The Courage of My Kenyan Valley

Dear family and friends,

Well, I have finally found a quiet moment on a cold evening in the mountains of the Great Rift Valley to write to you all. I know it has already been 5 days since I left, but it’s amazing how quickly I have been thrust into life here at RVA. So, I apologize for making you hold your breath. The campus’ IT guy just set up my internet/dial-up yesterday here at my new apartment, Kedong Upper East (KUE) #255. As they say…TIA! “This is Africa!” I can’t even figure out how to upload an image into this blog post at the moment…

So, first impressions. I suppose the title of this post gives you an idea as to how I feel at the moment. In fact, this is what I have dubbed my year: The Courage of My Kenyan Valley. Sounds like a catchy book title, eh? Perhaps something of that nature will develop over these next 11 months 🙂 But, really…as our bus made its way up the 9,000 feet that the Rift Valley Academy sits above sea level, and I caught my first glimpse into the deep bowl of the gorgeous valley below, I couldn’t help but think of my dear friend, Shannon Harris, singing “In the Valley,” a song from a c.d. that our church produced last year or so.

It goes something like this:

“When you lead me to the Valley of Vision, I can see you in the heights
And though my humbling would lead my decision, its here your glory shines so bright
So let me learn that the Cross precedes the Crown, to be low is to be high,
That the valley is where you make me more like Christ.

Let me find your grace in the Valley, let me find your Life in my death,
Let me find your joy in my sorrow, your wealth in my need
That you’re near with every breath…in the valley.”

A tear came to my eye as I considered the words that played over in my head…I kept thinking, I am here. Not just for a visit. Not just for a short term missions trip. I am here to LIVE. And, so, after 48 hours of traveling, and 48 hours of settling in/unpacking/nesting in my new home, and attempting to catch up on some sleep, I have finally begun to feel a bit more at home. Truly, though, it is the people here that have made me feel at home so quickly. All week, I have families and singles hosting me for dinner. This has been a blessing already, as they provide a home-cooked meal, a warm fire, laughter, joy, advice, and encouragement. I have had three meals with hosts so far, and have two more to go…after that, I will begin cooking for myself!

Despite still not having a debit card that works (from my international banking credit card), and a bag that has still not arrived, God has provided so much grace and joy. There are five other single ladies who are here, either to teach or to be dorm parents. And, I love them already! Their names are Cassie, Amanda, Annie, Karen, and Jenny.

Cassie, Amanda, and Jenny are all teachers here this year. I met Cassie and Amanda at Orientation in New York, so we have already begun to pick up where we left off.

Jenny is an MK who is here indefinitely, meaning long-term. She is my new running buddy (today we ran a 3 mile trail route through the rocks, roots, and red dirt), and wants me to run the 13 mile half-marathon in Nairobi on October 25! We’ll see about that 🙂 The altitude here is much higher and my lungs are still adjusting. But, she is a sweet-heart, kind of looks like me, loves photography, and made me a hot latte the first morning I was here.

Karen is a single lady who has been here for years, serving as a dorm mom. She is my neighbor (Kedong Lower West), and has already come over to give me a warm welcome, to help me learn how to build a fire in my fireplace, give me a preliminary grocery list that she likes to use for her trips into Nairobi, brought screwdrivers over to help me fix my shower head that was spurting water OUT of the shower towards my toilet (!), and gave me a big hug when I had a teary-eyed moment. I am going to Nairobi with her on Saturday to do some major grocery shopping, to buy a cell phone, get some basic “back-to-school” things, and help me find a desk to purchase…probably on the side of the road! Apparently, there are some amazing Kenyan wood-workers here…

So, those are a few of the people I have already met, and there are dozens more! These people are amazing. They are uniquely gifted with different personalities and backgrounds, but they are synonamously (sp?) humble, cheerful, and servant-hearted. Most of all, they are premier examples of people who have left the comforts of their lives in the states, corporate positions (tonight I met somebody who had a major position at Oracle), families, and churches to be here at RVA. Although I have not met the students yet, I also hear that they are incredible kids. Can you believe this…one of the teachers here was named as the top college counselor by Yale in 1997? These kids go to Taylor, Harvard, and other top Ivy-league schools…and most of them all get 5’s on their AP calculus exams and other AP tests. To say the least, they are WAY out of my league! 🙂 I bet these 9th grade girls will be quite the group of smart cookies.

Speaking of my girls, I found out today (PTL!) that I have 16 girls in my dorm hall. I am so happy about this number…I was expecting 22 or so, but 16 is a nice, hopefully more manageable sized group. They are mostly from the USA, but 1 is from Sweden, 1 from Burundi (an African country), 1 from South Korea, 1 from Kenya, 1 from Korea, and 1 from Canada. I will also have a set of twin sisters…how fun! 🙂

Hmmm…let’s see, what else?! My brain is SO full of information right now (Orientation started today, which is a 3-day process…), that I don’t know what to tell you about next! How about some comic relief/blessing moments? Yes, that will be fun for you to hear…

– There was a mix of Nasi Goreng (Dutch rice mix) in my cupboard when I started cleaning through my pantry

-There was a very large set of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman dvd’s on top of my TV, which is quite funny, because we used to watch this as a family on family nights back in the day, and Dad also joked about Dr. Quinn being such a feminist!

– There was an electric piano in my guest room when I came, and I had specifically prayed that I could have a piano in my home, so that I can teach later in 2nd term or so…what a blessing!

-“Do Hard Things” by the Harris brothers and 3 books by Ted Tripp were sitting on my bookshelf…this is probably b/c it just so happens that the girl who lived here before was from the Vancouver Sovereign Grace church! It’s such a small world, huh?

-The kitchen pantry was simply a mess when I arrived, and was filled with spices that had expiration dates all the way back to 2004! Sigh. I thought I was DONE with the purging when I had left MD…but nope! Lots of cleaning-out to do…

– Scrabble was among the games on the shelf…wahoo!

Well, I’m off to hang out with some of the girls now, so I will leave you with a few simple prayer requests.

1) Please pray that my last bag arrives soon. This contained some precious things that I really wanted to have for the year, and it’s very hard to be patient. The Kenyan man working at the British Airways counter at the Nairobi airport told me over the phone yesterday that it was coming on the Monday evening flight, and would be delivered to RVA today, but no word or sight of it yet…

2) Please pray that my debit card will start working. I have already had to borrow $$ and eggs from lots of people here, and it would be nice to pay them back promptly and get going with using my own money that is given to me on a monthly basis.

3) Please pray for grace to sleep. The wind here at night is VERY loud, and I am all alone in a cold, big house. I have been waking up at random times throughout the night, and last night, I actually had a very bad dream that left me shaking when I awoke. Also, the bed is pretty uncomfortable, and my back has been hurting badly from all the sitting we are doing in Orientation and such…

4) Please pray for discipline to have my quiet times. I am already feeling the pressure of being everywhere, wanting to meet everyone, and do everything. My relationship with Jesus is of first importance, and I want to be going to HIM to be refreshed and built up first, before I go to others.

5) Please pray for wisdom on which Kenyan lady to choose to be my house worker and cooking assistant (yes, I will be hiring a servant…it is a way the school reaches out to the community and helps the locals earn their livelihood!) So far, I have interviewed one lady named Emily, and tomorrow I have an interview with an older gal named Gladys. It is very important to pick someone that will be a good match for me, and fit my personality and style of running a home. They can all do the cleaning efficiently, and most are master bakers…so the idea will be to choose someone I am comfortable with, and have a heart to help support. I am praying for wisdom in this regard.

Last few thoughts: Ecclesiastes 7:8 says, “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

This really provoked me this morning as I read Beside Still Waters by CH Spurgeon. Better is the end of a thing. Right now, 11 months seems like an eternity…but, God is faithful, is He not?! By next July, I believe I will truly be able to say that the end was better than the beginning, because of all that God will do, and has yet to unfold. Also, I am provoked to be patient…for my bag to come, for relationships to develop, for time to do things, for the gradual adjustment it takes to learn a whole new community and system and way of living. I don’t want to be proud. I want to be humble in the process. What a challenge and adventure! God is so loving, and kind to me…and I look forward to beholding His glory in the days and weeks and months ahead. Thank you to those who sent ‘hidden letters’ in my luggage, and for your prayers. They mean more than you know.

I am hoping to post pics of my new apartment onto facebook soon, but alas…the broadband here is incredibly slow, so I imagine I won’t be able to utilize my Blog and Facebook as much as I thought originally.

Much Love,

Emily