Birds, Plants, Food and Life in Africa

There is so much beauty around us here in Kenya that it is hard to take it all in. The birds in our area are beautiful. We wake up every morning to their singing. We’ve seen many of them as we drive, sit by the house, or walk to RITT. A few of the birds we see are the Glossy (iridescent) Ibis, and the speckled pigeon. The speckled pigeon has a large red ring around its eye. The Tropical Boubou is a black and white bird with a whistle song. The Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling is a beautiful blue green iridescent color, while the Superb Starling has a black face, blue back, green wings and orange breast. All have their unique beauty and song but most are too quick to photograph.

The flowers that are in bloom are also breathtaking. To name just a few, we have seen: jasmine which has a very strong scent and is white, yellow or pinkish and the twigs of certain varities are used as toothbrushes. Anthericum leaf juices are used by some tribes for tribal tattooing. The Euphorbia has many different species - 320 species in Africa – it can grow like a small herb or as large as a big tree. We have Merremia in our gardens and it is creamy in color with a dark center. The seeds are used as a substitute for coffee, The Bottle Brush tree has a red feathery flower that is elongated like a bottle brush while the African Tulip tree has bright orange/red flowers. Then there is one of our favorites, the very vibrant Jacaranda with its purple flowers. The Parrots Beak is just like its name – it is red and yellow and looks like a parrot’s beak. I wish we could send pictures of all of them.

Right now specific fruits and vegetables are in season: mangoes, pineapple, oranges, papaya, water melon, banana, strawberries, avocado, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, onion, sumawiki, etc. We have been enjoying all of them. Pumpkins are growing in the garden by the house so we have been enjoying pumpkin soup.

We have been able to get some frozen fish – tilapia, perch. Chicken is always available as is beef from the butchery. More and more items are being stocked in the stores in Eldoret, but not as much variety as one sees in a big city like Nairobi. We have also found some good restaurants, including Nakumat Grill where you can get a good pepper steak dinner for about $5.00, a Chinese restaurant where you can get plenty to eat for about $5.00 per person, and a pizza restaurant at a gas station in town. Mostly we eat at home and enjoy the variety of fruits, vegetables and meats.

We try to have our Kenyan friends and colleagues over as much as possible, but with schedules being what they are because we are so busy at the library we are sometimes just too tired. The other night we had the RITT principal, Ariko, and his family over for dinner. His wife, Immaculata, and their two young sons, Enoch and Abel, had never had pizza. We made homemade pizza and served it with chips and Coca Cola. They loved it. We had banana splits for dessert. Since they live in a house without electricity, the boys were fascinated with the hot water heater, refrigerator/freezer, microwave, TV and washing machine. We are truly spoiled!! They have a microwave and TV at home (that were given to them) but because they do not have their electric hooked up as yet (for lack of money) they are not able to use them.

Saturday, as usual, we went into town – always an ordeal – we come home very tired. Besides shopping, we needed to go to the Internet café. Ray spent an hour or two getting cataloging information for some of RITT’s library books while I took care of our personal emailing, etc. We needed to get some supplies to make our own cardboard magazine boxes made for the library. We purchased cardboard, cutting knives, tape, book binding glue etc. Ray made box templates and a student (who is also the student pastor at our local RCEA Church) and his wife, are making them for us. The boxes are looking great!

The book shelves have not come yet from Nairobi. Just keep praying with us that they will come before we leave next week. It’s been quite a disappointment, but they should arrive within a day or two. We’ll see. We have moved our computers, supplies and a couple of old tables, etc., into the new library and are using them until the library furnishings arrive. At least it is a more pleasant place to work than the old library. By the shelves not arriving when expected we were able to get much more organized for our move – God is good and there is a purpose for everything. We have been told that the company rep was lying to us about the shelving being enroute. In talking to the head of the company in Nairobi, Ariko was told that the shelves have not been finished. Last Monday we had news from the company that they should be here this week – we won’t hold our breath on that one.

Ray has also been busy preparing a sermon on “The Presence of God”. He has been asked to preach but a date has not been set – we have one Sunday left at RITT so maybe it will not come to pass and he will at least have a sermon available for the next time. It would not be unusual for him to be asked to preach an hour so before the service is to begin!

The short rains are still with us – good for us because we plan to spend two days at Masai Mara and are hoping that the wildebeest will be migrating – but not good for the farmers who have stacked their sheaves of maize but have not as yet ground the maize for animal feed. The maize and wheat will rot if it gets too wet. It has rained a lot the past few days and is very cold. We have been wearing sweatshirts most of the time. In fact, it was so cold that last evening we lit a fire in the fireplace to stay warm.

Our library assistant’s three year old son, Ian, has not been feeling well so we took Priscilla and him to the hospital on Saturday. He has been diagnosed with a mild case of typhoid. We will be going to Priscilla and her husband’s house for dinner on Sunday evening and are looking forward to that.

The needs here are so great – so many people are so poor. We always seem to be handing out money for one need or another. Although we are very careful as to whom we help, we oftentimes give well over $100 US per week to causes, but we only help those who we personally know have a serious need. Compared to the people here we have so much. It is hard to turn anyone down who truly has a genuine reason for asking for help. It’s always difficult to know how much to help people in need. Too much, and they will begin to depend on us. If we don’t, we may miss an opportunity to build a lasting relationship with our Kenyan brothers and sisters here at RITT.

Blessings to all of you. R & B