Football Fever!

Tristan (number 9) played defender on his team.

Emma running soccer drills at camp

Receiving their "Ambassadors in Sport" certificates

It is said that if the world had an official sport it would be soccer, or "football" as most people know it. Here in Kenya, English Premier League Football is a national obsession. You can see fan merchandise for Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsey and Liverpool everywhere from the windows of Matatus to the t-shirts of kids even in the most remote villages. It seems that practically every child imagines they were their favorite "footballer".

And so, it has been a part of our "Kenyan education" to embrace football fever (though we haven't picked a team to cheer for yet). This last week, Tristan and Emma participated in an "Ambassadors in Sport" Soccer Camp held at their school. This is a wonderful ministry that connects spiritual teaching with sport. The instructors were all national Christians and great athletes. Tristan and Emma left with a new love for soccer -- I guess it is a easy bug to catch!

Welcome Frenchs

On Sunday, we were delighted to meet Chuck and Peggy French who have just arrived from Canada. The French family had served with CBM working nearly a decade with the ACC&S in urban outreach. They have returned to Kenya to live and work at Rosslyn Academy, where Peggy will serve as the school guidance counsellor.

Ava

Just thought you might want to see how big our little Ava is getting.

Good-bye Holly!

Just a few pictures of Holly's last day at the school with her class.

The "Transitions" Advanced English Class

outside our rooftop classroom in Eastleigh

A whole lot of shak'n going on!

We seem to be in the thick of the long gray Nairobi Winter and we are missing the sun shine. We never imagined how cold it would get here -- I guess we could have packed those good ol' Canadian toques! No snow, but at night we can actually see our breath while we are in bed. There is no central heating here in Kenya, so we are piling up the blankets.

The earthquakes have continued, we’ve lost count, but we have felt at least two large tremors every night, and many small tremors during the day. One of our friends had been feeling them earlier in the week not realizing what was happening, she thought she had some physical problem and needed to see a doctor. She was a little embarrassed but very relieved to discover that they were earthquakes and not seizures. The worst seem to be over now. Reports tell us that the epicenter was in Tanzania where an eruption took place (about 200 km from us).

On Thursday, we celebrated the completion of our Advanced English Class. It was also a good-bye party for our friend Holly who has been teaching this class for the past two months. Holly leaves this week to return to Kansas where she serves as a youth pastor in her church. The students made a great connection with her. One of the Somali guys got up during her final class and wrote on the white board “We love you Holly where ever you are!”. We’ll miss you too Holly. (We have some great photos from the last day of class that we will post later today).

Open Doorways

The open doorway to a Somali friend's apartment building in Eastleigh.

Entering a new culture is an amazing experience. It is said that crossing culture happens in phases: You move from a distant observer, to a inquiring learner, and hopefully a participant. We are no experts, but what we have come to understand is the importance of "open doors".






It is tempting to want people of other backgrounds to meet us on our terms. Come to my house, eat my food, and talk about my interests in my language. It is easy and safe to build friendship on what we know and understand.


The challenge for all of us is to step out beyond what is easy. Do you have any friends of another culture? Do you look for open doorways into the lives of people unlike yourself? Looking back on our own lives, we have had very few friends who weren't a lot like us. And sadly, I do not think that it ever really bothered me. I was very content.


When I look at Jesus, I am increasingly amazed by the diversity of his friends. I am challenged by how attentive he was to open doorways into the lives of others unlike him. Open door can be scary things. We may not know what lies beyond them, but then again that's the adventure!

Earthquakes!!

Over the past few days we have experienced six small earthquakes here in Nairobi. The largest awoke us in the middle of the night with the glass shaking in our windows and doors rattling. (We have no fine china so there were no worries of broken tea sets or the like). We have heard of no significant damage from the tremors, it has been very minor. The latest took place about 5 am this morning and then again at about 2 pm this afternoon.

Today, Tristan and Emma begin a week of soccer camp at Rosslyn Academy. They are in the final four weeks of summer vacation before returning to school on August 14th. Tristan will be entering the third grade and Emma can't wait to start in grade one!

Classes are going very well in Eastleigh. Our students were a buzz over the earthquakes. One student laughed about them "If Eastleigh hasn't crumbled, then they can not be that bad!"

Erica enjoyed some time today with the some Somali friends who were creating Henna decorations on the hands and feet of the Ogilvie family (Bonnie, Lauren and Annie) who are visiting from British Colombia, Canada. Robert is a pastor of Westwood Community Baptist in Coquitlam, just outside of Vancouver.

Thank you all so much for your prayers! We are still camping out on mattresses in our new apartment as we await furniture. Erica and I have been painting in the evenings and slowly getting the apartment set up. We are so thankful to have a place to call home.

God Bless!

First Night!

We celebrated our nineth wedding anniversary yesterday with a busy day of moving into our new place. Friends graciously offered to babysit our kids giving us the first night in our apartment to ourselves. We enjoyed a quiet time together over some fantastic Indian food.

As we look back we on our journey together, we are amazed by the changes that have happened in our lives. We have so much to be thankful for. God is good!

Highs and Lows

Enjoying a Sunday afternoon with Somali friends at Rosslyn Academy.

Erica and Holly with a group of young women from our Somali English Program last Tuesday at the Amani Ya Juu sewing program.

We have had quite a week of ups and downs as we've struggled with Kenyan Immigration over a lost document in their cavernous archives. But the Lord is good, and we were blessed with a gracious contact in the Immigration department who has helped us in locating the file and pulling things together in a matter of days... praise the Lord!

Along with the hard times, we have shared in some wonderful experiences this week with our Somali students and their families. Erica and Holly, a volunteer working with us this summer in Eastleigh, have organized a series of Intensive English camps with some of our students. One of the groups spent a morning at the Amani Ya Juu ministry that trains refugee women in acquiring profitable skills.

We also had a joyful time with a family of one of our students, who lives with his parents and ten siblings in Eastleigh. We packed into our van and went for a picnic at Rosslyn Academy. Many of the younger children had never seen a playground before, let alone run in the grass. It was such a thrill to push them on the swings and balance them on a teeter totter while listening to their screams of delight. As we drove them home, they said that it was a day they would all write about in their dairies.

We continue to pray for Mohamed's family as they live in limbo, praying for reconciliation in Somalia: As his father told us, "Where there is no peace, there is no life!" We pray for the children of the thousands of refugees families trapped in places like Eastleigh.

Tristan and Abdiraman hunt for snakes
along the red banks of Rosslyn Academy.

Moving...

We have found a place! Today we began moving into an apartment on Brookside Drive (almost directly across the street from Malcolm and Patty Card's apartment where we have been staying these past six months). It is very safe and secure. We are on the fourth floor in a three bedroom flat. Thanks so much to everyone who has been praying with us in our search for a home. Tristan is excited to be having his own room. Emma is very excited to be rooming with her baby sister. Ava is just always excited!!

God Bless,
Aaron & Erica

Bugs in the kitchen!

One of the great things about life in Africa is that you never know what surprises await you. Doing dishes last night, we were surprised by an unexpected guest -- a preying mantus. We never named him, but showed him the door,.. er window!

Gary's Visit

Last week, the head of our mission, Gary Nelson, dropped in for a visit while he was here in Kenya for meetings with our national church partners. We enjoyed an encouraging morning with him. Gary has such a great way with kids -- Tristan, Emma and Ava had a wonderful time!

Quite a week!

On Thursday morning, we arrived in Eastleigh to learn that there had been a robbery at Maashaa Allah, a popular Somali restaurant on eighth street near our centre. At 6 am, robbers entered the restaurant where a number of Somali men had gathered for tea. The robbers wanted money and cellphones. Three Somali men resisted the robbers and were shot. As we arrived at the centre, we met Bashir one of our students whose brother had been one of the three men shot and killed in the robbery.

By mid-morning, our work in Eastleigh was interupted by a desperate phone call from our friend Andai, who had been arrested on the other side of the city. Andai had been traveling from Limuru to Nairobi with an old engine that we needed to pick up from the mechanic who was storing it for us. The engine had been in a CBM vehicle, but had burnt out nearly a year ago and was being kept for parts. At a roadblock, I police officer had notced the engine in the back of the truck Andai was driving. As is typical here in Kenya, the officer seeing an oppurtunity for a "gift" demanded papers for the old engine. Not having the papers and unwilling to give a bribe, Andai had to go to the local police outpost where his vehicle and license were seized.

When we arrived at the police station, two detectives were "investigating" the case. I could not believe it. Here we had just come from a community in the trauma of multiple murders without a single police officer present less than two hours after the crime, and now two detectives were hunkered down with our friend and a pile of junk for an "investigation". Five hours later, after producing the proper documentation and being threatened ourselves with being arrested, we left the police station without having paid any "gift" with Andai and the old engine. Incredible.

I thank the Lord for the patience he afforded us. But we continue to pray for our student Bashir and the Eastleigh community. We pray for the Somali people living in such a vulnerable community. And we pray for the Kenyan police that must carry out a high responsibility with limited resources. It was quite a week!