Touring Kitale

Tumerudi Nairobi na tutaenda tena. We have returned to Nairobi and we are going again!

And yet today begins a different journey. The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. Today I have a smudge of ashes on my forehead as a reminder of the journey we take to strengthen our faith. It seems appropriate that it comes in between two journeys to visit places that I might be living for the next few years. After these trips I will need to decide which one. The decision seems a bit daunting at the moment, but I hope it will become clear.

I thought I would take you along the journey we had to Kitale last weekend via a few photos.

One option for traveling to Kitale - via matatu - or a mini-bus / van.
Our mode of transport - the easy coach. Still affordable, runs on a schedule (rather than when seats are filled) & assigned seats, which means no overcrowding, which is often experienced on the matatus.
The morning commute in Nairobi. We walked to the bus station - about 40 min from where we are staying. The weather here has been beautiful, around 80 degrees, usually sunny, but with occasional rains.
We drove through the Rift Valley, a famous geological area.
And by a former volcano, Mt Longonot
And by a few lakes, including Lake Naivasha. Note the white soda along the shoreline. Both salt and soda, which is exported for use in glass making, are collected from a series of soda lakes in the area.
Fellow travelers
The contested 2007 elections in Kenya brought fighting between two parties in early 2008, which resulting in displaced people living in camps. A coalition government was formed and is working on a new constitution before the 2012 election.

Many homes have iron sheeting for roofing, but we still saw many with thatched roofs.

Early morning market outside Kitale.
The Kitale area is known for maize (corn). These grain bins could be seen for miles.
One of the highlights of the weekend was visiting the mission sights of our co-missioners. Russ works at a center that helps kids at risk for living a life on the streets get into schools and maintain connection with their families.

We met the kids right before they left for the weekend at home with their families. We interrupted lunch, but they were happy to see us.
While the first group of children were being delivered home, the remaining ones and I did a little dancing before the vehicle came back for them.
Another mission sight is Kiminini Hospital, providing quality care at a low cost.
One of my favorite sights was the donkey cart, so I'm thankful John captured a photo of one.
John & Cindy by the Kitale Cathedral
Kitale has a number of supermarkets that seem to have just about anything we would need.
And finally, wrapping up with a bit of local wildlife!

Thanks for continuing to follow my adventures. Early tomorrow we are off to Mombasa. I'm excited to see the city, which has a long history, the Indian Ocean, my fellow missioners there, and find what possibilities there are for my work.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, continuing renewal of spirit and a sacred time of reflection this Lent-
Mary

Off to see Kitale! Tunaenda kuona Kitale!

I'm leaving shortly to see Kitale - one of the places I could live and work after language school.

Here's my first newsletter & a few photos:

11th Feb 2010


Dear Friends and Family,

Habari za Marekani? What is the news from America? This is my first newsletter from Kenya and I am still determining the best way to send you news from here.

Today marks 6 weeks since I left my parents' home in Iowa for Kenya. The opportunity to be living in a new country and learning a new language can be overwhelming – both in gratitude and in the newness of it all. I want to thank all of you who have supported me in my decision to come, in the preparation, especially while leaving many of you in the LA area last summer, and now while I am overseas.

Although most of my time thus far has been dedicated to learning Swahili, a recent moment of grace for me was in a slum called Mathare. We were invited there by Sister Elizabeth, of the Contemplative Missionary Movement of P. De Foucald. Her community lives there and offers children a clean and safe place to play and learn. We visited their Sunday school classes where the children sang and danced to make us feel welcome. One of their teachers was a local university student who spends her Sundays there to teach the children their worth as people and that something good can come from the slum. She had the vijana (youth) sing a song of blessing for us, with hand motions of sprinkling us with their blessings as they named each one of us.
Singing for the visitors. We sang Jesus Loves Me for them.

These are the primary school children. They organized a chaotic little dance for us. The little girl in front kept looking at me and shyly smiling. Precious!

A Race for Peace was held this Saturday in Kibera, Nairobi's most famous slum and one place of post-election violence in 2008. The motto of the day was “Upholding a Culture of Peace in Kibera.” The day started with the 13-16 year-old girls running, many barefoot and in skirts, but at speeds humbling for me.


These next two weekends, my co-missioners (and friends) John & Cindy and I will be traveling to Kitale and Mombasa to meet the bishops and ascertain where we will do our ministry for at least the next 3 years. I am both excited and nervous to see what the future will hold. The next time I write you, I should know where my new home will be!

Thank you again for all of your prayers, support, letters and emails. I hope you all know that you are loved. May we grow in our compassion for each other and our gratitude for the many gifts life brings.

Peace to you and to our world,
Mary
Our weekend entertainment ... scrabble scramble. Fausta is learning English, so kept a list of new words.
A day out with our fellow missioner!

Celebrations … Karamu

I've been to four different celebrations in the past few weeks.

Kwanza (1^st) – On the 19^th, we joined the Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers from all over Africa for a panel discussion, Mass and an incredible meal. Three of the guys celebrated the 25^th anniversary of their ordination – an inspiration to reflect on their lifetime commitment to serving the poor in a land far away. One joked that we would be celebrating 25 years for me … in 25 years.

So many times in life, we can go through the motions without being present. One of the gifts of living far away is the vividness of life. On this occasion, the way the words were spoken expressed how much the celebrant cared about what he was truly celebrating. The gospel story shared was of the multiplication of bread and fish to feed thousands. During this story, the disciples come to Jesus and tell him what they have is not enough. Fr Rick talked about how many times in his life he had felt that he didn't have enough to do what was being asked of him. I wish I could share with you this sense of trust that I felt. Trust in being at the right place, being honored to follow in the steps of some of these men, and knowing that I might not seem to have enough, but that there is always hope and faith and love to get us through those times

One of my Maryknoll friends, Fr Ed Davis

Pili (2^nd) - The tour books tell you that there is not much to see or do in the slums, but for many Nairobians, it is home. One of the churches served by Fr John Lange, a Maryknoll priest, is in a new slum, called KPA for Kenya Port Authority. It is on the outskirts of town, beyond the industrial area, where the port authority has containers awaiting customs clearance and open land that has now become home for people who cannot afford to live elsewhere.

The dirt road was in “good” condition since the last two weeks have been dry. One of the other priests told me in the rainy season, he can arrive at the church with 5 lbs of mud on each leg. Some stone structures are being built, including a few shops to service the area. Most of what you see is corrugated tin. Small buildings of shiny new metal or that already discolored by time and weather. The church reminded me of a metal barn in Iowa, but Father John had arranged for a stone foundation, so that the people could erect a stronger building as they found the resources.

Walking to Church

Tatu (3^rd) – Friday was one of our Swahili instructor's birthday. We had found out a couple weeks earlier when discussing how traditionally birthdays would not be celebrated, nor for some, even known. She had offered to bring us homemade roasted peanuts, which she eats for breakfast. Our contribution were sodas and mandazi, the local fried bread similar to a doughnut without the hole.

Nne (4^th) – And again tonight we celebrated the birth of another Kenya, a young man of 35, who is preparing for seminary and befriended Cindy and John during his previous visit to Nairobi a couple weeks ago. They bought him a cake and we enjoyed it together tonight with the rhubarb and custard the hostel staff had made for dessert. He told us that he would keep the turquoise ribbon from the cake tied around his wrist until it breaks off, as was tradition for momentous occasions in his tribe. What touched me tonight, was not only the friendliness of himself and his two compadres, but the sincere speech he gave afterwards. Life is such a gift.

This weekend brings not only the birthdays mentioned above, but also two of my oldest friends from childhood and one who was my brother first but also my friend. Happy Birthday to old friends and new: Sylvia, Fredrick, Vicki, Leah, Holly and Mark. =)

Hope you all are staying warm & dry. With warm wishes from Nairobi,

-Mary

Ninajifunza Kiswahili ... I am learning Swahili.

Greetings from Flora Hostel.

I've now finished my second week of Swahili classes. We have two teachers who alternate time with us. Most of our time is learning grammar and general vocabulary, with some time for practicing conversation and comprehension. It seems like my brain is full of new words that I cannot find when I am looking for them.

Cindy & I outside our "shule"

Mwalimu (Teacher) Bill posing with us in our classroom.

Last weekend, three Maryknoll Lay Missioners who have been in Kenya for 22 years all combined met with John, Cindy and I to welcome us to the region and provide us with local orientation. It was great to learn from their experiences and start to get to know them. They are coordinating the site visits that we will do in February to help in our decision about whether we will settle in Kitale or Mombasa for the next three years.

Our MKLM welcoming committee. The drink in front of me is my new favorite: minty pineade. Pureed mint leaves in pineapple-lemonade.

Our welcoming gifts - Kenyan kikoyi from Mombasa.

Language school has occupied most of my time thus far. The three of us have ventured out and walked a couple miles in two different directions to see some of the city and to run errands. We haven't taken any of the local transportation yet, but I am sure it will be an adventure when we do. There are two main types of buses: the matatus, which are about the size of 15-passenger vans, and coach-style buses. Both types provide local transportation, with signs on the front with the number of their route.

A matatu stopped at one of the bus stops in Nairobi.

We have been fortunate to meet other travelers in our hostel. One of the highlights of today was practicing my Swahili with a young woman from Tanzania. She is staying at the hostel, also for three months, but to learn English. I told her that I would bring my dictionary to breakfast tomorrow to facilitate communication! There are many, many nationalities of people both at our language school and at the hostel, including Indonesia, South Sudan, Italy, Australia, Burundi, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Scotland, Ireland, Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Japan, and Kenya, of course. It has been a pleasure to chat with the students learning English during our breaks.

At language school, we have a half hour break in the morning to drink chai. Chai is the Swahili word for tea. And you thought you didn't know any Swahili.... We are served chai, prepared in boiling hot milk, with sugar provided on the side.

John with Mwalimu Sylvia in the outside area where we usually take our chai breaks and chat with other students.

One of the interesting facts about Swahili is that there is no verb for “to have”. Instead “to be with” is used. So in Swahili, I don't have a new sweater, but I am with a new sweater. I bought one today, since Nairobi is cooler than I expected. We walked to a local market, where the vendors each set up a stall with second-hand clothing.

This week I have been saddened by the news from Haiti. I know that many of you reading this blog have made donations to help reduce the suffering there. My prayers are with you who are so inspired and with those who are mourning, coping, struggling, and assisting in Haiti.

This week marked the first birthday of one of my nephews. Being far away gives me extra time to reflect on what it might mean to “be with” instead of “have.” I hope you all find time to be with people you love this week.

Blessings from this side of the ocean!

- Mary

And for comic relief ... a sign on our walk to school. It appears that cars, not owls, hoot in Nairobi.

Karibu to Kenya!

Karibu (Welcome) to Kenya! I haven't learned prepositions in Swahili yet.

We arrived in Nairobi on Saturday afternoon and spent our first night at the Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers house. On Sunday afternoon, we moved into our new home for the next 3 months, the Flora Hostel.

Highlights/first impressions so far:
- There's so much green! The parts of the city I've seen so far seem much more spread out than I expected.
- It's raining intermittently, cool, then hot in the sun, then cool again, then humid.
- Vikki, the Maryknoll Lay Missioner in Nairobi has been so helpful in taking us to all the places we need to get settled and helping us acclimate.
- Fr Doug and Jotham, a Kenyan on staff at the Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers, showed great hospitality in our first stay with them and are both good cooks! The other four priests and seminarian made us feel welcome, too.
- I think Charles and Damianus, the night guards at the Flora Hostel, might be willing to help me practice my Swahili.

Not-so-highlights:
- Jet lag.
- Mosquitoes.

A little bit about my new home:
It's a property in town with several buildings, run by Italian nuns. I have a small bedroom & bathroom in one of the main buildings at the end of the hall so it's very quiet and I hear the rain well. There seems to be a variety of nationalities of people staying here from the other guests I saw at dinner – African, Indian, and European. There's a room down the hall with a sink for us to wash our laundry and indoor clotheslines. We eat in a separate building at 7:30 am, 1 pm and 6:45 pm. Mass is available in their chapel every day in English at 6:30 am (being that I'm waking up at 4 am, I might make it!) and on Sunday in English and Swahili. Our first meal was dinner last night of soup, chicken, cooked greens, cabbage/carrot salad, rice, and potatoes. I don't think I'll go hungry!

It is fitting that we ended our long journey on the day, we as Catholics, remember the journey of the three magi, who came seeking a newborn ruler they did not know. We come, also seeking Christ, in a land we do not know, but also hoping to follow his way and to carry the Love that we have known into this new place, into new relationships, and into the nitty gritty of life.

A few first impressions of Nairobi in pictures:
An interesting Santa greeted us as we left the airport.
And some fake elephants added to the ambiance as we drove into Nairobi.
But more interesting was the giraffes - yes, these are real - along the road from the airport in a national park.
Some first glimpses of Nairobi show a modern city.
Lots of green trees & plants - a beautiful place.
My room in the Flora Hostel
Karibu!

Wishing you all the same sense of being loved
Mary

Arrived!

Hi all, Just a quick post to say I'm here! Tomorrow we will be settling into our new home (through April) for language school.

Wishing you all a wonderful and grace-filled 2010,
Mary

Here We Go!

Winter in Ossining NY, photo courtesy of John Korb

In many Christian traditions, advent is celebrated as a time of preparation for Christmas. It is a time of waiting to relive anew the mystery of a God who loves so much that he must be with us and teach us how to live.

This year, my advent includes another type of preparation - for leaving a place and people I know and love and - for arriving in a new place that I hope to grow to love and people I hope to fall in love with as I learn their struggles and try to walk with them on their journey.

Last week was one of both dreams & details: from selling my car & packing my things to the heart-moving moments of saying farewell to a sacred time & place and people who have touched me by their experiences, their love of others and their commitment to join me on this journey.

I now have two weeks with my family in the Midwest. Besides trying to soak up every moment with family & friends, I am finalizing my packing and the other details when you leave the country for a few years. I leave Iowa on Dec 31st, New York on Jan 1st and arrive in Nairobi on the 2nd.

For those of you who are the praying type, I'll take any prayers you have that I might stay centered in this transition. For others, I'll take any good wishes - and comments on the blog are always appreciated. To all, I am grateful for this chance to go and yet to be connected to you still at home, even if only through our thoughts of each other. I hope somehow to maintain connections through emails, an occasional text message or letter, and this online journal.

My co-missioners - the Maryknoll Class of 2009. Left to Right
Sr Genie is off to Tanzania, Sr Anastasia to China, Erica and Nan to El Salvador, Sr Laura to Panama, Minh to Bolivia, John & Cindy to Kenya, Lindsay to Cambodia, and me.

The Maryknoll Lay Missioners have a Commitment Ceremony, in which we sign a covenant with the organization that we will faithfully serve the poor in the country to which we are assigned through May 2013.

The culmination of the orientation is our Sending Ceremony. We began by carrying in symbols of our country of assignment. Mine was a small sculpture of a Kenyan woman at work grinding corn, in the back left.

Watch a few moments on YouTube by clicking here >>> Sending Ceremony

After we are called forth by former missioners in the language of our new country (Swahili for Kenya), we are given a mission cross and blessed by the organization leadership.

One fun tradition is the ringing of bells to send off missioners. This was started the first year Maryknoll sent 4 men to China in 1918 with the more solemn ringing of one bell. Now the entire community rings bells and noise-makers as a more festive tribute.

I was delighted that my parents came for the Sending Ceremony and were able to meet the other missioners & their families.

The "Kenya Klub" - Cindy, John & I wish we could take Sister Paula & Sister Noel with us in our suitcases. They are absolutely delightful and combined spent 81 years in Kenya. They offered us lots of insight about what to expect and kept us laughing & reminded us of why we are going.

The original bell which rang for the first missioners. We sent each other off on Sunday as each car drove away with bells ringing - and probably woke up the neighbors. I was the last one to leave, but one of our fellow missioners now on staff at Bethany was there to ring the bell for me.

Here we go.