Wardrobe Changes

This week our Somali friend and language helper, Zahra,

had a fun time hanging out with Emma. She even

let Emma dress in her scarves and black head covering.

Somali women are expected to cover their heads in public.

Many Somali women will even cover their faces; they will

recognize one another only by their eyes.

Our ESL work is going very well in Eastleigh; The classes are filling to capacity and the students are making good progress. We are also enjoying more time with some of the students out of the class room. We are praying that the Lord will help us identify ways to strengthen community development in this place, but we know that this will take time.

We enjoyed a great evening with Ron Ward yesterday. We will be keeping a eye on some of the Garissa projects for he and Joan, while they are back in Canada over the next six months.

Prayer Requests

It is Sunday morning and we are all getting ready for worship. Today we'll be joining Tristan's science teacher and his family after church for lunch and making homemade icecream -- we are all very excited!

We left Canada three months ago today. As we look back, God's hand has been evident. He has been our protector, provider and sustainer. We praise the Lord for his deep and abiding love and we pray that where ever you are this Lord's Day that you will be filled with the joy of God's presence and grace.

Thank you for praying for our family. We continue to pray:

... For the Lord to help us in entering Somali culture and for language aquisition.
... For a home. Because of security risks our Runda duplex fell threw. We hope to have a home of our own by June or July before the kids begin school in August. We are praying for a secure property with a small yard.
... For Erica's mom. Mary is in hospital in Moncton, NB.
... For our e-permit and dependence visas. We just renewed our three month tourist visas while our work visas are in process. We need to have everything completed by June 20th or we will have to leave the country. It is a painfully slow process, but praise God our three month renewal was completed without any trouble.

God Bless,
Aaron & Erica

Maisie

This week we welcomed a new addition to our family. Tristan and Emma were thrilled when we brought this tiny little Maltese Terrior puppy home. Her name is Maziwa na Mandazi which means milk and donuts in Swahili; we call her Maisie for short. She is a little cuddly ball of fur. She looks big but when she is wet there is nothing to her. She had all of her needles today and is now fast asleep on my lap from such a busy day.

Tristan and Emma with Maisie before bed.

Camel Riding

Emma was a little afraid of the camels at first because they were so loud but she warmed up to them quickly and loved touching their soft fur. She didn't ride but she said she would when she was a big girl!
Tristan loved his first experience with the camels. As you can see they are very affectionate.

Can you see the look of pure terror on my face? I almost fell off as the camel stood up; unlike a horse that you mount when it is standing, a camel gets down with it's belly flat on the ground and then lurches up. Did I mention that I almost fell off when he sat back down at the end of the ride? All in good fun!

Aaron was a pro at camel riding! He could do it for a living. My camel man! There are no stirups so you are balancing your self on a wooden saddle placed over the camel's hump. The camel has no halter or bit, just a rope tied around his neck and a decorative head wrap.

On Saturday morning we spent several hours at the Raya Camel Cooperative. We were glad to see that the treatment for the Tseste Fly had been affective and that the herd was healthy. Some of the herdsmen were glad to report that a couple of the camels are expecting (the gestation period is a full year). We also had the opportunity to ride the male camel of the herd as he is the only camel trained to be saddled. Ron hopes that someday they will be able to train more camels for eco-tourism, bringing some much needed currency into the local economy.

Here is a short video of Tristan as he enjoys his first camel ride.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5371923921530192807

Aaron and Tristan with the camels

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5464923924978674670

Garissa Fun

This past weekend we headed to Garissa with Tristan, Emma and Meuni (from the CBM office in Toronto). We left on Friday for the 6 hour drive; Tristan and Emma did great! We had a chance to visit wit Ron and Joan Ward over supper; Tristan and Emma had a great time catching frogs and crickets in their house. Joan says that she can't close her eyes when she showers for fear of stepping on a frog! Saturday morning we headed out at 6:30 am to visit the camels in Raya. We sat in the back of the Ward's Land Rover and had breakfast as we drove.

After Raya, we went to the site of the new Healing Rooms where we were each invited to plant a tree as they dedicated the site in prayer. This is Tristan with his palm.

Out at Raya Emma found a traditional Somali house; they are made of branches and rushes so they can easily be collapsed and moved on the backs of camels by the nomadic herdsmen.

This is us enjoying a Garissa sunset in the back on the Ward's truck

After visiting some projects with the Ward's and Meuni, we met a Somali man names Hassan who took us on a giraffe safari. We tracked them in the Ward's truck and then followed them on foot. That morning Hassan had been part of a group that killed seven lions that had been attacking herds. The Kenya Wildlife Service came and removed the lions. As this area isn't a game sanctuary, the Somali herdsmen will kill any predators that threaten their herds.

On the Way!

A couple of boys playing with a homemade football (soccer ball)

at the Garissa elementary school.

In the next hour we will be on the dusty road to Garissa where we will be working over the next three days. Tristan and Emma are having pancakes with Erica and Meuni at this very moment and talking about this their first trip to Northeastern province.


We hope to share more stories and photos with you when we get back. Please keep us in your prayers as we make this long journey. Everyone is doing great health-wise! We are all looking forward to spending some time with Ron & Joan Ward who will be hosting us this evening.

Blessings!
Aaron & Erica

Visiting

Throughout March, we have the joy of several visitors. This week, Rowena Chow from the Toronto CBM office joined us for a day in Eastleigh. It was a busy time as our morning classes were filled to capacity. Rowena helped with some of our small groups.

This weekend, Meuni Matinda is joining us as we travel back to Garissa. Last month, we visited the camel cooperative which has been ravaged by the tsetse fly. We traveled up to Raya early in the morning with a vet who was treating the herd against the fly. We are interested to see how the herd is doing, as it is an important part of Somali food security. Tristan and Emma will be coming with us this time around and they are excited to see the camels (and hope to get a kiss or two).

Both Tristan and Emma are feeling much better. Thank you for your prayers. Emma has had to remain at home because she may be contagious, but she is doing great! She is working at home with mommy with a weeks worth of work that her teacher has sent home.

Prayer Request

We have had a long weekend with two sick children. We spent Sunday evening at Gertrude's Garden Childrens Hospital with Tristan where, after blood tests, the doctors found that Tristan has a bacterial infection. He is on antibiotics again but is feeling much better and wanted to go to school today. Please pray that the antibiotics kill whatever bug he has.

Emma had an earache on and off all weekend and this morning when we woke up the left side of her face was swollen. We went to the doctor and he suspects that she has mumps. So she is home from school for the week as mumps are contagious. Please pray that she recovers quickly and has a restful week at home.

Patty Card

Today we had the pleasure of visiting with Patty Card who is back in Kenya for three weeks for meetings with the Guardians of Hope work with HIV/AIDS orphans and affected families. As we have been living in Malcolm and Patty's apartment, it was fun to spend the day seeing this community through her eyes. She introduced us to some of her favorite haunts and walks. Together with the Carlines we shared a great evening together recounting the joys and embarrassing challenges of Kenya. Patty has an intense few weeks of travel ahead of her as she will be visiting projects scattered throughout Kenya and Rwanda. Please remember her in your prayers.


We are also praying for Malcolm as he has begun his follow up Chemotherapy treatments. If everything goes well, the treatments will be completed by June.


Also, please pray for Tristan. He is sick again with high fever. He seemed to be doing well after he completed the antibiotics from the chest infection, but he as been feeling awful over the past twenty-four hours. If there is no improvement tonight we'll take him to be checked out again.

God Bless,
Aaron & Erica

The view

Last night after snaking through some of the world's worst traffic, from the Kenyatta International Airport (where we picked up Sam Mutisyia) to Nairobi Centre, Paul, Sam, and I met with Ron Ward to continue the meetings we began in Garissa concerning the Sharing Way work among Somalis. As we arrived at Ron's hotel, Paul gave me a sly smile -- "We'll be meeting at Ron's private table". Soon we were walking up a narrow stair and through a smokey restaurant (Where they actually have about half a dozen cigarette brands for sale in the menu -- we're not in Canada anymore) to a back window. "This is it!" Paul said as he hoisted himself out the window. Sam and I followed Paul through the third storey window out onto a narrow balcony which housed the hotel's sigh and exterior lighting. There sat Ron at a small table with three empty chairs, awaiting our arrival.

It was wonderful to meet with Ron and Sam who together know practically every church leader and non-governmental agency working in Kenya -- What amazing history they share. Many stories were told and ministry plans discussed. Please pray for us as we seek the Lord's focus and clear direction. Critical opportunities abound and we desperately need the Lord's gift of discernment. Sitting high above the busy street, I was reminded of how the Lord's perspective is so much broader than our own. I am so thankful for the wisdom and guidance of God's Spirit working among us all.


It has been a very busy week. Along with teaching, working with our language helpers, having street punks try and rob us (they tried to steal my watch and cell phone while we were stuck in Eastleigh traffic, but we pulled free and yelling they ran off to find another target -- the Lord is our sheild), and meetings -- we also found a home! We are very excited and can not wait to show you some pictures. If everything comes together, we will move on the first of April.

Blessings,
Aaron & Erica

Back to Eastleigh!

We want to thank everyone who has been praying for our health. We are all feeling much better this week, including Kenan Carline.

Today we officially re-opened the Eastleigh Learning Centre under our new structure and programs. Without our old office staff, Erica, Paul and I had the adventure of running registration on our own. We could really tell that our first few months of language work has been paying off as we were able to pronounce and write the Somali names (That might not sound like much but you try pronouncing Xamud Caabdi Akriizak five times fast).

This week our Sharing way meetings for NEP will continue as Sam Mutysia returns from Rwanda and Ron & Joan Ward come to Nairobi. Please pray for us as we seek God's direction and wisdom for sustainable community development in the Somali communities where we have been called to serve together.

Camel Kisses

Miss Valentine born this February
As you can see the camels were very affectionate!

Even Aaron got some kisses!

At sunrise we rode out to Raya in the back of Ron and Joan Ward's truck to visit their camel cooperative. Since the massive flooding this fall there has been a lot of disease and many of the camels are sick and some have already died. Ron brought along a veternarian who treated the camels against the Titsi (?) fly which is causing much of the problem. Among the adult camels were the new arrivals-- Miss Valentine and her brother Tom. To see a short video click to this Goggle Video link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6161995919397395194

Playground

While we were in Garissa we had an opportunity to visit the ACC&S School were this playground was built last summer by a STM team from BC. We were overjoyed to see a group of children having such a great time during their recess.

We have posted a short video of the playground on Google Video. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5879850527482037999

Baby News

Proud mommy, grandmother and beautiful baby Livia

Tyler Eric

On February 7th my sister, Lori, and her husband Jason celebrated the birth of their third child, Tyler Eric. We've just been able to open the pictures and wanted to share them with you.

On February 25th Aaron's brother, Adam, and his wife Ivy celebrated the birth of their second child, Livia Dela.

We have so much to be thankful for!