12.12.08 Almost home…

I am sitting on the bed in room 208 at AIM’s US Headquarters in Pearl River, NY.  Yep, I’m back in the good ‘ole USA.  I will spend just tonight here and then continue with the final leg of my journey to Charlotte tomorrow afternoon.  It’s kind of surreal.  I feel like it all happened so fast.  I mean, it feels like just yesterday I was in this very place for orientation preparing to go out into the field and now…now it’s all over.  I don’t really know how I feel about it all just yet.  Yes, its nice to have hot shower, familiar food and a really comfortable bed, but…it’s not Africa.  I just know I have lot of adjustments to make now that I’m back just as I had a lot to make when I get to Kenya.  It will take time-the whole readjustment process.  They warned me about the reverse culture shock and told me how to deal with it.  Nothing is going to help me when I’m missing the children though, that is for sure.  That will be hard.  It is hard.  No one can just tell me how to deal with those feelings.  No one will understand completely.  But God knows.  Every feeling I experience He has experienced and so I will continue to turn to Him for comfort and peace still as I return home and reenter this world and this life I left behind for just a short period of time.  

I had to stop by here to have my debrief with Rae, the short-term coordinator, which we will do over breakfast tomorrow morning.  Tonight was the annual Christmas party so I was lucky to be here for that.  It was like Thanksgiving all over again!  It was a lot of fun too.  They played Family Fued with the employees in offices on the “upper/main level” vs. the “lower level” employees.  It was really hilarious!  It is 11 pm right now, but really, since my biological clock is still on Kenyan time, my body feels like it is 7 am so I am going to sleep.  I will blog at a later time to catch up on this past week.

12.10.08 Here today, gone tomorrow

 

I dont know where to begin.  I haven’t blogged in almost a week and sooo much has happened in that time.  I’m back in Nairobi at Mayfield right now and I’ll spend my last night here tonight before getting on the plane tomorrow evening to come back home.  I really cant believe that I only have one night left in Africa.  Where has the time gone?  

 

Well, let’s see.  Friday was our last night in Mukaa.  It was really strange b/c it didn’t even feel like our last night.  There was no big special goodbye or anything.  Jenny and I took dinner at the house with Armstrong like usual.  We had chapatis, which is usually a very good thing, but they weren’t that great because Jenny helped make them, haha.  She was trying to learn so that she could make them at home, but they definitely didn’t turn out right.  They were very hard and crunchy in the middle, haha!  I just hope they turn out much better when she cooks them for her family!   But, hakuna matata!  After supper Elizabeth surprised us with a cake!  She is so sweet!  We actually happen to have an unopened container of frosting too so we iced the cake and took it down to the dining hall where all the children were watching a movie.  Jenn had popped some popcorn for them the night before and she bought some biscuits for them that day so we had very many sweets to give them!  We had a little mini goodbye down there.  We each said one last quick goodbye and a couple of the older children said a few words and then we handed out all the sweets!  They were so happy, haha!  Then, we gave each child their very own mini toothpaste.  Jenn had received a donation from a supporter at home who wanted to buy the children toothpaste so she went to the market Friday morning and bought 50 boxes of toothpaste.  I think the children were a little more excited about the sweets, haha, but they definitely need the toothpaste and I hope that it all gets used correctly.  After that we went back up to the house and just finished last minute packing and cleaning. 

 

We left Mukaa Saturday morning.  Our Matatu arrived promptly  at 11 am.  All the children piled in, of course, and rode with us out of the compound and maybe a quarter mile down the mountain, where our driver dropped them off and we said our final goodbyes.  It was really sad, but at the same time I kept telling myself that I would see them again on Thursday so it wasn’t goodbye forever.  The children were invited to sing in Nairobi tomorrow at the grand opening of the new “Help A Child Foundation” office so about 25 of them stayed at Mukaa for that and will go home on the 12th.  Jenn talked to Armstrong yesterday and the bus is going to swing by Mayfield in the morning to pick us up so we can join them!  I am so excited to watch them sing and to see them one more time!  So Saturday, we left Mukaa and headed for Lukenya, about halfway between Machakos and Nairobi, for a Christmas party for AIM missionaries in the area.  It started at 10 am, but the earliest we could get the matatu was 11 am.  Armstrong is really nervous about us taking matatus by ourselves, but he had a wedding that same day so he couldn’t drive us there so he wanted us to take a private matatu.  Well, there are only two drivers he trusts and the guy we ended up using, Thinga, wasn’t available until 11:00.  It was ok though.  It was better that way anyway since we had all our luggage with us.  With the way they pack the matatus chock full of people here we would never have been able to fit everything in a public one.  So he got to Mukaa at 11 and we were hoping to get to the party by 12:30.  Well, we had a little trouble finding the place and we ended up not getting there until around 1:30.  Turns out our directions weren’t too specific.  Actually, we didn’t really haven any directions at all.  The only information we had was that the party was at Lukenya.  Well, come to find out, Lukneya is the name of a town, not a specific building…whoops.  We tried to get in touch with Murray, the short-term coordinator, for directions, but that took a little longer than we hoped because he was in a prayer meeting.  We were a bit frustrated, to say the least.  We were actually more worried that the driver was going to charge us more for getting lost and wasting his time and we had absolutely no extra money on us.  We paid our rent that morning for the entire time we had been in Mukaa and we were scrounging to pay the 4,000 shillings for the matatu.  We had exactly enough, by the grace of God, but not one cent more.  The cost of the party was 500 KSH per person and we didn’t even have enough money to pay that, haha!  Murray paid for us though and we paid him back a couple days later.  Anyway, Murray finally answered his phone and gave us directions.  We found the place right away and Thinga didn’t charge us any extra, thank goodness!  We had a grand entrance to say the least!  It was called Lukenya Getaway and it was so nice!  Its a little resort way off the highway with private huts, a swimming pool, conference space, etc.  You almost feel like you step out of Africa when you’re there.  It was so great!  Well, we basically missed the whole party, haha!  There was tea in the morning and Christmas songs and they built gingerbread houses.  We were kinda sad we had to miss all that, but it was no problem.  The lunch buffet was still being served and people were just finishing up.  It was such a delicious meal!    We sat and ate lunch with Betty and Steve, a couple we knew from the Thanksgiving meal in Machakos.  It was so good to actually know some people and we had a great conversation with them.  They are actually here at Mayfield right now.  We just see them all over the place!  They are originally from Hong Kong, but they (and their five children) lived in Chicago for many years before coming to Africa in 2004.  Steve is a M.D. so I was confused as to what he was doing at Scott Theological College.  Well, turns our he has his M. Div too!  He was the pastor of a church in Chicago and now he teaches at Scott.  Quite the renaissance man-a doctor and a pastor!  Not gonna lie, I was pretty impressed.  After lunch we went out by the pool and talked with Betty some more while Steve snapped photos of his children swimming and then we went and looked at the gingerbread houses.  That really helps put you in the Christmas spirit (especially when its summertime here)!  After the party, we rode back up to Nairobi with Murray and Dianna and a few other missionaries.  When we got into town we had to take a back road to get to Mayfield because there was some kind of young people’s rally/event going on and the streets were just chock full of twenty somethings.  There were literally thousands of people everywhere.  We heard it was some kind of gathering talking about their future and there was maybe some music.  The streets, sidewalks, everywhere was seriously out of control swarming with people.  We saw one small group of officers with huge dogs, which was encouraging, because with that many people in one area in a place like this things can get really bad, really fast.  It has happened before.   Traffic was a standstill so we were very thankful to be with Murray, someone who knows the area well enough to know a back road to take.  It was a little ridiculous.  At dinner that night some people who were in the mess of traffic coming from the airport were telling us how people were jumping on cars and sticking their hands through the windows to unlock the cars…just crazy stuff.  When traffic is at a standstill here anything can happen so we were very grateful to not have been in all of it.  

 

Sunday was a busy day packed full of activities.  We did one thing after another and it was all so fun!  Our day began with a really great service at Nairobi Baptist Church- a huge church right next door to Mayfield.  A Baptist church in Kenya, haha!  Who would have thought?  It was very western and very contemporary and sooo good!  The seats were big movie theater chairs, there was an enormous projection screen and the music was great.  It was all songs we knew.  I felt like I was right back in the States.  We were still a minority, of course, but we weren’t the only white people so that was a nice change.  It was a good service to ease us back into the western church and culture.  After the service they invited all the first time visitors to have tea.  During service they asked all the first time visitors to stand so they can see who we are so there was no getting out of tea.  They would definitely have noticed if we weren’t there, haha!  It was nice though.  We went down front of the sanctuary and two ladies welcomed us and led us downstairs.  They had tea, drinking chocolate, coffee, biscuits, bananas and sweet potatoes.  The Kenyans are truly some of the most welcoming and hospitable people I have ever met.  They really know how to make you feel comfortable.  There were two other young guys, college students, who were first time visitors too so we chatted with them for a little while.  Of course politics and Obama came up; pretty automatic when we tell people we are from America.  We have many people to greet Obama for, haha!  They all think hey, we’re going to America-surely we’ll see Obama.  Its pretty funny, but it definitely gets old quick.  They all make sure to ask for our contact information too.  Of course we never give it to them, but they all ask  without fail.  What the heck do they need to call or email us for?  Well, sadly, money.  Its so interesting how they are not ashamed to ask, yet have such a prideful culture.  I learned that early on and it still perplexes me.  I dont know if I’ll ever understand that.  

 

After church, we came back to Mayfield to change and then walked a few blocks to the Masai Market.  It’s a huge outdoor market in the parking lot of one of the big stores here called Nakumatt which is kind of like a Super Wal-Mart.  The Masai is a nomadic tribe in Kenya and the people at the market sell all sorts of “Masai” things, hence the name.  There are so many vendors and SO much stuff!  It was a little overwhelming to say the least.  I didn’t know where to begin.  All the vendors sell pretty much the same items, but they are all very different because it’s all handmade so you just want to walk around and see it all before buying.  That would take way too long, however, s you just gotta go for whatever you see first.  Nothing has prices on it; you barter for everything and go from one seller to the other to see where you can get the best price.  It helps so much to speak whatever Kiswahili you can, but unfortunately I still don’t know that much. We did talk to the sellers though and tell them we have been living in Kenya and we’re not just tourists so that helps bring the prices way down!  I ended up spending about 5400 KSH or about $70 (the exchange rate today is about 78 KSH/$) and I got some really great gifts so I’m super excited!  The Masai Market is definitely an experience in itself!

 

Dianna and Murray picked us up from the Masai Market and we went with them straight to the Nairobi Music Society’s Christmas concert.  It started at 3 pm and we got there just in time!  You just purchase tickets at the door and we were really scared we weren’t going to get tickets, but we did!  It was held at the Oshwal Auditorium in a part of town called the Westlands.  Its a very ritzy part of town, kind of like the Southpark area of Nairobi, if you will.  The building was just absolutely gorgeous inside and out.  The show was entitled “Handel’s Messiah”  and the Nairobi Music Society’s Choir performed alongside the Nairobi Orchestra.  It was so good!  We got to see LeRoy, the missionary from the conference, play his french horn, haha!  It definitely got us in the Christmas spirit, especially when they played the Hallelujah Chorus.  They actually played it once during the performance and then again for the encore.  They did a wonderful job!  After the concert Dianna and Murray dropped us back off at Mayfield.  Dinner on Sunday is early, at 5:45, and we were just leaving the parking lot at that time.  We were worried that we would miss it, but Dianna called and James, the fantastic front desk manager, told us he would save us some seats, no problem!  We just love him- he is so great!  All the staff here at Mayfield are amazing.  They are so nice and they do such a great job here.  They keep it so clean, the food is awesome and they are all so friendly, I love it!  Mayfield is a safe haven for the missionaries, away from the big, bad world of Africa.  It is so peaceful and tranquil here and everyone is serving the Lord in some capacity so its like a big family at every meal, no matter who is at your table.  I have met people from all over the world-Switzerland, Australia, England, Holland, South Africa-and gotten to have great conversations with them.  It’s so wonderful.  This is definitely one of my favorite places in the world.

12.4.08 Africa…my heart

My time in Kenya is running out so fast.  Just one week from today I will be on a plane headed back to America.  Though it will be nice to return to the comforts and familiarity of the first-world-the only world I have ever known-a big part of my heart will remain here in Africa with these children I have come to love.  I said in one of my first blogs that “these children have captured my heart in no time.”  It was true then and it’s even truer today as I try to evade thoughts of leaving them.  These children are beautiful, they’re humble, they’re sweet, they’re honest, they’re grateful-they are nothing short of amazing.  The day after tomorrow I will wave goodbye, not knowing if I will ever see any of them again, but I will always carry their letters, their pictures, their smiles and their sweet voices in my heart.

 

Over the past nine weeks I have seen beautiful places and people, learned so much about African culture and grown so much in my faith.  God has truly used this experience to open my eyes to the needs, the sorrows and even the joys in this mysterious place that is so far from where I call home.  Every day has brought new lessons, challenges and memories that I will never forget.  One lesson I have learned is that life goes on…with or without you.  The world hasn’t stopped to wait for me to return from Kenya.  Not that I thought that it would, but it seems so strange to look back at all the changes that have taken place in my absence.  I will return home to many new and exciting things: a new head football coach at Clemson, my alma mater; a new President of the United States; and, most significantly, a new niece who I can’t wait to meet!  I find it quite humbling, actually, when I realize all the things that have happened without me.  But while I have missed a lot back at home, I have gained so much from being here.  Everything in life is a give and take and though I have given up much at home to be here in Kenya, I will take so much more back home with me.  When my plane lifts off one week from today my prayer will be that God allows me the opportunity to come back to Kenya one day soon-for its not only the children, but this country in anguish that my heart aches for and longs to return to.

 

PS.  Mwikali’s sister came back today with her aunt so Mwikali was able to go home!  Praise the Lord, for surely, He knows the desires of our hearts and He truly cares for each and every one of us.  She was overjoyed and we were so happy to see her go home to visit and spend Christmas with her family.

12.2.08 “We are living in the last days…”

The past two days have been really bittersweet.  The children started going home for the Christmas holiday yesterday so we’ve had to say many goodbyes.  It’s really sad to see them go, but it’s really good too when their relatives come to get them because they get to go home and spend Christmas with their families.  Some of the children have family who can take care of them for the month of December, but just not all year long so they come to pick them up and will bring them back Jan. 3^rd.  The home encourages the children to go home if at all possible so that they can become a little familiar with their families and with home life.  The goal for the home is to educate and discipline the children so they can be productive citizens and go back to their families and help move them out of poverty so it helps a lot if the children visit with and get to know their families.  Eleven children left yesterday and eleven more left today.  It was a lot of children to say goodbye to, but at the same time, there are 90 children here at the home so, sadly, it was a very small number who left.   There were a couple moms who came, but all the rest were aunts and grandmothers, a couple uncles, one dad and one brother.  The children got so excited when they saw their relatives walking up the path to the home.  They would sprint up to the dorm and pack their clothes really quickly if they hadn’t already.  A lot of the children didn’t know if their family was coming for sure so they waited until they got here to pack their bags, bless their hearts.   I didn’t cry when any of them left except for my favorite, Ndanu.  When I heard that her grandmother was here my stomach just dropped.  I was happy she had come, but I was also sad too because, selfishly, there was a big part of me that didn’t want her leave.  I was able to hold back my tears until after she left because I didn’t want to take away her happiness.  She was so excited to be going home and I didn’t want to ruin that for her.  I will never forget the mental picture I have of her waving goodbye with her arm halfway out the window of the very back seat of the matatu with a huge smile on her face.  She was so so happy.  For me, it was the epitome of bittersweet, but for her, it was nothing but overwhelming joy and that is what matters most. 

 

Most of the time its’ really great for the children to go home, but sometimes it’s a much worse situation at home because the family is living in poverty and doesn’t have enough food to feed the children for a whole month.  One of the boy’s grandmothers who came yesterday was crying to Armstrong and asked if she could leave her grandson here because she doesn’t know show is going to find food for him.  It’s so heartbreaking to hear that, but Armstrong told her that she must take him.  I asked him why he couldn’t stay here and he said if he allows one to stay he would have to let all the children stay whose families are struggling and well, that’s almost everyone.  That is why they’re living at this home.  So, while the children get very excited to see their families and to go home, Armstrong said some of them will show up back at the home in a few days, few weeks by themselves, starving and coming for food.  He said its pretty much expected.  It makes me so sad.  Although he wants them to go home, Armstrong is really cautious of whom he lets take the children home; it must be the same person who dropped them off here to begin with.  He told us he has given a child to someone before who claimed to be his or her aunt or uncle (I can’t remember now) and then the next day the grandmother showed up looking for the child and he didn’t know what to do.  So now, naturally, he is super cautious.  We would hate for anything to happen to these children when they are out of his care.  He gets very nervous releasing the girls especially.  It has happened before that a girl went home with relative and came back pregnant.  You just never really know what is going to take place when these children are away from the home for a whole month.  Armstrong has a lot to worry about so it’s very understandable that he is so protective.  Unfortunately, though, sometimes that caution backfires for the children.  The sister to one of the girl’s, Mwikali, showed up today to get her because the grandmother is sick at home, but Armstrong wouldn’t let Mwikali go with her since she wasn’t the same person who brought her here.  It was so sad.  Mwikali went to her dorm and cried when Armstrong sent the sisters home.  My heart jut broke for her because she was so excited when she saw her sister coming and then she couldn’t leave; poor girl.   

 

Sunday night we had our last devotions with all the children so Armstrong gave Jenny and me a chance to stand up and say our farewells.  I was already crying when I stood up because some of the children had just sung some farewell songs that were really sad.  I was afraid they wouldn’t be able to understand me through the tears, but I was able to control them for a few minutes; just long enough to get out what I wanted to say.  When I sat down and Jenny spoke she started crying when she saw me crying so I turned around so she couldn’t see my face.  It was just a really sad time.  I am going to miss these children; their smiles, their singing and dancing, their energy and their love for the Lord so much. 

 

Last night was a special devotions too.  The grandfather to two of the children here brought a huge cake for all the children to share.  It was a massive pink cake that said “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2009.”  They were all so excited!  It looked like chocolate on the inside, but I was so wrong.  I don’t know what it was, but it definitely wasn’t chocolate…and it definitely wasn’t good!  I gave some of my piece away, but the pieces were so big and I had to eat some.  Just another thing to laugh about.      

 

11.29.08 Dig In!!!

 

Today was a really special day for the children.  Some visitors came to speak to them and they brought lots of sweets with them!  It was a women’s group of about 16 called Christian Women’s Fellowship from a church in the community.  They come every year around Christmas time to speak to the children and have a party, of sorts, for them.  It’s a small Christmas celebration so that even the children who go home and don’t get to celebrate Christmas because their families are too poor will still have this Christmas celebration.  It was a really beautiful day so we all gathered outside on the lawn to listen to them speak.  They were dressed in uniform: a purple skirt, purple top/jacket and matching headpiece.  They looked so smart!  They spoke in Kikamba so I don’t know exactly what they said, but I know they were encouraging the children to keep working hard in school and to be disciplined in their studies and reading the Bible.  Our children’s choir performed a song for them and then they performed a song also and some of them stood up and spoke individually.  After the program they pulled out an endless supply of cakes, donuts, bananas and soda.  It was an absurd amount of food!  The children lined up to get some and they were sitting down with huge handfuls of cake and donuts.  There were no plates/napkins/forks-just their hands-so they were such a mess, haha!  They just completely gorged themselves with food.  It was really funny actually.  It was like these children have never had cake before…but I guess that’s not far from reality for most of them.  There were so many cakes and they were all made from scratch, of course, (no box cakes in Kenya) and the donuts were all homemade too so I’m sure those ladies spent a really long time baking everything.  The cakes were just plain and simple-kind of like a bunt cake-with no icing except for two.  The donuts were the same thing, no icing, plain and simple.  The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and went back for seconds, collecting handfuls of food until they couldn’t eat one more thing.  It was quite the sight, haha!  It was so good to see the children enjoying this special time and the sweet treats.  It’s such a rare occasion for them and they deserve it so much.  It was a really fun time for everyone.

11.27.08 A Thanksgiving to Remember

Today was a very unique Thanksgiving, but one that I will never forget!  It was one of the best days since I’ve been in Africa!  Jenny and I were invited to a Thanksgiving meal at the home of a missionary family who we met at the conference last weekend.  Greg and Kim are the parents, originally from upstate New York, and they have two adopted Asian children, Isaiah and Anna.  They live at Scott [Theological College] in Machakos which is about a 1 ½ hour ride on a matatu.  Greg is a lecturer there and I’m not sure what Kim does.  They heard that we live pretty near them so they were gracious enough to invite us to share in their Thanksgiving celebration and it was wonderful!  A few other families and couples who joined as well so there were about 15-20 people.  The food was amazing!  Kim found a really upscale butcher in Nairobi who had turkey so we had 2 turkeys along with green bean casserole, corn, 3 different kinds of stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, and a lot more!  It was just as good as, or better, than any Thanksgiving feast back in the States!  We certainly celebrated with all the right fixin’s and it was delicious!  Who ever said Thanksgiving is only celebrated in America?  Haha!  The best part for me was that we really all felt like one big family.  On Thanksgiving you just want to be with your family, but since I wasn’t able to be with mine this was certainly the next best thing.  It’s amazing how you can feel so connected to other believers through Christ in such a short amount of time.  We all share one faith and our faith is the most important thing in our lives so it allows us to form instant bonds and build relationships and friendships so easily.  It was such a blessing to be there with those believers, who also have a heart for missions and for Africa, to share in their Thanksgiving meal with them.  I truly have a lot to be thankful for.  We were so grateful not only for them inviting us over, but also that it worked out for us to be able to go.  Armstrong doesn’t like for Jenny and me to ride on matatus by ourselves and he was gone all week at a seminar out of town so we weren’t sure if or how we were going to get there.  Well, it turned out that Elizabeth needed to go to Machakos today also to go to the bank so we all went together and it worked out perfectly!  The morning started off kind of strange and really funny actually and the whole say was like that.  The three of us were standing down on the side of the road waiting for a matatu this morning when Jenny and I realized that neither of us had brought much cash with us so I ran back up to the house to grab some.  Well, I was in a big hurry because I didn’t want us to miss the matatu and when I was running out of the house my shirt caught on something sharp and ripped a huge hole in the left shoulder!  So, I ran back in and changed really quickly and ran back down to find Jenny and Elizabeth running after our matatu, haha!  They hadn’t stopped it because I wasn’t down there, but when they saw me coming they started running after it to stop for us and one of the guys down there was whistling for it.  So I ran with them and, thank the Lord, the matatu had stopped just around the corner!  When we got on everyone was definitely laughing at us and I can only imagine what they were thinking.  Probably something like “haha, those mazungus don’t know what they’re doing.”  But hey, we made it and that’s all that matters!  It was only around 10am when we got into Machakos and Kim told us they were eating at 1:00 and to come anytime before then, but we didn’t want to get there super early so we had a lot of time to kill.  We went to the bank with Elizabeth and to the post office so I could mail some postcards.  Then, we picked up some drinks at the supermarket to take to their house and went to T-Tot, a popular restaurant, to have some tea.  After that we still had a few minutes to spare so we went to this little shoe store Jenn noticed while we were walking around earlier.  They had some really cute shoes on display outside, but inside it was like the most unorganized mess of shoes ever, haha! I don’t know how they even managed to find our sizes.  There were shoes just piled up and tossed all over the place, not in boxes or anything.  But, they found what I needed and I bought a pair of really cute black heels!  Jenn bought the same ones plus another pair.  It was totally an impulse buy, but they were so cheap!  Mine were only 850 shillings which is like $12 and they are so cute!!  I asked the shopkeeper where most of the shoes come from and she said Uganda, which I was thought was really interesting.  So now I have a pair of shoes from Uganda!  Our shoe-buying experience just added to the whole strange, but funny day.   

 

When we were done shoe-shopping we all hopped in a tuk-tuk (tuke-tuke) or “taxi” to get to Scott, just a couple miles from the middle of town where we were.  The best way I can think to describe a tuk-tuk is a cross between a car, a tricycle, and a tent, haha.  Its has just three wheels, but it has a motor and its covered by a canvas top that zips open and closed.  There are tons of them in Machakos and whenever we walk by all the drivers yell “Scott, Scott, Scott.”  Its really funny; they know where we’re going.  I mean, where else would mazungus be going, right?  Elizabeth talked to the driver to get a good price while we hid in the shoe store.  If they saw us there would be no hope of getting a reasonable price; white equals money here.  Elizabeth rode with us to their house and then went back to Machakos to see some of her friends until we were finished.  After lunch the Dads and all the children played football in the front yard.  I really felt like I was back in American then.  We couldn’t stay too long because we had to get back to the home so Kim went ahead and set out the dessert for us.  There was pumpkin pie, lemon meringue bars, no-bake cookies, lemon-meringue pie and sugar cookies…yummy!!  We enjoyed some dessert and then said our goodbyes and headed back.  They were so glad we had come, but I am sure we were much more glad to have been invited.  It was great!

We were going to get a tuk-tuk back to town, but while we were walking to the entrance of the college we met a student, Charles, who started talking to us and we ended up talking and walking with him all the way back into town.  Turns out he is one of Greg’s students so he knew the family we were visiting.  We met Elizabeth at the matatu stage and waited in our matatu only about 20 minutes before it left for Mukaa.  On the way back home Elizabeth informed us that one her friends, Mary, who is a nurse at the dispensary on the compound, invited all of us over for dinner tonight.  That was such a nice surprise!  I love visiting the African’s homes.  They are always so welcoming and kind.  She lives basically on the compound so we headed over there around 7pm, but on our way, we were met with another huge surprise…Elizabeth’s older sister had shown up at the compound.  She has two boys, Charles and Kimanthi, who live at the home and Elizabeth hasn’t seen her in many, many years.  She has never come before to get the boys for Christmas so they have always stayed here throughout December.  It was the very last thing Elizabeth ever expected.  She said she was so happy she wanted cry.  Her sister is going back home tomorrow and I don’t know if she will take her sons with her or not.  It is such a joy that she is here though so we’ll see.  After we visited with her for a few minutes we continued on to have supper at Mary’s home.  She made rice and steamed cabbages and a potato stew and it was all so good.  After dinner she pulled out her photo albums so we spent a little while looking through those before taking tea and biscuits (tea cookie).  During the course of dinner Mary told that there was a birth at the hospital today and the mom and baby were still there so she let us stop in visit them on our way home.  Jenny absolutely loves babies so she was super excited when we found out they were still at the hospital and we could go visit them.  Mary walked the three of us to the hospital where we met the mom, Agnes, and her new baby boy who was still unnamed.  The husband’s mom was also there and a neighbor lady who came with them so they were taking care of her.  The husband was not there.  We didn’t ask where he was, but Mary told us probably far away somewhere so he couldn’t get there.  They don’t have cell phones so there is no way for them to contact him to let him know his child is being born.  That is really sad to me.  I would hate to not even be able to contact my husband when I go into labor.  But, that is normal here so they don’t think anything of it I suppose.  Also, we were amazed at how young she looked.  Jenn and I thought she couldn’t be any older than 20 so were shocked to find out that this was her fourth born!  We both thought for sure it was her first.  But in Africa, just because it was her fourth child doesn’t mean she is any older than she looks.  We don’t know how old she was, but the women often marry very young, while their teenagers, and start having babies very young too so she may very well only be 20 or 21 years old…that is the scary part.  It was also amazing how simple the hospital was.  There were 8 or 10 beds in the room and they were just metal frames with a thin, plastic covered mattress; no sheets or pillows except for a couple blankets on Agnes’ bed.  There were no machines, monitors, electronics, anything.  There wasn’t even a separate bed for the baby.  He was breast-feeding when we got there and when he was done she just laid him down on the bed beside her.  I was thinking that I would be so scared to give birth there, but again, that is all they know so it works for them. We visited her for about 15 minutes and then continued on our way back up to the house.  What a Thanksgiving!  God has given us so much to be thankful for today.  We were blessed with friends to share a real Thanksgiving meal with, we had another delicious meal with African friends, Elizabeth’s sister showed up and there was a new life brought into the world right here on our compound.  It was so amazing that all these things happened on this day that is set aside to give thanks to God for all of our blessings.  It was one thing after another and I am left speechless at how God has used this special day to show us that He is truly watching over us and taking care of us.  Everything that happened today He had planned out perfectly a long time ago and it amazed me to see everything come together according to His good plan.  It was an unforgettable day and truly the most unforgettable Thanksgiving.

       

 

 

 

 

11.21.08 – 11.24.08 Conference Weekend

Jenny and I were away from Mukaa all weekend for a missionary conference in a town about 3 1/2 hours north called Limuru.  We left Friday morning around 7:30 am and returned Monday night a little before 5 pm. Armstrong just got a new car for the compound, a ‘98 Toyota Rav 4, so he was able to drive us to Nairobi on Friday.  We were supposed to leave here at 7 am, but he overslept and didn’t get here until 7:30.  We were really nervous, especially Jenny, because she had to be in Nairobi by 10 am to get her work permit (even though she’s done teaching-TIA) so she can leave the country in December.  She came with a Visa, but it expired in October, haha, and she can’t leave the country without a valid Visa or work permit. It’s usually a good 3 hour drive to Nairobi so she was a little nervous, understandably. But we made it there right at 10, thank the Lord, and she had no problem getting everything done.  Armstrong dropped us off at Mayfield, the missionary guest house, and someone from the AIM office picked her up from there and took her downtown to do everything. I stayed behind and took advantage of the internet since I had my computer with me. Everything went smoothly for her and now she can actually go home in December and I won’t be waving goodbye to her at the airport, haha!  Yay!  After that point, it was a really nice and relaxing weekend.  When she got back to Mayfield we had lunch there and then Dianna and Murray, the short-term coordinators for AIM who live in Nairobi, met us at Mayfield and we rode up to the conference with them. On the way, we stopped in Kibera slum to pick up three short-termers from South Africa. They’re all recent college grads. also and have been in Kenya just a week. We became great friends with them over the weekend. It was a brother and sister, Michael and Alexis, and her boyfriend, Johan. They were incredibly nice and cool and really funny!! We hung out with them all weekend, sat with them at meals and during sessions and had a great time! It was so cool to meet some other missionaries our age and just really connect with them. It was about an hour drive up to Jumuia Conference Center. When we got there we checked in and got our name tags. The lady at the check-in table, who we didn’t know, was really excited to see us, haha! Her name is Sandy and apparently she is our “unit leader.” AIM has recently divided its Eastern Region-Kenya and Tanzania-into five “units,” north, south, east, west and Kijabe. Kijabe gets its own unit because there are so many missionaries there. Kijabe Hospital, the biggest and best hospital in Kenya, is located there. Kijabe is known as “little America” here in Kenya because there are so many missionaries there. Most of the doctors there, even the Kenyans, train in the States so it’s like the “Duke Hospital” of Kenya. So anyway, Sandy introduced herself to us and she also invited us to a Christmas party at a hotel near Nairobi on Dec. 6 for AIM missionaries! We were so excited! We were planning on leaving Mukaa Dec.7, but that’s a Sunday and probably wouldn’t work because Armstrong has to be here for church so it worked out perfectly that the party is on the 6th. This way we can have Armstrong drive us to the party and then just ride into Nairobi with Sandy afterwards and stay at Mayfield. I am so excited about the party and relieved too that things will work out so well traveling back to Nairobi! It’s amazing how the Lord has things planned out far before we are even aware of His plans. We worry so much and try to make everything work out as best as we can, but if we trust God with our worries and planning, things will fall together far better than we ever could have planned. So we got our keys and went to drop our bags in our rooms and by then it was right at 4pm so we headed outside for tea on the lawn. It was so nice. They had two tables set up with tea, coffee and drinking chocolate (hot chocolate, of course) and some coffee cake. We got something to drink and then mingled with everyone. We met many missionaries all weekend from all over Kenya and even northern Africa. It was great!  Everyone was so nice and interested in hearing about what we were doing and where. It was a great chance to see all the different ways people are serving the Lord in missions in so many different places. That night we enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner! The food was so good at every meal! I had liver for the first time Saturday night! It didn’t taste bad, but it was just way too chewy so I couldn’t eat it, but at least I can say I’ve tasted it! After dinner Friday night we had our first session. The speaker for the weekend, Dick Stiansen, was amazing. He is a pastor from Pennsylvania and served for over 30 years in pastoral ministry in the States. He just joined the mission field in 2004 and he and his wife now live in Nairobi where he mentors and provides encouragement to other AIM missionaries. He was so funny; one of the best public speakers I have ever heard. The theme for the weekend was “Back to the Basics” because the conference this year was much different that it has even been in the past. With the new structure of the eastern region into units it was about a third of the size it usually is and there were no big fancy Christmas decorations like usual either; it was very basic…so, naturally, his messages were built around that theme. Each message (there were 5 total) was titled “The Basic of _________.” He talked about the basisc of integrity, obedience, dependence, maturity and intimacy. He was so good at presenting everything so that it was easy to understand and know how it applies to my own life. I feel like I had a lot “ah-ha moments.” One of my favorite points he made was during his first message on the basic of maturity. He said “It’s not about knowing what you believe; it’s about living what you believe.” So basic, but so true. One of the biggest reasons for people not becoming believers in Christ is Christians. Hypocrisy runs rampant in the church and turns away so many would-be believers. Knowing what we believe is just the first step in becoming mature Christians; but until we live what we believe we will be “ruled and blown around by the waves of circumstance.” All of his messages were chock full of simple, yet vital truths such as these and he used so much scripture as the basis for his messages, pointing to so many places where the Lord teaches us these lessons either with his own lips or through his apostles. It was so refreshing to be reminded of these teachings.
Friday night I froze all night long. It was pretty miserable. The next morning Dianna asked me how I slept and I was quite honest with her about freezing all night. Well, I am so glad I told her the truth because she proceeded to inform me of the hot water bottles at the front desk. Come to find out, they have these rubber water bottles- like ones you would put on your back for back aches or use for cramps-that are full of steaming hot water. You just pick one up from the front desk and put in the bottom of our bed and it keeps your bed sooo warm all night long! Boy was I was so excited to hear about that! There is not heater in the room and it gets pretty chilly there at night so the water bottles were a lifesaver! I was sure to get one the next two nights and I slept wonderfully! Friday night I also discovered that my shower had no hot water, haha. But, it was ok. Jenn’s room was right across the hall from me so I just used her shower. Hakuna matata!
Saturday afternoon there was a “trunk sale” which means you sell stuff out of the back of your car. It was for the missionaries to buy and sell things and there were actually quite a few people with items for sale. They didn’t literally sell from their cars though. They set up tables or laid down tarps in the front parking lot of the conference center. Jenn and I bought six VHS tapes for the children at the home. We were so excited to see them because when we leave they will only have a VHS player (we play DVDs on our computer) and it’s hard to come across VHS tapes. There were lots of great children’s movies and for so cheap too, just 200 shillings (about $2.85) each, so we stocked up! We bought 5 and the lady selling them, Kim, let us throw in an extra for free so we got 6 movies for 1000 shillings or about $14.30!! I also bought some gifts for family and friends which I will not disclose!
At dinner Saturday night we sat with our S. African friends and they entertained us with some pretty unbelievable stories about their country. Apparently, South Africa is an extremely unsafe place to live. We really couldn’t believe the things they told us. It was definitely an eye-opening conversation. I really didn’t know much at all about S. Africa and now I know first-hand accounts about things that go on in that volatile and unstable country where crime and corruption is just as present as any other place in Africa.
Sunday morning we had an extended worship service and session 4 and then mid-morning there was a baby dedication service for two families. It wasn’t a baptism, but it was pretty similar. The first family had one baby boy, Ezekiel, their firstborn. The second family however had twin baby boys, Jacob and Daniel, giving them 5 children total-quite a handful! The parents dedicated the babies to the church, just like an infant baptism, except they weren’t baptized. I had never seen that kind of a dedication without the baptism, but it was really cool. I assume they will baptize later when the child chooses for him or herself to accept Christ. One of the five units was introduced at each session and the baby dedication session was our turn. Our unit leader, Sandy, (the lady who invited us to the Christmas party) read a poem she wrote that mentioned all the missionaries in our unit so when we heard our name we just stood up. It was really entertaining!
There was a craft sale going all weekend too. A couple of the missionaries were selling items that were made by various women’s and children’s groups that rescues displaced people and provides them with work. They were selling all kinds of beautiful jewelry, scarves, bags, etc. so I bought some gifts from there too! Sunday night was “Night of fun,” haha! It was a random talent/open mic. night and anyone who wanted to participate could put together a skit, play an instrument, sing, etc. One man has been playing the French horn for 58 years and he put together a cute little skit with his wife. At the beginning he made a [shameless] plug for the Nairobi Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas concert. Who knew Nairobi had a symphony orchestra! But, they do and he plays in it. Their performances are Dec. 6 and 7 which works perfectly for Jenn and me! We are definitely going to try to go to one of their shows when we are in Nairobi that week. Jenn has played the trumpet for years and she sings so she is very musical so we are really excited!! After fun night we enjoyed some coffee and home-made cookies at the coffee bar before heading to bed.
Monday morning we had breakfast and wrapped everything up before heading back into Nairobi min-morning. At breakfast we took communion seated around the tables. It made for a very different communion experience, but the speaker explained that that is actually much more reflective of the New Testament communion experience than taking communion seated in pews in church. The first literal church wasn’t constructed until many years after Christ’s death so people met in each other’s homes where they worshipped and took communion reclined around the table. That is, in fact, how the very first Holy Communion-which we know as the “last supper”-took place. After communion, we finished breakfast and went around to say our goodbyes to all the people we met and had really connected with, especially our South African friends. We rode back to Nairobi with a different couple from the Nairobi office because Dianna and Murray didn’t have room in their ca*r, but they were wonderful too, of course. Jenny and I needed to go to an ATM and I needed a post office so we got to stop at this “ritzy” shopping center in Nairobi called “Village Market.” Brian explained to us that this where all the rich families come to do their shopping and I was genuinely impressed. There was a movie theater, bowling alley, water-park and many beautiful shops and clothing stores. I felt like I was in Europe; it was so neat! There were guards everywhere, everyone was dressed nice, there was a waterfall in front, it was beautiful! There was a white girl using the ATM right before us so we definitely didn’t feel out of place at all. I’m sure there are many white people there all the time and there were a lot of middle-eastern people too, but all dressed very western. It was so cool to see that kind of place here. So we got everything done we needed to and then Brian and Patty dropped us off back at Mayfield. Jenny and I got a taxi from there to take us to the city center (downtown) to the matatu stage. Dianna had given us the phone number of Joseph, a taxi driver she uses a lot and trusts, who picked us from Mayfield. We weren’t standing on the side of the road in Nairobi flagging down a taxi like in NYC, haha! That would definitely not be safe and things don’t work like here anyway. We got downtown and he found a matatu for us that was going down to Mukaa so he pulled right up beside it and we climbed in and were on our way. We didn’t have to wait for than 5 minutes before leaving, I was so impressed!
I will admit that both Jenny and I were not thrilled at first about going to the conference. Our time here is running out so quickly and we want to spend as much time as possible with the children while we can. However, it turned out to be a really great experience and I am so thankful that we went. I got to meet many full-term missionaries who have been in the field for 10, 20, 30+ years. It truly makes my 3 months seem like just a drop in the bucket…and it is just that. Talking to the missionaries and hearing their stories really put things in perspective for me. It was a weekend of beautiful weather, relaxation, delicious food and amazing fellowship with people who have given their whole lives to serving Christ away from their families and the comforts of the first-world. It really made me think about where God is leading me after this short missionary experience. I have begun to pray lately that God would prepare my heart as I go back home to the states so I am not sucked back into the desires and “need” for all the luxuries of our frivolous lives. I am looking forward to going home, but I don’t want to lose the perspective I have gained here and forget the things the Lord has brought me halfway around the world to teach me. I have also begun to ask God to show me where this short-term trip fits into the rest of His plan for my life. Was this trip a way for God to grow me in my faith and make me a more obedient disciple to reach out to people back at home? Or was this trip God’s way of opening my eyes to the need of long-term missionaries and His call for me to return? I don’t know. I will continue to pray for discernment for His purpose of this experience and even more, obedience to whatever path He lays before me. I can “find” signs that point in whichever direction I prefer and justify it to myself; but in the end, I am not accountable to myself; I am accountable to our Lord. Please pray with me for these things; that I would seek His will AND obey.

11.19.08

There were no classes at school today so the teachers could mark exams, but all the students had to be there anyway to, well, to do nothing basically, haha.  TIA.  I guess the teachers needed them there to collect textbooks, but thats about it.  Just policy I guess.  Surely they could have gotten the textbooks Monday or Tuesday, but apparently not.  Owell!  Since the children were sitting idle in their classrooms Jenny and I took the opportunity to go read to our Std. 6 English class.  We never finished “The Trumpeter Swan” with them, and we still didn’t get through the whole thing, but boy were they excited to see us when we walked into the classroom!  They are the best children ever!  So we read as muc as we could with them and they loved it.  It was definitely worth it.  Then, we had a special goodbye with the teachers at tea time which was really nice.  In addition to our usual tea (aka: sugar water) and 3 pieces of white bread, we had hard-boiled eggs and squishy bananas, haha!  I am so picky about my bananas at home so that was a real struggle for me.  Sounds really lame, I know, but I survived!  We discreetly passed over the eggs…or so we thought.  Afterwards, one of the teachers asked us why we dont take eggs.  Oops!  We just explained that we cook them differently at home.  That seemed to be a viable answer, I guess.  During tea a couple of the teachers stood up and said a few words of thanks and goodbye to us.  It was really sweet.  The head teacher genuinely thanked us for all of our work and told us what a blessing it has been having us there.  He is a really good man and has a done a lot for that school.  He, unlike most of the teachers, really cares about the school and the students so it was really nice coming from him.  He also told us that we are always “most welcome” at Mukaa if we ever decide to come back.  He was indirectly telling us we should come back and help.  The best response to comments like that is always “God only knows.”  We certainly dont want to make any promises about returning, but we dont want to straight up tell them we wont be back either.  Comments like that always kind of put us in an uncomfortable position, but we have learned how to respond because they happen so often so hakuna matata (no problem)!  Then, much to our surprise, they presented us with some gifts.  Jenny and I each got a couple wooden spoons for cooking.  The kamba are known for their wood-carving and craftsmanship and it is something they take a lot of pride in.  They make beautiful statues of all kinds of animals, utensils, etc. and even hand paint them too.  So that was a really special gift and then we also each got a “kanga” which is a wrap that can be worn as skirt or to strap your baby to your back.  They presented the gifts to us one at a time and the teacher giving me mine said “now, you’re a mama!”  Yikes!!  I was sure to correct her that that the kanga will be used as a skirt for a long time yet, haha!  It was really funny though.  So she wrapped it around me like a skirt while one of the other teachers snapped pictures on my camera.  The tea time was a really nice goodbye with the teachers.  They were so thoughtful to get us gifts too.  Despite some comments here and there it was obvious that they were truly grateful for having us at the school this term and for all the work we (especially Jenny) put into our classes.  The Lord has really used these teachers to teach me and grow me in my faith.  Every one of them knows the Lord and has a personal relationship with Jesus- at least as far as I can see.  When I hear them pray aloud their passion and their love for the Lord is undeniable.  But when they pray aloud it is so hard for me to imagine that these are the same people who cane the students.  When I see the children being caned it breaks my heart for the child and makes me so angry towards the teacher.  However, caning is the only form of discipline they know.  It was used on them and so, naturally, that is what they use also.  They dont think they are doing anything wrong by caning the students.  Its been a real struggle for me to see past the beating and continue to show love towards the teachers.  Its so hard to remind myself that this is a cultural difference and it doesnt make them bad Christians.  But God has reminded me that we’re called to love people, not their actions.  That is exactly how Christ taught us to love when he came to this earth.   Loved based on actions is very conditional and the Lord teaches us to love others the same way He loves us…unconditionally.  I know that if God loved me based on my actions He would fall out of love with me very quickly.  So I cant say that because these teachers beat the children they dont truly know the Lord, because they do.  They are some of the strongest, most faithful believers I have ever met.  All I can truly say is that God has begun to give me just a small taste of what unconditional love is all about.

11.18.08 Sometimes…I just have to laugh

A really hilarious misunderstanding between Armstrong and Jenny was brought to light tonight.  So, I’ve mentioned before in my blog about how we ran out of peanut butter a couple weeks ago and we have really been craving some lately.  Well, it’s really hard to come by because its not a popular African food so we cant get it anywhere around here.  You can only find it in the bigger cities so anytime Armstrong has to go to Machakos or Nairobi we ask him to check and see if he can find some in the in supermarket if he has time.  Well, he was over here tonight and he has to go to Machakos tomorrow so Jenny mentioned about the peanut butter again for him to check for it.  Well, we weren’t sure if he really knew what we were talking about because he seemed kind of confused so I brought the empty jar of peanut butter from the kitchen (that we save for Elizabeth to use) to show him what it looks like.  Well then, he tells us that he has a container of that same stuff that he bought for us on his last trip to Nairobi in his office!  What??  We were so confused.  We asked him why it was in his office and he didn’t bring it to the house.  He proceeds to tell us that when he got home from that trip and came to our house the next day to give us the food he had picked up, he had accidentally left the peanut butter in his office.  He asked Jenn is we still needed it (not telling her he had already bought it) and she didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and have him stress out about trying to still find some so she told him “its ok, we’ll make it,” meaning that we’ll survive without it.  Well, Armstrong thought that she literally meant that we were going to make it…like we had peanuts we were going to crush and make it from scratch, haha!  Wow!  He just figured, “Ok, I’ll leave the peanut butter in the office if they are going to make their own.” So the peanut butter has been sitting in the office for like a week or more while we have been up here craving it!   Oh my goodness, did we have a good laugh!  It was the funniest thing that has happened since I have been here, for sure. It was a classic cultural misunderstanding.  She meant one thing and he understood something completely different.  It’s amazing how the use of one word can create such a misunderstanding.  I guess it’s at least a good that the only repercussion was that we went without peanut butter for a little while because cultural misunderstandings can definitely have much bigger, negative effects.  So we had a really good laugh and then Armstrong went down to the office and brought up the peanut butter.  So, Yay!  We finally have our peanut butter!! 

 

Another funny thing happened at school earlier today.  Jenny had a marriage proposal by one of the teachers, Mr. Lucas.  Its not uncommon here actually.  It’s definitely not the first time it has happened.  They don’t come right out and ask you directly though.  Nothing here is direct actually.  We constantly have to try to figure out what people are really trying to say or ask when they talk to us.  So I totally had no idea what he was getting at in the conversation and that made it all the funnier.  Jenny and I were just having a casual conversation with Mr. Lucas and Mr. Kingo’o, the head teacher, and Mr. Lucas says, “you know, I am getting married.”  And I, totally oblivious as to where this was going, ask “really, what month?”  Haha!  Jenny laughed!  She totally knew what he was saying.  She says “really?  Have you found a wife yet?”  Not the typical response to news that someone is “getting married.”  So he laughs and says “not yet” and Jenny, laughing also, asks “is this a marriage proposal?”  And, yes, it definitely was.  Oh, Africa.  Some things there is just no explanation for.  The same kind of thing happened at church.  When it was near the end of the service the pastor was wishing us safe travels back home, in front of the whole congregation, and he told us to return again with many “sisters” because they are in need of them here.  What!  Apparently, all the Africans want to marry a white girl so they can be rich; another huge, but real, misconception.  Um yeah, we’ll be sure to go home, gather all of our friends and bring them to Africa as soon as possible to marry all your men so they can come back to America with us.  No problem.  Sometimes, I just wonder about these people.        

11.17.08 Horrors of the Kenyan school system

We began final exams today for the Std. 1- Std. 7 children.  The three teachers who were gone to help proctor exams at the secondary school are back now so we didn’t know if they would actually need us to help out, but we went down to see just in case.  Well, of course they found work for us, haha!  What were we thinking?  It’s all good though.  I am really glad to be able to help out anyway we can.  That’s why I’m here.  I went and proctored the exams for one of the std. 4 classes.  Their teacher, Mrs. Njururi, didn’t show up that morning.  We’re not really sure why, but whatever.  Jenn sat in on one of the std. 6 classes.  Their teacher, Mr. Kataka, was there, but he said he had to leave for some reason and asked if one of us could go to his class for him.  I hate to think what happens when we’re not here!  So we had two exams in the morning and one after lunch; same as every time we have given exams.  We got started with the exams a little late because some children hadn’t paid their exams fees yet so they were sent home to get money.  Primary school is “free,” but still they have to pay for every exam they take.  That’s a lot of money for these families considering how often the children are tested. But the staff has no computer and not even a typewriter so it would be nearly impossible for them to write out seven exams per child so it is how it is.  Armstrong has a typewriter in the office that isn’t being used though so I’m thinking about maybe inquiring about that for the teachers to use.  We’ll see.  Anyway, Jenn and I went through some of the English exams to make sure the answers the teachers were given were correct.  Usually the teachers have to do the exams and come up with the answers, but since this is the end-of-year exam and every student throughout Kenya will be taking the same exam, it comes with the answers.  Well, Jenn went through the Std. 6 test and marked all the right answers and then she checked it against the answer key they were given.  Um, yeah…out of 50 questions, 40 of them in the key were wrong!  What?  Ten questions were correct…ten!!  If she hadn’t gone through that test those students would be marked wrong for all those questions just because the answer key is wrong.  We were floored.  This was supposed to be the “official” test from whatever “powers that be” in the education system…and 40 answers were wrong.  All I have to say is TIA.  Things like this just beg the question “Is there any hope for Africa?”  Only the Lord knows.