Things

If it weren't for Safaricom's go-anywhere Internet and a pretty consistent power supply, I'd have good excuses for being so inconsistent on this blog. Regardless, here is a smattering of what has been going on in our lives this past week:

We are recovering from our first bout with the common Kenyan cold and flu type bugs. It is almost like we are not equipped with the antibodies to the illnesses over here. I have yet to see a Kenyan with a sniffling nose. It's only white expats with red noses...and it is not a sunburn. All the antibodies I gained from eating dirt as a kid is doing my no good over here.

Our not feeling so hot may have been brought on by our camping experience. Surprisingly the nights get pretty chilly, especially near Lake Naivasha where we stayed. The lake was gorgeous and provided a wonderful backdrop for our first night in the "wilderness." Electric fences kept the hippos away as they came on shore to feed during the night.

We also had the chance to go walk with the animals on an amazingly $3 safari. Check out stylish Lydia hanging out with zebras.

One last picture. These are the hands of a woman Lydia is getting to know and work with. She helped take her to a Christian hospital about an hour away to continue treatment for severe burns that cover her face, chest, and arms. Her injuries were caused by a man dousing her with gasoline and lighting her on fire.

In the waiting room she saw Lydia reading our DC pastor's recent book "The Wild Goose Chase" and loved it after reading only a couple pages. We had to share this with the author who then posted about it on his widely read blog - http://evotional.com/2008/10/why-i-write_20.html. I hope that people are prompted to pray for her and her two children.

Two shots and and two thoughts

The first shot is of the car Lydia and I are driving here in Kenya. You can see a little damage done to the car by a matatu bus while taking a "short cut" through the Kawangare slum. My colleague Tim and I were headed out of the city with my friend Michael to go meet with a entrepreneur. Once we got deep into the slum a matatu stopped in front of me. All of a sudden he started backing up. Before I could do anything he had hit me.

After getting out of the car looking at the damage, looking at the matatu driver, and looking at all the people who were suddenly interested in what these white people were doing in their part of town, I decided it was best to just drive on and get out of there.

So the thought for this shot is - don't get so close to a matatu that you can't back out of his wreckless way in time.

This is a shot of Lydia finishing up a delicious meal in the dark. The power has been spotty lately and we've learned to do without. Tonight in mid-meal preperation the electricity cut out. Luckily, we had cooking gas and these handy headlamps.

Thought for this shot - do allow your older brother to pick out high quality headlamps for you, especially when he's buying!