Tea Farm

Today we went to a tea farm in a town called Limuru. It was so beautiful and fun!! The fields of tea were green and lovely. The owners had 9 sweet dogs too. First, we saw a tea bush that had been grown from a seed. It was older and overgrown, no longer used for making tea. Then, we went inside and had tea and cookies. The owner lady explained the tea-making process and showed us a few different types. It was very interesting. Next, we were guided through a small forest by one of the worker men. We learned a lot in there. The whole place reminded me of a movie. The woods, the animals, the house, the little cottage, it was so cool! He showed us how they pick the tea as well. Afterwards, we ate lunch. Lunch consisted of corn, beef, green beans, carrots, mashed potatoes, and passion fruit juice. It was so good!!

~Anna~

Here are some pictures.

our guide in a tea field

one of the cute dogs

us in front of the owner's house (we ate lunch and had tea inside)

Naivasha and Swahili

Today we went to a place called Naivasha. We had a great lunch there and then spent the afternoon there. Just across Lake Naivasha is Cresent Island, where the movie Out of Africa was filmed. We did not go to Cresent Island this trip, but have been once before.

I also would like to share with you all some of the Swahili we've learned here.

jambo - Hello

habari - How are you (often used like)

asante - thank you

karibu - welcome

sawa - okay, good, sure (they say "sawa sawa" alot)

sana - added to words like karibu and asante, it means very or very much (asante sana - thank you very much, karibu sana - you are very welcome)

Here is a picture from Abby's trip to the Internally Displaced People (IDP) Camps, sorry the one is sideways:

Christmas in Kenya!

Christmas here was really wonderful because we got to focus on the Reason of Christmas. There was no mall traffic, no hustle and bustle craziness (except maybe in the kitchen). It was very peaceful. In the morning, we read the Christmas story, opened our "stockings" aka socks, and opened the presents we had brought. We cooked a turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, cake, and a pie. The other missionary families did the rest. The feast was amazing!! On our way up to the missionary family's house, we rode with another family. It was a tight squeeze in the car and two of the family's kids rode hanging on the outside of the car. After we ate, we played croquet on the lawn in the sun. Abby and I almost won, but two people beat us.

The picture here is of our "tree" and "stockings"and fireplace.

On Christmas Eve, we went caroling to the kids at the hospital. Then at night, a bunch of missionaries went to the hospitals and took candles through the wards caroling. It was really neat.

Jingle Bells (Kenyan version):

Dashing through the mud, in a 4-wheel matatu*,

14 passengers, and a little boy hanging on too,

no gears, no breaks, no horn, but still we carry on,

we are going to our shosho's* house we'll get there just past dawn,

Oh, chicken here, donkey there, person in your lap,

Oh what fun it is to ride a matatu that is packed!

Oh, chiken here, chicken there, chicken in your ear,

oh what fun it is to ride a matatu with no gears!

*matatu - a packed van that is like a bus and goes recklessly driving across Kenya.

*shosho - Swahili for grandma

Here is a picture of us playing croquet:

Abby's Trip to the IDP Camp

Hi all!
The other day, I went with a group of people from the church here into the Rift Valley to a town about 30 minutes away called Mai Maihu. We were bringing food to people in the IDP (internally displaced persons) camp. All the people living their were victims of the tribal violence that occured here in the begining of this year. There were about 80 small tents with families ranging from 1-2 to 7-10. They had very provisions, just a few small pots and pans and maybe a mattress. We destributed food, water, clothes, and firewood. They were so thankful! There were many women and children especially. It was a very moving experience. Please pray for these people, that they might be able to rebuild their lives and through the influence of the missionaries here, find Christ.
I will hopefully put up pictures soon! Lots of love, Abby

Safari

Simba (Swahili) - Lion

Twiga - Giraffe

Our safari last weekend was really amazing. We saw hippos, impala, gazelles, buffalo, water buck, giraffe, hyenas, warthogs, elephants, lions, and cheetahs. On our second to last game drive we saw cheetah cubs and lion cubs. They were precious! The food there was also amazing!!!! We only got stuck in the mud once, and thankfully our driver managed to get us out. We also went to a Masai Village and got to see them dancing and jumping and singing.

It was a wonderful weekend!

P.S. - Feel free to post comments and ask questions!

Tembo - Elephant

Cape Buffalo

Masai Dance

Duma - Cheetah

(look closely and you can see her 2 cubs)

Accordion!!!

Hey All!

Yes, this is a picture of me playing the accordion! There is a missionary here who can play and is teaching me (and Anna)! She often goes to the Pediactric ward of the hospital to play and dance with the kids. It is a really cool instrument, and not too hard because the majority of it is just treble clef piano. Right now all I can play is Silent Night and the First Noel, but I am really enjoying it!

Love, Abby

Baking Cookies

Sticky Fingers! (L-R: Me, Olive, Salome)

Yesterday our house helper Kezi brought her daughter and neice over to our house to bake cookies. Their names were Olive (age 8) and Salome (age 10). They were really sweet! Salome spoke a little bit of English, but Olive mostly just Swahili. We made chocolate cookies that you dip in powdered sugar and shortbread cookies that you cut our and imprint with a special stamp thing. They enjoyed it! Then, we danced around with them and they loved that! We brought some over to the children's hospital, but all the patients were gone due to it's Christmas closing on Friday. We offered some to the staff members and each one took a 3-5 each!!! It was hilarous, they just kept taking more! But, it was good to give them away because we didn't need them. Afterwards we took some over to another missionary who happens to play the accordian. Now, Abby and I are learning to play the accordian. She also let Olive and Salome play the piano art of the accordian. It was really sweet! We had a wonderful time with the girls!

~Anna~

Shaping the dough!

These are pictures of our Christmas shopping trip. We can walk here, it is just about a 10 or 15 minute walk. Not a lot of variety but enough for us. I will get a picture of the restaurant next

time we go, also will try to get some pictures of the vegetable ladies and the craft sellars next

week! Enjoy the malls and the traffic!

Doing Great

Hey Everyone! We are still having a wonderful time! Nothing much is new, Abby and Mom went to a Bible study last night and I slept over at a friend's house. Right now they have gone to the Dukas (stores) to get vegetables and have lunch at Mama Chiku's. I am staying home to do schoolwork, because I'm way behind. Everything is great!
Love, Anna

This is the donkey picture! Many people use donkeys and carts to transport goods. To feed the donkeys, they tie a rope around their neck, attack it to a stake, and stick the stake in the ground some place where there is grass, often the side of the road!

Saturday trip to Nairobi

Saturday we had Elisha (in picture) take us to
Nairobi. We stopped at this petrol station in
Limuru and I got to take a picture of a donkey
pulling a cart (getting petrol??) On to Nairobi
where we went shopping at a very American
mall and then to a walking safari that was kind
of like a zoo. We were able to pet a cheetah
while it was eating something disgusting but he
enjoyed it very much and didn't even look
interested in us!

Another one of the children at Cure. We went this morning with another missionary friend - her husband is also an ortho doctor -and she read a bible story to the children while someone translated for the children. They were so sweet and quiet and listened closely to the story! They like having their pictures taken!!

These are some of the children at Cure Hospital. Gary

is working here and at the main hospital.

More about Kenya

Hey All! We just got internet in our house, so hopefully we can update more!! Dad started his work at the hospitals here and said it went smoothly. Abby and I have been doing homework. On the ride to Kijabe on Saturday, we stopped and got to have our picture taken with a little boy and a cow. We saw lots of animals on the side of the road. I will work on getting some pictures loaded on!!
Love, Anna

Hey Everyone! We made it to Kenya!!!! We got into Kijabe yesterday (Saturday) and have been having a wonderful time. We have seen some of the friends that we made in our previous trips and that has been really nice. The weather is sunny and warm but windy. We have only seen about
3 spiders and a few other bugs that Anna calls leeches but they are probably small roaches! The
friends are better! The shower is better than last time and we have hot water in the whole house
and a new washer. We have already hung out several loads of laundry. We miss all of you but
mostly Murphy!!
Love, Elise

Hello from Zürich. We are having a wonderful time here in Switzerland.
The flights were easy, with some turbulance, but we made it here safely.
We have been exploring the city and have seen some churches, a view of
the Alps, and the Zürich Lake. It is gorgeous and not unbearably cold.
We cannot post pictures yet, but hope to be able to soon.
Love, Abby and Anna

Welcome!!!

Hello All!!!

Welcome to our blog! We will post updates on the trip as well as pictures. Please pray for our safety as we leave for Zurich on the way to Kenya.

Thanks for all your support and prayers!

Love,
The Brays