Safe and Sound in Kenya

Yesterday night we arrived safely in Kenya and spent the night at the guest house in Nairobi (it is not safe to drive very far late at night). This morning, we stocked up on groceries and drove about an hour to Kijabe. We are in the same time little house as last time and all is well. We are so thankful that all of our 8 suitcases made it! Thanks once again for your prayers!

Barcelona Day 2

We have had another wonderful day in Barcelona! Today, we went to the Picasso Museum. Picasso lived in Barcelona for much of his life and this museum had a large collection of his earlier works, which were surprisingly more "normal" than most of the Picasso that generally comes to mind! :-) We also saw La Sagrada Familia, the beautiful, yet still unfinished, church designed by Antoni Gaudi. It was absolutely amazing -- I have never seen such a beautiful church in my life! There are 2 completed facades, one which depicts Christ's birth and early years, and the other that narrates his passion. Their detail is incredible. And inside the church is stunning stained glass, mainly in shades of blue, yellow, and red. It is breath-taking!! We also got to walk down La Rambla, which is a fun street full of people, vendors, and street performers. They even have people selling pets, like birds and bunnies! Off this street is a huge food market selling fruit, nuts, candy, bread, fish, meat and more. And not just your average steak: they have tongue, heart, liver, and other things that we couldn't identify. I bought in apple, in Spanish and everything! ("Quiero una manzana, por favor!") Then we had a snack of churros and chocolate, and tapas for lunch. We are eating well! We leave bright and early for Kenya tomorrow. Please pray for safe and easy flights, and that all our eight suitcases will make it too! :-) Buenas noches from Barcelona!

Exploring Barcelona

On the roof of La Pedrera (top two pictures)

Yesterday we walked around the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, which is the older section of town. We browsed through a lovely little market with lots of Christmas things. Today we took the tour bus all around town and saw lots of different things. This morning the bus took us by the port and the place where the 1992 Olympics were held. Later we went inside of a magnificent building called "La Pedrera" that was designed by architect Antoni Gaudi. The architecture of his buildings are fascinating, with many curves and arches. It was interesting to see how Gaudi's buildings resemble things from nature; for example, the curved front of La Pedrera depicts the ocean's waves. After visiting La Pedrera, we took the bus to the "Sagrada Familia" (Holy Family). We did not go in, but it was beautiful from the outside. The bus also took us by the beach, which was pretty as well. After that, we ate dinner at a place called "4 Gats" (4 cats). It had lots of pictures of (you guessed it!) four cats. On the way home, we stopped for gelato, which was of course amazing!

In the 4 Gats Restaurant

Abby's favorite square (It was very peaceful with a lovely violinist and a fountain.)

The roof of La Pedrera

Barcelona

We arrived safely this morning in Barcelona, Spain on our way to Kenya. Flights went well, and we are glad to be here. The palm trees and 60 degree weather is lovely! Thank you for your prayers!

Love,

The Brays

Pictures

Safari

We are very sorry that it has been so long since the last update! We'll try to get caught up on everything.
Last week, when Abby and I were sitting outside doing some schoolwork, a boy came over to us from Cure hospital. His mom told us he couldn't talk. He communicated by writing, using sign language, and other hand motions. He knew some quite a bit of English and we learned a lot just from his writing and signing. It was incredible how well he could communicate.

This weekend, we went to the Maasai Mara game park for a safari. It was an amazing trip! One highlight was seeing a lion in a tree, which is very unusual. We also were very excited to see a leopard for the first time. In addition to the lions and the leopard, we saw elephants, zebras, gazelles, warthogs, impala, giraffes, cheetahs, birds, baboons, dick dick, water buck, cape buffalo, and ostriches. On the way home, the roads were flooded badly in some areas. We weren't sure if we could make it over the rushing water, so we waited for about 20 minutes for it to go down. The water went down a little bit, and we made it across safely, thank you Jesus. We had a really wonderful weekend.

We will try to put some pictures up soon.

Lunga Lunga Slums

This morning we piled into a CURE ambulance and drove to Nairobi with some friends. We were headed to the Lunga Lunga Slum church

Left Below: The "parking lot" and our ambulance!

Left Above: The church sign.

It was about an hour drive on roads that are, well, not the greatest! But thats the fun of driving here! We parked in a "parking lot" if you can call a gated area holding a maximum of 7 cars a parking lot. Then we followed the Pastor to the church. Because of the recent rains, it was an extremely muddy walk, with streams of water running along the sides of the "road."

The slum was like a mini city, with tiny one room houses and little stores selling everything from fruits and veggies, to meat, to clothes and shoes. When we arrived at the church, the Pastor washed the feet of those wearing flip-flops -- reminding me of Jesus' words in John 13:14, "Now that I, you Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet." When he had finished, we entered the church. The building was small, with about a dozen benches, a table, a drum, and one lone light bulb. The service started with worship, all in Swahili, but we clapped and hummed along as best we could. When these people worship, they don't just sing, they clap and yell and dance.

It is awesome! They ended worship with prayer, but not just regular prayer. Everyone prayed out loud, at the same time, each crying out to God in their own language. It brought tears to my eyes. The air was full of prayers and praises going up to God. After worship the Pastor and one of our friends preached, with translators. Then we prayed for a school that they are starting. Finally, we handed out Jolly Ranchers to the kids. Then we said our good-byes, shook hands all around, and headed to the car.

(Above: Worship)

This was an amazing experience that will remain imprinted on my mind for as long as I live. These people, who barely have a roof over their heads, praise God for being Jehovah Jirah, God our Provider. Dear Friends, we do not acknowledge enough how much God has truly blessed us. We have done nothing on our own to get to where we are, with not only a roof over our heads, but big houses, plenty of food, clothes, and safety. Praise Jesus, our Jehovah Jirah!

Above Left: The pastor washing feet.

Above Right: Worship