House Guest

Meet Milkshake

Christmas guests are always a fun part of this time of year and we've enjoyed some great time with our friends and colleagues here in Kenya over the last week. We've also had a surprise guest arrive at our home last evening. Over the Christmas holiday, Emma and her classmate Daniel agreed to take turns caring for their science teacher's pet hamster -- Milkshake (Neither Emma nor Daniel's parents knew about this offer). So far so good. Our little guest has been no fuss at all. Ava calls him an "Oggy" and doesn't understand why he hides so much in his paper tube. Mom and dad are quite happy with Milkshake keeping to himself. There might be some commotion in the Kenny home if he ever decided to break free!

Milkshake will be returning to his home at Rosslyn Academy on January 12th, when the kids go back to school. Until then, we will be enjoying this cute addition to our family.

Ho Ho Ho

Ho Ho Ho

Our children were thrilled to meet Santa Claus. Ava took an instant liking to Santa. She is now the first to spot him on the giant Coke billboards throughout the city (Tristan is convinced that there is something different about these Kenyan Santas "Their just not like Santa at home"). Poor Ava had to do a double take when she confronted a white robotic dancing Santa in a store front, while she chased after the black Santa in the flesh. "Ho Ho?" she asked us in bewilderment.

It is Christmas Eve here, and we are getting ready for a candle lit service at home. We wish you all a joyful Christmas!

Love the Kennys

Ostrich Riding

To kick off our Christmas vacation we went on a little off-road trip with our friends Melanie McKee and Kerry Jividen to Kitengela Glass and the Masai Ostrich Farm, in the open plains Southeast of Nairobi. Since the dirt track required a four-wheel drive, we requested the loan of our CBM field vehicle for the trip -- Santa was our driver!

Kitengela glass was worth the long bumpy drive (though we were more than a little awed over how they can transport their fragile creations over such terrible roads without damage). Erica loved the beading section and found a few treasures to add to her beading supplies. Aaron was very impressed over the incredible stained glass.

But the real highlight of the visit was watching the glass blowers at work. The creation of one serving dish was like watching a dance -- It was amazing!

But the fun was only beginning... after Kitengela, we headed out across the plain for an adventurous trek to the Masai Ostrich Farm. Without any signs, land marks or much in the way of a road we were not guaranteed to even find our intended destination.

That wasn't such a bad outcome as far as Aaron (the bird phobic) was concerned. But despite Aaron's best efforts to get us lost, he found the Ostriches without a hitch!

This little three week old fella wanted a kiss...peck on the cheek?

Ava getting a "birds eye view" from Daddy's shoulders.

Kerry, Mel, Erica, baby Gigi and Emma

at the Masai Ostrich Farm

Erica with Ava, our little Ostrich hunter. Several of the giant birds had escaped their fence and were taking a close interest in us. Our Masai guide took a long stick and drove a hissing female away from us, only to be joined by the Kenny kids waving sticks on the next wave of the attack. Ava was fearless. We had to restrain her from chasing the fleeing ostrich back under the fence where she would have taken one out. Seriously, she is a warrior!

The big thrill was Ostrich riding which was only for the bravest of among us: Emma, Tristan, Melanie and Kerry each went for a ride on an male Somali Ostrich. (The simple way to distinguish between a Masai Ostrich and a Somali Ostrich is the flesh colouring -- Masai have bright pink or red necks and the Somali have blue/grey necks). We were blown away over how fast these birds could run. Even with two farm hands trying to hold him back, this Ostrich took Emma on a sprint that had our hearts in our throats. Emma held on tight and wanted to go for another ride.

Tristan was also a great rider and held tight to his canvas saddle for a great ride. Who needs reindeer when you have Ostriches?








We all had a great day!

Perspectives of Eastleigh

It is another hot and sticky day amidst the grime and dust of Eastleigh. Looking across the community from the upper storey of a Sixth Street cinder block apartment building, we are

confronted by an all too common sight. The garbage and sewage below us are sadly a repeated scene throughout the neighbourhood. Although the city of Nairobi makes periodic assaults on the rising mounds of trash, we continue to see the unpaved streets fill with the reek and mess. Poor sanitation and unclean drinking water go hand in hand in much of the impoverished world. As part of our work with The Sharing Way (TSW) and the Eastleigh Community Centre (ECC) we are accessing the current health and wellness among the families of Iftin. These assessments will form a baseline of information that we will use, together with TSW and ECC, to measure the effectiveness of the projects and interventions of the next few years. While there are many priorities emerging from our field surveys, water tops the list. One immediate intervention, intended to begin in 2009, is the distribution of ceramic water filters and training on hygiene and clean water issues among about 120 vulnerable families. Through the generosity of many Canadian Churches and individuals, we will be providing Somali households clean drinking water. The filters are being made out of local materials by Eastleigh Pottery and have been certified by the Kenyan Health Authority. It is a simple but life saving intervention, especially for young children who are the most susceptible to water born diseases.

Beyond the task of assessment surveys and interviews, a great part of our work in Eastleigh is the privilege of spending time in the homes of our students. They are such gracious and welcoming hosts. We are often able to meet the elderly Mzees and Mamas; play with the young children who are both excited and terrified at the appearance of strange visitors; and hear the harrowing stories of their escapes from war and conflict that brought them to Kenya and eventually Eastleigh. Today was our last set of home visits in Eastleigh for 2008, and we had the joy of dropping in on several different families. One of the questions we always ask is this: "What gives you hope?" One of the mothers today looked back at us, as she thought over the question, and then to her three teenage daughters sitting next to her on the floor of their tiny apartment: "I would never have thought it possible," She said to us in Somali, "That my daughters would be in school. God is good. That is my hope!"

12 days till Christmas!

Christmas-OrBust!

The count down has begun in the Kenny household as Tristan and Emma anticipate the quickly approaching Christmas break and festivities. Ava is also getting in on the fun which includes making our own wrapping paper: each night after supper we sit together and draw/colour Christmas pictures and designs on big sheets of flip chart paper -- It is a very relaxing family activity. I think we'll have to make it a new advent tradition!

Looking back on the week, which was unfortunately gripped with cold and flu for me (Aaron), we had several highlights. The Christmas concert was the big one. We had a great evening at Rosslyn with a recorder recital from Tristan's class (I remember using my third grade recorder more as a kazoo than an instrument, but Tristan is amazing he certainly didn't get this talent from me), and then the Bethlehem Treasure pageant! Afterward, Emma's friend Mary slept over and we stayed up eating popcorn and watching a dvd of old Christmas specials.

On Wednesday, we had the fun of hosting Carla Nelson and Seth Crowell along with Malcolm & Patty Card for supper. Carla and Seth are in Kenya with the ABC teacher's program. We enjoyed lots of laughter as we heard bits and pieces of the work they are involved with.

We were also glad to hear back from Don & Joy Hepburn who've safely returned to Canada. Since being back, they have added some great new photos to their blog. For anyone interested in what an STM to Kenya might look like, I would highly recommend taking a peek at the Hepburn's blog as they chronicled their time here.

Looking ahead to next week. We are in Eastleigh sharing in home visits among the Somali women of Iftin. As part of our time in the community, we have been working together with Zahra to complete a baseline survey for upcoming Sharing Way programs in Eastleigh. We have been climbing a steep learning curve in sustainable community development, but our training and study of Integral Mission has wonderfully shaped our efforts in urban ministry. We will continue working in Eastleigh up until December 19th when the kids get out of school for Christmas break.

Thank you all so much for keeping our family and Somali ministry in your prayers.

Christmas Concert 2008

Tonight was the annual Rosslyn Academy Elementary Christmas Concert: The children from kindergarten to the fifth grade had a marvelous performance. We were so proud of Tristan, Emma and all their classmates.
This year's concert was titled "Bethlehem Treasure" and featured a dramatic narrative presented by the fifth grade class. Erica and her friend Kim Remich directed the play and costumes. This picture was taken immediately after the concert with Erica, Kim and the fantastic cast!

Each year the Christmas concert is also the high point of a month long fundraiser for a local ministry by the children and families of the school. This year's Christmas project is raising funds to support Jacaranda Creations, a sewing ministry for widows and vulnerable mothers in Kibera slum, Nairobi, and Tent of Refuge, a ministry that intercedes for children living and struggling to survive in the garbage mounds of Dunholm, Nairobi.

Emma and Ava in their new Christmas dresses
(an early Christmas present from Grampy & Grammie)

Emma had the pre-concert giggles!

There must have been mistletoe in that tree!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Soundtrack

Our friend Carolyn Ward just inspired us to add a bit of a soundtrack to our blog. We are experimenting with playlist.com and hope you like it. Please let us know if this addition to our blog causes you any grief or frustration with connecting to our posts -- This is new to us! We hope that you will enjoy some of the music that is playing in our IPods.

In other news:

The Hepburns return to Canada tomorrow night after a great month of ministry in Eastleigh. Please keep Don & Joy in prayer as they fly home. We have deeply appreciated their encouragement and the passion they have brought into their time with the students and teachers of the Eastleigh Community Centre.


On Thursday, Erica is co directing the Rosslyn Academy Elementary Christmas Concert. Please pray for the kids who will be performing: Especially the fifth grade actors who've been rehearsing for several months now for the BIG night!

End Of Year Celebration

Some members of the 2008 Iftin group

at our end of year celebration

On Monday, we gathered for a party with about fifty of the Somali ladies and many of their family members. It was a great time to celebrate the accomplishments of these determined and courageous young women. It was also an opportunity for the class to share their appreciation to Zahra and also to Don & Joy for all the hard work they've put into the ESL program. We had a great time together!

We started off the morning with a game and prizes.

The ladies are very competitive.

Joy and Zahra


Who knew there were so many uses for tupperware?!

The ladies can make music with anything. The party really took off as the women began singing and dancing with traditional Somali dances and songs. Without any instruments, but the popcorn bowls, they made beautiful music.

As the day came to a close, the women bid everyone farewell with a Somali song. It was a wonderful end to our first semester at the Eastleigh Community Centre.

Another World All Together

Tea Country!

On Sunday, we joined our CBM collegues from Kenya and Angola for a day with Terry Smith, the director of Partnerships & Initiatives for Canadian Baptist Ministries. We gathered for worship on the lawn of a beautiful colonial tea farm in the hills above Nairobi and enjoyed a refreshing time of fellowship.

Daddy and Ava walking along the vibrant green tea hills of Tigoni as we joined the group on walking tour of the tea farm and nearby Kikuyu forrest.



Ava and Mommy stopping for a
break on the way back to the farm.

Emma with a new friend she found in the garden.

Diane Bannister, Kelly Carline and Erica

enjoying the sunny afternoon.

Tristan and Emma up to something with Kenan and Kelvin Carline as they take a close inspection of the CBM field vehicle.

Don & Joy Hepburn sharing in the day

HOPE

Our adoption hearing has been delayed until the new year. We are scheduled to go before the high court on Friday, January 23rd, but we will not have this confirmed until January 22nd. Please continue to pray for us through this process. As we celebrate the first week of Advent, we light a candle of hope. Just as in every aspect of our lives, we must hold onto the assurance of God's good and perfect love. We are trusting in the Lord that everything will come together so that we can travel with Ava in the spring.