Meeting Simon's family

Isaac explores Simon's farm

A Day in the village

This afternoon we went to visit Simon's family in his village about an hour from Nairobi. Simon works here on the SIM compound and has become a good friend. He wanted us to see his home and meet his wife, son, and the rest of his relatives. So we trekked out on some rough roads and arrived to a beautifully spread feast.

Simon lives in a lush, beautiful village. After we ate, he took us on a long walk to see his gardens, village, and to meet some of his friends and family. We had a wonderful time. Isaac thoroughly enjoyed hiking through steep trails and taking in all the sights. He loved all the attention from the village children too.

Simon has a small farm. He owns 2 cows, a bunch of chickens, 2 dogs, and a cat. One of the highlights was watching them milk the cows. And of course Isaac and Evan had a great time exploring and meeting all the animals.

Our first Sudanese friends

This is Wilfred and John, two Sudanese young men we met our first Sunday here. They attend a church on the outskirts of Nairobi and we gave them a ride home the day we met. Since then we've gotten to know them a little more. Today they came over for tea and shared quite a bit of valuable history of the war and of their tribe, the Dinka people.

We're hoping to reconnect with them every time we come back to Kenya. They love the Lord with all their hearts and are trying to finish their education before returning to Sudan.

Isaac and the girls

Isaac's new boots for the rainy season in Sudan

Isaac and Evan's new buddies

God sends friends

During our two weeks here in Kenya, God has brought many special people into our lives. In our gated community, we live in one of 3 buildings and there are TONS of children. As I type, Eli and the boys are out kicking a soccer ball with about 10 kids. Today an Ethiopian family, SIM colleagues in Sudan, arrived for a time of rest and recuperation. Their boys are out playing.
Other friends we have are:
John: the guard at the gate
Simon: the compound gardener
Rose: the househelp lady who will clean your house or do your laundry for you if you ask her.
Brigitte and Joseph: a lovely couple. He is Sudanese and has been teaching us Arabic lessons every afternoon while the boys nap. Brigitte is a German nurse.
I've even developed little relationships with ladies who work at the nearby grocery store and the owner of a little shop (duka) down the road.

I will try to post pictures. Our Internet connection isn't always fast enough.

Highlight of the week

This has been the week for buying all the necessary supplies for our home and ministry in Sudan. Needless to say, we've done a lot of running around the city of Nairobi and things aren't as easy or fast here as they are in the States! But day by day, we're crossing things off our list.

On Tuesday we set out to start buying supplies. It was such an amazing experience for Eli and I to realize we were choosing things for our new home in Sudan. The best way I can describe what living will be like is a year round camping trip. We have a plastic table and chairs, a mattress for the floor, a water filter, 2 solar panels, a solar lantern, and plastic dishes, cups, etc. Very simple but we'll have everything we need.

We've even bought our own satellite phone so we can send/receive email in Sudan. So you must be thinking - sounds like a lot of money. Many of you have helped provide for all these necessary items we've been purchasing. Without your partnership, we wouldn't have the freedom to get all that we need. Thank you so much.