A DAY TRIP TO NAIROBI

A Purchaser’s Trip to Nairobi

 

Many of you have asked what the driving conditions are like here in Nairobi so I thought I would take you along with me on one of my trips to town.

Here are a few shots of the vehicle I drive. It is a Toyota van with a 5 speed transmission,

In order to accommodate all of the products I will be collecting, I have requested that seats be removed to provide more space. I have my two crates and a cooler that go with me. The crates are to keep things from rolling around in case of sudden stops (which there are many) the cooler is for perishable items brought home from the grocery store.

 

 

Our first sight is the gate to get off campus and access Kijabe road which will take me to the A-104 highway that takes me into Nairobi.  My first stop is to pick up a passenger.

 

This is John Karanga. He is my co-worker and shares many trips into town with me. John is from Kijabe. He works in the school arcade, goes into town to work to work on immigration issues for the staff and students and pastors a local church plant in the IDP (internally displaced people) camp formed after the violence of the previous elections; He is married and has two children. I drop John off downtown so that he gets a quicker start on his day. If not he would need to take several matatus (taxi’s) and his journey would be twice as long.

 

 

Here is a look at Kijabe road. The first obstacle is the tunnel. As you can see, there is barely enough room for my van to pass through. You can see the car trying to enter from the other side and sometimes these situations result in a Mexican standoff with neither party willing to back out of the tunnel. This time, the driver realized I had entered into the tunnel area and had no room to reverse out (I will explain that later) so he “graciously” allowed me passage through the tunnel first. Now we are heading up the hill towards the highway. Potholes are not uncommon, in fact they are more the norm on this road and learning to drive through this minefield is a challenge and the terrain changes daily. Also we need to deal with the other modes of transportation used locally to get there goods to the dukas (stores).

 

Now we are on the highway! The first half of the trip in is fairly uneventful with traffic moving at a fair pace. We do pass two police checks on our trip (sorry no pics of that) but Because we are in a school van they allow us to pass without stopping.

As we approach the first roundabout, traffic comes to a halt while drivers navigate there way through the roundabout with an “every man for himself” attitude. There are police present to assist traffic from backing up, but more times than not, they only cause more confusion.

 

Now we are in downtown Nairobi. I have some pictures for you to see and you will notice the donkey carts and “man” carts are as effective as automobiles as they have the same rights to the road. I won’t bore you with the details of my stops this day, but I wanted to show you  the sights.

Sometimes I underestimate the amount of things I am collecting and am forced to improvise.

Finally I am on the way home, back up the highway! I needed to make one last stop before going home to pick up some groceries and to use the ATM

to get some cash. I snuck this picture of the guard at the ATM and yes, that is an AK-47! Does that make you feel safe?






Further up the highway after leaving downtown Nairobi, you can see the roadside vendors are now open for business!

 

 

Finally it is back down Kijabe road across the one lane bridge, through the pothole minefield and through the tunnel, almost home! I wanted you to see why I mentioned I could not reverse out of the tunnel. Here is the view as you come through the tunnel on the way back. The mudslides last year devastated this area. The white rocks are meant to be a warning and you can see why they are there!

I am safely back on campus and just need to unload my van and return it to the vehicle shop. I hope you enjoyed this look at a trip to town. I had fun doing it. And for you statistics people…. The total mileage was 146 km and the total trip time was 6.5 hours!

Blessings,

Steve

Update December 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

 
We are finishing up this year’s annual Eastern Africa Regional Conference. It has been really an amazing time. 2 Corinthians - God's Grace is Sufficient - Paul mourns over the corruption going on in Corinth and writes of how he rebukes them for Christ. Paul wants us to remember, in our daily strife we need to continue to yield fully to the Gospel - keeping our focus on the investment Jesus made for us by giving His all for me at the cross. Felt like a slap in the face - how we choose to let our weariness take over our life. Also there were workshops - one on 'being a disciple' - another slap - just loving others isn't enough we need to disciple them to be disciples. We need to be more available to share God's truth.
 

Well we are comforted by this time of refreshment and teaching - meeting people from all over Kenya and Tanzania - learning how the 'real missionaries' face struggles and have victories for the gospel all at once. How when we are weakened enough we are more accepting of God's Grace. It is a great encouragement to see this reality in life. Not just assuming we are the only ones feeling discouraged and weary.

 

Thoughts and prayers in the aftermath of the West Gate mall tragedy

Please note: This was written one week after the attack at Westgate Mall but due to the craziness of our lives recently, I was never able to post it.

 

It has been a crazy week here with all that has happened in Nairobi. There has been unbelievable turmoil and devastation as the events surrounding the siege at West Gate Mall. Many here in Nairobi are saying that this is the equivalent to their “9/11” that will rally this country to be unified across political parties to work for the better good of Kenya. I truly pray that that will prove to be true. 

The events at West Gate mall have hit home for so many here at RVA. It is the most western style mall here and one that most if not all of the staff frequented on a regular basis. It truly was designed to provide all your needs under one roof. There were cafes and restaurants to eat at, movie theaters, groceries, communication providers, pharmacies and clothing stores as well as a branch of every major bank in Kenya. These amenities made the mall attractive to ex-patriots as well as the upper echelon of Kenya.

Unfortunately, we have learned that this made the mall an attractive soft target for Al-Shabbab forces to attack. The events that unfolded that day were truly horrendous. The death toll stands at 67 which are expected to rise as the authorities dig through the rubble that was once the mall. As of today, there are 61 people reported as missing and about 250 others who sustained injuries that they will survive.

 

How will those who were at the mall be able to put this behind them and move on?

They have lost so much physically and emotionally. Here at RVA we were enjoying Titchie field day, a day where the school celebrates our elementary school-aged students with field games and events. Along with that, the seniors were hosting a “Senior Store” day where they serve lunch and other goodies to raise money for their senior safari later this year. Julia was busy serving as manager of the specialty food service and was fully involved in that process. Around 1:30 PM word began to circulate about what was happening at West Gate, only 45 kilometers from our campus. Immediately the school implemented many of the contingency plans we have trained on over and over. The campus was full of guests and family members so we needed to work quietly to keep from raising unnecessary alarm. First, we needed to account for everyone, who was on campus and who was not. We were charged with verifying the whereabouts of all our dorm girls and their families. We quietly spoke to those who had plans to return to their homes in Nairobi and advised them to use an alternate route and avoid the Westland’s area where the mall was located. Next we called the families that had left campus and advised them of the situation. We came to realize that three RVA students and their families were at the mall at the time of the attack and were still inside the building. One family managed to work their way out quickly but the other two remained inside for many hours and one family had to play dead for awhile when the terrorists were in near proximity. We are thankful that they all were eventually led to safety. We did however, have one student who lost three extended family members in the attack. The entire campus is grieving with him as he mourns family members killed in the attack.

 

So what lessons can we take from this vicious attack?

First and foremost, we must remember who is ultimately in control.

We have spent this entire week reminding the students of the promises God has made to never leave nor forsake us. We have used chapel times, dorm times and Sunday’s services to do just that. We will continue to pray for those affected by this tragedy especially those in our own RVA family. We will pray for other school communities as they have suffered far greater injuries and loss of life. We are trying to find ways to reach out to them and share the love of Jesus.

 From a practical standpoint, when we go to town, we will always have a fully charged cell phone (or two) and enough cell credit to make any necessary calls. We will ALWAYS make sure someone on campus knows where we are headed and how to get in touch with us. We will NEVER separate from each other as we have done in the past and we WILL be efficient in what we have to do and then return to the safety of campus.

When I travel for school, I will make sure my plans for the day are known to the administrative team including where I am going and what times I expect to be in that area. I will try not to travel alone and be diligent to finish as quickly as possible.

 As we have witnessed the events of this week, we have seen the resiliency of the Kenyan people as they joined together to meets the needs of all. The long lines at all blood donation centers set-up throughout the country was just one testimony to their unification. We will continue to pray for healing for this nation as they attempt to move forward. It has been an emotional week for us all, but we rest assured that we are in the hands of the One who created us.

 We want to leave you with the lyrics of the Kenyan national anthem as our prayer for all of Kenya.

V1    O God of all creation
Bless this our land and nation
Justice be our shield and defender
May we dwell in unity
Peace and liberty
Plenty be found within our borders.

V2    Let one and all arise
With hearts both strong and true
Service be our earnest endeavor
And our homeland of Kenya
Heritage of splendor
Firm may we stand to defend.

V3    Let all with one accord
In common bond united
Build this our nation together
And the glory of Kenya
The fruit of our labor
Fill every heart with thanksgiving

Greetings from RVA,

 We returned safely and without any travel issues. The following day, Janine went to a faculty meeting while I went to work to wade through weeks of paperwork awaiting my return. The next two days were filled by all day staff meetings. Throughout these days we struggled with adjusting back to Kenya’s time zone and fighting off jet lag. Thursday was an off-day which allowed us to travel into Nairobi to get supplies for our house as well as Janine’s cooking classes. We left very early to beat the crowds and so that we could return early enough to decorate the dorm for the girls. Friday all new students to RVA arrived with their parents for a day of orientation. We have 5 girls in our dorm who are new to RVA and to boarding school as well. On Saturday, their parents left and all the returning students arrived on campus. All together, we have 12 girls living in our dorm ranging in age from 11 to 13 years-old.

 

We have now been back in school for 1 week. Our week has been filled with teaching classes (Janine), town trips for me (3 in one week) and Julia diving into her classes.






The girls have not yet settled into a routine and we still have many things to work out. It seems hard to believe that these 7^th grade girls seem so much younger than the eighth grade girls we cared for last year, but they really are. In many ways, that works to our advantage. Janine is trying really hard to establish a bedtime routine that allows her to visit with each room, review the day and talk about what is on their minds, and pray with them before they go to sleep. We have been able to establish phone parameters from day one that took us most of the year last year to establish. We are praying that their access to technology is managed so that they truly benefit from what is available. We realize that we will need to be much more hands on this year and we are looking forward to investing in the girls lives and teaching them to live in a Christ-like manner.

 

This weekend was filled with welcome back events for the students. Friday night we had our first dorm night, which is a chance for us to just be with the girls and learn a little about them. We had a fairly extensive menu planned but circumstances prevented all our prep work from being completed. Our inside worker, Margaret was injured in an auto accident that required her to be hospitalized and have surgery to repair injuries she received. She was discharged late Friday evening and is home with her family. Please join us in praying for her complete healing from the injuries she received.

 


 Janine worked diligently to prepare all afternoon and the girls had a great time and were very grateful. I helped Janine a little but had to leave to go coach basketball for the 7^th and 8^th grade girls. I will use my Upwards experience to coach while connecting on a new level with all the junior high girls. 

 

 Saturday brought us to our first big event, “Splash Day”. This is a day designed for all junior high students to travel together for a day of swimming and fun at a school in Nairobi that allows us to rent their swimming facilities for this event. The drive in was a bit difficult as we drove through clouds and rain, navigated many broken-down vehicles and generally dealt with heavy traffic. We prayed for the sun to show and later in the day it did! The girls all had fun and Janine and I enjoyed the trip as well.

 

 

Sunday the entire campus went to church in Kijabe at the local Africa Inland Church( AIC) located directly across the street from our service gate. This allows us to fellowship with the local community and support the many ministries they are involved with. Because this service is early in the morning, it allows us time to recharge and prepare for the coming week.

We hope you enjoyed our update. We miss all of you !

 

All our love,

Steve, Janine Julia and Lizzy too!

A New beginning

Happy New Year everyone! We have been busy and it is time to bring you all up to speed.

At the end of November, the school term ended and all the girls moved out of the dorm and went home to spend Christmas with their families. Before they left, we had a "dorm family" Christmas celebration with the girls that included a dinner we all prepared together, a secret santa gift exchange and a late-night showing of that wonderful Christmas Classic "Elf"

We stayed on campus and eagerly awaited Lizzy's arrival for a Christmas holiday of our own here in Kijabe. The weather was not vey cooperative as we experienced more rain than anticipated and the evenings were damp and cold. And this is supposed to be our warm, dry season! We did not care as we just spent time together as a family and that is okay with us.

On Christmas Eve we participated in an RVA outreach to people in our local community. We delivered Christmas hampers filled with necessities such as flour, oil, sugar, salt and other items that are used regularly. We visited with familes and prayed for the upcoming year for their specific needs. With all the rain we had experienced, it was a joyfully muddy experience!

The dorm was eerily quiet without our 12, 8th grade girls running around. The maintenance department took care of that though as they decided to do some much needed work in both our living area and the dorm.Workers showed up every day at 8:45 AM and worked through the day scraping, sanding, painting and replacing floor tiles. We cleaned every night trying to keep the dust to a minimum then we realized we were fighting a losing battle but it was a battle we needed to continue since we were living amid the work. Thankfully, that is all behind us now and we are simply dealing with the normal dust issues that come with living at RVA.  :D

Lioness sitting on her kill (zebra)

Best Friends: Cape Buffalo and Rhino grazing together.

 

We did manage to take a day trip to Nakkuru National Park and take a game drive to see the amazing wildlife that lives there. Thanks to Brian Wagner, math teacher and game park guide extrodinaire, we had a blast! I have posted a complete picture catalog at www.mclavertyfamily.smugmug.com  If you have a minute, feel free to enjoy the pictures we managed to capture in the park.

                                      Elan: World's largest antelope

Our Christmas holiday was wonderful as we were all together to enjoy it. It was fairly uneventful and Julia found the pickle again this year! We enjoyed visiting with staff members and their families that came to visit. One boy told me he would keep an eye on me in the arcade store as he did not think I was responsible enough to handle the store! I hope that I can grow into that responsibility some day.  :D

The new term is now underway. With the Kenyan elections scheduled for early March, most activities  and sporting events have been front loaded this term. If the election does not have a peaceful outcome, we will be able to stay within campus limits and still function as normally as possible. Our administrative team is doing a great job of keeping us in the loop of contingency plans and safety precautions.

Thank you for continuing to pray for us. We appreciate each and every one of you!