People in our lives....

Hamjambo!  Habari zanu?  (Basically...Hi!  How are you?)

I want to introduce you to some new people in our lives.  We have Kiswahili lessons 3 times per week and our teacher is named Edward (Anaitwa Edward).  He is a very good teacher and a wealth of knowledge on Kenyan culture, history, and current events.  He is helping us learn Kiswahili "pole pole" (slowly, slowly) and helping us understand the people and culture here, which is invaluable.  My least favorite thing he says?  "We will come to that."  This is his polite way of telling me that he is not going to answer my question yet!  Haha.  I have never been much of a language person and sometimes want to put the cart before the horse.  He is good about introducing things at the right time.

Edward, our very knowledgeable Kiswahili teacher

Oh, and Kiswahili is a very fun language!  For instance, a motorbike is called a "piki piki" because of the sound the engine makes.  They call soccer/football "mpira wa mguu," which means ball of legs.  The Kiswahili word for donkey is "punda," and the word for striped is "milia."  So, they call a zebra a "punda milia"...for striped donkey!  And email is referred to as "barua pepe," or flying letter!

Another new person in our lives is Penninah - she is a woman who we have hired to help in our house 3 days per week.  It is culturally expected that Westerners who come to live in Kenya will hire house workers - and many Kenyans hire people as well.   She has just started a couple of weeks ago, and she is becoming a part of our lives here. :)  She is outgoing, always smiling, and such a hard worker!  And, she is trying to help me with Kiswahili, too.  Whew, everyone is trying to help me, and I need it!! :)

Penninah!

Sammy is a little boy who has been coming around for a few weeks now.  He comes to our door and asks for a variety of things from water and food, to soccer balls, belts, pants, shoes, and money.  He is quiet and slow to open up to us.  Sammy is a good example of the difficulty in knowing how to help people in the way they need to be helped.  We want to be a blessing in the name of Christ to each person we meet.  Just giving people things is not a blessing, but only leads to dependency.  However, showing trust in a little boy may be an avenue to him gaining confidence in his abilities and worth as a person.  He has borrowed our soccer ball a few times and brought it back, and we have been pleased to share with him.  We have not given him money and clothes (okay-money once, but it was a good story...that probably was not true, in the end).  We love to support people in the area that are working to sell either homemade food items or produce, and we are trying to figure out the best way to do even that, through seeking wise counsel and through prayer.  Scripture tells us over and over to be generous and, that by doing so, we are both showing Christ's love and honoring God.  

I John 3:17-18  But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?  Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

Proverbs 3:9  Honor the Lord from your wealth 
                      And from the first of all your produce.

Proverbs 3:27-28  Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
                             When it is in your power to do it. 
                             Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,
                             And tomorrow I will give it,”
                             When you have it with you. 

Applying scripture in real life can be messy sometimes, which is why we need to continually seek direction through prayer.  Please pray that we would be a blessing to each person, in Christ's name, and not just a rich Westerner or a stingy Westerner or a busy Westerner, etc.  Please let us see each person as God sees them, and to be generous in a context that shows love and preserves dignity.  I think this issue applies all over the world, even in the affluent West, but manifests differently in the various contexts.

Sammy

 Some of you may recognize these people....

 A group from our church, Bayleaf Baptist Church, who have been working in Kenya for 2 weeks, came out of their way to see us on their way back to Nairobi.  What a wonderful, refreshing visit to be able to see them and hear about their lives. :)  We get so little news from home, and it is wonderful to feel connected.  They brought many things to us, for which we are grateful.  In fact, here are our children enjoying some of the things they brought that first night....

Clubhouse Magazine, Em hugging her beloved Wheat Thins, and Sports Illustrated!

Next time....more adventures from driving into Nairobi! :)  Mungu akipenda. (God willing.)

Love,
Sarah
I John 3:17-18
Proverbs 3:9 
Proverbs 3:27-28 

The closet in the bathroom where we let bread rise above the hot water heater!  Necessity is the mother of invention....

A botany challenge:  a huge tree on the school campus with roots hanging down from a height of 15 or 20 feet.