Wednesday, October 27, 2010
GIRAFFE SIGHTING!!!
I was outside in the yard this morning, watering our passion fruit and tomatoes when I heard loud running footsteps. I assumed it was just a group of cows being moved along by their shepherd, but to my surprise I looked up to see 2 giraffes not more than 50 meters from me! Then I saw 2 more and then 2 more (including one younger one)! They were running quickly and pretty soon they were out of sight, but what a joy to spot some of God's beautiful creatures to start my day.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
What is this?
Upon my return home yesterday afternoon, I was greeted with some pleasant and some not-so-pleasant surprises.
The pleasant surprise: it had rained a lot! The garden was looking healthy and green and our garage roof had collected at least 50 L of water. It then took me about an hour and a half to collect this water, by maneuvering the very heavy water above my head toward small holes underneath which I placed buckets... but I was thankful.
The not-so-pleasant surprise: In the corner of our garage, I discovered cat-like animal, with grey-black fur, black legs, long tail, pointy teeth, and pointy face. Matt and I have been trying to identify it. Any ideas?
The pleasant surprise: it had rained a lot! The garden was looking healthy and green and our garage roof had collected at least 50 L of water. It then took me about an hour and a half to collect this water, by maneuvering the very heavy water above my head toward small holes underneath which I placed buckets... but I was thankful.
The not-so-pleasant surprise: In the corner of our garage, I discovered cat-like animal, with grey-black fur, black legs, long tail, pointy teeth, and pointy face. Matt and I have been trying to identify it. Any ideas?
Birthday feast
October 17th, Matt celebrated his 27th birthday (thank you Carolyn for helping me get Matt's age right). There aren't exactly places to go to do something special, so we make it special with food. For the first time since we've been here, were able to find ricotta cheese as well as cream cheese at nakumatt. So..... I was able to make hearty meat lasagne and peanut butter cheesecake. In my unbiased opinion, they both tasted excellent.
I wanted to post pictures, but sadly, our camera has gone missing. (For those of you that know me well, this isn't the first camera to disappear on my watch...)
I wanted to post pictures, but sadly, our camera has gone missing. (For those of you that know me well, this isn't the first camera to disappear on my watch...)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Let it Rain
We've always been struck by how in this dry land, rain is viewed very differently than at home. In America, rain is generally viewed as a nuisance, something to be avoided, something to "come again another day". Here, it is always welcomed and seen as a blessing from God. One of the names for rain in Maa is actually the word for God. Today we got a particularly clear example of the Maasai attitude toward rain.
We were in the middle of church, when it started to rain. At first slowly, one drop at a time, pinging against the church's tin roof. Then faster and faster, creating an avalanche of sound. At home, this may have been viewed as an annoyance. Church would have stopped and people would have waited for this interruption to end. Here the rain felt like worship. Everyone's face was joyful. Many people started laughing as the leaders attempted to be heard, yelling at the top of their lungs without success. The planned parts of the service may have stopped, but worship continued, as people laughed and smiled with the rain. Looking at people's faces, we could see so much of who God is, in the simple blessing of rain. No disconnect exists between God, rain and life here. They all go hand-in-hand.
I think we miss something at home, as we become disconnected from the land. Without being dependent on the land and rain for our daily bread, rain and God can seem unnecessary. We're so removed from the blessings God provides us, I think we forget they exist.
We were in the middle of church, when it started to rain. At first slowly, one drop at a time, pinging against the church's tin roof. Then faster and faster, creating an avalanche of sound. At home, this may have been viewed as an annoyance. Church would have stopped and people would have waited for this interruption to end. Here the rain felt like worship. Everyone's face was joyful. Many people started laughing as the leaders attempted to be heard, yelling at the top of their lungs without success. The planned parts of the service may have stopped, but worship continued, as people laughed and smiled with the rain. Looking at people's faces, we could see so much of who God is, in the simple blessing of rain. No disconnect exists between God, rain and life here. They all go hand-in-hand.
I think we miss something at home, as we become disconnected from the land. Without being dependent on the land and rain for our daily bread, rain and God can seem unnecessary. We're so removed from the blessings God provides us, I think we forget they exist.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Teaching Stories: Part II
This story I told during a goat distribution of one of our partners. The program buys goats, gives individuals 4 or 5 and then the individuals are required to return the first kids back to the program. Despite the kid return, which helps, I think the project reinforces "dependency" mindsets, has backwards incentives (a better model might allow people to earn a goat through various work/contributions etc...), and can lead to favoritism (the beneficiary selection process is highly suspect). I made this story up to try and motivate the beneficiaries to make the most of this opportunity.
There once were two young men. The first was the son of a rich man. His father had many cows, many goats, and many sheep. This son was very lazy and didn't like to work. His favorite past-time was sitting, sitting all day long.
The second young man was the son of a poor man, who had no goats, no sheep, and no cows. He worked very hard every day. He would do any job that somebody would offer him. If it was digging in a quarry, he'd do it. If it was cutting hay, he would do it. If it was driving animals to market, he would do it.
When the first boy grew up, he received from his father an inheritance of 100 cows. However, he soon squandered them. He sold them to buy beer, he went and feasted on meat all day, but he never wanted to work. Soon he was left with only 3 cows.
When the second boy grew up, he received nothing from his father. However, he had worked so hard he had earned himself 3 cows.
Soon after, an aid organization came to the community and decided to give people cows. They chose both of the men who had 3 cows.
What do you think happened to the cows?
The first man received his new cow and quickly it died due to disease. The rest of his herd was soon gone.
The second man received his new cow and his herd continue to prosper. Within some years he had a herd of 20 cows.
Which of the men was poor? The first man was the one who truly was impoverished. His mind and heart were lazy, unwilling to work and that meant sooner or later he would be poor. The second man had a mind and heart that were rich and willing to work. Because of this, it was very likely that one day he would not be so poor.
Which of these two men will you be? Will you take these goats and lose them, or make them work for you? You may know some of the beneficiaries who received goats last year. Some are doing better now. Some are not. Its up to you to decide whether tomorrow, when you wake up with 5 new goats, whether you are rich or poor.
There once were two young men. The first was the son of a rich man. His father had many cows, many goats, and many sheep. This son was very lazy and didn't like to work. His favorite past-time was sitting, sitting all day long.
The second young man was the son of a poor man, who had no goats, no sheep, and no cows. He worked very hard every day. He would do any job that somebody would offer him. If it was digging in a quarry, he'd do it. If it was cutting hay, he would do it. If it was driving animals to market, he would do it.
When the first boy grew up, he received from his father an inheritance of 100 cows. However, he soon squandered them. He sold them to buy beer, he went and feasted on meat all day, but he never wanted to work. Soon he was left with only 3 cows.
When the second boy grew up, he received nothing from his father. However, he had worked so hard he had earned himself 3 cows.
Soon after, an aid organization came to the community and decided to give people cows. They chose both of the men who had 3 cows.
What do you think happened to the cows?
The first man received his new cow and quickly it died due to disease. The rest of his herd was soon gone.
The second man received his new cow and his herd continue to prosper. Within some years he had a herd of 20 cows.
Which of the men was poor? The first man was the one who truly was impoverished. His mind and heart were lazy, unwilling to work and that meant sooner or later he would be poor. The second man had a mind and heart that were rich and willing to work. Because of this, it was very likely that one day he would not be so poor.
Which of these two men will you be? Will you take these goats and lose them, or make them work for you? You may know some of the beneficiaries who received goats last year. Some are doing better now. Some are not. Its up to you to decide whether tomorrow, when you wake up with 5 new goats, whether you are rich or poor.
Teaching Stories: Part I
Recently, I've started using stories, preferably about cows, to reinforce a concept I want to teach to a Maasai-crowd. As a way of remembering the stories and for you to get an idea of how Maasai think, I'm going to write the stories as I tell them. Enjoy!
This story was first told at a small dam that was donated by MCC/CFGB a few years ago. Unfortunately, it has never been very functional as the main trough (where the animals are supposed to get water) has never functioned properly. The people had received a dam basically for free, and never moved beyond a dependent mindset. The story is basically highlighting the "if you give a man a fish/if you teach a man to fish" idea.
"There once were two men, both of whom had no cows. The first man went to his neighbor and asked for a cow. The neighbor, in a generous mood, gave the man a cow to the first man's delight. The neighbor thought to himself, "I am such a good person, I've given this man a cow, surely I will be blessed for my goodness."
The second man without a cow also went to his neighbor. He asked, "please give me a cow, so I can have some milk to drink." The neighbor immediately refused. But he told the poor man, "if you want my help, stay with me at my home and learn how to care for animals from my family."
The second man agreed and stayed with his neighbor for many months. He learned how to milk, how to spray for ticks, when to take the animals to get water, and how to recognize diseases. At the end of 6-months, the poor man was given a calf as a gift for his hard work and sent home.
The next year, the drought came. The first man who was given a free cow did not know how to care for his cow and it quickly died. The second man, knew how to care for his cow and even in the drought it grew and soon was pregnant.
After the drought, the first man went back to his neighbor, asking for another cow. The neighbor, this time, shooed the man away saying, "didn't I just give you a cow last year?" However the second man soon had a calf, milk, and could drink as much curdled milk as he liked."
This story was first told at a small dam that was donated by MCC/CFGB a few years ago. Unfortunately, it has never been very functional as the main trough (where the animals are supposed to get water) has never functioned properly. The people had received a dam basically for free, and never moved beyond a dependent mindset. The story is basically highlighting the "if you give a man a fish/if you teach a man to fish" idea.
"There once were two men, both of whom had no cows. The first man went to his neighbor and asked for a cow. The neighbor, in a generous mood, gave the man a cow to the first man's delight. The neighbor thought to himself, "I am such a good person, I've given this man a cow, surely I will be blessed for my goodness."
The second man without a cow also went to his neighbor. He asked, "please give me a cow, so I can have some milk to drink." The neighbor immediately refused. But he told the poor man, "if you want my help, stay with me at my home and learn how to care for animals from my family."
The second man agreed and stayed with his neighbor for many months. He learned how to milk, how to spray for ticks, when to take the animals to get water, and how to recognize diseases. At the end of 6-months, the poor man was given a calf as a gift for his hard work and sent home.
The next year, the drought came. The first man who was given a free cow did not know how to care for his cow and it quickly died. The second man, knew how to care for his cow and even in the drought it grew and soon was pregnant.
After the drought, the first man went back to his neighbor, asking for another cow. The neighbor, this time, shooed the man away saying, "didn't I just give you a cow last year?" However the second man soon had a calf, milk, and could drink as much curdled milk as he liked."
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Snacks We Enjoy In Kenya
Since being in Kenya, we've been introduced to a variety of new foods. We've come to enjoy ugali, sukuma, githeri, and fanta black current. However after a long day, there are still some snacks that we can't do without to remind us of home. A few of our favorites include:
Ice Cream
Popcorn (better here since we make it ourselves)
Banana Bread (sweet bananas are cheap and abundant)
Reese's Pieces (imported)
Trail Mix (preferably "mountain trail" from walmart)
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips
So yeah.....we like our snacks
Ice Cream
Popcorn (better here since we make it ourselves)
Banana Bread (sweet bananas are cheap and abundant)
Reese's Pieces (imported)
Trail Mix (preferably "mountain trail" from walmart)
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips
So yeah.....we like our snacks
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
1 piano, 1 teacher, 22 new pianists
Out of some insane compulsion I decided to use the only keyboard in the entire Najile community to teach piano to my 22 8th graders. Maybe it was out of a desire to rid myself of the terrible piano playing I hear every week at church, which shouldn't be called piano playing, or maybe it's a sincere desire to teach a skill to people who really desire to learn. Either way, one piano, 1 teacher and 22 students is no easy task. I've been trying to find ways to engage the class in learning while I work with one person at a time at the piano, having them practice on their miniature paper keyboards, quiz each other on note names, play in the air, etc. Surprisingly they're making progress.
After 3 35-minute classes, all my students can find most notes on the keyboard, although middle C is still a mystery to them. Almost all with relative success have played a 5-note C-scale, C-major arpeggio and triad. Not bad considering each one gets about 1-minute on the piano each week. Next week we'll be starting F and G-chords...
After 3 35-minute classes, all my students can find most notes on the keyboard, although middle C is still a mystery to them. Almost all with relative success have played a 5-note C-scale, C-major arpeggio and triad. Not bad considering each one gets about 1-minute on the piano each week. Next week we'll be starting F and G-chords...
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Gutters
I'm proud to announce that, our house has gutters which will soon be accompanied by a 2300L tank. As the short rains come in the next month (God willing), we hope to collect water for our garden and household use. It will not only help us (since the main water pipe is empty about 75% of the time), but also be an example to others of how to conserve the water we have. The best part of the gutter installation was the fact that we got a friend to negotiate the price, which made it considerably cheaper. Instead of Ksh 3000-4000 they were installed for Ksh 1700. That's called getting a "local" price instead of a "mazungu" price.
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