Carrie in Africa

New Ride

2006-06-06T22:53:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Nairobi was mostly successful. We got our new ride,a 1991 Toyota Land Cruiser, but did not get our work permits. However, the work permits should be ready in 3 weeks…we’ll see about that. We are so excited about our new car though! What a relief to finally have a car that we can all fit in, has shocks, brakes, etc…and is a 4x4 =) YAY!

It's been a while...

2006-06-03T00:56:00.000-07:00

I know, I know…it’s been forever since I’ve posted, sorry. We’ve been very busy, and sick this past month, so haven’t had a chance to write.

The first thing that kept us busy was that we had guests from Zimbabwe, Herbert and his son Oregonstaying with us for a month. Herbert is a friend through a Northwest Church member, and they are trying to assist him in moving out of Zimbabwe because the living situation has become so bad there. He is a headmaster so he came to help out at the primary school located on the Children’s Home property by advising them on their financial reporting system and overall school administration.

Then about 2 weeks ago, all four of us, and Herbert came down with malaria! Fortunately, Greg & I caught ours before the symptoms became too bad, but Kelly & Alita came down with it pretty bad. But we are all healed now and now are just trying to play catch up from the time we missed from work.

Greg and I just returned from another successful trip to Kisumu. We just love those guys down there so much, and they do such a great work for the orphans in their community.CRF is now supporting 177orphans in Kisumu, that’s so awesome! We had the opportunity to also help hand out the monthly food the CRF kids receive, so that was fun. But the best part was being able to witness 7 of the kids from the Lakeside Orphanage get baptized. Praise God!
We are heading to Nairobi again tomorrow to hopefully finalize our work permits, and pick up our new Land Cruiser. We are so excited to be getting a bigger and more reliable vehicle! Some missionary friends are moving to Tanzania and have offered to sell us their 1992 Land Cruiser for a great price. I will write more when we return to give you a full update on our trip.

By the way…today is Greg’s birthday. Happy Birthday 26th Birthday Greg!!!

EASTER

2006-04-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE =)

We had a great day with the kids today. We went to the home early and shared our American tradition of coloring eggs with the kids.They loved it! During church we hid them, and had the Easter egg hunt when church was over.We had a great time, and I hope everyone’s Easter was as blessed as ours. After we church we headed out to one of our local friends college graduation party.The Miana’s have become good friends of ours, and it was an honor to be invited to such a significant event. They have dubbed themselves our African parents, so we’ve got some peep’s looking out for us☺

Uganda Girls

2006-04-07T23:26:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful weekend of being completely sick with malaria…we had 2 of our friends from the Mbale, Uganda team come and visit us for the week. This was great because they also helped us do a major cleaning project. Thank you Jamie & Rebecca!!! On the Children’s Home compound there were 2 storerooms that were basically housing garbage.So we pulled our latex gloves on, and threw the garbage out.I love these kinds of projects, throwing away junk just brings a smile to my face. Now that all of the garbage is out, our next task will be to put new doors and windows on, and put them to proper use storing tools on one side, and food on the other.

Of course I had to show our guests around Kitale (I think I missed my calling as a tour guide), so I took them to Capt. Davies to feed the giraffes, and up to the caves on Mt. Elgon. As per usual for me, the car died on our way, but Kelly came to the rescue and showed me what the problem was and how to fix it if it happened again. It’s a good thing he showed me too, because I had to fix it about 8 times that day. We made it safe and sound to both destinations, and the girls loved it. Check out this picture inside the cave...yep, those are bat eyes. Creepy.

I also wanted to give an update on our newly renovated kitchen. It is such an amazing transformation! The kitchen staff will be able to move into the new facilities next week. They are so excited!I think the pictures speak for themselves, but basically we gave them a new stove, and re-did the whole building, inside and out.

Nairobi

2006-03-15T21:32:00.000-08:00

Our team made our first trip to Nairobi this past week. We went to check on our work permits, but unfortunately, they were not finished. Our intention was also to purchase either a washer and dryer, or a couch while we were there too, so Kelly and I drove the pickup truck, and Alita and Greg took the bus. We were very fortunate to find a great deal on a used washer and dyer, so we are very thankful for that with the rainy season beginning this month.
Of course Kelly and I couldn’t just drive straight to Nairobi…we just had to take advantage of the opportunity to stop and visit Lake Nakuru on the way. Lake Nakuru is most famous for the 1 million pink flamingos that live there, but we also saw zebra, giraffe, water buffalo, antelope, baboons, and my favorite, rhinos! By far this was the best game viewing experience we have had so far.
The first part of our trip we had the privilege to stay with long time friends of my parents, Larry and Judy Niemeyer. Larry was actually the best man in my parents wedding. This was really great for me to spend time with these friends that I have heard so much about during my life. We had a great time getting to know them, and they were very helpful with getting us to the places we needed to go to accomplish all of our errands. One night they took us to a restaurant called Carnivores, which is famous for their all you can eat BBQ of wild game. However, due to recent laws for animal conservation, the only exotic meat they served was ostrich and alligator. The food was excellent, but although I am by no means a vegetarian, my body is not used to eating sooooo much meat, and I had a stomachache after that experience.
Nairobi is very much like being in the states. It’s a large city with skyscrapers, movie theaters, malls, and coffee shops. So as I’m sure most of you can imagine, I was VERY excited about having my latte everydayJ. After running all of our errands – going to the US Embassy, getting vaccinations, checking on our work permits, and shopping for furniture, we spent our free time drinking coffee, watching movies, eating good food, and even went bowling (I lost).
The second half of our trip we stayed with Jamie and Ginger Swift, who work with Good News Productions. Again this was a great time getting to know them and their 3 daughters. While visiting Jamie at Good News, we met the first Christian hip-hop band in Kenya, Cubanotics. Good News is helping them with their CD and publicity, so they were there for a photo shoot. When Jamie learned that I had a nice Canon camera with me, he nominated me to be the photographer. This was so fun! The guys in the band were super nice, and have such a passion to reach the youth of Kenya through their music. It was a real treat to spend the afternoon with these guys.
On our way home, we made it about 20 miles away from home and then our truck died…of course, could Kelly and I really take a trip without incident or adventure? I think not, that would be way too boring. Although a car breaking down sounds bad, we had fun with it. One thing you have to understand about Africa is that everyone is very friendly and helpful, especially if you’re white. We had a crowd of about 30 kids within minutes, and several guys assisting in trying to repair the car. So while they guys tried to fix the car, I took pictures of the kids with my digital camera, showing them the instant photo, which they loved. The older guys said those kids wouldn’t sleep that night because they were so excited about seeing and talking to the white people, hilarious. I’m glad I could make their day. The repair was unsuccessful, but Greg came to the rescue with our faithful Daihatsu and towed us home. The problem turned out to be something with our new battery (only 2 months old) and the alarm, we are still waiting to hear the final diagnosis, but we should have it repaired and back by this weekend.

Renovations

2006-02-17T00:29:00.000-08:00

Renovations at the home have been moving right along. Over the past two weeks we’ve begun, and almost completed three projects – a new road, roof, and stove. We are so excited that God has provided the resources to complete these projects before the rainy season begins next month. Here are some pictures of the progress so far.

Another Monday Adventure

2006-02-13T23:54:00.000-08:00

Not sure why this always happens to us, but for some reason every time Kelly and I go somewhere together, some type of “adventure” follows us. We decided to head up north and check out the South Turkana National Reserve. After you pass through the Cherangani Hills, you leave the lush tropical climate of Kitale behind, and enter into the dry, desolate desert.After about 2.5 hours of driving on the bumpy roads of Kenya, we finally reached our destination only to find out that the elephants we were trying to see had migrated due to the drought. We were disappointed, but not discouraged. We were determined to make our trip worthwhile. We decided to head farther into the park in search for some hot springs. I know this seems ironic due to the heat, but it was a destination, so we were going for it. The game warden had warned us that we would need a 4x4 to get there, but we decided to see how far we could get anyway. We made it about 4 miles before the truck got stuck in the sand…ooops, guess we should of listened to the game warden. Fortunately, Kelly and I love these types of situations, and found the whole thing pretty funny, and were not bothered by the circumstances at all. Kelly, my hero, spent about 2 hours trying to get us out before we decided to walk back and face the game warden.Fortunately, he didn’t rub in the fact that he told us we needed a 4x4 too much. The soldiers stationed there hopped into their truck, pulled us out, and we were on our way in about 30 minutes. After getting completely hot, dirty, & sweaty dealing with the truck, we decided to take a dip in the river on the way home.This experience made the whole trip worthwhile. The water was just cool enough to be refreshing, but warm enough to make swimming for a while tolerable. The perfect end to a fantastic day!

Hiking Mt. Elgon

2006-02-07T05:34:00.000-08:00

For those of you that don’t know, Kitale is located at about 6200 ft elevation, near the base of Mt. Elgon. We’ve been here in Kitale over 3 months now, with the peak of Elgon beckoning us on a daily basis. So on our day off yesterday, Kelly & I decided it was finally the day to conquer.It took us about 2 hours on extremely bumpy dirt roads to make it to the end of the road near the top, then we spent about 3 hours hiking around the top and exploring the amazing rock formations we found up there.There are several high points to Mt. Elgon, and we realized once up there, that we were not on the actual peak, but that just leaves us something to do next time☺ (nooooo, we did not get lost!).

Alone Again

2006-02-02T03:13:00.000-08:00

We have returned from Uganda, and have said our final goodbyes to the Jones’. It was so great to have them here with us, and we are sad to see go. While we visited them in Uganda we had an opportunity to take them to see some of the local sights around Mbale. Here we are on top of Mt. Wanali looking over the town of Mbale.We also took them hiking at Sipi Falls where we had a great time exploring the falls and surrounding areas. Kelly & Greg even took a dip in the freezing cold water under the waterfall!
We had an interesting time getting across the border this time. Some Ugandan officials killed a Kenyan trucker this past weekend, so the Kenyan truckers went on strike and clogged the main border so no cars could get through. On our way to Uganda we had to go up to a smaller border, which meant driving for about 3 hours on extremely bumpy dirt roads in our 1984 Daihatsu without shocks…good times☺, we all needed a chiropractor after that trip! Then on the way home it was still very congested, but since we did have our wonderful Daihatsu (which is a 4x4), we were able to get through because of the excellent driving skills of my favorite driver in all of Kenya, Kelly.

The Jones' Come to Kitale

2006-01-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

It has been a very busy couple of weeks around here. Starting last Monday, Kelly & I begun our journey to Uganda to pick up Milt & Barbie Jones. On our way we made a stop at the Nile River again so Kelly could do a quick river kayak lesson, then we headed to Kampala where we spent the night with extended team members. We picked up the Jones’ first thing Wednesday morning, then headed back to Mbale to spend the night with the Tyler’s. Then the next day drove all the way to Kisumu to visit the Ring Road Orphan Day School which Northwest Church and CRF sponsor. The primary school kids at Northwest had raised money to buy new mosquito nets for all the kids there, so that was super fun to see them receive their new nets.We spent 2 days down there visiting our two projects and spending time with the guys that run them. Of course, we also had to take them out on Lake Victoria to see the hippos too.
We then came back to Kitale where we were joined by Shawn and Linda Tyler. This was our first time for visitors, and we had a great time hosting them, and showing them around our new home. We spent time at the Children’s home updating our files and meeting with the current home parents to discuss their needs.We also spent a lot of time in meetings with Milt & Shawn to have all our questions answered from the past four months being here. We have a lot of work to do, and it was great to have the opportunity to discuss our plan with the two of them. I think we are now in a much better position to move forward on some of the projects at the home, and get some more kids sponsored.
Milt and Greg had an unexpected meeting while they were at the District Hospital buying mosquito nets the other day. While they were there they talked with a women who informed them that we could open up our own HIV/AIDS clinic through the Ministry of Health with a program called Voluntary Counseling & Testing Centers. Since the government funds these clinics, they offer free testing, counseling, & drugs! We would have to go through about a months worth of training, but once that is complete, we would be free to open our own clinic. We are all very excited about this possibility, so please be in prayer about this as we meet with them next week to discuss the possibility more, as well as, for funding to pay for the training and clinic set up.
Before Milt & Barbie left we wanted to show them around the surrounding area a bit, so we took them up to Mt. Elgon to see the caves up there that have been carved out my elephants in the past searching for sodium.It was a great day of fun and relaxation in God’s beautiful creation. On the way down we also stopped by the small game park here in town (the one I wrote about before) where we had fun feeding giraffe’s and observing the other animals there.
Milt had to return to Uganda to teach a class at the theology school they run in Mbale, so we took them to the border yesterday to meet up with Shawn. We will go back to Uganda on Sunday to spend a few more days with them before they return home. It has been such a blessing to see them, it will be sad to see them go.

End of the Year Wrap Up

2006-01-27T10:18:00.000-08:00

It’s been a very busy past couple of weeks around here, I apologize for such a long break between posts. Christmas was really great at the Children’s Home. We were able to get a new outfit for each of the kids that live at the home, dresses for the girls, and jeans and a shirt for the boys.
We got a bunch of foodstuffs and supplies for the kids that live outside of the home. We were also able to buy all new dishes and kitchen supplies for the home. God blessed us so much with money for Christmas gifts it was actually quite an effort to spend it all. Every time we thought we were going to spend it all, there was still money left over, and we had to think of more things to buy (which wasn’t too hard because the needs at the home are great).
After celebrating in Kenya with the kids, we headed over to Uganda to spend the holidays with our extended team in Mbale. Of course, all of us have been homesick being away at Christmas, so it was great to celebrate at the home of the Tyler’s where they had a tree and everything. They are such a great family, and good friends. They made us feel like we were at our home away from home. The whole Mbale team celebrated Christmas together by having a BBQ, gift exchange, games, & movies. It was a fun day, but did feel more like a Fourth of July picnic than Christmas. A few days after Christmas we headed to Jinja where we stayed with more extended team members. This was a great opportunity to get to know the team there, and have some fun too. Jinja is located at the source of the Nile River,so we saw that, and had the opportunity to go river rafting as well. This was super fun! However, I did learn something new about myself, and that is that I absolutely hate the “I’m going to drown” feeling. Perhaps I almost drowned as a child, or was dunked one too many times at the water park, not sure…but whatever it was, it led me to decide to spend most of the day in the “safety boat” which just means it still went down all the rapids, but made an effort to not flip, where the other boats would purposely go down the really big rapids, and ultimately flip in the process. It was still a really fun day, but I was a little bummed to learn that about myself. However, I am definitely going to make an effort to get over this fear. Another great thing about Jinja is there is an espresso bar AND a Mexican restaurant there! Two main staples in my life which have been missing since we’ve been here☺
After a few days in Jinja, we headed back to Mbale where we worked on Children’s Home issues and new orphan implementation process with Shawn the CRF team there. We rung in the New Year with a party at the Tyler’s, which was very low key, but fun. Then New Year’s Day we headed back home to finish moving into our new house.It is so great to finally be moved in and totally unpacked! And of course, the guys are just loving having their own place finally! We still have much to do and buy to make our home complete, but we are finally feeling like we actually live here now.

Back Tracking...

2006-01-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

I wanted to back track a bit and post some pictures from the training and work we did while Uganda the first month we were here. These first two are from our TASO field training. I was helping distribute foods to TASO cliets through USAID Food program.

Capt. Davies

2006-01-27T10:08:00.000-08:00

Today Kelly & I went to an animal sanctuary located just outside of Kitale. We had a great time, and saw rhino’s, antelope, zebra, giraffe’s, & ostrich. Most of the animals were free roaming, except the rhino & ostrich, I guess they’re just a little too dangerous☺. Here are a few photos of what we saw.