Elizabeth has a Chicken!

 

          This weekend I went to a pre-wedding event. This event is part of the Kenyan wedding process intended to raise money for the wedding. It started on Kenyan time (2 hours late). There was cake and soda served before the fundraising began. The fundraising consisted of selling handkerchiefs and guest badges, a time to come greet the bride and groom and drop money in a bag, an auction, and a raffle. The main events were the auction and the raffle. The auction was run much differently than those in the US. When you bid, you give the money right there and a running total is kept of how much each person has in their bid. Also, you can bid in other people’s name, i.e. “I bid 200 shillings in X’s name”. 

This method causes a lot more money to be raised. Items auctioned included everything from non-alcoholic wine to fruits and vegetables to live chickens. The chickens were one of the first items auctioned off. People started bidding on the large rooster in my name, I contributed some just because it was to raise money for the wedding, but not much compared to others.  I ended up with the chicken. I must have turned 6 shades of red and purple during the bidding out of embarrassment and from laughing. So now I have a LIVE chicken living in the corner of my house waiting for slaughter. No, I am not naming it because that will only make it harder to slaughter later this week. I hope everyone understands. The prospect of slaughtering the chicken both excites and scares me. I have never slaughtered a chicken before and I’m kind of nervous about the whole thing.

            Anyway, back to the event, my chicken was the most sought after being the biggest so it raised a lot of money (probably close to 50 US Dollars). The other items went for less, mostly because it was getting late and the MC was trying to get through all the items for auction. I bought a bunch of raffle tickets (the tickets got cheaper as the event went on) and won an umbrella. Other items raffled off were a pair of slippers, a pair of sunglasses, a water pitcher, and several packages of handkerchiefs. As a whole the event was a lot of fun and I got to socialize with some of the grooms relatives. Oh, and I was the ONLY white person there! I feel very privileged to be part of these ceremonies and events. Nancy and Moses (the bride and groom) were very glad I was there. Apparently, having a white person there helps open people’s wallets because they assume the white person has money so the others spend more. Or something like that. I mean they also enjoyed me being there as a friend, don’t get me wrong.

            The event ended after dark so Nancy and I could not return to Kijabe that night. Instead, we stayed in Limuru with Moses at his house (separate rooms). This was quite an experience for me. Not only staying in simple basic housing with only a compound shared toilet (long drop pit), but also traveling with a live chicken and other groceries and at night.  Don’t worry, I was perfectly safe as I was with two native Kenyans. On a side note, sterilized water tastes weird! While the water here in Kijabe is clean, the water elsewhere is not; hence the need to sterilize the water. Anyway, I enjoyed spending time with Nancy and Moses and watching how in love the two of them are. Its sweet! ☺ They also gave me a Kikuyu name. I am now Elizabeth Wangeshi Flow, at least in Kenya.

In other news, I have joined the combined church choir for an area wide rally/competition among the AIC church congregations. Originally we met every Sunday and Friday, but last week we met at 5pm Monday, Tuesday and Friday and from 2-5pm on Sunday. The competition is next Sunday, so this week wee meet everyday this week and for 4 hours on Saturday. Long week!! However, I am glad to be a part of something so important to the fellow Kenyan members of the church. Also, this has allowed me to get to know more Kenyans in the church and built relationships with them, even if it is just to make them laugh at my attempts at directing/leading choir practice. (They assume that since I am white and can read music, I must be able to play the piano and direct the choir) ☺

Emotionally I have been doing fairly well, although after every high point comes exhaustion and sometimes a low.

My sleep has not been very restful either.

I am struggling to separate work and life. I want so much to meet the expectations of my boss and organization back in Texas.

Oh, please pray for the power and internet here at Cure. The Internet has been out all day and the power has been going on and off. The power has been pretty stable up to this point, so these frequent power blips are not common. Also, pray for the SafariCom network. It has not been working well the last few days, meaning I have a hard time reaching people by on their cell phones and my internet modem does not always work. Frustrating!

I am really enjoying being in Kenya. The landscape is beautiful. The people are mostly friendly. (Okay, so I’ve met a few beggars in Nairobi that where rather pushy and confrontational. No worries though, I always travel in Nairobi with a Kenyan companion who makes sure we stay safe. ) I love seeing lives changed for the better here at the hospital!

I now have my own dust/lab coat to wear around and a large tub to wash clothes in.

Prayer requests:

- I’m exhausted. Please pray for restful sleep at night.

- I am trying to schedule a meeting with 5 other organizations this week to discuss the Knee assessment 

   protocol. Please pray that this meeting happens and that it goes smoothly.

- Certain items are going missing. Please pray that I find them!

- That I will make the right decision about what to do for Christmas.

- Chicken preparation

Praises:

-          I found the flashlight I thought I’d lost.

-          I have good neighbors.

-          I am connecting with people here in Kijabe.

-          God has given me health

-          I see God answer prayers on a daily basis. It’s Awesome!

-          Got the power point slides put together and sent to my team member back in the States

PS. I have awesome news! Lydia (an amputee who came to the lab to be evaluated for a prothesis) came to know the LORD today!! I am always super excited when someone makes a decision to follow Christ and give their life to Him!!! =) =) =)