Life on the streets

Apparently 416 people have died so far this year on Nairobi streets.  That's equivalent to 1.57 people per day!  The majority of these have been pedestrians which is one of the reasons why we do get out and do much walking here.

I had first hand experience of the type of bizarre crashes that happen on a regular basis here just before I returned to the UK in the summer.

The photo shows the improvised repairs to our boundary wall that I had to carry out after a 4x4 crashed through the wall surrounding our compound at 5 o'clock one morning!

Please pray that drivers will be more patient and careful on the road and for our protection as we go about our daily lives.

Home assignment and heading home

Our first home assignment is nearing an end. It has been really wonderful to catch up with so many lovely people. Thank you for all making it such an enjoyable time. The whole family have taken part in sharing our MAF adventure in Kenya. The children thoroughly enjoyed speaking at various schools and churches in front of hundreds of people. #naturalspeakers  From London to the Manchester moors, church halls to school assemblies, from late night meals with friends to favourite restaurants we have been privileged to share God's amazing blessings and work.

 

We should have landed back in Kenya last Wednesday but a couple of weeks ago Maz's mum was rushed into hospital and given only hours to live. It has been quite a roller coaster of a time since then. We have learned to see God's miracles firsthand and to look for the smallest of miracles as well as the big ones too. We have learned that our hope has to come from knowing God and trusting that He always has the very best planned for us. 

Mum is making progress and has beaten predictions. Two weeks on she has sat up for 5 mins and even taken short walks out of bed. Small steps I know but progress all the same and we continue to look for more. It says in the bible that the joy of The Lord is our strength. So we continue to look for joy in everything; from a comfortable bed to great nurses to Costa coffees at the hospital. 

Thank you so much for all your prayers. We are looking forward to going home and sleeping in our own bed (and not one of the 15 others that we have been in. Great as they have been). We will miss  everyone so much but are looking forward to carry on God's work in Kenya. 

Homeward bound

Wow. What an exciting year we have had here in Kenya. Brain scans (yes we do have them!), cracking a head open, a court case, walking with giraffe, hyena, buffalo, hippo, etc, flying in small aircraft, visiting some MAF partners to see their work, started new jobs, started new schools and much much more. God is so faithful. We have lots of stories and adventures to tell of our first year here as we journey back to the UK for our home assignment. 

If you would like to hear our stories and the work of MAF some of our public speaking engagements are:  

12th July.10.30  Kings Sutton Baptist Church

2nd August. 10.30 Witney Cimmunity Church. 

9th August 6.30pm Welcome Evangelical Church. 

We would love to see you and catch up. If we don't see you this time, thank you for all of your support and we look forward to catching up on our next trip home. 

Cake experiment number five: The results

At last a delicious Victoria sponge cake made at high altitude. Thanks to my friend in Nairobi who gave me a different recipe and my friend Deb in the UK who showed me a great website all about high altitude cooking. 

It's all about the liquid to solid ratio, the heating of the oven and the amount of air escaping from the cake!  So there we go. You can all come over for afternoon tea now and we will be sorted. 

You won't believe it: Cake experiment number 4

It was all going so well. 

New recipe, high sided cake tins so the batter couldn't cascade over the edges, the oven only turned off randomly whilst cooking and the grill didn't fall off. 

Beautiful I thought as I put the risen cake on the work surface. Wow. I had cracked it!  I was so pleased. I just needed to cook the other half before taking a picture for evidence. 

Wiping the crumbs off the work surface, my hand caught on the wire rack the cake was cooling in and it fell on the floor!  Disaster!  

So I have my photo evidence of my 'risen, slightly squashed but I'm sure it will taste fine with jam' cake!  

Nairobi floods

I understand the BBC have reported the floods that we have experienced here in Nairobi over the past few days.   Tragically nine people lost there lives in the floods which took place in the most torrential rain I have ever experienced.

Having grown up in South Wales I am very familiar with rain!  The amount of rain, and the sheer deluge of the rain in the past few days however has really astounded me.  After several months of drought the long rains season has now being going on for around a month.  These rains aren't the days of drizzle that I remember from my youth but torrential downpours and thunderstorms nearly every night.  At first I was amazed at how quickly the water disappeared into the parched soil but after several weeks the water has no where left to go, hence the floods.

The floods have brought with them an addition hazard, with a Cholera outbreak hitting the city, especially in the slums.  Maz and the kids received a vaccine today and I will follow suit tomorrow evening. 

                                                                                                                                                           

This is a wonderful country but overcrowded cities such as Nairobi cannot cope with rain like this. Please pray for a temporary let up in the rains, for those whose property has been damaged or loved-ones killed and for an end to the Cholera outbreak.  

Oh that hurts!

Sometimes it is worth having the injections for the treat afterwards!