Welcome to Canada!

We are here!!! Well, we've been here almost 3 weeks now. Whoops, let the blog slip a little bit. But we are indeed in Canada! 

Slowly we are adjusting. We have both experienced culture shock. It is freezing cold here in Castlegar. The sun likes to pop out one day and then, bam, snow dumps the next day. We are amazed at how fast and efficient everything is here. You can get so much done in one day just because everything is so easy. Canadians are terribly kind and generous and we are feeling that big time. Kelvin wonders where all the people are. I think he is getting a bit lonely. He can't walk down the street and meet people the way he used to in Kenya. There are just no people here (compared to where we came from). Kelvin has been to two hockey games and is already more of an expert in the sport than I am. 

Slowly, we are getting our feet on the ground and creating a little life for ourselves. It won't be easy but we are up for the challenge. We are still on the hunt for jobs and have tried out a nice little church. We are looking for some new friends that we can call 'ours' not just 'nikole's'. Kelvin will be starting college in September. He is really looking forward to that. We are missing Kenya alot. Well, maybe I am missing it more than Kelvin at this point. We are missing our friends and youth. We really had a great group of friend and community over there. Now, it feels like we are starting from scratch. 

Kelvin and I both agreed that, for now, this blog will shut down. It will remain on the web but I will not be posting on it for a while. It was a great tool to keep you all informed with how we are doing in Kenya and it helped us promote and gain support for our project. For now, we have decided that we should focus on sharing our personal life with the friends and family around us. In saying that, if you would like to connect at some point, I would love to do coffee or dinner or a skype date! Please just shoot me an email! 

So my love, welcome to Canada, my home country. I pray that our time here is meaningful and fruitful. I pray that we can find purpose and joy in our everyday tasks and that our hearts would grow deeper and deeper in love with each other and our God. 

Outpouring of Love

Kelvin and I have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of crazy love that you all have showed us since we announced we are moving to Canada. Thanks to all who have rejoiced and praised God with us. Thanks to all who have assured us that this is God's doing. Thanks to those who have recognized that we take care of so many and now its time for us to be taken care of. Thanks to those who have given to the Rehma Family and to us personally so we can transition smoothly. 

We are definitely feelin' the love.  

Thank you. 

Thank you. 

Thank you. 

Twenty Thirteen

For those who don't receive our email updates, here is a newsletter we sent out re-capping this past year we our Rehma Family. If you would like a PDF copy, please shoot me an email and I can send you one. As you can read, God has been good to us this year and we are so so thankful for all you peeps who keep loving, encouraging, and supporting us!! 

Twenty Thirteen has already thrown us a few curve balls but we are adjusting and managing just fine. 

A lot of people chose a word for their year. A word that they live by, that encourages them to be better people, something to remind them of God in their lives, etc. I was thinking about choosing some sort of word but just couldn't come up with one. How can I put 365 days into one word? However, one word did keep popping in my mind. And that word was change. 

Not that I purpose to change, but I feel like so many thing in our life will change and are already changing.

One of the first big changes in our life is these three precious girls below.

Kelvin's three sisters, Tina, Harriet and Joan. We have taken them in to live with us while they are not in boarding school. They have been with us for almost a month now and it has been a big change that has required some major adjustment for me. Not only did I have to learn to cook for 5 five people, but I had to learn to share my space and time with 3 other people. Kelvin and I have been living alone for a year. Throw in 3 extra girls in the house and your personal space and time minimizes big time, not to mention your time with your husband. But I have adjusted and will really miss them when they head to boarding school in a couple days. It's been nice to have sisters around. 

 We took the girls for a day trip to check out their new school and tour around south coast Mombasa. We took some time to stroll the beach. I had forgotten how gorgeous the beach was!

Another big change is the Rehma Ladies. I have changed the program and my approach with these girls. I am backing off and allowing them to create and form a group that they believe will be empowering to them. I am there to guide and help but they create and make decisions. We had an AWESOME meeting today as they came together to share their visions for the group, some rules and guidelines to follow, and discuss an income generating project they want to start for themselves and the community. I am so so happy to see them so excited to work together.

Their first assignment is to plan and organize some sort of outing, event, or gathering for them without my help. I am usually the one who comes up with the ideas and connects everyone together to make it happen. This time, I have given them a budget and they need to plan and organize something for them to do together. I won't even be apart of it. So I am looking forward to see what they come up with next week.

 It was sweet Aisha's birthday today. In my sad attempt to make something special, I just whipped up some chocolate cupcakes and put some 'sparkler' candles in them. Throw in some sodas and popcorn and you got yourself a celebration!

Kenya will go through a big change in a few short weeks. They are doing their elections on March 4th. No one really knows what is going to happen but everyone is hoping that things will be a lot calmer than the last election five years ago where the whole country erupted into violence and 1000+ people were killed. Keep Kenya in your prayers please.

And finally, this time next week, Kelvin and I will be basking in the awesomeness of an air conditioned hotel room! Ok, so its not a huge change but you have NO idea how hot it is here and how amazing air conditioning feels. My family blessed us with a vacation at a local resort. After the crazy Christmas we have had, we are SO looking forward to a few days of pure relaxation.

More changes are brewing for the Opiyos. We will keep you in the loop!!!

Longing for Jesus

Christmas is over and I feel like I can now collect all my thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

This Christmas I longed for Jesus more than ever before. I kept finding myself just uttering His sweet name all day long. Under my breath, in my mind, on my heart - "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus"

It was more out of desperation than out of praise.

This Christmas season was hard for me. I spent most of it with a pretty heavy heart and a lot of discomfort. And I don't think I was alone. I kept reading about and talking with people all over the world who were feeling the same, mostly those who live abroad and away from everything comforting and known. One person even entitled their post 'Surviving Christmas'. Since when did Christmas become such a struggle that we must survive through? It was always a time of relaxation, rejuvenation, family, comfort, abundance, and food. But I understood this post. I felt like I just wanted to survive through this Christmas and move on.

Jesus

I really wanted a real Christmas tree and I wanted to open lots of gifts on Christmas morning. Is that selfish of me? I have now spent four Christmas' in Kenya with no tree or gifts and, for the most part, I didn't mind that one bit. But this Christmas, I wanted lots of junk food in my stocking and some new stylish clothes and maybe a fancy gadget. I miss spending Christmas with my family and doing things the way that I did growing up.

Jesus

It is unbearably hot here. Not sure what happened but it seems hotter than last year. It's made everything a lot more difficult and daunting. Plus we have are all battling some sort of head cold that is making everything that much more uncomfortable. You can't even sit still without sweating. Last night I had the fan blasted on high and draped my body with a damp towel and I was still sweating. Tears streamed down my face just wanting to be cool.

Jesus

Kelvin's family is here and although I adore them, they do things differently. They don't even speak english so often I have been left out of the conversation. I am so nervous to cook for his mom that I just keep messing up. My rice has been mushy and my chai too strong. I am not even sure if I want to explain how uncomfortable I was having a chicken on my deck. Before we killed it on Christmas morning, I had to go to my room and compose myself so tears didn't decide to show up for all to see. Chicken. Blood. Everywhere. And me being uptight about cleanliness hovered over Kelvin trying to make sure everything was washed with hot water and bleach. At some point I scratched my nose only to realize that I just smeared chicken blood all over my face.

Jesus

It's not always easy knowing that you don't have the means to buy your loved ones gifts. Kelvin and I went to the grocery store the other day and had the intent of treating his family to some nice gifts. Once we looked at the cash in our hands we realized that it was not going to be possible. We ended up buying some more expensive sweets for them all to share. However, it is even harder when I look around and see people who don't have any food or any family for Christmas. They are right outside my door.

Jesus 

My heart aches with all the suffering around me and all over the world. Shootings, bombs, sicknesses, poverty, dysfunction all around. One heart break after another.

Jesus Jesus Jesus 

I believe I have understood now more than ever what it means to long for a Saviour, to await the coming of Hope, to depend solely on the Son of God. How many times I had to stop and whisper 'Jesus' knowing that He was the only thing that could get me through this next day, hour, minute. At times I didn't even know what I needed or how to get there so I just murmured out His name.

And He did show up. I did get through. And I am doing well. There were great moments of joy and wonder. I did laugh and smile and make merry. We enjoyed family and loved ones and ate amazing food. Sweet breezes and cold showers cooled my body.

God is indeed with us.

 We prepared a huge Christmas feast. It was way too much food but we doggie bagged most of it and sent it home with everyone. Was so so thankful to have all of Kelvin's sisters there to help cook and clean.

 This was part of the chicken we killed in the morning. I was especially happy to see it eaten as it was waking us up at 4am cock-a-doodle-dooing.

We played some Rummikub. 

 It was Kelvin's twin sisters', Joan and Harriet, birthday on the 24th so we decided to celebrate it on Christmas when the whole family was there. I woke up extra early to bake it before they woke up. It was a pretty sad cake but it did the trick.

Then we had a dance party. 

Yes, He is really with us.

What my mother-in-law brings when she visits

Kelvin's Mom and twin sisters arrived this morning at our house. This is a BIG thing. Culture says that we are not suppose to stay under the same roof with her because we are married. Due to circumstances,     we have had to sleep under the same roof with her a few times so far. In April we visited her upcountry and, to my surprise, we were not allowed to sleep in the same bed under the same roof. So I slept on the floor with his two sisters and he slept on the couch beside me. We are suppose to build our own little mud hut somewhere else on the property that we stay in when we visit. We don't have the money (or the will) to do that right now. 

We invited his mom to come to Mombasa for Christmas and stay with us. He had to ask her if she was allowed to stay with us. She agreed and now she is sitting next to me on the couch. 

Let me just say right now how THANKFUL I am for our new apartment that has so much space that I don't feel totally overcrowded and overwhelmed. I like my space. 

Kelvin's mom came from the village with a variety of things that my mother would never bring. Here are just a few: 

- a large chicken to eat for Christmas. The chicken is alive. It's tied up on our porch. 

- 2 smaller chickens to give to Kelvin's brother who wants to start breeding chickens. They are in a box on the porch. 

- fake hair she bought so that her daughter could braid her hair.

- a whole sack of vegetables from her garden including sweet potatoes, maize, and beans - lots of beans. 

- CD's and DVD's of church choirs and gospel artists from her area. She doesn't have electricity let alone a TV so she never gets to watch them. 

- a VERY small suitcase of clothes (Mom, it is possible to pack light...)

None of this surprised me. I would actually have been a bit sad if she didn't bring a chicken for Christmas. 

I find Kenyans make pretty easy guests. They are really independent and don't need a lot of entertaining. Kelvin's sisters are busy making supper right now (can I get an amen?) while his mom is super content sitting on the couch watching her videos. We can leave them at home all day and they will be fine on their own. Because of the language barrier, we don't have the most vibrant of conversations but that will come in time. 

All in all, I am grateful for the large pile of sweet potatoes on my floor and having our house full of sweet family. 

Ants in my buns

I feel like I have SO much to tell you - you, out there, reading this, whoever you are. This last week and a half has been a flurry of random, overwhelming highs and lows on so many levels. That is how jumbled my mind is about all of it. Let me just tell you a few of the events of the past 10 or so days:

• Two of our phones broke, including the brand new one that Kelvin bought. I had to pull out our old iPhone that doesn't work unless its plugged in. It may sound nice to have an iPhone but its not. This is one screams difficulty. But its what we have until our two other phones get fixed. 
• I discovered one of my girls' sister tried to sell her off to an old man because she needed money. No wonder my girl ran away from home.
• Kelvin and I both have been having tummy issues. We have been taking medicine (including daily injections into our buttocks). The side effects of the medicine are worse than the discomfort we were feeling. We had our last injection today so hopefully tomorrow we will stop limping. Those things are painful! 
• My cat wouldn't let the vet take her stitches out today. The vet said that it is not normal behaviour for a cat to be THAT violent towards other people. He says we spend so much time with her that we are the only ones she trusts. In other words, I baby my cat. 
• Kelvin has challenged our boys to come up with an income generating project for the team. We sat with them today and listened to their brilliant idea to supply cheap satellite TV to people in Kongowea. They have really thought it out and done their homework. We were thoroughly impressed. We admitted that we couldn't have done that good of a job. They are brilliant - they just need the opportunity to use their brilliance. This project will hopefully provide for all the team's needs and more. That would mean that they could be self sustaining and not rely on donations. How awesome would that be? 
• Tomorrow, the photographer who shot our wedding is coming to do a session with a handful of our youth on the basics of photography. I personally can't wait to learn from such an awesome photographer. I hope my youth will show up on time.
• Police have increased in Mombasa these last few days. There is a group in Mombasa who believes that the coast should be a separate state from Kenya and they are causing raucous. They are threatening to disrupt students exams which are going on. So far, all is well just a whole lot more police  carrying around overbearing AK47s. 
• We got news yesterday that Kelvin's twin sisters returned home yesterday from boarding school. Apparently the grade 11 students burnt down the dormitories in protest of something. If the school doesn't find who did it, all the students have to pay 10,000KES ($120) to get back to school. Twins= 20,000KES. We are thankful that they weren't hurt. Unfortunately, in another school, some kids didn't make it out when their dormitories were burnt on monday morning. So sad.
• I have been baffled by the amount of lying that is ingrained in this culture and the people here. It seriously blows my mind how many people blatantly lie about everything and they think nothing of it. I will write a whole post on this soon. 
• Kelvin has been doing the dishes a lot lately. It's been nice. 
• Last night I made some yummy buns to go with our vegetable stew. I wrapped the leftovers in tin foil last night only to wake up and find that an army of ants somehow made their way under the tin foil and into my buns. That was the breaking point. Tears started flowing after that. Yes, I cried because ants took over my buns. 
• I then went and laid in bed to just relax. Meanwhile, Kelvin came and snuggled me. It was just what I needed. I adore him. 

And this is only the beginning of all our shenanigans but I will use some discretion and keep the rest to myself. I can't tell you enough how amazing my husband is. We have walked through all this stuff together and have come out stronger. I am in awe that God has grant me the amazing gift of my husband. 

Thanksgiving Pancakes

I tend to forget Canadian holidays when I am in Kenya. Especially holidays, like Thanksgiving, that doesn't align with American holidays. I always dream of being that wife/mom who celebrates all these holidays and makes it extra special for my family by cooking a nice meal, doing some family tradition, and inviting our friends to join in. It just doesn't happen. Mostly because I forget. Like I almost forgot that this weekend is Thanksgiving. 

I was a little weepy yesterday for many reasons. Holidays (and birthdays) always make me miss home. Sometimes I just wish I could jet to Canada for the weekend to enjoy a yummy food, fall colours, and my family. 

I decided to do something somewhat Canadian - make pancakes. After travelling a little bit, I realized that most countries in the world don't make fluffy pancakes like we do. They make pancakes more like crepes. And Maple Syrup seems to be a distinctive Canadian thing (at least we have some sort of traditional food we can claim). 

They turned out ok. Well, actually kind of pathetic. Nothing like the ones my baba or mom makes. We ate them plain and with our hands. I made Kelvin a couple smokies since the pancakes just aren't enough for him. Come to think of it, the smokies probably weren't enough either. Nonetheless it was nice, it reminded me of home. Maybe from now on, the Opiyo Thanksgiving tradition will be pancakes for dinner. 

I mentioned that we bought some plastic chairs and tables to start playing games with people in the community. Its been such a huge hit. While I was meeting with my ladies on saturday, Kelvin gathered some curious kids and played a game of Rummikub. I wonder how well the kids got it since it is a game that requires some thinking. 

I hope Kelvin won. I am the master of Rummikub. He just can win against me. I know it hurts his man pride. I hope him winning against little kids made him feel better. 

Top 5 Questions that I have been asked since being home

If I did a poll over the last two weeks, these would be the top 5 questions that people have asked me. I am blessed that I have so many people in my life and amazed that most of them really do care about me. Here they are: 

1. Q: Wow, you must be so tired and jet lagged from that journey. How long is it anyways? 

    A: As a matter of fact, I am exhausted but the jet lag ain't so bad. It took a full two days for me to get here. The journey was long (and pure torture for me who is a very nervous flyer). It was really expensive to fly through Europe so I had to connect in Qatar and then fly to Montreal which was a 12 hour flight. My flights home are even longer.

2. Q: Hmm, where exactly is Qatar?

(It has surprised me how many people don't know where Qatar is)

  

    A: It's a small country that looks like a little wart that pokes out of Saudi Arabia. Doha, the capital city is one of the coolest cities I have ever been there. Because I had a 10 hour layover, Qatar Airways actually paid for a hotel in the city for me to spend the night. It was all expenses paid for. Super cool! I almost wish I had more time there to explore. 

3. Q: So, how is married life? 

   A: It's wonderful. I really enjoy it. 

 (I want to expand a bit more on my married life but I don't think so many people are interested in all the details. There is SO much to married life and 'wonderful' doesn't quite sum it up)

4. Q: Do you miss Kelvin? 

    A: Terribly! I was ready to go back 3 days after I arrived......(then I get the unimpressed look from my parents.)

5. Q: How is it over there?

   This question has been hard to answer. What exactly is 'it'? Life, ministry, work, marriage, security, politics, what?? Really, I could talk to you for hours about all the 'its'. 

   A: It's not always easy, but I do love it. 

I only have a few more days here in Canada. Honestly, I am ready to get back. It has been harder than I though being away from Kelvin. I am not so sure I will come back again without him. 

Anyways, here are some crazy pics of my parents and I checkin' out the sculpture walk in Castlegar.

Anybody home?

 Let's ponder

 Wouldn't want to mess with this guy

This one was my favourite. If you look closely, you can see all the neat things the artist used. 

I didn't even know Castlegar had one of these crazy head things!

Surprise!!!! Ha, just kidding. I must have done a good job sticking out my gut because we had a friend drive by and ask how far a long I was.

Surprise!

A few months back, my dad emailed me and asked if I would be interested in surprising my mom for her 50th birthday. At first, I didn't really want to. I dreaded the thought of making the 2 day trip to Canada alone again and well, I am still newly married and have a hard time leaving my husband for more than a day or two. However, after some convincing from Kelvin and some prayer, I said yes. I booked my ticket and kept it a close secret for two months. 

Dad was the only one who knew plus a handful of friends. I kept hearing that Mom was telling everyone how she wished I could be there. I played it off as if I was still in Kenya, sending her emails of what was happening in our lives and so on. The last email I sent her, I was sitting in the Calgary airport about to board a plane to Castlegar. I was writing to tell her how Kelvin and I got back to Mombasa safe and wishing her a good party. Little did she know that I was just a short plane ride away. 

So I snuck onto the property and went and sat on a bench in the back yard. Some friends, who were in on it, had taken her down to the deck. As she came up, she was told to look over my way and, well, the pictures will tell the rest of the story.

The ugly cry came out in full force. It was a great moment. Now that I am here, I am glad I came. I will be around for about two and a half weeks then I must jetback to my hubby. Meanwhile, I will enjoy my family!

My Daddy

Have to make a shout out to my paps. I know its a day late but Sunday was busy - went to church and then got ambushed to go to a super fun bridal shower which didn't end till late. I was thinking of Daddy the whole time, I swear.

I am a Daddy's girl through and through. The epitome of a Daddy's girl in fact. My heart breaks when I see girls without an awesome Dad like mine because I know how crucial this relationship is in a young lady's life. If it weren't for my dad, I wouldn't be the self respecting woman I am today.


Happy Father's Day paps! Sending you loads of love from way over here!

Sleep, mud, chai, car-sick Kenyans, peace, and family.

That pretty much sums up our vacation.

Sleep- We crashed. Upon arriving in Ilula, we passed right out. Each day we had naps in the morning and afternoon. We had the best night sleeps in the cold, quiet environment. Once we got to Nairobi, we spent the mornings just hanging out in bed sleeping, reading, and having breakfast in bed. Our bodies obviously needed all the rest. 


Mud- The rains have definitely hit Kenya (except Mombasa for some reason). The whole country seems to be flooding. Most of our trip was spent in the village where there is no paved roads, just dirt. And what happens when dirt and water mix? MUD and lots of it. We were covered in it. We had to take motorcycles to the village where Kelvin's mom lives. It was raining which caused our motorcycles to slide back and forth like a car on ice in the winter. I enjoyed the rain thoroughly but could have lived without the mud. The rain was so harsh that it caused huge flooding all across the country (people have died because of it). The night before we left Nairobi for home, a bridge had flooded so no cars could pass making all the buses to be late. Because of it we got nice fancy bus for the ride home since ours hadn't arrived. However, on our way out we hit major traffic as the road had flooded. The water was at least 2-3 feet deep. Thankfully, our bus was high enough to drive right through it. 


Chai- We probably drank 50 cups of chai each in the 10 days we were gone. With the cold weather, it was the perfect thing to warm us up while we visited with our loved ones. We ate some pretty wonderful food along the way too. I devoured every piece of chicken that came my way. 


Car-sick Kenyans- We took a lot of buses. We covered a lot of miles. And I have never seen so many people get car-sick. I can't stand the sound of people vomiting so it was uncomfortable for me. I felt like walking around the bus and handing everyone some of my gravol. We realized that it was mostly people from the village who were getting sick. We also realized that these people would eat huge meals while travelling. Not smart people, not smart. 


Peace- I think our theme for this trip was 'peace'. Before leaving, I started praying to become a woman of peace. Like deep, soul peace in all circumstances. That is what I have been craving the last few months. I am slowly learning how to step into the peace God has made available to me. During our time in Ilula, I had a man say to me, "I just feel an incredible sense of peace about you." I thought that was pretty powerful considering we had only met a couple days before. Kelvin also shared with me during the end of the trip that he is feeling more at peace now as well and that was something God was showing him during this trip. God has been good to us. 


Family- We were so warmly welcomed in Ilula,  Kelvin especially. The people there have been my family in Kenya for the past 6 and a half years and now they have opened their arms to Kelvin as well. They made it very clear that he was indeed their 'son'. The children adored him and adopted him as their new big brother. Then once we got to Kelvin's mom's place, we were privileged to spend some sweet time with his twin sisters who were on holiday from school. Then his other sister and niece showed up which made for a house full of girls. I am pretty blessed to have so many sisters.  


It was a wonderful trip. We are now back in Mombasa feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, ready to continue to do what God has asked us to. We are making some changes in our schedules to focus on what we believe is important. Our boys seem to be in some sort of crisis right now. We just released the coach as we think he was a big part of the problem. And they are at each other's throats like little girls so we have some major damage control to attend to. We are having a big meeting on Monday with all of them to sort it out. It's hurts when your 'kids' aren't happy.  Such is life.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera at home and was unable to capture the many awesome moments of this trip.

Thanking Jesus for how good He is to us!

Sleep, mud, chai, car-sick Kenyans, peace, and family.

That pretty much sums up our vacation.

Sleep- We crashed. Upon arriving in Ilula, we passed right out. Each day we had naps in the morning and afternoon. We had the best night sleeps in the cold, quiet environment. Once we got to Nairobi, we spent the mornings just hanging out in bed sleeping, reading, and having breakfast in bed. Our bodies obviously needed all the rest. 


Mud- The rains have definitely hit Kenya (except Mombasa for some reason). The whole country seems to be flooding. Most of our trip was spent in the village where there is no paved roads, just dirt. And what happens when dirt and water mix? MUD and lots of it. We were covered in it. We had to take motorcycles to the village where Kelvin's mom lives. It was raining which caused our motorcycles to slide back and forth like a car on ice in the winter. I enjoyed the rain thoroughly but could have lived without the mud. The rain was so harsh that it caused huge flooding all across the country (people have died because of it). The night before we left Nairobi for home, a bridge had flooded so no cars could pass making all the buses to be late. Because of it we got nice fancy bus for the ride home since ours hadn't arrived. However, on our way out we hit major traffic as the road had flooded. The water was at least 2-3 feet deep. Thankfully, our bus was high enough to drive right through it. 


Chai- We probably drank 50 cups of chai each in the 10 days we were gone. With the cold weather, it was the perfect thing to warm us up while we visited with our loved ones. We ate some pretty wonderful food along the way too. I devoured every piece of chicken that came my way. 


Car-sick Kenyans- We took a lot of buses. We covered a lot of miles. And I have never seen so many people get car-sick. I can't stand the sound of people vomiting so it was uncomfortable for me. I felt like walking around the bus and handing everyone some of my gravol. We realized that it was mostly people from the village who were getting sick. We also realized that these people would eat huge meals while travelling. Not smart people, not smart. 


Peace- I think our theme for this trip was 'peace'. Before leaving, I started praying to become a woman of peace. Like deep, soul peace in all circumstances. That is what I have been craving the last few months. I am slowly learning how to step into the peace God has made available to me. During our time in Ilula, I had a man say to me, "I just feel an incredible sense of peace about you." I thought that was pretty powerful considering we had only met a couple days before. Kelvin also shared with me during the end of the trip that he is feeling more at peace now as well and that was something God was showing him during this trip. God has been good to us. 


Family- We were so warmly welcomed in Ilula,  Kelvin especially. The people there have been my family in Kenya for the past 6 and a half years and now they have opened their arms to Kelvin as well. They made it very clear that he was indeed their 'son'. The children adored him and adopted him as their new big brother. Then once we got to Kelvin's mom's place, we were privileged to spend some sweet time with his twin sisters who were on holiday from school. Then his other sister and niece showed up which made for a house full of girls. I am pretty blessed to have so many sisters.  


It was a wonderful trip. We are now back in Mombasa feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, ready to continue to do what God has asked us to. We are making some changes in our schedules to focus on what we believe is important. Our boys seem to be in some sort of crisis right now. We just released the coach as we think he was a big part of the problem. And they are at each other's throats like little girls so we have some major damage control to attend to. We are having a big meeting on Monday with all of them to sort it out. It's hurts when your 'kids' aren't happy.  Such is life.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera at home and was unable to capture the many awesome moments of this trip.

Thanking Jesus for how good He is to us!

Proud Parents

I fear we have become like those families who post endless photos of their kids doing pretty much the same thing all the time. But we are so proud of our Neema girl and want to show her off. In all honesty, I feel like I have a family now. Last night, we sat on the couch, all three of us together. I was fixing some of Kelvin's pants and he was on the computer. Neema was squished between the two of us while the nightly news was on the tv. Not to mention our awesome christmas lights were twinkling creating a warm atmosphere. Ah..the Opiyos...

So I have had quite a few people ask me to post more photos of the cat. Go figure, I live in Africa and see awesome things everyday yet people just wanna check out the kitten. 

 Kelvin has warmed up to her. And she adores him too. 

 I had this box for her kitty litter for the last couple days until I bought a real bucket. She loved playing peek-a-boo under the boxes flaps.

 She hangs out under the glass table and still can't figure out that it is glass and she can't get through it.

She is a little terror as most kittens are. Yesterday she latched onto the fan that was oscillating and she went back and forth with it. 

We love our baby. 

Road trip to Malindi

On friday, Kelvin was blessed with a car. No, not our own car, but someone lent us a car for the weekend. Not only that, the car was fueled and this 'someone' gave us a little money to go spend on ourselves. I know, it's crazy. But God is good and loves to treat His children. 

Kelvin and I love when we can have a car. It gives us so much freedom to explore, hang out together, relax, etc. It's expensive to hire a car so we don't do it often. 

On Sunday, we decided to take a road trip to Malindi and explore all the places that we can't if we take public transport. I was also elated to spend a whole day with my husband, just the two of us. Between work, the boys, church, and other life stuff, it's getting harder just to spend an afternoon together. So I was giddy just to be the two of us for a whole day. 

We set out in the morning and went to have my favourite breakfast, mbazi  and mahambri, and then made our way up the coast. Once you get outside of Mombasa, the coast turns lush and beautiful. We passed miles of sisal plantations. 

Our sweet little ride for the day. Cute and perky. 

We first stopped in Kilifi, a place I had driven through once on a matatu. Kelvin took me along the beach as passed gorgeous mansions and villas. We stopped to have a small look at the ocean. The water looked like glass. 

We then reached Malindi, a small Italian infested town. Many of Kelvin's relatives live here. We stopped to sit with one of his cousins who own a little souvenir shop at the beach. 

Bright colours! 

We splurged on a yummy lunch. I had steak and passion fruit juice. Kelvin ate pork chops.

Our cute little ride enjoying the view of the ocean as we ate. 

After a wonderful day of exploring, eating, visiting family, and driving, he headed back home. 

We are now totally praying for a car. I love having the freedom. I also love not being heckled everywhere I go. With a car, I don't have to encounter so many people who want to bug the white girl. It's such a relief for me. Now, we are going to start saving our pennies to get ourselves a sweet ride. 

Happy Birthday my Beloved Hubby!

On saturday, February 11th, my husband celebrated his 27th birthday. In all his years on earth, he had never had a birthday party. So I decided it was about time we celebrated. 

 Eddah had a hard time blowing up the balloons so she found the ball bump pretty handy

 I love him

 The guys just chillin' out. The entire team had come to celebrate but left early since Manchester United was playing. 

 Happy Birthday to YOU!

 My friend Paulina made the best cake! A little soccer pitch! And it was delicious.

 It was a good excuse to have all of Kelvin's family together. They all live in Mombasa yet they barely see each other. I personally love being around them. I only grew up with one brother so its nice to have so many siblings (especially girls) in my family. 

This is our cousin's kid, Nancy. She would only eat cake and nothing else. 

Happy birthday kelvinator!