Week Of Field Trips

Someday I will take my yellow scarf to the beach and run into the ocean as it waves behind me!


Last Saturday/Sunday consisted of a seminary/institute lesson, a talk in sacrament meeting, a Relief Society lesson and an after church meeting with the Relief Society president to teach her the ins & outs of Visiting Teaching. I finished preparing my talk Sunday morning and ran off to the internet cafe to print it off. I realize that I should have prepared far enough in advance so that I could have printed it off on Saturday but it just didn't happen. The internet cafe was still closed when I got there and I'll be the first to say that it served me right. I ran to church and got there early so I started to jot down everything that I could remember of my talk. That's when 25 white visitors walked in the door. As if it wasn't bad enough that I didn't have my talk with me, I now had double the audience (ok, I exaggerate...there are more than 25 members in the branch, but still...) They were all coming as part of Coins for Kenya. I hadn't heard of it before and am still not really sure what they do but it was fun to meet them all. Anyway, the talk and lessons all went well.

On Tuesday I took Denise to Changamwe (an area north of Mombasa) to visit some center meetings where the women make savings and loan payments and discuss any issues/needs. Denise interviewed some of the clients about Yehu's products and other marketing information that she's been gathering. This little girl and I became new friends. We played with her rocks and bottle caps during the meeting. I couldn't resist pulling out my camera. Isn't she a doll?

After our visit to Changamwe the plan was to then pack some clothes and head down to the Pope's for the night so we could attend some more centers the next day. We packed, stopped by the office for a minute and caught transportation to the ferry. It was rush hour so we were packed in like cattle all waiting to get on the ferry. After another matatu ride and meeting up with Louis & Chriss we finally made it to Diani. We ended up staying two nights down there and had so much fun.

On Wed Louis let us use his truck and we went to the new Msambweni branch after which we went to two different center meetings. At the second meeting the women gave us gifts. Denise received a pretty sweet woven mat. I received a lovely food warmer (see below).


Here's where I need all of your votes. To keep the food warmer OR not to keep the food warmer? That is the question. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely LOVE that they went out of their way to give us something and I more than appreciate the gift...but do I really need to keep the food warmer to remember them by? Back at the head office everyone looked at my food warmer with befuzzlement (pretty sure that wasn't a word until just now). So, I know I'm not the only one that wonders what one should do with the gift. I asked several people what the phrase means. I got several different answers but they were all something along the lines of, "To have peace and joy there must be understanding between one another." I wonder if the wife put that on there because she burned dinner. Just a thought. My favorite part of the center meeting was actually 'dancing' with the women. Let's be honest...I don't dance. I met a 3-year old girl on the matatu today that has more moves in her short three years than I will ever acquire. But back to the center meeting. Some of the women started singing a song that ends with them picking a friend. Yep, I got picked! I was pretty excited until I realized this meant I had to join my new friends in their dance. Good thing they don't mock...or at least I don't understand them when they do :)

Later we met this butcher Omar (below on the right). Last year his business was run out of a small stand. Raw meat from a stand...yikes! But then he joined Yehu and within a year has built a new (and hopefully cleaner) home for his business. There aren't many male clients in microfinance but the ones I've met are stellar.

Today I said goodbye to our cleaning lady, Gertrude. This woman has got to be one of the sweetest ladies I know. I just learned today that she's going to have a baby next month. I had suspected for awhile now that she was pregnant but I certainly didn't expect her to be due next month! I'll admit that at first I felt horrible that we had someone clean up after us but then I realized that work is scarce down here and this was an opportunity for her to support her family. I will certainly miss her.


Before Seminary/Institute Denise and I went to the wood carvers' shop. While Denise was shopping I met up with Janet (the Primary president) who works there. She walked me around so I could see all of the carvers and say hi to her friends. This guy was one of my favorites. Check out his handy work!

Today was also my last seminary/institute lesson and so of course we had to take a class picture. From the left we have Herbert, Catherine and then Penina. The little girl is Penina's cousin and I'm totally forgetting her name. Anyway, these guys are pretty awesome. I'm really hating all of these goodbyes.

Show & Tell

I decided to post another round of pictures because it was so hard to narrow them down last time. Besides, I know that most of you would rather see pictures than read my boring narrative. So sit back, relax and enjoy the 'slide' show.

First, there's this really cool tin Coca-cola wall that we sometimes drive by in the matatus on the way to town. I got this shot by sticking my hand out the window and hoping for the best. I kinda liked the result.

Anyone want a fresh banana?

Perhaps you prefer red bananas...

There are so many mosques here. Each one is so unique and incredible in its own right.

The Muslim prayer caps are equally amazing. They come in all sorts of colors and patterns. In November Andi and I met a vendor who was pretty excited about our interest in his hats. He went into the alley behind his stand and pulled out a thick metal chest with a huge padlock. Inside were the most beautiful handmade prayer caps I could have ever imagined. He said one had taken 6 months to make so far and it was still unfinished. Amazing! Anyway, I have to be careful that I don't give the wrong impression when I often find myself staring at the men's hats.

And this is the view from the back of our office. They call the area the alligator slums and off in the distance you can see the ocean. It's beautiful and humbling altogether.

Old Town

Today I went to the airport to pick up a new intern for Yehu. Her name is Denise and she will only be here for a short 3 weeks. She came in around 9:30am so we decided to make the most of the day and headed back to town after dropping off her things. I threw caution to the wind and snapped as many pictures as I could.

Our first stop was at Mombasa's famous tusks. There's really nothing spectacular about these guys but they are somewhat of an icon here, so we of course did what every good tourist should...ran back and forth through traffic to get some shots of us standing next to them.

We passed by this incredible hotel (below). Much too rich for my budget but it didn't stop me from drooling as I took this shot.

Our next stop was Fort Jesus. I went inside last Nov when I came to visit Andi & Aaron. Today we both decided to just walk around and enjoy the view. It's still pretty impressive from the outside, don't you think?

Just outside the fort is a great place to sit and enjoy the ocean view. I loved watching the people as much as the scenery. This guy was one of my favorites.

A short walk from Fort Jesus is Old Town (below). The streets are lined with incredible buildings and cute shops. Pull out your bartering skills and your best poker face, these shop owners are pros.

A door (among many) that I just fell in love with.

And speaking of love...here's a man after my own heart. Can I just say how glad I am for the invention of the steam iron? This guy's old school. I wish I had a better shot of his iron but I was a bit shy to ask him to interrupt his work just so that I could have a pic. Ah well.

A few of my favorite things...

This weekend I decided to head into town and take pictures of some of my favorite things in Mombasa. Here's a sample...

Alleys upon alleys of shops at the market. It's a shopper's heaven...just don't take a wrong turn.

Fresh produce. Sweet potatoes and bananas and green oranges. Oh my!

You know that line in the movie Sense & Sensibility (the version with Emma Thompson) when Colonel Branden says (with that fabulous voice of his) of India, "The air is full of spices." Well, that's true of Mombasa, too.

When billboards just aren't enough...

I also stopped by the butchers. I don't think they get many visitors because they got quite excited when I wandered in...and stayed. Where other shop owners pressed me to buy things these guys were just excited to show me what they had been chopping up. As a result, I got to see a whole goat carcass, a half goat carcass, a goat head, some goat feet and a goat stomach. Yum. One butcher didn't want me to take a picture of him unless I was in it. So I (crazily) entrusted my camera to one of the guys. They were all very excited to see me walk around behind the counter and hold a sticky (yes, with blood) knife over a pile of goat heads. I had to suspend all concerns I've ever had about sanitation (and there are many) to smile for the camera. The sad thing is that the nice man who took the picture didn't really know how to use it so I ended up with a blur of colors. Oh well, I think the mental images will stay with me forever. Here's one of the guys holding some cow feet. You can see intestines hanging in the back.


Today I went to visit the Mombasa branch. I'm technically within their boundaries and should have been going there all along. I saw Kenneth (the previous Changamwe branch president) and his wife, Caroline. It was SO good to see them. After church Louis invited me to their house in Diani for dinner. We had yummy spaghetti and chocolate cake. I didn't realize how much I missed cake. Before heading back I went down and took a walk on the beach. Oh how I love the Indian ocean! The pictures certainly don't do it justice but here are a couple of them anyway. The second pic is the back of the Pope's house. Beautiful, eh? The weekend really could not have been better.

Happy 4th!

They opened church today by reading the date, July 4th, before quickly moving on to other announcements. Little attention was given to it by either the person conducting or those attending. I, on the other hand, immediately began to think of fireworks and backyard BBQs, completely missing the announcements.

I have been thinking about Independence Day ever since (the event, not the movie). I thought about it as I sat in church meetings that are both conducted and attended entirely by Kenyans, myself excluded, and yet are all held in English. I thought about it as I watched a policeman stopping and interrogating drivers on my way home, wondering if the policeman had a legitimate reason for stopping them. I thought about it as I passed children playing games in bare feet.

I will never know what it's like to have my country's official language be a second language to the majority of its population. With some exceptions, we are fortunate to live in a country where we don't have to distrust and fear law enforcement (except perhaps when I'm speeding). And despite current economic calamities, we still have a great amount of abundance in America. I'm not suggesting there is no poverty in America. Sadly, it has a place in every country. But there are millions of people in countries around the world who are living in slums. They lived there long before any recession and they will continue to live there long after the rest of the world recovers.

Today I feel especially grateful for my home. I'm grateful for the inspired men who fought for independence and created a unique government designed to protect the rights of its citizens. At the same time, I am grateful to be spending this Independence Day in Kenya. My life has been immeasurably blessed by examples of humility, charity and gratitude from the last two months. They are certainly examples I hope to never forget when I go back home to a very blessed life.

Sunset

While it's only 9:30 am in UT, I just enjoyed an incredible sunset in Mombasa.