Showers: something to not be taken for granted...

It's our "turn" to be at the house in Nakuru for a break. After a Missionary Fellowship dinner at someone's house last night, the four of us spent the night at the house. Then, after dropping Jake and I off in the middle of town, they headed back to Gilgil. We're staying here until tomorrow or Saturday; we haven't decided yet. 

So, we walked around Nakuru. We tried to find some sandals for me, since mine are full of thorn holes and are very thin... but we have yet to find sandals that are 'larger.' I don't know why people are prejudiced against women with large feet... we need to wear shoes, too!! [/rant]

It's very different getting used to being the 'minority' somewhere! There are so many times when we just want to blend in and be like everyone else... so that people won't stare at us constantly, kids won't beg for money from us, and vendors won't try to sell us everything that they have. No matter where we go, we stick out like a sore thumb... and that's not going to change. So, it's something for us to get used to... and that's okay. It can be kind of frustrating, though, when we are followed tirelessly... today was no exception. We went into a park to sit down and relax... and the vendor who had been following us already for 10 minutes, sat down with us under the tree and would not take "no" for an answer!! Finally we just decided that we would leave and hope he wouldn't continue to follow us. He didn't. We went to a less busy part of town and hid behind a tree. :]

We went to lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant. The owners are Christians [and happened to be at the MF last night]... a really nice couple. Jake and I had a really good conversation... mostly about our marriage; what we need to work on to be a better 'team' and how we can better encourage each other. I can't believe it will be two years for us on Monday! Crazy. I still love him more than ever and am SO happy to be married to him. Marriage really does get better with time :]

After lunch, we walked back to the house. It took us about an hour [it's typically a 35 minute walk], but we weren't in a hurry. We hung out at the house for a bit, and then walked to Tusky's, the local super market. We bought yogurt, pickles, juice, Pepsi [for Jake], and corn flakes [not typical ones; I was kind of disappointed, but not surprised]... just a few random things that we were craving. And to be totally honest, I'm sitting here with my jar of pickles as I type... and I'm debating about finishing them off. They are SO good.

My major highlight of the day: taking a REAL shower. A real shower that didn't involve getting the water, heating it on the stove, and bathing in a bucket. Today, all I had to do was turn a knob... and wa-la, hot water. All I had to do was stand there and let the water work it's magic. Amazing. It felt so good.

Bucket bathing isn't that bad. You get wet and clean... that's the point of bathing in general, right? It's just so much more relaxing to not have to DO anything.

Not much else is planned for tonight. We have a 'chat date' with my mom at 9pm. Then I think we'll head to bed and enjoy sleeping in. If we head back to Gilgil tomorrow, we'll be taking a matatu [public transportation/small van]... definitely not the safest way to travel [driving here is like playing a game with death], but it's our only option. If we wait until Saturday, Eric and Juli will be back in Nakuru and we'll catch a ride with them.

I promise some photos of Jake and I soon... possibly tomorrow ;] Goodnight, all!

It's actually a tan this time... not just dirt...!

I hate having to come up with titles. I'm not a good title-thinker-of-er. But, it's true: the last time I thought I was actually getting tan, I was, to my disappointment, only dirty. A quick scrub in the tub changed that. But today I had to go one step further and get sunburned while riding my bike into town and back. My face, forearms, hands, and the back of my neck... whoooooeee. I'm toasty :] And tired. And I have a headache. Allll thanks to the sunburn, I believe...

Eric and Juli are spending the weekend at their house in Nakuru for some time to rest. It's kind of weird being the only ones here in the house on the farm [granted, all the students and leaders are still here]... but it's a chance for us to rest this weekend, too, so it's okay. Jake is busy playing Monopoly with the students... or at least, trying to teach them how to play.

Jake rolled his ankle for the second time some time last week. He bought a wrap and has been pretty good about wearing it and being careful. Hopefully he won't have any more problems!

I don't really have much to say, as you can tell... but apparently an update has been requested... :] If I were to update more often, they would probably be like, "Today... has been... like... every other... day..." ;] How boring. I really thought I had more to say tonight... I can't think of anything else... boo.

So, on that note... I think I will end with, "happy birthday tomorrow, mom!!" :] Here's a couple photos to make up for the lack of a super cool blog entry...

 

[see the double rainbow?]

 

[part of our town]

 [on the road from nakuru to gilgil]

 

[railroad leading to gilgil] 

Schedule

Hi everyone. This is my attempt to stay awake while Jake watches the Super Bowl. Yes, a day late. I could just tell him that I know the Saints are going to win [thank you, Facebook friends, for ruining that one for me! Haha...] and we could just go to bed... but I will be nice. I figured I would post our daily schedule so you can see what a typical day looks like around here. I also posted a few more pictures. Enjoy!

Daily Schedule [Monday-Friday]

6:00am - breakfast crew starts cooking

7:00am - breakfast

7:30am - morning group devotions

8:00am - personal quiet time

8:30am - start work duty/chores

10:45am - chai [tea] break

11:00am - work duty/chores

1:00pm - lunch

2:00pm - class session one

4:00pm - break/free time

5:00pm - class session two

7:00pm - supper

8:15pm - group discussion time/homework

9:15pm - evening devotions in dorm rooms

10:30pm - lights out

Saturday Schedule:

8:00am - morning devotions and quiet times

9:00am - free time

10:30am - brunch

11:00am - free time

1:00pm - chai [optional]

4:00pm - group activity

7:00pm - supper

8:15pm - movie or game

10:30pm - lights out

Sunday Schedule:

8:00am - breakfast

9:00am - praise and worship service

12:00pm - lunch

1:30pm - ministry outreach [usually orphanage work]

7:00pm - supper

8:15pm - homework/assignments

10:30pm - lights out

ready for a photo tour of the rest of the house?

[the veranda in front]

[view from front door: sitting area]

[dining room]

[living room]

[kitchen]

[spice cupboard and pantry]

 

[the front door; not typically used. the bathroom is directly to the right; our bedroom is straight ahead]

[entry way between our bathroom/room]

[our bathroom; i'm planning on making curtains for the window]

 

[our room]

and finally... i had to share a photo of my favorite dog here on the compound: 

[meet "mama dog." sweetest thing ever!]

---

Prayer request: Jake was playing soccer [excuse me, 'football'] with some of the guys tonight before dinner and rolled his ankle. It's pretty swollen and he's in a lot of pain. As you can imagine, being here involves a lot of walking... and I hate seeing him in pain. He is such a trooper, though. Please pray for him, that the Lord would heal him quickly [if it is His will, of course]! He and I both would really appreciate it. Thanks!!

I'm tired...

...so this will be short and sweet :] A bullet-point blog post...

• the students arrived on Monday. At first they were all serious and quiet... now I'm finally getting some smiles from them! I connected with a few of the girls [there are 5; one more is coming on Monday], and it's been nice to have conversations with them. There are 12 students right now... 7 boys and 5 girls. It's a pretty good group of students.
• Juli gave me the responsibility of doing the beads... a group of women from around Gilgil made beaded necklaces from magazines. They are actually really nice! The women come every Wednesday and we buy them from the women to give them sort of an income... and then we sell them to others. I'll have to post some pictures on here sometime in case any of you are interested. We also do a Bible study with the women when they come. Last Wednesday, when I met them for the first time, they sang me a song. It was very nice :]
• I cooked chicken pot pie, completely from scratch, a few days ago... in the dark! The generator stopped working... so I attempted to continue making dinner without any light. I tied a small flashlight to my apron and that helped some... but it was still very dark. Aaaaand then our gas ran out for our gas stove/oven... so the guys ran to town to get some. So 5 hours after I began, my pie was baked... and consumed... it was really good :]
•  My shoulder seems to be completely better! I'm not even sure what was wrong with it... but there is very little to no pain, and I have full range of motion back. Praise the Lord :] Thank you for praying!!
• Tomorrow [as a typical Sunday], after our church service, we will walk the four miles to the town of Gilgil and love on some kids at the orphanage. I'm very excited for this! 

Sometime soon I'll post our "daily schedule" so you know what we're up to during the day :] Sorry it's such a short update... I'll hopefully update again soon!

Prayer request...

Hey guys, just a quick note to ask you to pray for my shoulder. I've been having a lot of pain in it for quite a few days now, and I'm not sure why. I can feel fluid just hanging out in there, and it looks swollen. It's pretty painful. I don't have access to ice and there's only so much that I can rest it here. So, prayer for healing, if it is the Lord's will, would be great... otherwise please pray that I would be patient through the pain and understand that "all things work together for the good of those who love Him." :] Thanks!