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