A Simple but Beautiful Day

Can you see the hidden treasure?

P.S. It's a ZEBRA

This has nothing to do with my blog this week,

I was just excited we drove by a herd of Zebra!!!

 (Sorry the picture isn't very good)

My weekdays generally look the same. Every weekday I follow the same schedule: I eat breakfast around 7am, I work from 8am-5pm with a tea break at 10am and a lunch break at 1pm, then I go home to be with my host mom and eat dinner. It is not boring by any means, I enjoy being at work, and I enjoy being in Kitui, but last Thursday was just slightly different enough to remind me just how truly blessed I am.

It may not be to overwhelmingly exciting to read what simple changes to my average day left me feeling so blessed, but I would like to share them with you anyway!

 The First Blessing

I had a completely normal morning. I woke up, ate breakfast, walked to work, and began working at my desk. I usually don't have much opportunity to chat with people at work because I have my own quaint office and all of my work is online. However, that morning I had a meeting with Faith (my sassy supervisor)! As I was leaving her office after our meeting, we began to chat about random stuff. We talked about life here compared to the U.S., similar problems that girls around our age have in both places, and how different the chicken is here in Kenya (she read my food blog!). It wasn't anything drastic, but it was nice to just talk and laugh together. Those are the moments I treasure!

The Second Blessing

It has become more frequent that I eat lunch alone at home. My host mom used to join me more often, but recently she has stopped being so consistent with being home for lunch at the same time as me. I don't usually mind because I can relax and read before returning to work, but that afternoon I felt particularly spunky! I am so grateful for Marie being in our house, because she keeps me company on my spunky days. After I ate I asked Marie if she wanted to see pictures of my family, and she said "YEEES!" (just like that!). So we sat and looked at pictures. I got to share with her about my family, my bible study group at home, and some fun things that I did in college. It was such a joyful experience to be able to share my life back home with her, and seeing her so excited to look at the pictures :)

The kids and their tea! Emili is in green.

The Third Blessing

 After work I usually go straight home, but that evening I didn't! I was invited over for tea by Mutheu (my dear friend and coworker). It was just a fun time! As I was sitting in the living room, her 5y.o. daughter Emili and 3 of her friends all surrounded me to inspect my white skin, my white hair, and even at one point my teeth! I got to help Mutheu prepare for dinner, and we all had tea together. I was only there for about an hour and a half, but it was a very special hour and a half. I was also encouraged to know that these kids are always over at Mutheu's house for tea! She said they love coming over because they can play and laugh and just be kids while they take their tea. It was a beautiful picture of serving and blessing those around you without expecting anything in return!

Those were the three things that blessed my day and made me feel truly delighted in by the Lord. Just those few simple things, but when you are in a new place, those simple gestures of acceptance and kindness go a long way!

"Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, Rejoice!"

-Philippians 4:4

The next day I went to the Multi-Purpose Centre that the NGO I volunteer for owns.  We walked around the farm and took some picture, so here you go!

Sand Dam. SASOL builds a lot of these!

Papaya Tree! And Harriet :)

Everyone wants a picture with the Papaya

Goats!! Everywhere!!

FOOD!!!! (I know, it is THAT exciting!)

The wait is over...

The food blog is HERE! Enjoy :) (I do!)
 

• Ugali- The white lump you see is called "Ugali". It is maize (corn) flower that is stirred into boiling water to create a relatively tasteless starch food. You don't usually eat it by itself, although some eat it with just margarine (well, its actually cooking fat).

• Sukuma Wiki- Kale... thats really all it is, but it is delicious! You mix it with onions, tomatoes, and coriander, and you have a delicious dish you can eat with your ugali. 

Ugali is typically eaten with just the hands. Actually, in my house our main utensils are our hands and a spoon!

•  Chapati- Literally the most delicious bread you will ever have (at least I think so). That may have something to do with the fact it is fried with a bunch of oil, but you give me a fresh, hot chapati, and I am a happy girl for that day!

• Githeri- In the top right corner. It is a mixture of pigeon peas and maize, usually cooked with onions. It is a favorite for the Ukambani area of Kenya that I stay in. However, because you have to boil the peas and maize, seperately, for a long time, it is only made once or twice a week.

• Kapigi- or cabbage. Also cooked with lots of oil, onions, and tomatoes (sometimes). It is delicious! One of my favorites :)

• Stew- In my house we eat a lot of meat, either cow or goat. My host mom likes meat, so we have stew often. Also cooked with onions and tomatoes (catching a trend here?) Kenyans like their meat well done, and I often find myself gnawing meat off of a large bone.

• Ndengu- My FAVORITE! Love it :) They are also known as green grams, or lentils (I think, I may be wrong about the lentils). Cooked with onions and tomatoes, it is the BEST accompanying dish to chapati!

• Chicken- This is just chicken. What is unique about this chicken is it was freshly slaughtered right before it was cooked for us (seriously, I heard it, and I was seriously tempted to become a vegetarian!). They served every part of the chicken except for the head... I can't say it was the best experience of my life. It wasn't very appetizing to hear my food being killed before I ate it.

• Chips and Sausage- This is the Kenyan version of fast food. It is delicious, although you need a good nap after eating it! We don't eat it often. That red sauce is not ketchup, don't be fooled! It is tomato sauce, or really watery sauce that sort of tastes like tomatoes.

• Chai- We have chai (milk tea) every morning for breakfast, at 10am tea break, and at 5pm afternoon tea. I drink a lot of tea! But, it is really good!

• Pancakes- Yup! That is right! We eat pancakes every so often for breakfast. Usually breakfast is white bread, tea, and some type of sausage or hot dog. Pancakes are a nice treat when we get them :)

This is Mary! I love Mary! She cooks all of the amazing food I eat (except for the chicken). I don't get to eat with her often, but when I do we have a good time together!

Well that is all for this week! If you have any blog requests let me know! Feel free to ask any questions about the food (or anything else!).

Being Thankful

"The Lord make his face to shine upon you..." -Numbers 6:25

Last night it rained heavily for the first time since I have been in Kitui.
This morning it was cloudy, and the ground was wet and muddy.
As I helped Mutheu set up the tea and coffee for Tea Break at work, the sun broke through the clouds, and I felt that the Lord was with me.

I would be lying if I said that everything has been perfect and entirely enjoyable since arriving in Kitui. In fact, the honeymoon phase I was in while in Nairobi came to a rather sudden halt my first week in Kitui. God has been shaking my foundation of faith in Him, and has repeatedly asked me "Do you trust me?" To which I answer with a heavy-hearted "yes." It is here, in this place of selfishness (the desire to be comfortable) and repentance (for that selfishness), that I have seen the beauty of God in an even greater way; in a way that transcends cultural differences and relationship structures; in a way that leaves me empty of myself and completely dependent on Jesus Christ, our Lord.

I am thankful that the Lord has brought me here. It is harder than I imagined, but God is becoming more in my life than I could have ever hoped for in my own human understanding. I want to share with you some of the beautiful things that the Lord has shared with me through being in Kitui, and being with the Kenyan people:


1. Kenyans LOVE to worship! They LOVE Jesus, and they are not afraid to sing about it whenever the opportunity presents itself.
One prime example is Mutheu (on the right). She is such a blessing to me every day at work. She sings praise to the Lord in kikamba every morning. She is also such a faithful servant. Every morning she makes chai (milk tea), she cleans all of the offices, and she NEVER complains. She has told me that she is looking toward greener pastures, but she is patient and joyful where she is (a lesson I definitely need to learn!)

2. Kenyans are friendly and generous people. Their community is built on the belief that everyone helps each other when they are in need. This is practiced in many different ways, from giving money when someone is struggling, to giving time (and a lot of time) to someone who wants to celebrate something (even when you don't know what it is for).

3. Kenyans love to celebrate, and each celebration (at least the ones I have been to so far) are primarily for thanking God! From the birthday of a 59 y.o. man, to celebrating the return of a missing child, communities of people gather together to give thanks and praise to God! It is beautiful!

4. One of the more selfish blessings that I have is Mary, our house girl. I have not had someone wash my clothes and cook all my food for many years, and it is strange to relinquish these responsibilities to someone else. I like to help her when I can, and her company is a joy to me. She is only 19, and she is spicy! She has an attitude about her that is always making me laugh, and our daily miscommunications are pretty funny too! One of the biggest blessings of having Mary (and this is the "selfish" part of the blessing), is that I have more time to spend with God in the morning and evening because she does all of the hard work. There is a big part of me that is not comfortable with having someone doing all the hard work so I can rest, but I am SO GRATEFUL for the extra time I have been able to have with the Lord!

Mary!

Next week I am doing a food blog (per request)! Here is a little preview of the amazing food I get to eat every day ;)

God is good all the time! And all the time, God is good!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter or our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God"! - Hebrews 12:1-3 (ESV)