Kenya - Part 2

After spending a few days at our parents' place in Koru, Kenya, we left for Nairobi on Thursday, March 27.  While the drive to the city wasn't anything different than what we had been used to 10 years ago, when we reached the outskirts of Nairobi, we were pleasantly surprised by the many changes that had taken place:  the road system, the trees, the skyline (many new buildings).  We even got a bit disoriented traveling from Westlands to Kahawa (different parts of the city).

Again, we spent time visiting family for the most part, but also a few friends.  We simply could not see all the friends we wanted to, and hope to see more again on another trip.  We saw many, many friends at Parklands Baptist Church on Sunday morning.  It was a great few days in the city and we look forward to returning again later this year.

On the last day before the long drive back to Uganda, we visited Word of Life Kabete (just outside of Nairobi).  So many memories came flooding back... Welli had spent over 13 years there... he and I lived there the first few months after we were married... a lot of great ministry and outreach has taken place there and we were very happy to see the beautiful grounds, but also dear friends there.

We are grateful for the hospitality we received from family and friends!

Lovely Maasai blankets and other Kenyan artifacts on display as we stopped to view the Great Rift Valley.

Just outside of downtown Nairobi.

It's a full house at Parklands Baptist Church.

Out for lunch with friends.  Great reunion after 10 years!  (Okello just cannot be serious in a photo!)

Kenya National Archives.  Looks much better than 10 years ago.

Downtown Nairobi skyline

Welli's brother, Gordon, his wife, Dorcas, and their daughter, Brenda  (um... Okello)

Word of Life Kabete-Nairobi

Beautiful grounds of Word of Life

Word of Life

Another view of Word of Life (from the soccer field)

Kenya - Part 1

As most of you know (yes, there may be some readers who do not know), Welli is from Kenya.  His family in Kenya have been aware that we are in Uganda, and were eagerly waiting for a visit from us.  We, too, were eager to visit the extended family!

So we left early in the morning on Sunday, March 23.  We crossed the border from Uganda into Kenya with no difficulty.  We made it into Kisumu by early afternoon.  Kisumu is the biggest city close to where Welli's parents live, where we had some lunch, and also picked up a few items to take home.

And a joyful reunion it was!  Juma and Nadine and I (Dolly) had not seen "Babu and Dana" (Grandpa and Grandma) in almost 10 years.  Juma and Nadine do not remember the last time they saw them, as they were less than 2 years old.  As well, this was the first time Okello met them.  We were also glad to see other family members: Welli's brother (and his family) and sister (and her daughter).  The kids really enjoyed meeting and getting to know a few of their cousins.

Here are a few photos...

This is the Nile River.  We cross it as we pass through the town of Jinja, which is not too far from the border of Uganda/Kenya.  Lake Victoria is the source of the Nile.

Driving to Koru, the town where Welli's parents live.  We know we are coming close when we see this hill.

Babu & Dana's home

Enjoying the mango tree.

We went into Kisumu again on Wednesday and visited with Welli's sister, Caroline, and her son, Rogers. We went and had lunch at Lake Victoria, eating fresh fish.

Cousins watching TV.

Cousins playing a game.

Family photo with Babu & Dana.

Stay tuned for Part 2, covering our time we were in Nairobi.

Our Place - by Okello

We have been living in our house for a couple weeks now.

This is our house.  I like our house because we live on a giant hill.  We also have a big yard.

 

We have a nice living room.  We have couches to sit and tables to drink tea on.  We just got these yesterday.  I like them because they are more comfortable than the ones we had at our old home.

  

This is my bedroom.  This is the first time that I have my own bedroom because I always sleep with Juma.  My bed is just a mattress right now.  My bed I think is coming soon.  I have a desk with all my things on it.  I also have a wardrobe with my clothes.  I like having my own room.

 

We also have a kitchen with some stuff that looks different than from Canada.  I like the refrigerator because it's grey.  I like the kitchen a lot.  My mom makes me help dry the dishes.

I like the house and that's it for now.

~ Okello

Nadine's Initial Thoughts on Uganda

We're finally in Uganda and it's amazing! There is so much scenery and lots of fresh fruit. The mangoes and the bananas are incredibly good! One thing I've noticed is that there are lots of hills. Hill after hill after hill after hill after hill. Not mountains, just hills.

It's very pretty though and I enjoy it. :)

I'm getting over jet leg faster than I expected, (though on the first day I almost fell asleep at lunchtime), and I'm getting a lot of my school work done fast. But it's still school and school can get boring. :)

The thing I'm most sad about right now is how the time difference is 11 hours and I can only communicate back and forth with people late at night and early in the morning. It's very hard but I've been doing pretty good. I can't wait to have many more experiences here in the future.

~ Nadine

We have arrived!

After many difficult goodbyes, and a long journey, we have arrived in Uganda.  We thank God for a good trip. 

At this time, we are staying at Word of Life, in some cottages, while we look for a house to live in.  We are starting to see the great work being done here at Word of Life, and getting to know what goes on in the ministry.  At the same time, we are trying to get the kids into a routine of school work.

Checking out the Word of Life property.

A wing of Word of Life International School and the basketball court.

One of the cottages we are staying in as we look for a house.

We will keep you posted as more things come together.

Juma's Thoughts On Leaving

The thought of leaving something you love is hard. When I first told my friends that we were going to Uganda back in June, they didn't really care. They didn't care because they thought it would be one or two years before we would leave. Just the other day I told my friends that we were leaving on February 1. They were not really happy and kept asking questions like, "How long will you be there?" or "When will you come back?" Now at the moment, I don't feel extremely sad, but I know that it will hit me suddenly and I will be extremely sad to leave. But I know that what is happening isn't being controlled by me, mama or papa but God. His way is the best way. So that's the way for me.  

Thus Far has the Lord Helped Us

As missionaries, one of the main things we need to do is to raise our financial support.  To be honest, this seemed daunting and we were a bit apprehensive as to how this would go.  So with the tools in hand from our training at Word of Life, we started meeting with people upon our return from New York in mid June.

What a blessing it has been!  We have had the opportunity to visit with many people.  And we have really enjoyed that!  It has been great to meet up with relatives, with old friends, and make new friends.  We have been so encouraged... and have had the opportunities to encourage and pray for those we have met with. 

Through this experience, we know we have a team that is with us as we minister in Uganda, even if you are not there with us physically.  Thank you!!  We look forward to keeping in touch... meeting with you again... and meeting many more of you yet in the future.

As well, we have had the opportunity to share in three large group settings:

In September, we were given the opportunity to share at Clearbrook MB Church at a Hymn Sing (Welli and the kids singing a song).

 

Our home and sending church, Northview Community Church, commissioned us in November.

We had a great get together with African music (thank you, Shirika!), lots of food (thank you all who made/brought food!) with family and friends in December.

We have said this before, but will say it again.  Thank you... to all of you!  For your love, your support, your prayers.  We thank God for each of you!