I am not sure if you have heard of the unrest here in Kenya, but I will brief you on the goings-on:
Kenya invaded Somalia last week in retaliation against insurgents from Al-Sha_bab kidnapping missionaries and tourists up near the Somali boarder (in the north east). The US embassy has sent information telling us to stay away from high profile areas (like Malls or big events and night clubs). We live in the more southern part (to the north west of Nairobi). Al-Sha_bab has threatened to carry out retaliation events against Kenya. There were a few minor events last week (a bomb went off in a night club and a grenade was thrown at a bus station). They are not sure if the culprits were Al-Sha_bab or not. So, we are doing our best to just lay low. The security at the hospital has been beefed up: The police post that is here has been upgraded to a police station - which means they should get a car! We are doing our grocery shopping at some lesser known places. It is interesting that I heard a story from a missionary that lived here for a long time: Back in the 50's, the Mau Mau had an uprising against the British. (You can see the 1957 movie about it called, "Something of Value" starring Rock Hudson and Sidney Poitier). During that time, some Mau Mau, who were captured, had reported that they had turned away from Kijabe after they noted the high level of security forces surrounding the area. At that time there were no security forces, but the Christians here had been praying hard! Who's hand was in that! So, don't worry about us, but pray that the kidnappings will stop and this war will be temporary.
On a projects note: Jim has updated the projects page (on the top bar). There have been a lot of things progressing this week. Things are moving pretty quickly around here. It sure keeps us busy.
We tested some of our bricks (finally) this week with a machine that we built.
Here is a picture of the brick testing machine
There is a plate that is 30mm x 30mm that we use to crush the samples. We add a weight (or Jim hanging on to the bar!) to the lever arm and use a scale to see how many Kg is takes to crush the sample. Most of the samples passed, a few failed. It was fun to actually get to destroy things!
Here is a picture of the MCH building:
It is coming along! There are many challenges. Please pray that we will overcome those and have a strong building for the women and children that come the Kijabe and for the CT scanner that will be so important to the health care aspect and for the finances for the hospital.
I have been looking forward to today! Today is Senior Store up at RVA (where they sell good food), and a football (soccer) tournament. It is still wet outside as it has been for about a week so far, but we are going anyway. They boys have already left, as they eat good food, and play and hang out with friends for the day.
Here are some pictures of when we went last Friday to eat at a friend's house. Grace makes the best chicken!
I can't tell if Grace is waving in the picture or trying to tell Jim to "Stop it!"
Please pray for us as we finish out the month of school. The kids are done at the end of Nov and we will be leaving to come home for a visit in Dec. It feels like the last push, and we are really looking forward to the break when we get home!
In His Hands,
Jullie T.
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