Days Like This

Yesterday was one of "those" days. There was not a moment of rest between awaking at 5:30 and sleeping somewhere around midnight. Here's a quick overview:

morning work-out
shower & getting ready
run to the bank
drive carpool
write two tests
teach four classes back-to-back
run interference with two struggling students when another slices his finger open and ends up needing to be driven to the doctor's office (though not by me at that point)
interview a friend on video for Chapel talk
return home to cook dinner
host four 8th grade boys for dinner
drive them to school
speak on a Panel for Small Groups
clean up
find out the bus didn't come, help drive students home
answer e-mails
fall into bed
be awoken by the bank in America twice with address questions
fall back into bed

By the time the bank was calling, I could barely remember my name let alone answer some of the questions coherently. It was physically and mentally and even emotionally exhausting, but at the end, I really could honestly say, "This was a good day." It's one of those days that drives me to my knees and reminds me of so many things.

1. I love being here! :-) I can tell I have a purpose and enjoy my calling here so much.
2. I am feeble and dependent on a higher power. If God weren't sustaining me, I'd come apart at the seams every day.
3. I am feeble and dependent on other people. It meant the world to know I could call on other teachers or friends to pick up where I was slacking yesterday. We need each other, and that's exactly how God designed it to be.

I've recently learned to see Psalm 118 again in a new light and have fallen in love with it. When David finishes listing all the pressures he's facing (surrounded by enemies, hard pressed on every side, nations cutting him down, ...), he recognizes over and over again how it was the Lord who led him through each and every challenge. And in v. 24 he says, "The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad." It was his day from start to finish, as is today, as is tomorrow, and as is every day. I can choose to see the exhaustion, or I can choose to rejoice. What will you do with your day?

Idols, Plagues, and God's Word

I had a stack of self-made posters in my hand, ten to be exact, each depicting the name and picture of an Egyptian god or goddess. The 6th grade class had been reading about some of the Mythology of Ancient Egypt, and the names were overwhelming, so I told them we'd highlight just ten of them. As I held up each poster and had the class repeat the names after me, they also filled in a pyramid chart that was very carefully labeled 1 - 10. It was after the fourth one that MS at the back threw down his pencil, crossed his arms, and asked "Why do we have to learn this? They're not real anyway; they're just idols." I had to bite back a smile as I promised him it would be okay, and we had to finish.

When their notes were complete, I hung the posters on the board and pulled out my Bible. JO's eyebrows shot up, but being the model student that he is, he pulled his Bible out, too. Turning to Exodus, I asked if the class knew how many plagues God sent on Egypt via Moses. A couple hands went up with the correct answer: "Ten." I asked if anyone knew the first plague. A couple more volunteered the answer: "Turning the Nile into blood."

Excited, I nodded and then, pointing at the gods on the board, asked which god or goddess that particular plague may have been targeting. Confused at first, they looked at my quizzically. "Who is the god of the Nile?" "Hapi," one student offered. "Right!" I shouted so loudly, I probably scared a couple of them. "Hapi. So let's turn Hapi around because I think God owned him with that plague." Next I read the second plague to them, the frog infestation. DW smiled broadly. "Frogs? That one god you showed us - Geb - has a frog face." "Indeed he does," I said and proceeded to turn Geb around.

In one instance, 15 students caught on to what I was doing, and 15 hands (including skeptical MS') shot up, and voices were climbing over each other. "Do the 10 plagues go with the 10 gods?" "Is the darkness plague against Ra?" "How did God do that?!" "Is this true?" It was that moment teachers dream of, and we had so much fun going through the rest of the plagues until all the Egyptian gods had been defeated and were no longer staring out at the class.

But my absolute favorite second of the whole morning was seeing IB, the normally quiet and seemingly non-interested student, pull out his Bible partway through the process and ask, "What book of the Bible is this in?" My heart sang. If one student learns to love his Bible just a fraction more than he did before, God's name be praised!

 Gotta love enthusiastic 6th graders

 Turning Geb around.

That's IB's hand up right there with his Bible open! :-)

Sleeping Lovelies

Here's a picture that warms my heart and tingles my toes: all my girls asleep on my living room floor like sardines. :-)

Day 11: Final Day in Africa

 Me feeding a giraffe!

The coolest thing on this day was getting to feed giraffes at a Wildlife Center. Their sticky tongues wrap around your hand with all the food pellets and when they withdraw it, the food is gone. It was the weirdest sensation, so I had to do it multiple times until in the end I had giraffe slime all over my left hand. Don't worry, I washed them. :-)

The hardest part of the day was saying good-bye to Kristin. :-( My time here went far too quickly (as I knew it would), and while I'm looking forward to my bed and non-suitcased clothes, I'm going to miss the sunshine, the mangos, and having such a good friend at my beck and call and availability for any conversation or adventure. Thanks for an amazing sights and sounds, Kristin!

Day 9-10: Maasai Market Shopping

The highlight of these two days has definitely been the shopping. Kristin took me to the Maasai Market that meets in a parking garage every Thursday. I forgot to take a camera, but that may have been okay anyway since it definitely would have pegged me as a tourist in a way my white skin didn't too much. With Kristin's residency card, several owners just assumed I lived here, too, so we were able to get away from the tourist prices pretty quickly.

The bartering skills were a little rusty, and I'm sure I overpaid on a couple of the items, but the girls seemed quite impressed that I got a skirt for only 600 Schilling (~ 6 Euros). I had no idea, I was just trying to make a deal to get two, and she wouldn't budge. :-)

Other highlights of these two days included getting to cook for the girls in Kristin's house and then having them cook a 2nd Christmas dinner for all of us. Yum. We watched Downton Abbey, took a walk, visited the West Nairobi School campus (their school), and had Emmy over before she and I had to say good-bye. Sad how quickly my time here is winding down.

Day 6-8: Christmas Kenya-style

It's still weird that we're celebrating Christmas in the middle of the summer - even weird for native Kenyan residents such as Kristin and her roommate, Amber. Church on Sunday helped a lot to get us into mood, which is what we did on Day 6, followed by a relaxing afternoon at home. Christmas Eve, Day 7, was about getting ready for the big holiday. We took a trip to the grocery store, the pie place to get a pumpkin pie, and a small market for last-minute gifts. 

Now here I sit on Day 8. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Amber made us yummy cinnamon rolls which we enjoyed after a quick gift exchange. A rhubarb pie just came out of the oven for tonight's big dinner, and we're just relaxing.

I've been reflecting on Zechariah's praise song in Luke 1 since Sunday. What a man of God who really understood the big picture, at least for that moment. I especially like the three reasons he gives for Christ's coming:
1. that we should be saved (v. 71)
2. to show mercy (v. 72)
3. to be faithful to himself and keep his oath (v. 73)
Christmas really is a remembrance of the biggest sacrifice made, a sign post that shows God putting his plan formed at the dawn of the ages into motion. May these truths be especially true and important to us this year, and like Zechariah, may our worship be drawn up in service to him forever (v. 74).

Merry Christmas!

Day 2-5: The Mara

Actually Day 2 was in Nairobi, but nothing noteworthy really happened. Other than to say it was a lovely, relaxing day. I worked mainly on grading papers for my Online Course.

Day 3, however, is another story. It saw us up at the crack of dawn to catch our safari vehicle south to The Masai Mara (an extension of Tanzania's Serengeti, though slightly smaller). I'll mainly let the pictures speak for themselves. Suffice it to say that we had an amazing time!!!

Top Ten Highlights:
1. Driving through the Rift Valley
2. Our "tent camp" room that really was in a tent but was gorgeous inside
3. Lions
4. Cheetahs!!!
5. Cheetahs chasing impala and running really fast
6. Cheetah babies!!!
7. Hippos, Giraffes, Rhinos, and Crocodiles
8. Seeing animals eat their prey (gross, but awe-inspiring, too)
9. the Food at our "tent camp" that included an all-you-can-eat buffet and all-you-can-drink mango juice
10. Hanging out with Kristin (who deserves credit for most of these photos) and her friend Emmy

Single Lowlight:
1. Getting sick on the first morning and spending a bit of time on the porcelain express. It made for a queasy ride on the next safari day.