Sovereign Surprises

I’ve entitled this post, Sovereign Surprises. By the end, you’ll understand why.

Well, as the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers…or do they? In Kenya, it would probably be more accurate to say that May showers bring June flowers. Yes, the rains have steadily poured upon our land for most of this month. As Emily tells me, the rainy season has begun, and it will pretty much last until August. This has made for some pretty dreary, cold, chill-to-the-bone sort of days where you just want to curl up in a fleece blanket and drink tea and watch BBC Jane Austen movies all day long. In fact, this is what I did most of this past week, having caught an awful stomach bug on Tuesday that left me in bed ALL day on Wednesday with intense nausea, chills, achy muscles, and an unsettled gut. [Side note: I can’t believe you pregnant women deal with months of nausea! I could barely handle 48 hours of it.] Even through yesterday afternoon, I couldn’t keep much food in, and kept to the lovely BRAT diet. Thank you, Lord, that we have bananas and rice in abundance here.

But, the sunshine has returned, bringing warmth not just to my little home again, but to my heart. This past week from Wednesday to Sunday, I was pleasantly surprised to have 5 consecutive dry days! And, we’re still going steady, as the new week has begun today. This is a blessing, not simply because it’s more cheery, but also because it reduces the percentage of icky bugs that make their way into my apartment each day. This includes flying ants, locusts/grasshoppers, mini flying grasshoppers, random ants and spiders, and worst of all, Nairobi Eye. Nairobi Eye are a deceiving creature, because they seem small and innocent enough, but have an acidic red and yellow skin that will burn you if you make any sort of direct contact with them. I’ve seen a handful of kids around campus as of late with strange purplish, flaky spots on their arms, faces, etc. from where Nairobi Eye have gotten them – either in their beds at night, or on the field during sports practices, or whatever else. AND, they fly. Ugh. So, I’ve discovered some tactics that work quite nicely.

One. Close all curtains and windows right before dark. Two, only leave necessary lights on in the evenings, because they are attracted to the light. Three, spray corners of bedroom with DOOM each evening, close the door, wait 30 minutes, come back in, then air the room out a bit before sleep. Four, when needing to kill one, use duct tape to stick it to the wall where it is crawling, press through the tape to kill the insect, then fold in half and discard in trash-can! Voila!

I have to laugh, though, because I’ve now officially become a master grasshopper catcher. The green and brown ones buzz into my apartment at night sometimes, and start hanging out on the walls, which drives me crazy. But, all you have to do is carefully sneak up to it, remain as still as possible, move in as quickly as you can, grab its back body and legs, and then carry it outside. Sometimes, I (unintentionally) catch a single leg ONLY and so the poor thing experiences a quick and sudden amputation, and then crawls around for a few hours on the floor before dying.

Besides avoiding the great puddles with my zebra print Wellington boots (thank you, Mom!), and creatures within my home, I’ve stayed quite busy this month (go figure).

Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of running in a 10K fun run in Nairobi sponsored by a hospital charity fund raising money for adolescent Kenyans who are heart patients and in need of various surgeries. Here I am pictured with a random, little girl who was also going to run/walk:

I joined some friends, Steve and Sherri Letchford, who serve as our local Kijabe hospital as a doctor and PT. It was such a unique and pleasant experience. You see, in America, running events are prompt, intense, competitive, structured, and very individualistic. I’ve experienced this myself more than once.

But, here in Kenya, it is such a communal affair. First, all the runners (mostly Kenyans) met in one of Nairobi’s large stadium arenas. Because it was a charity event, everyone wore the same bright green T-shirt that featured the sponsor logos on the back. Then, BEFORE the actual race, we did “group warm-ups.”

This was absolutely comical. The leader put on hip-hop and pop music from onstage, and then proceeded to guide the entire crowd of thousands of people in stretches, steps, punches, and kicks. Everyone was smiling and laughing and just having a grand ole time. Then, multiple sponsor welcomes and hospital rep speeches and testimonials from recovering heart patients and their thank you’s to supporters. When the race finally began at around 8am, (it was supposed to start at 7:30), we all sort of DANCED our way out of the stadium to the street course.

You know how the faster runners have to weave in and out of those walking in the first mile? Well, the Letchfords and I did this, but it was through African grass, mud puddles, and reddish-brown dust that kicked up under our feet. There goes my fairly white Asics, I thought.

Throughout the race, people cheered us on and handed us mini Aquafina water bottles at three different points. I wondered if they were cheering for us to go faster, or simply to stay alive. For, you see, I wasn’t really afraid of some other runner knocking me over, but the crazy Matatu buses from hitting me on the side of the road! And, the irony was clear. How could I be running in a land where thousands lack fresh drinking water every single day, and here we were – Americans, Brits, Europeans, and Kenyans alike – tossing plastic Aquafina water bottles onto the side of the road after a few measly sips…?

As we finished the race, we were welcomed back into the stadium, where family members and friends awaited the runners to finish so that the REAL party could begin. Moon-bounces, hot-dog stands (ugh, who can eat a hot dog after running?), games, drink stands, and free calligraphy tables for your name to be put onto the special 10K “certificate of participation,” all lined the center stadium field. It made me laugh. What a relaxing run. In fact, it wasn’t even 6.2 miles (which is technically a 10K); it was more like 5.5. So, an easy 40-45 minute course.

Then, the Letchfords and I quickly showered at a nearby friend’s house, and made our way over to the Blackrock Rugby Tournament, which our Varsity and JV boys both compete in annually. Yes, Rugby. We play European sports here ☺ Rugby is not a sport I understand very well, but quite fun to watch. The only personal experience I have in playing Rugby was one day a long, long time ago when Peter and Brett and I were bored one muddy fall day when I was about 10 or 12. I remember us layering into thick sweatshirts and going into the backyard and randomly deciding to start a pseudo rugby game together ☺ Who KNOWS how this idea popped into our heads, but we managed to figure out the general rules (only throw the ball behind or across, not forward) and get quite dirty and have a good time.

Well, this tournament reinforced to me what a tremendously DIRTY and DANGEROUS game Rugby really is!

At the same time, it seems to be one of the most “team-oriented” sports that athletes must engage in through communication and tactics, but also can play UP. For example, our RVA varsity guys have a tradition of all shaving their heads before the tournament each year. So, clad in red jerseys and bald-heads clumped together on the field, they gritted their teeth, tightened into the “scrums,” tackled others and were tackled, rolled in the mud, roared up and down the field, chased the ball, and by the end, were dripping sweat, blood and tears.

Sadly, the way the tournament pool was set up, we had to play the hardest team, St. Mary’s, early on in the quarter finals. So, while the boys played hard, they didn’t win…but, it was still an awesome display of grueling athletics and mental toughness among the loyal clan of our RVA boys. If you’re curious, check out this link for the official Rugby rules and methods of play: www.irb.com/lawregulations/laws/index.html

But, life here isn’t all sports, sopping rain, spraying insects, and sickness.

Can anyone say, shopping?!

This past weekend, I finally got to go somewhere I’ve longed to visit since moving to Kenya: the Kitengela [kitten/gay/la] Glass Factory. Kitengela is a chain that has a handful of stores throughout Nairobi’s main shopping centers. From the tourist or shopper’s perspective, one sees beautiful, hand-blown glass that is absolutely stunning, but rather over-priced. But, in visiting the actual factory where the 500 to 1100 degree fires burn and expert glass-blowers skillfully create beautiful, artistic pieces out of recycled, broken, jagged bottles, the educational experience overruled my dislike for over-priced decorating and entertaining items that look prettier just sitting in the window display.

And, let me tell you, the process is no joke.

First, recycling is done and collected and delivered to the factory.

Then, glass is sorted by color.

Next, the pieces are taken to the beehive room, where various bunches of colors are melted down in the hot furnaces. Different degree fires are used depending on the particular item that is being made, and what sort of manipulation needs to occur in order for the correct shape to be obtained.

Then, the glass-blowers begin a repetitive heating and shaping process, all the while making sure that fellow workers are not burned by the hot edges of the metal rods as you pass by! These glass-blowers spend hours each day in the hot, bee-hive shaped dome building where the fires burn all day long, and large, metal rods are used as the primary tool for heating, rolling, blowing, shaping, cutting, tacking, etc.

In the end, pieces such as vases, pitchers, glasses, Christmas ornaments, bottles, plates, drinking glasses and goblets, jewelry, and much more are produced. But, it’s not just this color or that – they also have various working stations at the factory for doing stain-glass, sand-blasting, electrical hook-ups (for lamps and such), and mosaic design!

And, of course, they have to keep their customers happy ☺ Here, they feature a lovely decorative Choo stall seat and miniature stall that one can use if needed. This is by far the prettiest toilet seat I’ve ever encountered in my life, in Africa OR America.

It was a wonderful experience, and I came away with quite a few bags containing some new households items and Christmas 2010 presents for family and friends! Thankfully, the factory warehouse prices were wholesale, marked down 40% lower than store-price…and they packaged it ALL for me in newspaper and heavy tape for taking home to America.

And I can’t end this section of my post without mentioning the amazing creativity Kitengela has in decorating their actual site. I found this glass cactus in one of the garden sections, and immediately thought of all my wonderful family and friends out in Arizona ☺

Also, this weekend, I directed the 1st through 4th graders in a special song on Sunday. I’ve been teaching them on Mondays and Thursdays this term up at Titchie (the elementary school), and in preparation for “Titchie Sunday,” where all the 1st-6th grade students “lead” the service, we’ve been practicing a worship song from the Sovereign Grace kids’ c.d. called “Your Love” for over a month now. The song is all about how awesome, mighty, loud, and faithful God’s love is to us.

Combining some hand motions that I learned in my home church with a few of my own, I taught the kids everything beforehand, and we practiced during our regular school days, and then they pulled off a wonderful performance for the congregation yesterday! It was a blast. They were so enthusiastic and smiley, and really grew in their ability to sing on key and keep the rhythm going throughout our weekly rehearsals.

I was so proud of them, and I can’t wait to continue teaching them the rest of the term! It’s funny, because I’ve had experience teaching kids music (mostly piano lessons and some basic music theory) one-on-one in my college years, but never before have I directed dozens of kids all at once ☺ So, it’s been a new challenge for sure. They ask tons of questions, and my favorite so far has been from a second grader, who quizzically said one day, “So, Miss Emily, are you on Facebook?”

Well, that’s life these days. Each day continues to be surprising and unexpected and spontaneous. I’ve decided I like it that way. Oh, yes, I still heartily embrace schedules and planners and lists and early bed times…so, in some ways, I haven’t changed all that much, for those of you who know me well. But, somehow, over time, I’ve really come to enjoy the wonderful unpredictability of life. God has opened my eyes to see that when I approach each morning with a smile and open hands, and truly LAUGH at the days to comes (Proverb 31), freedom and joy inevitably follow in my heart. I can’t predict which hour will bring rain, or the ideal day of sunshine for doing laundry, or when I’m going to get sick, or how many bugs will creep into my house, or even where the pesky creatures will show up (one morning, I found one INSIDE my electric tea kettle!) I can’t predict what time a running race will start, or what’s going to happen next in the Rugby game, or what sort of toilet will be available for use, or how God will use my gifts and experiences of the past (music) to serve the people here within the body of Christ. I can’t predict how the next two months will play out. I can’t predict how hard it will be to leave Africa, or on which days the ‘homesickness’ (either for America, or for Kenya) will hit me harder than others. I can’t predict. Period. And, you know what, I’m really glad I don’t have a prophetic ability to look into my future and see what’s going to happen next “after Africa”…because life is full of surprises. And, God’s surprises are always SOVEREIGN surprises. And, those are the best kind.