Swim Team

This is the first year for Rosslyn Academy to enter the Barclays Bank National Swimming competition which takes place at the Aga Khan high school in Nairobi this weekend. Over 3000 entries are competing from many of Kenya's top schools. Emma has been training at Rosslyn Academy twice a week since she made the team in August.

Emma competed in the "A" level girls 7 and under backstroke event. She did very well in her heat. She says "The water was freezing but it was fun to race". She'll be racing again in the free style event on Sunday afternoon.

Emma and Daddy walking back to the van

after a long day at the Aga Khan high school.

We'll be back tomorrow!

Mommy giving Emma a big congratulations hug

after the first day of competition.

Croc Hunter

A Different kind of Crocodile!

Over the weekend, we visited a local park with some friends. Tristan became a brave Croc Hunter as he wrestled with this massive yellow toothed croc


While rare in Kenya, giant yellow tooth crocs have been known
to swallow children whole. This may be it for
Ezra and Isaiah Enns, as well as Tristan and Emma

As you can see, Our poor lil'hunter

ended up as a croc's lunch

Crazy Hair Day

Emma with our friend Kerry Jividen (Physical Education teacher at RA) showing off their crazy doos.

This has been "Spirit Week" at Rosslyn Academy, and each day the kids have been coming to school in crazy outfits. Thursday was "crazy hair day" and the day began early with a pancake breakfast fundraiser put on by the senior class.

Tristan and our friend Melanie McKee (third grade teacher at RA) lining up bright and early for pancakes

Breakfast Super Hero

We were surprised to find a super hero

waiting for us at breakfast today.

We are not sure of her super name,

but she seems to have a number of super powers:

Super google vision

Super Cereal gobbling ability

Super laugh

Super smile

Oh, and of course the super suit, with her own utility belt.

Any suggestions for a super name?

Having a ball!

Watch out! Ava's a great shot with a plastic ball.

Mommy and Ava keeping an eye out

for the high flying antics of Tristan and Emma.

We had some fun together at Nairobi's newest shopping centre, Nakumat Westgate: The mall has a great fun room for children to play in, as well as a pizza restaurant and a very modern movie theatre.

Eastleigh Youth

Children at the Eastleigh Community Centre enjoying a fresh mandazi made by enterpeuring youth from the centre's vocational school.

(A mandazi is a Kenyan version of the donut).

Electric meter boxes drying in the afternoon sun at the Eastleigh Community Centre's metal work shop. A group of enterprising students have been putting their new skills to work and have earned a contract for supplying these boxes within Nairobi.

Last Thursday, we shared in a morning with a group of young entrepreneurs at the Eastleigh Community Centre. For many of the young people who complete Kenya's standard eight level (comparable to Canada's eighth grade), academics give way to the immediate need of contributing to their household's income. For this reason, all of the students at the Eastleigh Community Centre's primary school are introduced to the basics of financial management, and micro enterprise development at a young age. Many of the students will enroll into one of the centre's nine vocational programs immediately after completing standard eight.

These catering students (pictured above) range in age from 14 to 22 years old, and together they are already running small business that employ their new skills. Our prayer is that more of the Somali youth, with whom we are working, will take advantage of these training opportunities and find ways of helping their own families. It is truly inspiring to be with such optimistic and hope filled people!

Lift Your Voice!

IFTIN shines as they sing their own songs

written in their mother tongue of Somali.

We paraded into Nairobi's Naya Stadium with over 2000 people for the September 8th, International Literacy Day celebration.

A presenters tent with various groups and agencies working to enhance adult education in Kenya were part of the day. It is estimated that 774 million adults lack basic literacy around the world, 64% are women (EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2008). According to Kenya's 2007 National Adult literacy Survey, 7,800,000 adults can not read or write. Working together, organizations like Eastleigh Community Centre are striving to promote and provide free opportunities for adults to achieve quality education that will lead to "peace and prosperity" for the nation.

Our group was among dozens of choirs, dancers, actors and marching bands that took part in the celebration. These children stood on tip toe to get a good look at the sparkling white uniformed marching bands.

The Iftin group preforming their songs before the panel of judges, including Kenya's Minister of Education, at the International Literacy Day celebration in Nairobi. They were great!

Sukumawiki

Sukumawiki growing along the roadside

near Tristan and Emma's School

Kenyans have several staple foods in their diet including vegetables like arrowroot, maize, cow peas and grains. Kale, which is called sukumawiki (sue-coo-ma-wickie), is eaten with many meals. It is cheap and full of vitamins. We see it growing throughout the country, in fact the grounds worker at our apartment building grows a large patch of it outside the gate to our parking lot. It has been an acquired taste for our family, but it is much loved by Kenyans. Sukumawiki is so popular that there are even poems written about it:

“All this I am saying
To all you listeners
Is in praise of sukumawiki, my love.

Whenever I am hungry, ready is sukumawiki.
Sukumawiki, my love, may the Lord bless you.”

Sukumawiki Kipenzi, translated from KiSwahili by Ezekiel Tsinalo

Food security is a major issue in Africa. Kenya has been near the top of the UN listing of the most vulnerable countries for food security. Along with soaring electricity and fuel prices, drought conditions, the civil unrest of early 2008 and the present world food crisis, the price of basic foods have more than doubled over the past nine months. This causes a major problem for Kenyans who on average live on a few dollars a day. While most rural Kenyans are able to live off of subsistence farming, the lack of rain in many areas is making this extremely difficult. Even this week, we have witnessed several Masai herdsman bringing hundreds of cattle through Westlands (where we live) to graze on the green roadside grass. While Nairobi has received a good rainfall, much of the surrounding land is bone dry and whithering.

The Sharing Way is currently working with Canadian Foodgrains Bank in a consortium to organizing food relief in the worst affected areas.

Princesses

Ava in her new "Snow White" dress. She may not be "as white as snow", but she is certainly as dark as yummy hot cocoa.

Our two little princesses!



On Saturday we received a wonderful care package from our friends Andrew, Kelly and Lauren Myers, and in it was a little Snow White outfit just the perfect size for Ava. She loves it. In fact, she must really think that she is snow white, because she refuses to wear anything else, but the dress. On Sunday morning she walked into our bedroom having de-robed, and presented us with the dress (that we had to force her to take off at bed time the night before): "Mommy, Daddy!" she said, more than a little frustrated, as she pushed the dress into our hands and stood up straight with her arms over her head... we got the message.

In Prayer for September

* We are excited to have many of our CBM colleagues returning this month! Paul Carline landed back on Friday evening with Kara, Kelvin and Keenan. Please continue to pray for Kelly and their eldest daughter, Katie, as she begins university this fall in Canada. The Cards and A., will be back a little later in the month.

* Please keep the women in our Iftin group in your prayers as they begin the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Today we were missing a few of the ladies as they find this a difficult month with many extra responsibilities. We will be giving them a two week break from their classes near the end of the month as this will be the most intense and tiring time for most of them.

* Please pray for our entire Somali Ministry team as we work together this fall with strategic planning with The Sharing Way. This will be a crucial time for us as we depend on God's leading and direction for determining the best way forward with our urban and rural development work and ministry.

* Remember our family as we await the last report needed for Ava's adoption. Once Child services submits this document to the court, we will be able to go before the judge and have our application heard. We are still praying for a Christmas adoption!!!