Friday, April 30, 2010

Food Glorious Food

Monday morning after a big breakfast of bread, jam, boiled eggs, sausages and fruit (they seem to want us to get fat here) we were collected by Ann and Pesh, 2 girls from the youth group at the church. We all squeezed into one of the teeny weeny buses and headed over the pot hole filled, orange mud roads towards the local market, with African music blaring out the speakers the whole way. It was brilliant! We had a look around the market and the girls pointed out their local fruits and the different foods they cook with, which mainly involves a million different ways of preparing corn from the cob, which is more correctly called maize here.
After buying some fruit and appreciating the cheapness of what we would consider exotic fruit we jumped back on the bus to go to Paul’s (one of the elders, and Ann’s uncle) house for lunch. We were welcomed into a lovely house with a huge living room crammed with seats to allow for as many visitors as possible and were fed a beautiful meal of pumpkin, stew, rice, veg and chapatti (which I am happy we didn’t leave behind in India). We asked Paul about the land he attends to during lunch and we even had a nice song sang to us by his cows which were just outside. It seems to be a running trend in Kenya to grow as much of your own veg, and own as many of your own cows, pigs, goats and sheep as you can, as this is much more cost effective for them, and the result is the millions of food we are being given everywhere we go! The regular rain in the country means that they have very fertile soil, and so it is easy for them to grow their own veg and to tend their own land. However Laura and I were disgusted when we heard that Paul had not given any of his cows names, so we quickly ran around to the side of the house to name them for him. We agreed on the ginger one being called Sarah (after my beautiful ginger sister) and the others, Daisy, Brian and Buttercup. I have a funny feeling Paul might not remember these names, but we will maybe try and leave a note of them for him before we leave!
After finishing our meal I asked Paul how he would spend the afternoon, and he told me he had it to relax. Deciding to push the boundaries a tiny little bit, I teasingly suggested that maybe he could help his wife with the dishes, to which everyone in the room other than Laura cracked up laughing! Silly Jenn! We were quickly told by Jeremiah (another youth group member that had joined us) that men actually look very silly washing up so they couldn’t help. We explained that in Scotland the men that don’t help with the washing will normally be made to look silly in the future by their wives as unless one partner has left work to stay at home, the load is shared. Women in Africa really do work so hard for their families, often being expected to be the main caregiver and provider for the family. However I should say that this is not the case with Paul as he, like many Kenyan men, does seem to work very hard on his land and is heavily involved with his work at the church.
We spent the rest of the afternoon with the youth walking, eating fruit (that’s right more food) and sharing cultures. One of the funniest things we were asked was definitely “what is wrong with your skin that you have so many spots?” These “spots” were in fact our many freckles which are apparently extremely misunderstood by Africans, who think they are the sign of a skin problem! We giggled and assured them that we are not contagious! As Ann is getting married soon we were asking about relationships and weddings in Kenya. It turns out that it is not uncommon for there to be about 15 – 20 bridesmaids and groomsmen and then another big group of little flower girls and page boys! But thankfully for the couple getting married, the people involved pay for their own outfit for the wedding which the bride will choose. It is also still a rule here that a dowry is paid before a wedding, but conversely to British tradition, the man is expected to pay a sum of money to the parents of the bride. This will be the amount asked for by the parents, but is often paid over the course of the marriage rather than a lump sum before the wedding, which I get the impression would be quite unrealistic as I think it can often be a very large sum of money.
Pesh was also telling me later all about the many youth activities they have in their church. I was amazed and very impressed! They will all meet once a week for bible study one week and fellowship the next, then they have choir practice twice a week, they run things like the football on the Saturday and then additionally to all of this they have sports groups (mainly football I think) and drama groups that will meet regularly to practice and then are involved in ongoing competitions with other local P.C.E.A churches in matches and events that are decided by the General Assembly at the start of the year. It sounds like they have so much fun, and hopefully we will get to cheer on their football team this weekend at their upcoming game.
Around 6pm we headed to another one of the youth member’s, Stanley, and his wife Mary’s house for dinner. We had a brilliant night watching their wedding video and giggling as they failed to pull funny faces for a photo (apparently this is not the done thing in Kenya). We were then presented with an overloaded plate of even more delicious food! I ate as much as I possibly could, but just as I thought I might burst, Laura asked me if I was feeling ok because apparently I was very flushed! I took that as a cue to give up the fight and put down my plate. Luckily as yummy as the food here is, it is all very healthy and extremely fresh as it is literally from the back garden so although our appetites may become stretched staying here, hopefully our tummy’s wont be too much!
After a deep sleep we were collected on Tuesday morning by Terry who took us to her mum Lucy’s house just around the corner from the hostel. Lucy’s husband was the moderator for the P.C.E.A for 6 years and has only recently returned to his role as a Pastor. They have a lovely house with a pretty large farm off the back. We had some coffee and a nice chat with Lucy and we told her we would really love if she could just let us help them with the work they would normally do about the house and not make special plans for us. I almost fell off the seating and deafened Laura squeeling with excitement as I found out I could help them milk the cows later! I had never done this before and loved every weird minute of it (although I doubt the poor cow felt the same, and I don’t think I improved production much!).
We also got to help the women make mokemo, a typical Keyan dish. This involves picking the kernels off the cob of corn, peeling the bad bits off pumkin leaves then cutting them, peeling potatoes and then boiling all of them and kind of mushing them all together. It’s so yummy, I will definitely be making it for my lucky family when I get home! (Dad you will love it!)
The best part of the day though (other than drinking the same milk I had earlier squeezed) was the conversation. It’s so interesting talking to the women about their lives and the many culture differences between us. Christians in Kenya do not drink alcohol at all. At first we understood this as good role modelling, but it turns out alcoholism is a huge problem especially among men in Kenya and so is adultery, which generally follows from the men leaving the wives at home to go drinking and dancing and this of course adds hugely to the terrible HIV/AIDS problem here.
When the Pastor returned we continued swapping stories as he has actually been to Scotland to visit their partner church in Carluke several times and so he was able to make comparisons. The main theme that seemed to keep arising is the lack of community in Scotland. They find it so strange here that people in Scotland often are scared to give someone something or help them in case they offend them. And the idea of not getting in touch with someone so as “not to bother them” is completely foreign here. I agree that this is something really sad about our country and think that as society gears more and more towards money and independence we move further from the community and large family feeling that once defined our identity. So when we get home I think I might start a revolution...neighbours watch out, here I come!
One really funny thing we learnt was that although it is considered completely acceptable and normal to comment on someone’s weight here, to ask them their age or for them to talk about how many children or animals they have is very wrong. This is even stranger since it is seen as an honour and respectable to be old here. I hope we haven’t offended anyone as one of our first questions with the youth is normally their age, and apparently it doesn’t matter if you are 7 or 79, you don’t like to be asked this. I thought it was weird that some of the youth didn’t seem to know the age of some of the close friends! As for the not counting thing, there is a superstition ingrained in the culture here that by talking about the number of children you have, or animals you own, you are likely to lose one of them! So people are very afraid to talk about this...again something Laura and I ask quite regularly, after all if we are going to name your cows we need to know how many you have!
What an amazing learning experience we are having so far! I’m off to wash in a bucket whilst the water is still hot enough! I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Jenn xx

Hakuna Matata

I can’t believe I’m finally in Africa, I’ve wanted to be here since I was about 6 or 7, and it’s everything I’d imagined and more, perhaps a little cooler and wetter, But I’m definitely not complaining about that, makes it feel more like home ;)

We arrived in Kenya early Friday morning and were greeted by five members of PCEA (Presbeterian church of east Africa) Kiambaa, this is the church we are spending time with while we are here. I was amazed to step out of the airport to some cool air, I thought Kenya would be HOT, being on the equator and all! But we had arrived during the wet season so I was glad to hear we would need to take a cardigan and a rain coat with us whenever we left home, feels like home!

We were dropped at the pastoral centre, a hostel used for training etc in the PCEA, fed some dough nuts (square ‘puffs’ of pastry) and tea before we were left to rest for the day, in the evening 4 elders from the church came to visit us and discuss a timetable for the next fortnight. They told us a few young people would come to collect us early Saturday morning for a walk, and we could discuss the rest of the programme on Sunday after church.

Sure enough three young people, Ann, Stanley and Dan showed up, on time, to the hostel ready to spend the day together. First they took us for a long walk, Jenn and I had not prepared well for this at all, I had the silliest little pumps on, which were not at all appropriate for sludging through puddles.

We hopped on a bus, a fourteen seater, or at least it’s meant to be... and headed to the church of the Torch which is the first Presbyterian church in Kenya, and was planted by Scottish missionaries around 120 years ago. Some ministers seemed to be having a meeting inside so we didn’t get in for a look but one minister came out for a chat. He gave us a little history about the church and welcomed us to Kenya.

We headed to the PCEA university for a walk in the gardens, and lunch. During lunch one of the boys asked me if I enjoyed watching football, to which I replied ‘nah, not really, I quite enjoy going to the stadium to watch, but I can’t much be bothered with it on the television.’ Jenn quickly informed me that the boys wanted to watch an English league game and I was being invited to watch it with them. OOPS! I agreed we should go, and I’m glad I did because Man Untd. won, nah only joking, I’m glad I did because it’s a project set up by the young people in the church to discourage the men in the community from going to the pub to watch football at the weekend. And it seems to be working! There was over a hundred locals enjoying (some more than others) the game.
On the way home we stopped off to have a peek at a local wedding, Jenn and I were a little nervous as we weren’t sure how well we would blend in as gatecrashers at a Kenyan wedding!!! And we didn’t, we were only there a few minutes before the groom spotted us, he turned quickly to his groomsmen and his new wife, and before we knew it they had instructed the camera man and he was over with a camcorder in our faces, we were absolutely mortified!
In the evening we rested as we had an early start for church in the morning, the youth service begins at 8.30am. We were again collected to walk to church and met with the people taking part in the service for a prayer beforehand. We were invited to take part in the service by sharing a word or singing a song, we agreed to sing a song. We were led into the service and seated on the stage at the front with some of the young people. The music started and the worship team took to the front. Everyone began singing and harmonising beautifully before shaking their hips and joining in with actions, and even jumping to praise the Lord. It’s so different from the Presbyterian church in Scotland, and to be honest I’m not sure we’d manage the moves, although Jenn and I gave it a good shot.
After the service we met for another prayer before heading meet with the elders before the second service. We all marched in together and one of the elders kindly directed us to our seats, we were moved seconds later to sit with a couple of girls that would translate for us. We could barely believe it when the service began, we started with worship, then the women’s guild got up to sing a song, then the youth group, the choir, another few groups in the church before a couple of artists came forward to share a short message and song. Perhaps we should try this at St Andrews?!
The elder taking the service then asked any visitors to stand, we were then invited to the front to share a bit about ourselves, Soul Touch and our experience of Kenya so far. Andrew, an elder, told the congregation that we would be spending time with different groups every day, they were to give us lunch and dinner and not to make any special allowances for us. He also said we had to be home at the hostel for 7pm?! We then returned to our seats for a short while before we were invited back up to present gifts to students who had performed well in a recent maths exam. Afterwards we heard the sermon and the service finished nearly 3 hours after it had started.
After the service we joined the youth team for some lunch, I think it was Irish stew! Seems to be a common meal in Kenya. We discussed politics, Kenya are about to vote on a new constitution in the next few weeks so this is a very hot topic. After lunch we spent some time in the church gardens with the congregation and Andrew, one of the elders, to discuss the programme for the next week.
The rest of the afternoon was spent playing with the children in the garden. They were fascinated to hear about Scotland and by the way we looked. We are becoming used to hearing local children shouting mzungu (white person) to their friends so they can all great us in a thick African accent, ‘how are you?’ After a busy day we were walked home and told to be ready to be collected at 9.30am the following morning by some more members of the youth group.

Laura <><

Leroy

So I completely understand that the girls have had a lot of confusion recently with their flights being cancelled and rebooked due to some crazy dust in the air, but I thought I meant more to them than this!
Extremely excited we were going out to Africa next I decided I had better get a good sleep on the Wednesday night before we left Thursday, so I curled up with butterflies in my tummy next to Jenn’s rucksack and looked forward to the morning. BUT when I woke up on Thursday the bag was gone and there was no sign of Jenn!! I assumed she was having breakfast, had put the bag in the car and was allowing me some more time to sleep before coming and getting me, but as I looked around the empty room the more reality began to sink in. Then I heard Jenn’s mum’s voice so I ran to the door to ask her about it, where I heard her on the phone telling someone that Jenn was on her way to Kenya!!!! It finally hit me...THEY LEFT WITHOUT ME!!! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! I know I can be a bit moany, but I never thought they would phase me out the group like this! Tears flooded my eyes and I quickly found a nice dark corner to sob in.
Just as I was becoming hysterical and contemplating the point of life, Jenn’s mum came in looking for me and explained that although the girls had left, they had realised the mistake at the airport and they too were distraught about the whole situation, but there had been no time to come back for me and as I’m not the most confident driver (due to the lack of length in my legs, I take after Jenn there) I couldn’t get there myself. So, after many cups of tea and reassurance we have all agreed that I will catch a plane with some other forgotten things in the next few weeks or so, probably to head to Uganda or Cape Town. Although I’m disappointed I will miss Kenya, it’s an opportunity for the girls to realise I really am the glue that holds the group together! I heard that they are loving Kenya so far, and have received a lovely welcome, but give it a few weeks and the enormity of their mistake will kick in! I’m sure of it! Until then though I will be sitting here eating Jenn’s Easter chocolate and plotting my revenge...ah how sweet it will be!
So, I’m sure the trip will suffer for a while, which means the girls need your support with messages and prayers more than ever...poor fools! And don’t be worrying, I’ll be with them soon and everything will be good again!
LEROY

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

UPDATE

Hi folks, sorry about the lack of communication over the last few weeks, Jenn and I have been back in Scotland, and this has proved to be the busiest, most tiring leg of the journey.

Jenn's mum, Caroline had organised a coffee morning and soup lunch in St Andrews Church on Saturday 10th April, this was a fantastic success, so thanks to everyone who was involved, baking serving and showing up! Was great to see you all!

We then took the service on Sunday 11th... perhaps we went on a little, there was a LOT to say! We promise to cut down if we're ever asked to talk in church again.

Then Jenn got stranded in Ireland as there is a cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland hovering over the Europe. After busses, trains and boats (Jenn's favourite!!!!) she was finally back on Scottish soil and preparing for a trip to Kenya.

At this moment we should be boarding a flight to London, but we're stranded in Scotland, I guess if you're gonna be stranded anywhere, home is probably the best place!

We're now booked on new flights on Thursday 22nd April. We plan to arrive in Kenya early Friday morning. And should be back blogging after the weekend!

Love to everyone, and if you've been part of Soul Touch or our visit home, thanks for making 2010 such a special year for Jenn and I!

Laura <><

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Chappathis to chocolate...

Monday 29th March was our final day in Chennai, so we spent most of it getting last minute things done. After packing our rucksacks for the millionth time we were picked up by Raj to go for breakfast. We then picked up Sharon and were taken to visit one of Sharon’s top places to visit in Chennai, the shopping mall! We had a look around before going back to Raj’s to be kindly given Salwars as a gift from Christ the Rock Church, handmade by the tailoring class they run. Laura and I pranced around in our Indian outfits with the traditional jasmine in our hair for a while before being taken by the family for a lovely goodbye meal in a local restaurant. We had a giggle trying to get photos where everyone looked nice and not like they had plastered a fake smile on their face, and had a great giggle at the faces Raj was pulling. Still giggling we collected our things, stopped to say goodbye to Captain Thacker and pray and started off for the airport.

The rules with immigration etc seem pretty tight in India and so we had to leave Raj and Sharon outside before we could check in. As we handed over our passports to the immigration officer he stamped them informing us of the restrictions we might face for when we could come back to India with our current visas. Blasé as ever, I quickly told him “we wont be coming back thanks very much!” in a way that Laura cringingly explained to me came across as a bit cheeky, but luckily as I cracked up with laughter at my accidental rudeness so did the immigration officer and we all left giggling. I am getting far too comfortable in airports but am very aware I have to watch what I say more as I don’t want to get us into trouble purely by accident, especially with the stricter customs in some of the countries we will be visiting.

We had a wee while to wait for the plane and as we were talking Laura got distracted by a beautiful baby boy leaning over the shoulder of his mum behind her. After some oohing and ahhing and copious baby talk we introduced good old Leroy to the conversation. At first the baby’s face was covered with a gorgeous grin but not for long. Laura decided to become a bit more playful and as she was moving Leroy’s mouth pretending he was talking she moved him quite quickly in the direction of the baby to show expression in Leroy’s voice, but the poor baby jumped more than I knew a baby was capable of and became frozen in fear! I was almost rolling off my seat at the sight, but we decided we should maybe move somewhere a bit quieter until the plane arrived so as not to upset anyone else!

Another 10 hour flight and we are now in Brussels, which we know is way past Israel and closer to Scotland, but apparently is a cheaper way to fly! We spent the day here ignoring our salivating taste buds around the Belgian chocolate and casually reflecting on the trip so far. We have discovered that both of us are learning in different ways the importance of knowing what your own individual calling is, but also in understanding how different this is for each person and how important it is to appreciate and respect these differences. We were each made individual for a reason, with our hearts’ owning different burdens and it is nobody but our own responsibility to respond to these burdens in the best way we feel we can.

We are now waiting to board our next flight to Israel to arrive in at midnight their time. Both of us are exhausted but are still smiling and really looking forward to our time in the Holy land over Easter and to visiting the Nazareth Hospital which was founded by an amazing Scottish missionary who just so happens to also be the late grandfather of one of my best friends! What an amazing time we are having, and we are learning more than we can imagine, but we can’t help but be looking forward to coming home in a few weeks now!

Can’t wait to see everyone at our upcoming coffee morning fundraiser in the church on Saturday 10th or at the church service on the Sunday! Missing you all!

Jenn xx