to be a symbol of the wealth of the owner of the house. We were amazed at the size and detail of the doors.

We had been walking for a long time when we found this nice Indian restaurant. It was so nice to find a somewhat cool place to sit down. The girl in the blue shirt is Julie a friend of ours from ABO, her mother is in the maroon shirt and Ryan Dahlman is in the corner by Tracy.

You can buy frest octopus and squid at the fish market. Again, mouth breathing is in order here.

This is a place called Forodoni. It is an outside eating area. There are lots of tables in this alley way and you just walk around, find something good to eat and dig in. It was really good and much cheaper than eating at a restaurant.

Forodoni again

Forodoni - Emily holding a huge banana! They made amazing banana/chocolate pizza.

Another look at the food at Forodoni

Forodoni

A fish waiting to be processed at the fish market

Boat building - They actually make the boats right here. This is the type of boat that we took to the island.

Another fish on the way to the market

The market from across the street

This is where we got a great cup of coffee one morning. The blue bucket on the left is where they wash to cups between customers. They just dip it in and fill it up for the next customer!

Another look at the streets of Zanzibar