Why exactly is this called GREENland?
The frozen vista that is Greenland lies outside my starboard window. I reminisce with my seat mate that it looks just like the flight to Nome, Alaska. Graduate-student Sara revealed that the reason for her return to the States was because a phone call the night before indicated that her mother would have two to four weeks left on this earth as a result of...
Monday, February 14, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Jacaranda Creations
Jacaranda Creations is a business-as-mission ministry serving women who live in the slums of Nairobi. Not only do these beautiful Kenyan women design and craft their products, but they are integral to the daily operation of the organization. They help manage the budget, train new artisans, conduct quality checks, merchandise their shop, and orchestrate both individual and group sales.
With over...
Nairobi Slums
Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi with a 2009 estimated 170,000 people living there (although many estimates were as high as 1 million). The slum is about the same size as New York City’s Central Park, a place through which I’ve walked many times. No electricity, clean water, trash or sewage disposal can be found in this area. BBC did a report on the slum’s “flying toilets” that’s definitely...
Friday, February 11, 2011
Odd Sights
Sometimes I come across things that just seem out of place or odd. Take a look.
Seems a bit risky to transport eggs on a boda.
Look carefully in the shade for the owner of those horns.
Lunchtime entertainment from Garettis.
Notice the two tires at the bottom.
This is a bicycle-riding hawker.
Need anything?
Anyone need a bed...and a barn?
Check out the thing sticking...
New African Friends
Mosquitoes, ants, fruit flies, frogs, roaches, geckos, lake flies, and let’s not forget mice. These are just a few of my many new African friends.
...
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Game Play
Most of you know how much I love to play games. I’m just a tad competitive too. You won’t be surprised to hear that I had several opportunities to play a variety of games while in Uganda.
I first started playing Moncala with Olivia before her tutoring sessions. Not only did she learn the basics of the game but she learned strategy and she learned to teach her friends how to play. Now there are...
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
KOWH Business Teaching: Week 4
The business teaching for week four was about marketing and promotions. We used cell phones as an analogy given that such tools are essential in Uganda, which means that these women can relate to the marketing they see for cell phones. We learned about target market, place marketing, and promotions. Together we devised a few new ideas for how to market their products and to do so collaboratively,...
KOWH Bible Study: Week 4
The widows of Konoweka Orphans and Widows Hut studied the topic of fellowship from Growing Strong with God in the Mom’s Ordinary Day Bible study series. The 15 copies of the book were distributed so groups of three women or so could look on. We read the story of Job and his friends – Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar – and talked about what it means to have close friends as compared to having good friends....
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Herbert and the Boys
Two gigantic sows covered with long bristly hairs each had their own hand-built wooden pen. One sow’s belly hung as low as the ground, filled with what will be her first litter. The second sow had a litter of 10 or more piglets prancing around in their pen. The property is rented by Herbert and is used to shelter and raise pigs. Along with the two sows, Herbert has some more mature pork with a charcoal...
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Eunice's Hurdles
The first hurdle for Eunice, as you can imagine, is finding shelter. Few rental properties are available in Kitui, Kenya let alone properties of adequate size. Budget factors into the ability to secure shelter as well. Praise God, the folks at Rosslyn Academy raised enough to pay a small rental fee for one year. The biggest hurdle, though, is that there are even fewer landlords who will allow Eunice...
Friday, February 4, 2011
Post Office Prisoners
On September 17, 2010 my mom carefully wrapped several hand-made dolls in pretty blue tissue paper. Four rolls of Charmin were wedged in place to fill the box and make the dollies nice and snug for their long journey. Toilet paper in Uganda is akin to the crepe paper used to decorate at birthday parties sans the pretty colors, so don’t laugh. While not intended for a birthday party exactly, these...
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Kenya Game Parks
The Johnsons know that no mission trip is complete without a visit to some cool site in the area. When I visited them in Dallas last June to begin the organizational development process we started with a trip to the rodeo. My first visit to Kenya included the Malindi coastline. This time…elephants, a rhino, and giraffes.
The young elephants charged from the forest area to the observation area...
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Biblical Life Ministries Meetings
The founders of Biblical Life Ministries, Kelly and Kathy Johnson, stayed in my home last August during their stateside furlough. We connected right from the start and began working together on organizational development plans for their ministry. During my September/October trip, I visited them in Nairobi, Kenya to deepen my experience with exactly what this ministry team does.
At that time we traveled to Malindi, on the cost of the Indian Ocean, where I observed the last few days of Bible...
A Dolly in Malindi
Armed with only one dollie, I set off for Kenya with hopes of spreading these little beauties a little more widely around East Africa. I had hoped to have a box full to share, but her sisters remain imprisoned in the Kampala, Uganda Post Office…for now.
This darling girl had a massive growth on her head and received surgery not long ago (as coordinated by the Biblical Life Ministries team). She...
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