Hard Workers

Take a look at what Ned and Steph built for us in one day!  This is more work than we sometimes see in a week around here.  Praise the Lord for visitors!

Ilomon Kumok (more visitors!)

For the past week we’ve had some visitors from the States.  Just a week and a half after my dad left for PA, Ned and Steph Rauch-Mannino joined us and are staying through Easter.  Ned and Steph are old friends from High School and we had reconnected at a wedding.  We told them about our assignment to Kenya and they were immediately interested in coming to visit.  Now just over a year later, they are here with us. 

The first part of Ned and Steph’s visit was a trip to Lake Nakuru National Park and Hell’s Gate National Park.  The four of us hired a tour guide and vehicle to drive us from Nairobi to Nakuru where we camped in a tent just inside the park.  Overall the park was great, a large saline lake is the centerpiece, fringed with enormous flocks of flamingos. All around the lake roam various animals including one of the world’s biggest herds of White Rhinos. 


We started our game drive around 3 and were done by sunset (7pm) and we were blessed to see so much beauty.  The lake was very pretty and views from the nearby cliffs were spectacular.  We saw numerous black and white rhinos, including a white rhino sleeping about 10 feet from our
vehicle.  Other animals we spotted included various gazelles/deer, cape buffalo, zebra, baboons, giraffe, flamingos, rock hyrax, secretary birds, and lastly a leopard.  Steph and I had yet to see a leopard and Ned spotted one sleeping on a branch in a tree next to the road.  Leopards are such beautiful animals, and we watched this one for about 20 minutes.   

We returned back to the camp happy, having seen so much.  After dinner we built a campfire and sang praise songs together.  It was a good night and a day we all will treasure.The second day of our safari started early as we wanted to pack up, travel to Naivasha, see Hell’s Gate park, get groceries, get lunch, and travel to Najile all before it got dark.  As we got out of our tents, we saw a troupe of baboons walking through our camp as well as a large gazelle.  Breakfast consisted of eggs, fruit, sausage, and tea and we quickly packed away our tents.  As we left Nakuru, Ned spotted a lion sleeping in a tree, upping our “big 5” count to “4” in Nakuru (there are no Elephants in the park).  By noon we were at Hell’s Gate national park.   

Hell’s Gate one of the few parks where you can walk around, and there is lots of excellent hiking paths that take you through a river gorge.  One of the reasons its named “Hell’s Gate” is because of the geothermal activity.  Hot springs are ever-present and you’ll often find small “faucets” with hot and cold water pouring side by side.  We all enjoyed the hiking which was at times technical, and appreciated having our driver guide us through the gorge.  On the way out, there were also some open fields where we saw more zebras and got to get out of our vehicle and walk close to them (not allowed in most parks) 

After a quick lunch and shopping we were headed home.  Despite some un-necessary detours we made it home before dark and were happy to be in Najile.  Overall, our safari with Ned and Steph was a wonderful trip with friends.

Long Hard Ride

A week ago, Steph and I ventured, for the first time, to drive our motorcycle from Najile to Ngong.  In the past, we’d driven about 1/3 of the way to the MIDI demo farm, but never to Saikeri (halfway) much less Ngong (2.5 hour drive).  We had various meetings and things to do in Ngong without a tight schedule so we thought it may be a good time to overcome our Ngong-fears.    Steph and I set off around 9am full of hope.  The day looked nice and just 2 days earlier we had taken a matatu to/from Ngong and the roads didn’t look bad.  We first stopped at Najile for fuel.  Unfortunately, the sign saying “Petrol Here” was a little misleading in that there was no petrol.  The station regularly runs out, so we had to head to Ewuaso for fuel.   

Ewuaso is about 20 minutes away, but in the opposite direction of Ngong.  We drove quickly to the petrol station and filled up.  It was here that we made our first mistake.  Instead of just backtracking to Najile, we decided to look for the road that connected Ewuaso with the Ngong road.  The road was easy enough to find but in poor condition.  Despite the divets, holes, and crevices, I was feeling confident and was zipping right along for the first 15 minutes.  Then we hit the sand.    For me the worst road condition for motorcycles is sand.  Have you ever tried to ride a bike on a sandy beach?  It’s not fun or easy.   The first few sandy spots we skirted or just held on tight but we came across a patch of thick sand and we quickly were on the ground.  Unfortunately, the bike landed on my ankle-twisting it and leaving me a bit gimpy (Praise God it was just a bruise).  Worse than my ankle, my confidence was gone.  Soon we fell a second time, and before we were even on the main road I already was doubting if we’d make it to Ngong.   

The road from Najile to Ngong has many hills and generally the road is just large loose rocks.  When you aggressively ride up the hills, you can usually push through these parts.  When I reached these hills, I was tentative and soon stalled out.  Over and over again we fell, or stalled.  Normally falling was just tipping over at 10 kmh but it continued to erode our emotional strength.      As we approached Saikeri, we had reached our limit.  We prayed hard for a way to just be done with this ordeal.  God provided.  A vehicle which we had passed earlier saw us and agreed to meet us in Saikeri and then drive us the rest of the way to Ngong.  We inched our way into town and left the bike at a small shop.  Our good Samaritan helped arrange for our bike and made sure we were ok.  He told us, “I recently was in America and everybody treated me like a king.  So, I wanted to make sure I treated you the same way.”  We were touched by the man’s generosity and made it to Ngong by 1pm.    While the bike trip did not encourage us in regards to using the motorcycle, it again showed us God’s faithfulness and the hospitality that pervades the Maasai culture.

The Adventures of Suswa

One of our highlight activities during dad's visit to Najile was our trip to Mt. Suswa. Mt. Suswa is a dormant volcano that stands just outside our front door. We've always meant to climb it but haven't had many opportunities. While dad was here, we decided that we'd try to go from our front door to the tip of Suswa and back in a day. It seemed ambitious, but worth a try!
We started out at 6am, leaving with our friend Simion who was acting as our guide. We headed past Najile, town the road about 30 minutes before diverting towards the mountain. It was almost 8pm before we reached the last house at the foot of the mountain and we estimated we'd already walked a solid 6-8 miles. We had a long way to go.
We pressed onward. We hiked and hiked and hiked. We walked through dry riverbeds, through tall grasses, through forests of whistling thorn trees. By about 10am, it was starting to get hot and we began to wonder whether we'd reach the summit.
We climbed on. After each ridge we hoped that we'd see the crater beneath us, but it seemed to keep moving further away from us. Finally, as the sun rose and our spirits sank, we decided the next cliff would be our "summit." We stopped, enjoyed the view, ate sandwiches and ignored the fact that 1. we were still quite a distance from the summit and 2. had to walk all the way home.
We turned around. Down the mountain we went, hurrying home before the sun reached its full intensity. Soon all of us (except Simion) felt tired. My shoulders were burning from carrying the backpack, and all of our legs were well beyond jello-stage. We kept walking and walking, soon it was noon and then 1pm. Finally, by 2pm we reached Najile, stopped for some Chapati and rested. We made it home safely before crashing for multiple hours on our bed.
Despite not reaching the summit, we still had a great time and had a good workout (we estimate about 24 miles of walking). We still plan on summit-ing the mountain someday, but for now, Suswa: 1 Us: 0

Dad Kistler in Najile

One of the greatest blessings of Dad Kistler's visit was his willingness to do the various odd-jobs we never felt like doing ourselves. Dad's handiness came in handy time and again, and our house is the better for it.

One of our biggest debacles has been our lack of gate for our compound. For months we have realized that we needed a fence if we wanted to end the daily routine of herding livestock from our yard. When dad arrived, we had one half of our fence installed, but it needed painting and the second half of the fence needed to be installed as well. Dad worked multiple days on our fence, painting both halves black and mixing the cement for the second half's installation.

A second project of dad's was removing the bats from our roof (belfry). Our house had been home to a small colony of about 40 bats which was fine aside from their excessive excrement and annoying bat-sounds 24-7 (nocturnal my foot). Dad “volunteered” to spelunk into the roof, drive out the bats and stuff the holes in the wall with plastic bags. It took multiple hours of shooing and stuffing before the job was complete, but dad was up to the challenge. As of now, we are still bat free!



Dad's most valuable contribution to Steph's well-being was doing the dishes and general cleaning. Neither of us particularly enjoy doing the dishes, its difficult with limited water. Dad took over dish-washing duties, following our exact instructions on how to wash. Despite his clear annoyance at washing dishes, he did more washing than both of us combined during his two weeks.

Finally dad was a great help while working in the garden. Once our gate was installed we could finally plant vegetables free from goat interference. Dad's insight into planting and muscles put towards weeding gave us the kick-start that we needed to start our garden growing.
Overall, we had a great time with dad and took mom's advice to “put him to work.” Dad was (and remains) the Najile Handy-Man

Protocol

What is protocol anyway? According to wikipedia: In its simplest form, a protocol can be defined as the rules governing the syntax, semantics and synchronization of communication.

Here, protocol, is the reason given anytime someone doesn't like how something has been done. You didn't follow protocol! Protocol pertains less to actual activities done, and more to who you talk to and in what order. It's all about holding onto the power you have and doing everything you can to get more. Classic example, a common activity in this community is holding fundraising events, to pay for school fees, weddings, etc. When a rich person holds a fundraising, instead of people questioning why they even need a fundraiser, hundreds of people show up, including those who barely know the person doing the fundraiser and shower them with money & animals. In contrast, when a poor person attempts to fundraise, few people will come other than close friends and family, and they give very little. Why the disparity? Because of protocol, people must go to the rich person's fundraiser. You have to go, or else you will insult them. While with a poor person, you don't have to attend, because they aren't important enough to require attendance. Protocol prevents the person with little or no voice from getting a word in edgewise, while the powerful consolidate their power and increase their influence. Protocol is a tool for furthering systemic injustices within this community. I wonder what protocol must be followed in other communities that I didn't even realize I lived under.

Dar es Salaam

The haven of peace greeted us with lots of heat. Our first night in Dar included an enjoyable meal, time at an internet cafe, and an abundance of sweat. All night our small ceiling fan fought a losing battle against the heat. The next day after getting our free breakfast, we decided to tour the city. We walked along the coastline, found the National Museum, went to a local crafts coop, and ate at a Subway! Overall, we enjoyed Dar, it was much slower and more relaxed than Nairobi. After getting our bus tickets early afternoon we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in our new Air Conditioned Room. The $10 for a room upgrade was the best money we spent in Dar.

Due to our extended stay, we found ourselves running low on clothing, and thus turned the bathroom sink into a wash basin. We were concerned that our clothes wouldn't be dry in time for our early morning departure, so decided that our best option was to make use of the ceiling fan. We carefully cleaned the fan blades & then hung our clothes, slowly increasing the speed to optimize drying efficiency. Our clothes were clean and dry with time to spare, despite Dad's serious objections to the whole plan.

But our story of our stay in Dar would not be complete if we didn't mention the bathroom door handle.  In the middle of the night, the inside door handle somehow separated from the other side, so when turned to open, the door instead stayed locked shut. This then led to a 20-minute break-in operation for the Kistler men, successfully completed with the use of old credit cards and metal clothes hangers.

The train

After Vic Falls, we stayed in Lusaka a night, eating with the MCC Zambia Country Reps.  The Fasts made a mean meal and showed off their impressive cake cutting skills.  We also had time during our trip to visit with friends from MCC orientation, the Moellers.  On Friday we started on our incredible journey, a three hour bus ride to Kapiri Mposhi train station, 48 hours of train ride, and then 12 hours of bus ride from Dat es Salaam to Nairobi. 
    The highlight of the first leg was the bus pastors.  Each bus ride in Zambia began with a short sermon, prayer and then offering.  Seemingly a whole community of itinerant pastor live with way.  On the road to Kapiri Mposhi, just as the first preacher got off the bus, a second stood up and decided to extend the message.  Part entertainer, part pastor, part wacko, this guy gave a decent sermon about the prodigal son and gave the money he collected to various other people on the bus (oldest woman, youngest child, etc...). 
    Finally, once we reached Kapiri Mposhi we realized we would have to find the train station some kilometers away.  As at every other bus stop, people crowd around the bus offering taxi rides (and various foods) which crescendos into a frenzy of screaming when white people are spotted.  You have to have a system of how to deal with this, as it can be pretty intimidating at first.  We tend to ignore them, walk a short distance away where we can have some space, and then talk to individuals or us competing drivers to lower the price.  We ended up getting a taxi for 10,000 kwacha (about 2.50) and then saw another white guy who was also going to the train station.  We split the cab fare (though the driver tried to up the price to 15,000 when we got there) and then got our tickets at the window.  A four-berth sleeper in 1st class cost us about $200 and included 4 beds, a small table and a window.
    After waiting for a few hours at the station, spent mostly watching a crew video a BBC documentary, we finally boarded and started moving around 4pm.  The first few hours were exciting as we felt like we were embarking on a great journey.  In the evening we ate dinner in the dining car and then played some card games together.  The first night was difficult as the constant screeching of brakes and various human noise woke us often. 
    Day two was again enjoyable.  We entered into Tanzania around noon and had no problems getting a visa or our Zambian Kwacha changed for Tanzanian shillings.  The country-side was lush with grasses and endless fields of maize.  We were quite jealous of the abundance in this place compared to our home in Najile.  In the evening we ordered food from our car but were disappointed when it didn't arrive until nearly 9pm. 
    Day three was the longest day.  We were hoping to arrive in Dar Es Salaam mid-afternoon and by the look of our maps we were ahead of schedule.  By noon it seemed like we were coming up on the home stretch so we packed our bags and were ready to go.  As the afternoon rolled by, it got hotter and hotter.  The small fan in our sleeper didn't work so we all huddled around the window trying to get some breeze.  At each small village we stopped, waited (seemingly for nobody) and then started up again.  By 4pm we were getting thoroughly tired of the train, to the point where even seeing a few animals out the window barely garnered a smile.
    Finally, at around 5:30 we pulled into Dar “station.”  When we got off we could not see a platform and were again confronted with the taxi pandemonium.  We chose our guy and walked along the train tracks, to a small platform, then out to the parking lot.  We found the hotel we were planning on staying at easily but when we went to the bus office we realized we didn't have enough Tanzanian shillings to buy tickets.  We'd be staying in Dar another day, and it turned out that was a good thing.

Victoria Falls

After our trip to Village of Hope, our next stop was Victoria Falls. The falls are near the point where Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana come together along the Zambezi river. Livingstone, the touristy town you stay at to go to the falls is about 7 hours south of Lusaka and to get their we took a bus. The ride trip was ok, though the suspension (or lack thereof) made it more comparable to a boat ride. We had expected food on the bus which also did not appear, but we appreciated the A/C.

Once in Linvingstone we met a friend from UD, Jen. Jen works with local clinics that do a lot of HIV/AIDS testing as part of a Public Health Masters from Boston U. She acted as our tour guide and was a great help in showing us around, introducing us to Zambian food (not very different from Kenyan food) and translating good prices (4307 Zambian Kwacha to the Dollar?).

After an evening at our hostel, we spent wednesday at the falls. Whoa. Since it had rained earlier in the week, the falls were starting to fill up, sending out a massive spray into the air. The forest around the river/falls receives rain practically 24/7, so it is very lush. After first taking a trail to see the “wide view” of the area, we hiked right past the falls. It was like walking through a monsoon. It was nearly impossible to see because it “rained” so hard your eyes barely stayed open. However, the falls were gorgeous, massive, just great to watch (if you can enjoy being wet).

Later we took a third trail to the “boiling pot” where the water swirls soon after descending the falls. We sat on the rocks and enjoyed watching bungee-jumpers jump off the bridge to Zimbabwe. All this time it was overcast which made the pictures a little less awe-inspiring, but was a great blessing since we didn't get sunburn.

After an evening eating pizza at a restaurant run by an Italian NGO and shopping at the local market, we hung out at our hostel, played ping-pong and watched the Arsenal/Porto football match. The following morning we took another bus to Lusaka which had a much better suspension. Overall, our trip to the falls was amazing, something we'll surely remember for years and maybe come back to do again.

Village of Hope

One of the major motivations behind visiting Zambia was to see old Kistler family friends, the Schwartzes. Kathleen and Benedict run an orphanage just north of Lusaka called, “Village of Hope” which is aiming at developing a sustainable model of orphan care.

As of now, there are 42 children at VoH, all referred by the local social services branch. The children range from 5-12 years old and are grouped into houses. Each house has about 8 children and a mother who lives with the kids. VoH runs a farm to feed the children, a restaurant and market to sell excess produce, beautiful school, and is starting chicken production. It was a wonderful time, marked with frequent power outages and lots of great food.

One favorite memory from VoH was playing a version of dodgeball with the children. One team all stands between two representatives of the other team who throw the ball back and forth. They try to hit the people in the middle like dodgeball. However, games were won by scoring 100 points between people getting out. Additional points were awarded if a person in the middle caught the ball, with more points received if more of your teammates are still “in.” I have to say I dominated, which was a lot of fun.
Most importantly for me, I was blessed to see that the children were all joyful. They sung and played and danced and smiled constantly. I (Matt) preached a sermon on the wise and foolish builder parable and they all seemed to appreciate the message. They also challenged me to a foot-race which was considerable fun (and an ego-boost for a moderately slow person). The entire time and place had a sense of hope which gave its name true meaning.

Internet debacle

We apologize for our absence recently. We'll catch you up on our time with Dad Kistler once the current internet debacle gets resolved. We share a modem with the programs we work with, but they haven't paid the bill recently and have more than KS25,000 in back bills to pay.... ($300) Hopefully, we'll have more consistent internet soon.