Snippets of my week

My GO GO GO has yet to STOP as I had anticipated. The past few days have been draining. It started on Tuesday evening when we didn't get back to the compound till 3am after picking up our visitors from the airport in town. Of course their plane was delayed and their luggage didn't arrive with them. Then we missed the last ferry so had to wait an hour for the next one. By the time we got them all settled in, it was 3am. Each day since then has been exhausting hosting them, planning for this crazy upcoming weekend, and just being available for anything that needs to be done. But I have stopped to take a few pictures of the places I've been and the people I have seen this last week.

On Sunday, Tsuma (one of my co-workers) and I went to a local high school to minister to them for their sunday church service. Tsuma spoke and I sang one (blacklightprophet) song to them. The picture above is of the feet of the worship team. They have no fancy instruments and are dressed in school uniform. All they had to lead worship was their hands for clapping and their voices for singing. 

Tsuma gave a message and we had a few students come to Christ! 

The rain paused for about 2 hours which was just enough time for a football game. I was invited to go watch two churches play against each other. It was fun, although I sort of lost interest after the first few minutes. I didn't even know the score at the end of the game. However, I was touched as at the end of the game, the two teams came together, put their arms around each other and bowed in a word of prayer. Then, as if on queue, the rain began to pour down again.

This is my love wall. The other night, I was missing my peeps back home. I had a small photo album of pictures I had taken before I left. I decided to pull them up and stick them on my wall so I can look at my wonderful friends and family back home. Tears strolled down my face as I went through each photo. I miss you good people. 

I have wonderful news!! My visa was to expire a week ago and typically this type of visa is not able to be renewed. Plus my work permit has yet to be processed. So I was in a sticky situation. I was told that I may have to leave the country within a few days and come back once my work permit comes through. It sort of excited me as I would have had an excuse to go visit my good friends in South Africa but it would have disrupted all my plans here and been an extra expense. However, my boss just happens to be good friends with the Chief Immigration Officer here in Mombasa. He set up a meeting with him and we went to explain our situation. The Officer was very compassionate and stamped my passport granting me permission to stay! It was a huge relief and such an answered prayer. Thank you all for praying!

So it's been a busy week full of awesome things. This upcoming week will be even busier so pray for energy and joy as I go about my days!!!

Go Go Go...Stop

I am sitting in my office staring at my computer wondering what to do. My lifestyle is sort of a GO GO GO....STOP type lifestyle. There are days where I am busy from 7:30am till 9:30pm. Then there are days that I wake up and have nothing to do. Today is one of those. Yesterday, was a busy day planning for our upcoming events and visiting a school in the afternoon. Today, no plans. Slept in a little, chatted to some friends on facebook, talked with some of my co-workers while drinking a cup of coffee. I have decided to catch up on emails, write a blog entry, and perhaps go swimming in the afternoon.

I really hate being idle. I try to keep myself busy. Idleness has forced a lot of kenyans to become 'vidiots' aka video idiots. Some Kenyans can sit and watch movies all day long and feel like they have accomplished something. A friend of mine admitted that he is addicted to watching movies. You see, here in Kenya, movies are cheap and in abundance. But it's all illegal. They are all copyrighted. The quality is terrible but you can buy a DVD with 6 movies on it for less than $2. And some of these movies haven't even come out in theatres yet. I try to avoid those as much as possible and I don't dare put one of those DVD's in my computer. I don't know how my precious computer would react to such a thing.

I guess I should enjoy this day as I know that come Sunday, the GO GO GO starts again for the next few weeks. I think I need more friends.

Creepy Crawler

Walking to my room this morning, I saw this gigantic, black stick that seemed to be moving. Millipedes are common here. I see them almost daily but I have never seen one this big. I wouldn't want to find this in my room or, worse, on my bed!

A good friend comes to visit

I have been to Kenya 4 times now and the only person from home who has come to see me is my daddy. It's strange when I go home and tell everyone about my life and adventures in Kenya and no one understands or can relate to what I am talking about. But now I have a friend who I can reminisce about all things Kenyan when I get back to Canada. My dearest friend, Daphne, came to visit me this weekend in Mombasa. Daphne and I met when I went to school in Vancouver for a couple years. Since then, she has become one of my best friends and a big encourager to me. So it was an absolute delight to be with her this weekend and to hang out with a good ol' Canadian friend. 

Silly me forgot that I live right on the beautiful Indian ocean. I never go swimming or to the beach but Daphne encouraged me this weekend and I think I might have to make it a habit. We had loads of fun bobbing up and down in the waves.

Beach feet. I always wear flip flops as there are tons of sea urchins and other pokey, stingy things that live in the waters. 

Daphne and her friend making discoveries in the water. This is the beach in front of Word of Life. It's not the best to swim on so we go further down in front of some of the resorts. 

Eating yummy coastal food. It was a nice treat for Daphne who has been eating overly greasy village food for the last month. 

We also watched the World Cup finals together at a local joint. The place was packed with people from all over the world. Yay Spain! I am glad it's over. Now our lives won't revolve around the game schedule. 

We had a wonderful time together. I thank God for such a good friend and a wonderful visit. He knows just what I need right when I need it.

Farewell Germans

I meet a lot of foreigners here in Kenya. Many people come and go, come and go. We spent time together, eat meals together, talk, do fun things, and in the end become good friends. But at some point, we must part ways back to our homes. It's the sad part about living here in Kenya. Half of my facebook friends are people who I have created a relationship here in Kenya and haven't seen since. Last night was another farewell to two loveable German boys who have been in Kenya since September. The great thing about people is the farewell party! It's an excuse for making pizza! 

Jonathan loves our cooking. I think he was starting to get fed up with the kenyan food. He was looking forward to getting back to his beloved Nutella in Germany.

Mr. Joshua is always making noise. He's a rowdy character.

Genrich has almost convinced me to cheer for Germany in the World Cup. I am still leaning towards Spain though. The big night is tonight when the two will battle it out on the field. 

We drove them into town, had our last cup of chai together and then dropped them at the bus stop. So long, farewell our dear German brothers. 

Roasted Maize

This is a common site here in Kenya. Roasted Maize. It's just corn (not that yummy, soft, yellow, sweet corn we have back home) that is roasted over a charcoal fire. It's everywhere. And its super cheap. The most expensive you will pay for a large cob is less than 25 cents. I can eat a whole one and make it a meal. In Mombasa, they will even put lime and masala on it to give it a little sumin' sumin'.

So I was sitting in the van and decided to take a pic of one of my favourite snacks. One thing I love about Africa is the street food. I know they advise us not to eat it because chances of getting sick are high but thanks be to God, I have never been sick from street food. You can get anything on the streets. I used to walk around just buying food and by the time I got home, I would be full and wouldn't need to cook supper. I will miss street food when I get back to Canada.

Fort Jesus

There's a lot of history in Mombasa. It was a port that people first came to and there were slaves and Indians and Arabs and ships and spices and stuff. I am not so great with the whole history thing. I don't care so much. Never did care so much about history. Doesn't interest me at all. It's probably the reason I have never gone to Fort Jesus. It's a very popular tourist spot in Mombasa. It's this big castle like structure right on the water. Like I said, it involves slaves and ships and the Portuguese and other stuff. What I love most about it is that it is located right on the ocean. It's cool and breezy. And in the evenings, young boys come and play football on the small, dirt pitch in the back. On friday, I had some time to kill and a couple friends from Norway who wanted to see the city so we spent some time enjoying Fort Jesus from outside the walls. 

This is me and Solveij with Fort Jesus behind us. Right behind us is the football pitch that comes alive in the evenings. 

To one side, you can see Nyali, a rich, high-end part of town.

And to the other side you get to see the great Indian Ocean. If you look hard, you can see a ship coming into Mombasa. It's fun to watch the big ships come into the port. I always wonder if there are any pirates on them. Haha. Most of the ships that are attacked by Som@li pir@tes come into Mombasa. Rarely are there actually pirates on it.

WAA

Tis the season of rallies. We are invited to about 5 rallies every weekend. We decided to be apart of yet another rally on Sunday at WAA girls secondary school. We were in charge of the program, worship, sound and music, speakers, MC's and so on. It was a long, tiring but fun day. 

Remember Rahab? Yes, we are still best of friends. We work together here in Mombasa. We are no longer roommates, but now we are neighbours. It's nice to have a good friend around. 

Rallies are often a time for same sex schools to mingle with other schools of the opposite sex. We had this boy come to do a presentation and the girls went wild. They were up dancing and singing along screaming at this young gent. I was laughing. I don't understand what its like to be in a same sex school as I schooled with boys my whole life. I can imagine though. 

This is Mr. Joshua. He is on our ministry team. He preached to the students an amazing message from Hebrews 10.

Ok this wasn't the rally but I am trying to take at least one picture a day so I can remember my days. On weekends, I like to go into to town to stay with friends and we always enjoy a nice breakfast. Most days I eat bread and tea for breakfast so I like to treat myself to something different. This morning we had coffee, sausages, eggs, bananas, and mahambri (a local doughnut type food made with sweet coconut milk). Yummy yummy!

SLEEPOVER!

Every month, we host a girls sleepover in one of our cottages at the beach. It is a chance for us to have a fun night of lots of laughing, encouraging, eating, being silly, and listening to the Word of God. I attended my first sleepover last weekend. After an extremely exhausting day, it was a nice way to relax. Although girls being girls, we talked our way through the wee hours of the morning. 

My dearest Rahab was sharing with us on "the Beauty of Brokeness". It was such an encouraging word for so many of us who have gone through tough tough times in our lives. God is faithful. He gives us beauty for ashes.

FOOD! We are girls and like to eat! It was a bit different cuisine than a sleepover in Canada. It consisted of cabbage, mukimo (mashed potatoes with beans, corns, kale), and chicken liver stew. I was wondering where the Doritos and Hot Dogs were. 

This is Baby Chris. He was the only boy allowed to stay the night with the girls. His mom Mercy is such an amazing woman. She is single mother who struggles to take care of her baby but she is so FAITHFUL to God. She inspires me to no end. 

Just a few of the girls the morning after. Such beautiful women they are. I was so inspired by their stories and the lives they live. I was so thankful for the life God has given me. I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father. We are all daughters of the King! 

A poem for me

Nescafe is a mild sedative
but your smile is highly addictive

In you is strength to face the odds
from the product of your vocal cords

Killing I find them eyes
though not with a heart of ice

Only Him is right no need of might
He will protect you through the night

Loving you ought to be
don't sting like a bee

Everlasting your love will grow
and leave mankind in awe


My dear friend, Tsuma, wrote this poem for me for my birthday. He likes poetry and this was his gift for me. I have to admit, I don't quite understand all of it but it was written with care. It was very sweet. I will always keep it with me.

Danger Ahead!

It's sunday night and I am absolutely exhausted after a crazy yet super fun few days. Yesterday we held a youth rally here at Word of Life. We have been spending our days planning this event for the past 3 weeks. It was a great success. We had about 250 students from local high schools come and join us for the afternoon. It was a lot of laughing, singing, dancing, and of course, the Word of God.

Our theme was "DANGER AHEAD" from Hebrews 2:3. This was the back of the t-shirt that I had designed and made. It was simple but bold. 

Meet my team mate Jon Mwongi or as we like to call him, Senior. He is a talented dude especially when it comes to music and leading worship music. He has been at Word of Life for about 5 years now serving on the ministry team. He is  calm, cool and collected. It's very hard to get this guy angry or frustrated. I very much enjoy being on the team with him. 

I was absolutely delighted to see Shimba Hills high school walk through the door. A few weeks ago, me and my four other team mates went on an adventure trying to find this school. We happened to pick the wettest, rainiest day in Mombasa's history to do it. Shimba Hills is literally over many many hills. It took us about 2 hours just to find the school. Mud made the journey difficult. We had to get out and push the van up the hills when it got stuck. We were splattered with mud as the tires spun around furiously and the rain poured down on us. It turned out to be a 4 hour excursion just to get to this school. But our efforts paid off. God had a plan for us and for the Shimba Hills students. We had a couple of them accept Christ and dedicate their lives to following Him wholeheartedly! 

We were fortunate to have one of our friends, Christine Ndela, come and sing for the kids. She is a bit of a celebrity here in Kenya. She sings beautiful gospel music. So when she got up on the stage to sing, she had the entire crowd up on their feet dancing. Even some kids had made up a routine to one of her songs and decided to become her back-up dancers. The students loved it. 

The day was a big success. I enjoyed every part of it. And now I am enjoying every part of my bed where I think I will lay my head to rest early tonight. 

Actophlem to the rescue

It's been about 5 weeks since I started coughing. It started as a light cough caused by a small tickle in my throat and it had turned into a painful, raspy chest cough that I couldn't get to stop. I went to a good doctor several times. He gave me several medicines that eased the pain but never cured it. He did chest x-rays and blood tests. He gave me anti-biotics. But nothing worked. I tried cutting different foods out of my diet. People here blamed the cold weather (a freezing 25 degrees Celsius) for my chest problems and kept urging me to bundle up as if winter in Canada has come. Eventually, the bronchitis caused me to have sinus problems where I would wake up with a stuffed head and plugged ears everyday. I was getting tired of it. I would wake up every morning and ask God to heal me. Ok, sometimes I cried, literally, that God would get rid of it.

And He almost has.

I went to visit a lady on the compound who has struggled with bronchitis issues her whole life. She told me to take "Actophlem." It's a cough syrup that is cheap and that you can buy at almost any pharmacy. So last Sunday I decided to try it.

I have taken it for a week now and my cough has decreased at least 90%! I don't hack away when I am in the middle of a conversation with someone. I don't choke up my lungs. I don't hear this fog horn noise come out of my chest when I laugh. It's wonderful.

So today I am thanking everyone for their prayers. It's not completely gone but I am definitely on the road to recovery. Thank you Jesus for creating Actophlem!

Sad day for Kenya

There seems to be too many sad days in Kenya.

Sunday was another one.

Kenya has just rewritten their constitution. They have the proposed draft out  for the public and the voting will be at the beginning of August.

This constitution has been no end of controversy. It comes up in every conversation. Copies of the draft are found everywhere. People will spend hours debating the fine details of the proposed draft. There are a couple of issues that are causing great conflicts especially between the church and the government.

1) Abortion is becoming legal in Kenya. The constitution allows for abortion although it has to be approved by a doctor on certain terms and conditions.

2) This constitution gives way for a more Islamic influence in the country. It's a big issue as Kenya has been founded on Christian values. But Islam is growing and they are demanding their rights.

These two issues in particular are huge sources of controversy. It's a bit difficult for me. I have grown up in a country where abortion has always been legal and where religion is separate from the state always. I think many Kenyans believe that life will not move on if this constitution is voted in. It's life life will end as we know it.

So on sunday, a big "NO" rally was held at a local park in Nairobi. Thousands of people came out to show their support against the constitution. Church leaders lead the rally making speeches and prayers. The rally was closing and as the final prayer was being prayed, an explosion occurred.

People raced around not knowing what had happened but seeing smoke and hearing people yelling. The place turned into chaos. The last I heard, 6 people were counted dead and over 70 were injured.

I don't quite know what to think. It's sad. It's sad that such extreme action is being taken which is costing people their lives. Christ needs to capture our hearts. Christ is the solid rock on which we stand. Even if abortion becomes legal, a person rooted in Christ wouldn't even think about it. Even if Islam is growing and becoming powerful, Christ still dwells in our hearts and that can't change.

Pray for Kenya. Things only seem to be getting more tense as the days go by.

T'was the day of the World Cup

T'was the day of the World Cup 
and all through the nation 
not a creature was stirring 
as they were tuned into the local TV station 

World Cup fever has hit hard here in Kenya.

As we were walking through a community that is usually buzzing with activity, I noticed an unusual silence. The streets were empty. No ladies outside doing their hair. No shops were open. No kids playing in the dirt. Silence. It was like a ghost town. All you could hear was the commentator of the World Cup.

We were driving in a matatu and any time the vehicle slowed down, you could hear the latest game update on a TV station or radio playing somewhere in the streets. We passed bar after bar with huge crowds of people huddled around the TV screen. People's schedule's have changed. A local school has started classes earlier so they can be home to watch the game. Shops are closing early. Kids are now staying up until 11pm which is when the last game ends. Evenings are now dedicated solely to watching games.

TV sales have increased. People want their own TV to watch every game.

The other night, the power went out just as USA vs. England game was about to start. As it went out, you could hear the entire community go "aww!" Everyone started calling Kenya power immediately. The power was back within minutes.

I have lost many of my friends to the World Cup. If I want to see them, I have to watch the games as well. Or else I would never get to see them. On our compound, come 5pm, is dead. Everyone has retreated into their houses with their eyes glued to the TV screens.

People are humming the tune of K'naan's song 'Wavin Flag' non stop. Suddenly K'naan has become a household name here. Makes me proud of the Somali born Canadian. At least Canada is somewhat represented in the World Cup. Thanks K'naan!

I just can't imagine that this is going to last for a whole month. I don't see anything getting done around here. Things move slow enough as it is around here.

So I've decided to join into the madness. Slowly, I am catching the World Cup fever.

I have yet to pick a team though. Since Canada isn't the best with their feet and isn't represented at the World Cup, I have to choose another team. Kenya would be my next choice but, like Canada, they didn't quite make the cut. At first I thought Brazil as they are a favourite to win but the compassionate side of me wants to pick an underdog. The only thing with picking the underdog is that their journey may not last long so once they are out, I have to switch teams. I thought about supporting South Africa since they are the hosts and it would be oh-so exciting if they could do well and represent their country well. But after their game against Mexico the other day, I decided against it. Part of me really wants to support all the African teams to put Africa back on the map. But after I saw the thick, wavy hair and suave suit of the Argentinian coach, Maradona, I almost thought about being a fan of Argentina. USA would be a good choice since they are my neighbours in Canada but I think they have enough fans already. I think I will have to take the advice of my mother and chose a team based on the colour of their jerseys.

It's an exciting time. I am proud of South Africa. It's the first time the World Cup has been on African soil. It's a great time for Africa. You can sense people's pride here. Africa is finally being profiled in a positive way.

So it's a blessing, even if life has literally come to a halt to tune into the World Cup 2010.

Mud

Today we drove up and down and over many hills to get to a school that we wanted to invite to come to an event we are having in a few weeks. It just happened to be the coldest, wettest day of the year here in Mombasa. It was pouring with rain which made the dirt roads turn into mud. With the insane amount of rain, the roads became as slippery as ice. The vehicle we have is great for shuttling many people around but not so great when it comes to 4x4ing in the mud. We got stuck more times than I can count. We didn't have enough power to get up the steep, slippery hills so we fish tailed all the way up.  With only 5 of us in the car (and none of us being car experts or beefy muscle men), we struggled to get our van up and over the countless hills. We had to get out of the van, skate our way through the mud to the back of the vehicle and push as if we were women giving birth. The tires spun round and round spitting mud on our clothes. Once we got the car moving, we would run to catch up to the van. As soon as we all got into the van, we erupted into laughter at the sheer absurdity of what we were doing. It was a hoot! 

Delivery Van

This morning I went to the kitchen to go find some breakfast. Here at Word of Life, we have a chef who cooks us all our meals. Usually by 7:30am the tea is made and the bread, blueband (margarine) and jam is out for us to eat. So this morning I went down around 8:30 to have my breakfast when I got there, I realized that breakfast had yet to be prepared. I looked around for our chef and realized that he had taken the van and gone out early in the morning. I was thinking to myself, "Where would he have gone and not made us breakfast before he left?" So I puttered around the kitchen until the chef returned.

Once he returned, he started preparing the tea. He apologized for being late and proceeded to tell me about his morning.

"Yes, I got a call early this morning from Nyae (our maintenance man) saying that his wife was going into labour. So I had to take her to the hospital but once we reached the hospital there was no doctors or nurses that had arrived yet. Well, the baby didn't want to wait for the doctors to arrive and decided to come out in the van."

"You mean Mrs. Nyae gave birth in the van?"

"Yup, I was there holding the baby as he came out. I even cut the umbilical cord with a razor blade I had."

"You watched it?"

"Why yes, what if something wasn't right with the way the baby was coming out? I had to stand there like this (he crouched down as if he was receiving a football) in order to catch the baby's head."

"Wow, quite the morning."

"Yes. Sorry breakfast was late."

Hippo in the pit latrine

I love Kenyan news.

Ok, I love the news that is NOT politics (which is usually what 75% of the news is here). The rest of it is always interesting to read because it is things that just don't happen back in the West. In today's newspaper, they had an entire article on male antelopes and their jealousy when other male antelopes come near their ladies. They can sense when another man is trying to steal their woman. Then a few weeks ago, I read an article about a young boy who decided to chop off his own genitals. When asked why he did it, he answered, "Because it was causing me problems." I guess he was having some sexual affairs that we causing problems in his family so he decided to get rid of the source of the problem. He said after he cut off his genitals, he threw it in the trash.

But today I read the best (I mean most insane story)  I have ever read about in Kenya. Last night as we were watching the news, a story came on about a hippo that had fallen into a pit latrine (outhouse toilet). It was a shock to most people because hippos were very rare in this village. Crowds of people gathered around to see this huge sight in the pit latrine. Today, I read in a follow up story that the villagers couldn't get the hippo out of the pit latrine so the Wildlife Services had to come shoot it. Once it was dead, villagers started to come and cut off chunks off meat from the hippo that was STILL in the pit latrine (as in covered in faeces) and ATE IT! YUCK! Ok, they cooked it first but still. They ate it. They ate hippo meat that had been marinated in human waste. Part of me feels sad as I am sure some people did it because they were desperate but my hunch is that people did it out of pure stupidity. Even if I was starving, I don't think I would eat that meat. But thank Jesus that I have never been starving before.

So there is just a small dose of Kenyan news. I will share more as I find more interesting/insane stories. Thanks for tuning in!

Mombasa RAHA!

"Mombasa Raha" is a popular phrase here on the coast. "RAHA" means joy or happiness. It's sort of a phrase to express the excitement and fun of the Mombasa lifestyle. It's a very party central, tourist, paradise type area so there is lots of fun to be had.

And this is where I will be for the next 5-6 months. Enjoying the "Mombasa Raha" or at least trying to. Honestly, I didn't think I would ever come back to Mombasa after living here last year but to my surprise, this is where God has brought me back to. My goal this time around is to truly enjoy the Mombasa RAHA. I want to enjoy myself, have fun, not be too serious yet still work hard for God and for Him to be glorified!

This is the view from my balcony. Yes, it's almost paradise. That is the beautiful Indian Ocean in my backyard. Our compound is right on the beach in one of most popular tourist spots in East Africa. All our neighbours are fancy resorts. No bush whacking for this missionary only swimming lessons.

I am slowly settling in here at Word of Life. There have been some changes since I was here last so I am trying to adjust. I will officially start working next week which gives me a few days to adjust. I am not feeling great so I am spending time just relaxing and laying in bed hoping to get better soon. I decided to go through my suitcases which haven't been aired out for almost 2 months now. I wasn't quite sure what I would find in there but I had suspicions that something was growing in there.

My suspicions were right. As I was pulling out all my clothes, I noticed that part of my bad had turned white. As I got closer and started scratching it, it broke open and I found a big egg sack. Yuck! Luckily, the eggs must have died and dried up so nothing hatched. The mother (whatever insect it was) must have evacuated my bag and left the babies to die. Thank you Jesus! I am not a big fan of bugs although I am building my tolerance for them the more I encounter them here in Kenya. I remember at one time last year, I had a black widow and her egg sack in one of my toilets. I just let her be and made sure she stayed there the whole time I was using the toilet. I figured that if I could still see her, then she didn't have a chance of biting me.

So Mombasa RAHA here I am! Actually, lets make that Jesus RAHA!

Hong Kong meets Canada in Kenya!

Meet my good friends the Chan family. We met at the end of 2008 at a conference we both attended. They spent Christmas with us in 2008 and helped us host a big party for all our friends. We quickly became close friends and have been in touch every since. Their 3 children are such a delight to be around.We have spent many afternoons playing intense games of boggle. Levi, their oldest son, always beats us with words that we have never heard before.  They are from Hong Kong and have come to work in Kenya teaching kids english. Considering english is their 2nd language, after cantonese, its pretty impressive that they are teaching children who speak an incredibly difficult language (which they also are learning) to speak english. Did you follow that? In short, they are amazing. They have humbled themselves in order to show people the love of Christ.

I am blessed to know them and be apart of their beautiful family.

Grammar never was my forte

I was just reading through some of my past blog posts and I realized that my grammar and spelling are terrible.

Sorry.

Pole in swahili.

I never was the best writer. I used to send my college essays to my dad so he can proof read them before I had to submit them. I remember a co-worker of mine spending a considerable amount of time correcting the mistakes on a report I had written. I don't know what it is. Maybe I am just a lazy typer or I neglect to look over my drafts before I make them final. Maybe my head goes too fast for my fingers.

Although, in my defence, my english is really suffering these days with all the swahili and broken english I listen to everyday. Today I was having lunch with some friends when I said, "You is going tomorrow?" Oh my. My family and friends laugh at me when we talk on Skype because I have a funny accent and get my words all mumbled up. I get frustrated when I can't find the right word in english or in swahili. If I am trying to speak swahili but I can't find the word I am looking for, I will replace it with the french word thinking that it's ok just as long as it is not the english word. Kenyans should know french right?

Whatever the reason may be, I am sorry for the frequent sloppy writing. Sometimes I can't even understand what I have written. Thanks for still reading.