Wildlife and the Garden

By Sara:

We had some interesting reptiles visit our yard recently (on the same day, in fact, just minutes apart).  I was doing some worked and all of a sudden looked up to see this snake in the tree next to me.  Anthony assures me that it is harmless (he did read the entire "Reptiles of East Africa" book).

Is it not crazy that a snake can climb a tree?  Maybe a little creepy too?

Then, I found an even better reptile a few minutes later - this chameleon.  I was willing to put my face up next to it to get a good picture.

Then, I want to give you a picture of some of the changes in my garden since we moved here.  First, you can see on the left of the picture below how there used to be grass growing on that side of the house.

Then, I put up a fence and dug up all the grass and weeds:

And now, it is all mulched and has plants growing in it!

So far, we've been eating chard, amaranth (leaves), cilantro, and basil from the garden.  Sugar snap peas, radishes, and zucchini just started too!

Monitoring and Evaluation

By Sara:

Part of my work (both in Uganda and) here in Kenya, is to work alongside local partner organizations on the projects they're doing. Like I've talked about before, here I'm working with the Anglican Development Services (ADS) of Nakuru in a nearby area called Solai. They're participating in a project on Conservation Agriculture that is funded by the Canadian Food Grains Bank (CFGB) and which includes many different organizations throughout Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.

CFGB put on a training for the organizations in Kenya who are part of this project to help them do better work in monitoring and evaluating the work that is going on. In order for me to become more informed about this project so I can support ADS better, I went along for the training.

I learned a lot about the outcomes that this project is working toward and the way that these outcomes are going to be measured.  They also talked about the baseline survey that was done in each of these areas - they went around with a long questionnaire and talked to people to see what their situation is like before participating in this project.  In five years, when they project is over, they'll go back and ask those questions again to find out if there has been any change.  We did a fair amount of work where each organization's participants in the training sat together and looked over the data they got from the baseline survey.  Then, we figured out how, specifically, we will be able to tell if peoples' lives have improved after learning about and using conservation agriculture.

Here is the group of people from ADS that I was working with:

This isn't my favorite part of my work, but I do enjoy the people I get to work with and it is important to know how we keep accountability in project work and determine whether it is successful or not.

At one point in the week, there was a demonstration of how we often think that there is a barrier keeping us from doing something, but it is not really there, it's just in our head.   They blindfolded some people, put up this rope, and told them to step over it without touching it, then go under it without touching it.

The first time they went over and under the rope, it was there.

The second time, the rope was gone, but they didn't know.  Everyone who wasn't blindfolded was very entertained!

Our God is a living God

By Anthony:

You meet all kinds of interesting people when you travel in other countries.  And if you pay attention, they can build you up in your faith.  One person we met said something that I won't forget.

This man used to be a pastor, but is not right now.  In fact he was a church planter, but after he started a church, his bishop took the church away from him and he doesn't know why.  That was some years back and he has been working at normal jobs since.  We asked him if he would like to church plant or pastor again and he said, "When God calls me back into it, I will do it."  

He then told us that his current church he is attending wants him to get back into church planting or pastoring.  I responded, "maybe that is the sign that God is calling you back into that ministry."

He responded with a smile and a slight chuckle, and gave us a statement, a firm but gentle statement, in love, not in criticism.  "No.  I will know when God wants me to go back to it.  My God talks to me.  He is a living God."

Is this the God you serve?  Do you pray to a living God? While I was looking for clues in his life experiences and the voices of other people in his life (I do still believe God works that way in calling sometimes), this man just goes to the source, to God himself.  His relationship with God is real, a real relationship with the living God who actually talks to us.  His statement convicted me.  Too often we settle for a weak relationship with God.  When we don't hear his voice clearly, we blame God for his distance, rather than blaming ourselves for all the distractions in our lives, and the paltry few minutes we give to prayer each day.  

We need to learn about prayer from this man and other African Christians.  We need to dedicate more time to prayer and learn to listen.  We don't enjoy setting aside an hour a day just for prayer, as so many African Christians I know do.  But this could explain why they more often experience such joyful intimacy with God.   Am I willing to trade time watching my favorite television shows for that kind of intimacy in prayer?  I pray that God will give me this kind of intimacy with Him, that I would be able to listen to the Holy Spirit and have a more vibrant relationship with my living God.

Student Video messages and Campus Videos

By Anthony:

I have interesting students from all over Kenya.  One student has three mothers because his father is polygamous, and as a Christian he treats them all with love and respect.  Another student, William, is from South Sudan (we mentioned him and his family's challenges in the South Sudan post).  William told me that when he was younger (he is now 67), that he used to regularly hunt antelope for food.  He would chase them down and kill them with his spear.  He must have had some pretty awesome skills.  He also used to be an evangelist in Khartoum before Sudan was divided.  It is evident that the other students respect him a lot, and not only because of his age.  The other day he woke up early and picked up litter all over around the student dorm area, setting a great example for the younger students.  Here is William preaching in chapel, courageously willing to speak in English:

Here is a video tour of part of the college:

Here are some more fun videos, both of showing you the college campus, and also, on the spur of the moment during a quick class break, I asked the students if they wanted to share any messages of encouragement to the American churches who sent us.  Enjoy.

Some random fun photos:

Sometimes Sara can't afford the time to go change clothes before working in the garden.  You can see her passion!

This is her "seriously? you're taking a photo?" look.