Buddies

Tristan and his friend Spencer

Tristan and Emma have been blessed with a great gang of friends at Rosslyn Academy. One of Tristan's closest buddies has been Spencer: They practically swap families every weekend for sleepovers and Nintendo DS marathons (their pal Ezra calls them sleepover maniacs). We can hear them laughing and giggling as we type: Kennys are hosting tonight/ Woller's hosting tomorrow night. "Trissy or TK" and "Spence or SW" are into adventure games and the swings at the school playground. Tristan also likes to cook and Spencer likes to eat -- what a match!!!!

One of the toughest parts of being a missionary kid is that your friends are continually coming and going. Spencer and his family will be leaving Kenya this Spring to return to the US. It will be a sad parting. We are so thankful for the great friends our kids are making and for the grace that God provide's us in all our experiences of loss.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen!

Emma will be wearing a hat for the next while

until her beautiful locks return.

We've settled in for a day at home away from the rioting and unrest that has broke out in the city over the elections. Although it seemed that Odinga was way ahead and guaranteed a landslide victory, disputes with over fifty poling stations have caused a large portion of the ballots to be now two days late in the tally. Luo's (Odinga's tribe) are accusing the Kikuyu's (Kibaki's tribe) of withholding their poling stations in order to stuff the ballot boxes in their districts to match the Odinga vote in his areas. Local radio stations are pleading for the two leaders to come and speak to the crowds that have surrounded International Conference Centre and have been hurling stones at the building. according to news reports, police have shutdown the downtown core and have cut off groups assembling in Kibera and slums on the Eastside of the city.

Feed_from_the_Associated_Press
http://www.forbes.com/topstories/home/feeds/ap/2007/12/29/ap4481168.html

In Prayer:

Please be praying for Emma. She has a fungal infection that has caused the hair on the top of her head to fall out. She is on medication now and will have to stay on it for 6 weeks. Pray that it doesn't spread and that her hair grows back quickly.

Please pray for a peaceful resolution of the elections and for the violence in Nairobi to quiet down. We are praying for a safe drive through the city on New Year's Eve when we pick Erica's mom, Mary, up from the airport.

Christmas Eve

It's hard to believe a year ago tonight we were finishing up our packing and saying good bye to family. A lot has happened in a year.

For our first Christmas Eve in Kenya, we celebrated by having friends over for homemade pizza and Christmas cookies. Then we all traveled to the Village Market for an outdoor Christmas Eve service. The pastor spoke about Christ coming as the Hope of the world.

When we got home we took some pictures around the Christmas tree; a great memory of Ava's first Christmas with us. She was very proud of her Christmas dress and danced around the apartment swinging the material around her knees with laughter. She is a gift from God.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Love Aaron, Erica, Tristan, Emma and Ava

Hanging Around

"A hasty person misses the sweetest things."

Swahili Proverb

Yesterday afternoon, Ava road around in Erica's kanga while we tidied up the apartment and did some laundry. It is a common sight for us to see Kenyan mothers carrying their babies in these colorful cotton sheets. Kangas are known not only for their unique patterns and designs but for the Swahili proverbs and wise sayings that are contained in each kanga. They are a wonderful commentary on Kenyan life and philosophy. For instance, one popular kanga saying is:

"Haraka haraka haina baraka"

"Hurry, hurry has no blessing"

On quiet Saturday afternoons like this, we couldn't imagine a better proverb to speak into our North American urge to cram in and jam pack our lives with more than we can really ever appreciate.

We pray that throughout this Advent season that you will be blessed by time for reflection and unhurried life.

Blessings!!!

Hoodii, Hoodii!

In Kenya, whether you are Somali, Kikuyu, Komba, or a mzungu (like us) the common Kenyan way to enter a home is to come to the door and shout "Hoodii, Hoodii!" (Ho-dee! Ho-dee!). We have found that almost anywhere we travel that people are happy to stop and meet a stranger, even welcoming us into their homes. Children, especially, are eager to use their limited English vocabulary on a white face. "Hi, how are you?" is a common chorus we will hear from children throughout the Kenyan country side. When we answer we get a mixed reactions: some kids squeal in laughter, others run away in fear, usually a few become glued to our side and others wave back "Fine, fine!"

It is disarming to experience such warmth and hospitality in the most unexpected of places. On Saturday, for instance, we were caught in a three hour traffic jam along the Kiambu Road leaving Nairobi (a two lane road had become a nine lane river of cars, matatus, and transfer trucks spanning both ditches in a painfully slow ebb of traffic). To make things worse it was extremely hot! Tempers flared (most notably amongst the white expats in their shiny cars and trucks). We saw no police or resemblance of order as we snaked through the chaos. But then we began to notice young men coming out of a nearby slum (My first reaction was, O NO, we are sitting ducks here! Lock the doors, this could get scary!). But to my surprise, the men began to direct traffic. Boys appeared with water, and make shift gas cans to aid people who were in need. A man even appeared out of the blue selling frozen juice out of a grubby cooler (talk about a smart business sense). I was astounded by the patience and "no worries attitude" of our Kenyan brethren. On the back of one of the Matatus (the local public transports) was scrawled the words -- "Give it to Jesus!" I can't think of a better way to face our hardships in life.

It is exciting to be able to experience our first Kenyan Christmas. We pray that your experience of this holiday season will be rich in the beauty of the Spirit at work in the lives of His people.

Anyone Home?

"Anyone home?"


This last month while visiting the giraffe tree house along the edge of Nairobi National Park with our friends the Cassidys, we spotted an unusual house guest wandering into the open front door of this beautiful colonial manor. The giraffe had his head and neck fully inside with his shoulders butting up against the mantle of the doorway for several minutes until the owner of the house discovered him. We watched rapt with interest as he shewed the lanky intruder away. Only in Africa!

As Christmas approaches, we are planning to spend most of the holiday visiting new friends and entertaining our own house guests (no giraffes). Perhaps this is one of our dearest memories of Christmas in Canada: spending the week between Christmas and New Years traveling around our home provinces to "see the Christmas trees" and enjoy the company of our extended families and friends.

For the most part, there are few signs Christmas to be seen (Although the big grocery chain Nakumat does have a robotic Santa). This less commercialized celebration of Advent has helped us keep this a time of celebrating our faith in God's presence and grace. Tristan and Emma have been as excited about their school's outreach to an orphanage than their own stockings. On Christmas Eve, we will be joining a candle lit service at the village market. We are looking forward to singing Silent Night under a twinkling sky.

A few Prayer Updates:

Praise the Lord! Kelly Carline's mumps have subsided. We hope that she and Paul will be able to enjoy the remainder of her parent's visit in good health.

Pray for our Somali friend Abdi. Many of you who have been supporting the Carline's will know Abdi's story. Last week, he was struck by a car in Eastleigh and then because of his faith an angry mob began to curse and threaten him. The Lord rescued Abdi through the intervention of an old Somali woman who appeared on the street and helped him away. Please pray for the healing of his injured knee.

Jamhuri Day

Happy Jamhuri Day!

Today all of Kenya celebrates its independence. Tristan and Emma are home from school and we are all enjoying steamy mutton & chicken Samosas, games and fun.

Along with relaxing with our kids, two of our Eastleigh friends crossed the city to join us for coffee and test out our Somali. They were very encouraging; "You are making progress" but Somali is still much easier for us to see on a page then hear in a conversation.

On Monday, Erica joined our colleagues Patty Card and Laura Ward for Guardians of Hope meetings in Machakos with the African Brotherhood Church. We are praying about the potential of introducing the Guardians ministry (a program initiated by Canadian Baptists among HIV/AIDS orphans and families) to the Eastleigh Somali community. Please pray for us as we continue to work on this emerging part of Somali ministry.

Great news! On Tuesday, the Kiambu Court finally approved Ava's file with the Nest (the orphanage that we are fostering through). This was an important step in our ability to adopt Ava. It took us four trips to the court house in the village of Kiambu, North of the city, and a lot of patience.

Blessings!

Merry Christmas!

Today, after church we attempted to have a new family picture taken. It's not as easy as it sounds! We had forgotten how hard it is to have a 1 year old stay still. We still had a lot of fun though!

Attempt # 101!!!!!

Santa and her reindeer Rudolph

Ava and I enjoying our Christmas tree

Oh Christmas Tree!

Ezra, Isaiah and Tristan

by our first Kenyan Christmas Tree.

Last night our friends, the Enns family, slept over for St. Nicholas Day. They will be returning to Canada for Christmas, and it was a great chance to celebrate and early Christmas with them. They live at Rosslyn Academy, where Wes is a high school English teacher. It was fun to watch Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" by the light of our little cypress Christmas tree.

Our Advent devotional for December 6th, was about the generous and kind fourth century bishop Nicholas and his impact upon children and the poor. The devotional suggested an activity practiced by many Christian cultures around the world: As we went to bed, everyone in the apartment left a shoe (or rubber boot in the case of Tristan and Emma) outside of their door, but rather than waiting for someone else to fill the shoes, everyone in the house crept around at night and dropped little surprises into other peoples shoes. It was a lot of fun!

Of course the real message was about practicing the gift of generosity. How free are we at blessing others? That same evening, Erica and the kids made cookies and squares for a bake sale Emma's first grade class was holding as a fundraiser for "The Nest", an orphanage in Limuru, Kenya. That next day, all of the children brought gifts for the sale raising over $300 for the orphans. In fact, all of the classes at the school will be doing fundraising for the orphanage. Little acts of generosity add up.

In Prayer

Tonight we will say good-bye to Bob Swan and the Vancouver team that has been working in Garissa. Remember them as they return to Canada this weekend.

Please pray for our Kenyan colleague Yattani as he prepares to move into the CBM Dadaab compound in the new year.

Also remember our colleagues Paul and Kelly Carline, as Kelly's parents visit for the month of December and Kelly is ill with the mumps (The mumps have been a very common sickness in Nairobi this year, many people at our children's school have been sick despite vaccinations).

Finally, please pray for every one's safety here during the upcoming national elections. It seems that there are street rallies and protests going on daily now. On Friday, Erica and I were diverted out of Eastleigh into Mathare Valley for over an hour because of political demonstrations.

Advent

Throughout the world Christians of numerous traditions and tribes gathered this morning to celebrate the first Sunday of Advent, the four weeks of meditation and preparation prior to the celebration of Christmas. As children, Erica and I both have fond memories of the weeks of Advent, and we are now privileged to lead our own children through this season here in Kenya.

Our preparations began over a week ago as Erica started to search for Christmas music. One of her most vivid and joy-filled memories of Christmas was an old record titled "Sunshine Snowflakes" (1973). She was thrilled to receive an email from her sister, Lana, that an online version of the record was now available. For years I've listened to Erica singing "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus", and now we can finally hear the original. I can just imagine Erica and her sisters dancing around their living room in Christmas pjs, singing along with the record player.

http://madphilosopher.ca/2004/12/sunshine-and-snowflakes/


Now with an ipod play list of nearly two hundred Christmas songs playing in our home, we've begun to deck the halls! (Well, we've found a beautiful little cypress tree and local poinsettias.) The other central feature is our advent wreath and candles. We are using an advent devotional with a paper wreath for our kids in mark our progress through the month. Today, we joined a Mennonite Advent hymn sing here in the city. It was such a blessing to gather together with other believers to sing the canon of Christmas hymns and carols of the Church. Tristan loves "Joy to the World" and Emma's favorite is "Hark the Herald Angels Sing".

It is certainly odd for us as Canadians to be anticipating Christmas at the equator. We miss the snow, frosted window panes, balsam fir, pine cones,.. and the many little things that have been apart of our Christmases for so long. Most of all we miss our family and friends. In fact, we've met several families here who refuse to celebrate Christmas all together in Africa because they find it to painful. We are going to risk the home sickness that goes along with Christmas, and perhaps that is at the heart of what Advent is all about -- longing, waiting, anticipation for something promised that is not yet. Christ is coming,...once again!

We wish you all a meaningful Advent season. May God use this time to shape all of us in Hope, Faith, Peace and Love