Our first week

Matt and I have now been in Nairobi for one full week. We are glad to be here. We've had a mixture of emotions from nervousness & excitement, to frustration & hopefulness. Some highlights:

• Meeting our Maasai partners: Pastor Steven, Solomon, Daniel, Abraham & Dennis
• Steph being given a Maasai name: "Nashipai" which means happy
• Semi-successfully maneuvering the local public transportation, on matatus (14 passenger van-buses) or citihoppas (more like our tour buses) neither of which have maps of the routes- which assumes they even follow a set route..
• Moving into our apartment after staying at the Mennonite guest house the first few days. Can you find us? Mara Apartments across from the World Bank on Lower Hill Rd.
• Saturday Welcome Brunch with our MCC colleagues, hosted by our country reps
• Sunday Mennonite hymn sing- praising God with 40 voices!
• Successfully flushing our toilets, getting out stove & refrigerator to work (We have yet to get the oven to light-literally), unpacking, and beginning the process of cleaning the layers of dust & dirt off of everything.
• Starting language training in Maa on Monday: Enkutuk e Maa (literally: language of Maa)

Prayer Requests:

1. Maneuvering the infamous transportation system, especially because it it takes multiple changes in routes to get from language training to the MCC office & we don't know of any stops close to our apartment.
2. Patience with ourselves as we seek to move beyond survival in a new setting.