The Swahili Masters

(this is Colin posting under Brooks account because he forgot his own information...oops)

Another week in this newly established year has flown by. We hope this letter finds you all well and I hope you find our stories and happenings of this week as interesting or at least semi-entertaining as it is to us that actually experienced them. For most of this week our team experienced a very laid-back lifestyle that I would be safe to say is very typical of the Kenyan and African cultures. Our language teacher returned to his teaching job at the high school so we filled in much our excess time with spurts of language immersion in attempting to just speak Swahili. As frustrating as it was for many of us with lack of stored vocabulary we found ourselves taking huge strides in language thereafter. We have even mastered playing Settlers of Cataan with only speaking Swahili. It is another feat we are very proud of.
This past week also marked part 2 of our adventure in learning to cook the local dishes. The climax of our experiences (at least for me) was on Monday when Brook and I had the opportunity to butcher our feather friend of the past two weeks, Francesca, who’s absence since has been apparent as we no longer see her wandering the property. The execution and cooking process was well-documented but I’ve left out the video for the sake of those of you that unexpectedly click the play button not desiring the content in it or even for wandering “PETA” eyes.
We also had the privilege of attending Songhor Mennonite’s “mid-week” service that is held in the home of a different church member every Thursday. Once again, the hospitality we received was overwhelming and all of us there received a full meal following the service/session. In Kenya it is looked at as a great honor and privilege for a church member to host this “mid-week” gathering for those who are able to attend but it is also by no means an easy or cheap task. The explanation to the service and noon meal leads me to describe to you our teams introduction to a dish we have rightly termed (or so we feel) “black nitrogen”. In look it appears much like cooked collard greens but also includes a special, semi-sweet brown sauce that is poured on top. We were informed that it is very sweet and very healthy and many Luos far prefer over the common Kenyan vegetable of sukumowiki. My generous portion was more generous than necessary but it was all eaten none the less and I was even nice enough to share some with the rest of my team. The best response one of us could conjure to their inquires was that it was “very interesting and very different from that of America”. They just laughed. Behind closed doors however the interpretation became “god awful.”
We also witnessed our first Kenyan rain this week and although we considered it a nice rain the locals called it a mild shower. The sign of a real shower includes some form of flooding and running water everywhere. Mid-January marks the start of the rainy season in Kenya which should last about two months before another sunny season reenters. The cooling weather has been especially noticeable in the mornings with the commencement of a daily shower/bath. I’m sure you get my point but we are grateful to have the refreshing water none-the-less.
Praises:
-continual progress in learning Swahili
-good health and safety
-a good three weeks in Songhor
-entering into the time and place of our focused outreach in Chipolet
-the hospitality and generosity we’ve experienced to date
Prayer Requests:
-safety and smooth transitioning on the journey and upon arrival into Chipolet
-continual progress in speaking Swahili
-open doors for us and the church to reach across tribal boundaries (aiming for
(unity)
-effective outreach upon arrival in Chipolet
-(in general) the newly established church and our home church of Kenya Chipolet Mennonite Church, for their leadership, current members as well as people who come in contact with CMC and possible members to be

We thank you all again for your interest and support of our team and mission.

All for His glory,

Colin