Fire and Smoke and "what are those people doing"?

Hey All,

Last Sunday Jim and Trevor had an interesting and eye opening experience.  Our friend Rose called on Sunday evening and said her neighbor's house was on fire.  Jim and Trevor donned hats and boots and headed up there.  It was dark when they arrived and the fire had pretty much consumed the house.  They had some buckets and were trying to get water from a supply that was giving about 2 gallons a minute!  There was no organized system and Jim tried to get a sort of bucket brigade started to put out the hot spots, but the locals would have nothing to do with it.  He was very frustrated.  They mainly wanted to stand around and watch (as well as not stopping the kids from being right there near the fire).  At one point, they started digging through the burned remains.  Jim thought were looking for the owner's tools.  They were not looking for them to make sure the owner got them back, they were looting!  Unfortunately Jim didn't realize that until the next day.  Also, Rose told me the lady of the house had everything that was salvageable looted during the night.  They got to the house on Monday morning and nothing was left.  We were shocked.  The neighbors and "friends" of these people did not reach out a hand to help, but rather saw an opportunity to steal.  This has to do with the mentality here that if someone is better off then you, they will be shunned and picked on and even threatened.  People don't lift each other up, but rather drag them down.  It promotes a society that is held back by greed and a "what's in it for me" attitude.  This kind of incident could discourage us and make us not want to serve in a place like this, but, we see people who are God loving and really trying hard to get out of that cycle of bitterness.  They are faithful and believe God will provide and are trying to do it right.  Those are the ones we really feel the need to help, as well as the children who will be the next generation here.  The incident is a sad reminder of the true attitude of a lot of Africans, but it also serves to remind us that God is in control!

Brick Making trials and encouragement:
Last week I reported that we had a set of men working on making bricks with the machine (we make them of 90% soil and 10% cement) that were doing well and we hoped to have them making about 500 per day by Wed.  That, sad to say, did not happen mainly based on the attitude as stated above about the fire.  Even though we were clear on what we would pay, they (after learning how to do it) were not happy and wanted 3 times the amount.  So, moving on:  We hired an experienced crew from Ndabibi (on the other side of Lake Naivasha) who are rocking it!  We sent a truck for them on Wed. and they started on Thurs.  They got started later then they wanted (they wanted to start at 6am) and they still were able to make 500 by the end of the day!  They are organized and have a team effort that is comforting to see.  See the short video below.

We are heading out tomorrow (Sunday) to take a bit of time off.  There is a house in Naivasha that we are renting with 2 other families.  We are so looking forward to relaxing for a bit! 

Please pray that:
1. People here will see that lifting each other up is the only way to have yourself lifted up also.
2. We will have a safe and relaxing break.
3. The projects at the hospital will keep moving forward and money will be raised to complete them.

Thank you so much!

In His Hands,
Jullie T.

Getting Culturized

Hey All,
We have had a busy week as usual!  The kids (Timothy and Sallie) have been in camp all week and we went to pick them up yesterday.  It was maybe only 70 or 80 kilometers (50 miles) away, but with traffic, it took us over 3 hours to get home!  It only took us 2 to get there because it was in the early morning. If you have never driven in Africa, you can not imaging what it is like!  It is somewhat close to driving in Italy, but it is a magnitude or 2 worse.  Trevor says, "the only rule is not to hit anything (or anyone)!"  And sometimes the roads just kind of disappear.  South of Nairobi, where we were yesterday, they are doing construction and for some sections, the tarmac road just goes away and you are on some kind of potholed gravel that becomes almost 4 lane as people scramble for position.  And, the detours are not marked.  You just know where you are by following the crowd.  Needless to say, that is why I did not write yesterday.  We got home at about 5pm, and I had a headache as usual (it's the diesel fumes that get me), so I did not get to it.  Anyway, they had a great time and want to do it again next year!

I am still working with the bricks to get up to 500 per day.  We hired a new crew this week and they are training now and doing well.  We are praying that they will be able to reach 500 a day by this coming Wednesday or so.

Last Sunday was cultural Sunday at our local church.  There were 6 tribes that presented.  They sang traditional songs and then had traditional food to sample.  I have included a link here to a video that Jim took.  It was really fun to see the different people from around here.  The first group (Kukuyu) are the most prevalent here.  Our friend Njoke is leading the singing in the brown hat.  Hope you enjoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieX-fOYFbt4


In His Hands,
Jullie T.

Finally, School is out and Closing Day Speech

Hello All,
Finally, school is out.  The kids are happy, but we are trying to figure out what to do with them while we are so busy!  Actually, Timothy and Sallie are going to camp next week, and the first week in Aug we are all going to a house in Naivasha with some friends to just hang out for a week.  I am sure the time will fly by.
We are moving to a bigger house tomorrow.  The bedrooms got painted today and the floors refinished.  The 3 guys working on it didn't even stop to take lunch!  They were moving!  We have some friends and a van from the hospital coming to make the move easier.  Actually, Jim and I think this will be the easiest move we have done in a very long time!  We didn't bring that much and we haven't had the change to accumulate lots of stuff (yet)!
Next week I will fill you in on some major projects here that are moving along.  But tonight (Friday) I am just going to post a speech from the closing ceremonies yesterday.  It comes from a song back in 1997 and the words have been tweeked a bit.  If you have time, it is very funny (and True)! 

Graduation Chapel Speech

July 14, 2011

 

Class of 2011, (and the rest of you listening in) wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, the rest of my advice is primarily based on my own life experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly. True beauty does not come from outward appearance but from “your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” (1 Peter 3:3-4)

Feel. God created us with emotions so we can enjoy the people and events in our lives. If we deny our emotions we may think we will never get hurt, but we will miss out on joy too.

Sing.

When choosing to follow the crowd, be careful which crowd you choose to follow. What is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular.

A truly happy person is one who can truly enjoy the scenery on a detour!

I have wandered all my life, and I have also traveled; the difference between the two being this, that we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Don't make someone your priority when to them you are only an option.

"There is a huge difference between believing what God has promised and praying for things you'd like to be true." - Francis Chan

Enjoy your time at RVA, it is much shorter in the big picture of your lives than it looks now. Look around you every day for chances to make positive memories. When you look back keep the good times written large in your memory and let the rough moments fade.

RVA will continue to function without you, but you need to come back as an alumni to see what I mean. It only takes a year for people to start saying, “Oh well, since your time…”

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Laugh. Often and freely, especially at yourself. It will exercise your diaphragm and put all the right lines on your face. Never fear wrinkles brought on by laughing or smiling too much. Smiling is a great way to introduce yourself.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Floss.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday. When it all comes down to it, God has those moments in His hand as well, let Him worry about them. “Cast all your anxieties on Him for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) Corrie TenBoom once said, "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength."

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't. Live every day in the presence of God and you will be where He wants you to be, and that is all that really matters anyway.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, and not for men.” (Colossians 3:23)

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, give God the glory in all things.

Enjoy your body. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own. It’s also the only one you will ever have, and as a Christian it is the temple of the Holy Spirit and deserves to be treated as such.

Get to know the adults in your life. Contrary to popular belief, they are not here to cause you distress. God has placed them and you here at this point in time for His purposes. You may miss out on some great things that God wants to do if all you ever do is complain about people.

Find a bigger problem.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Sometimes when people walk out of your life, you need to shut the door. Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. Like riding a bike, good relationships are not awkward no matter how long the space of time between visits.

You cannot let life defeat you, love beat you, fear suppress, or money depress you, for you are stronger than you will ever let yourself believe

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Never do anything you wouldn’t want to explain to the paramedics.

Every argument has two sides and yours is not always the right one. Sometimes there is no right one and carrying on the argument is a sure way to lose a friend. There are occasions when a gracious, “you may be right” is the best way to end the argument and save the friendship.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself. Paul exhorts us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and…run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” so that at the end of our lives we can say with him, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (Hebrews 12:1, 2 Timothy 4:7)

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen

In His Hands,

Jullie T.

Life Goes On

Hello All,
This has been an amazingly busy week!  We worked on:

1. Electrical Plan for the new Generator
2. Generator Building Design at the Naivasha annex
3. Mother Child Health Building
4. Brick Making

We have also learned that we will be moving!  One of the grounds workers here, put in a word for us and got us a house.  It has a beautiful yard and an actual living room.  Now we can have people over and not have to stand to eat dinner!  We will have some painting done this week and will aim for next Saturday for moving day.

Our new front walk!

Trevor finished his last exam yesterday.  It has been exam week and he is very glad it is done!
The kids had Kiambogo night last night.  That means "place of the Buffalo."

Here is a picture of a Water Buffalo that we took last year.

The Buffalo is the mascot of RVA.  On Kiambogo night, they introduce the year book via a video or play and then they all go to their respective class groups and receive them and start the signing process.  It was crazy and the kids had a great time.  Even Sallie and Timothy got yearbooks! I didn't get a yearbook till I was in High school!  Afterwards, Trevor had a lock-in with his class.  He stumbled in this morning about 7am and mumbled something about going to bed.  I think I will let sleeping bears lie!

I think we have mentioned before about how everybody does the same thing here.  They see something that is working, and imitate it.  They don't think out of the box and try something new.  That was evident while trying to teach some of these young guys about the brick making machine.  It took us all day to gather the materials and start the process and we still weren't finished. 

Here is a picture of the bricks we've been making.

But, there are 2 examples this week of people thinking outside the box:

1. The man who put in a word for us about the house.  He went to his boss to ask without us even asking him.  He saw our situation and made it happen.  We are grateful and very proud of him!
2. The other is my house help, Rose.  We have been experimenting with a Colonial Brown Bread that is very yummy.  It can be steamed in a bread pan and it is very dark and grainy.  The Kenyans don't particularly like brown bread, but she wants to make it to sell to the Wazungu (whites) here.  She does not have an oven, but can steam this on her jiko (it's a wood burning cooker).  We now just have to get some advertising and some orders!

There is the coolest bush/tree here that now seems to be sprouting it's seed pod.  It comes up right in the middle as this giant sprout.

It is the weirdest thing.  And, in a group of these plants, only one will have this large pod.  So, maybe it is one of those century type plants that only blooms every once in a while.  This one's for you Mom!

Have a great week
In His Hands,
Jullie T.

The RVA Baptism

Hello All,
Today is Sunday and we just came home from the baptism at RVA (Rift Valley Academy, where the kids go to school).  It is so refreshing to be able to witness something like that.  These kids are standing up there professing their love of Christ and desire to dedicate their lives to Him in front of all of their school mates.  There were some tears and lots of encouragement.  To be able to see a student body that lifts each other up instead of bringing each other down was an amazing thing.  Jim and I sometimes think that RVA is a bit isolated and a kind of little America, but it is a great school and they are doing a wonderful job teaching these kids, who are sometimes very far away from family and in a foreign land.  We are thankful that they are here!

In His Hands,
Jullie T.

The time is Flying!

Hello All,
Well, we are into July and we can't believe the time has gone so fast!  Our weeks just fly by and then we relax for a few minutes and start again!  Our weekends are usually filled with catching up, eating guacamole and chips and pasta.
This past week, the hospital purchased a brick making machine.  It uses sub soil, a bit of cement to stabilize it and high compression.  These blocks are kind of like legos, as they interlock.  I went with 2 men last Thursday to get trained on how to operate it and to pick it up.  I was the only Mzungu (white) and the only woman of about 8 people.  They call women here "Mama."  So I am "Mama Trevor or Mama Timothy or Mama Sallie."  But, it makes me feel old!  We plan on using the machine to build bricks for our new Mother child health care building. They will take a while to make and they take about 3 weeks to cure.  So, I guess we better get started!  I will post pictures later of the bricks and the building.

I have a prayer request:  Please pray for a little S&^%$$ girl at the hospital.  Her name is Sabrin and she has a blood disease that is making her blood clot abnormally.  She is about to loose her hand because it has turned black.  She is under a year old (not sure how old she is) and she needs us to pray for her.

We are heading into Nairobi today to get our monthly (or bi-weekly) groceries.  It is always an adventure.  The mall we normally go to is very nice (western standards) and it is fun to just get away and have a nice lunch there outside.  Hope you have a great day too - but we have to get going so that we are back before dinner time!  You never know how the traffic is going to be!

In His Hands,
Jullie T.