The Andersens!

Let me introduce you to the lovely children that we homeschool and care for.

Uriah is 8 and is the oldest. He's been nicknamed 'Dances with Chickens' He goes and checks the coop everyday for both eggs or chicks. It's a good thing too because there are about 13 chicks just in the time we've been here! But it's not just chickens: he LOVES birds! When we were still in Kijabe, all he could talk about was wanting to be here and go bird trapping! I told him I want to see every bird he traps. I also used the bird ID book they have to get him to actually enjoy drawing. (He hated it before!)

Ja-el is the oldest girl. She's 7. She doesn't mind getting dirty and what's even better Rachel doesn't care that she's dirty either. So at the swimming pool, with no hesitation, I did this to her! She loves to tell, read and write stories. I tried interrupting her reading to ask something and she was determined to keep reading, she stopped when she heard 'swimming' but still finished the chapter! She's a complete space cadet most of the time and is way fidgety. However her desire for learning is really fun to watch! Even Rachel says she's 'wierd smart'.

Acacia just turned 6. I'm sure she's named after the tree which is in the background of this picture. She loves to help with baby Ezra. Sometimes we call her 'mama-sita' but she gets real shy about it, as she does alot of things. She has a very tender heart, which I understand, so I work on that with her from time to time. But she's so adorable, its hard not to tease a little bit! She's a girly-girl and has enjoyed all the artistic endeavors I've taking them on. She's taken hundreds of pictures on both Emma's camera and mine for this very reason!

Miriam is 4. She's a silly goose! She named her feet! Kanza and Konzo. Ones a boy and one's a girl. Hilarious! She and I butted heads a bit at the beginning. I didn't let her cuteness let her get away with stuff. But lo and behold her opinion has changed! She was very proud to be able to count to 7 one day and I just so happened to be up to 7 in Swahili so we counted together! Funnier still is Eddie and Rachel then counted in Gabbra! We're all learning here!

Silas is 3. He's adorable!!! He's only three, but talks always in complete sentences. 'Can you do it Si?' ' I Can!' Rachel always says he's a grown man caught in a little persons body. This is kinda what she means:

I call him a squeaky toy, because it's a squeak when he says 'huh' (meaning uh-huh) Most of the time he's really quiet and just loves to watch what you're doing. One time I was sitting with him, and he grabbed my hand and put on this cheezy smile and said 'I'm holding your hand!' This kid's gonna be a heart breaker if he keeps that up!

Ezra's the baby! I love every chance I get to hold him. Rachel cheers when he spits up on anyone. He wants to stand up already! Salo, one of Rachels' house helps, sings to him in Gabbra. He bacame mezermized by my cards during a card game the other day. It looked like he was trying to play!

An adventure & notes from the 'quote book'

I have SOOOOO much to say! But since Emma has already said a few things I would only be repeating, I'll be directing you to her blog. She put in so many hilarious details, I really couldn't have said it better: emma-coates.blogspot.com And if that has not enticed you enough perhaps this photo will:

And yes, that would be a broken rear axle!

Now for some humor and pure randomness:

Because it is very modest here, I often say 'Ah! I'm exposing my knee!'

There is this thing called squash that is just a highly concentrated juice that you pour in the bottom of your glass and then mix with water. I can never remember what it is called when I'm in the middle of a sentence so I've just decided I'll call it 'Sploosh'. (from Holes) this irritates Emma to no end.

There is a surprising amount of things that still need translating even between Emma and myself. For example : 'It's 90 on my side, 30 on yours.' (talking about the thermometer)

Many of you know my awful reaction to finding out that I'm the universal donor blood type. Rachel made sure that Emma found out hers before heading up-country (to Kalacha) and she is the universal recipient! To which I concluded: 'Nurses like you, but bloodbanks like me'

The chickens are pets: 'When I get to Kalacha, I'm gonna hug a chicken!'

The desert is loved 'Yay!! the Chalbi!'

The pets are having babies. There are 8 chicks chirping next to me right now. One got stepped on by a very innocent 5 year old. It nearly died in my hands! I begged Rachel to take it from me before it did. (I was quite pathetic) and she wrapped in a cloth. It survived!

I've obtained hundreds of new words, even in English: I am now regularly calling dirty things 'manky' a flashlight is a 'torch' and chips are 'crisps'. I giggle every time I hear Emma say 'Oi!' or 'Bullocks' and I know the proper pronunciation for 'Worstershire Sauce' though I will probably continue in completely destroying the word.

When we were down country (Nairobi, Nanyuki) there was a way of having a heated shower using a device called a 'widowmaker' (yikes!)

Emma put it very well: 'Home is where you leave your shampoo in the shower' (We've only been able to do this the last 2.5 weeks)

A chick just walked across my keyboard.

Africa time seems to be stretched out more by the expatriates than the locals!

When I first saw the pool in Kalacha, I became a very noisy fan of Jesus and his blessings 'Praise Jesus! Hallelujah!'

From front to back: Silas, Miriam, Acacia

Prayers for Kalacha

Greetings from the church in Kalacha!



I want to tell you her story. Kalacha is in northern Kenya. Due to tribal wars, the British government did not allow missionaries in this part of Kenya until 1960 when they let the Catholics in. About 1966 is when the Protestants were allowed. In the past, both Catholics and Protestants have made the mistake of confusing evangelism with Westernizing a culture. Tryinug to avoid this mistake, the exact opposite was made by those first evangelizers to the Gabbra tribe. In Kalacha especially, they presented the gospel as only an addition to the Gabbra traditions. They had many who went to the Catholic church, but all continued the sacrifices and rituals of their past. When the Protestants came and tried to unveil the syncretism of their faith, no one accepted the 'hard road'. They didn't see why they had to either, considering the easy road the Catholics had offered. It took 18 years for the first believer to accept the gospel at all! And now, 44 years later, the church is small but growing. there are supposedly 70 believers in a community of 8,000. Yet all have refused to completely walk away from the traditions that surround them. Noone knows what will happen if they defy the authority of the Gabbra culture and refuse to attend or participate in the sorios (sacrifices). Pray for someone to see that there is nothing for Christians at these events (many are seeing and talking about that) but to also actually take a stand against them by not attending. I was told that a previous missionary worked hard with the youth to inspire this kind of strength, but what often happens is that they get married and have to do the sacrifices associated with that event and they give in to the tradition. I have a friend here who is going to get married in January. Pray specifically for her and her Christian husband to be brave and stand up for their beliefs. Her name is Fadhe.


The growth and strength of the church here is a great burden on my heart. I long to find a way to encourage the missionaries and to walk alongside them in this cause. After a few suggestions, I have been sobered to the fact that their is not much one can do but be faithful and to pray. Therefore, I am asking you to join me in these prayers. Only the Spirit can do the work of the Spirit. I am also sobered as I think back on my own life and how I have rarely had to take much of a stand for the Cross. What we ask of them is so much more than I have ever been asked. To put myself in their shoes is hard to imagine, but even then I find some sympathy knowing that I have never been asked to deny father, mother, brother or sister for the name of Jesus.

Please Pray! (I saw this little guy yesterday)