Merry Christmas to you all!!

Christmas 2009 – Who would have predicted I’d be wishing all my friends and family a Merry Christmas from Africa?! It is unbelievable to me, but I am in Kenya and shall enjoy the Christmas festivities available here. I’m not saying I will breeze through the season without being a little homesick, but I shall try!

Sorry about my last blog being so disjointed, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Will try to send the bride and grooms picture along with this blog.

Yesterday I went for a visit to Kipsongo. It is considered the slum area of Kitale and is the home of the majority of the street children. Because Trudy and I are of white skin, we were stopped by a Kipsongo policeman who asked us to leave. The other people with us talked to him of why we were there, so he finally allowed the visit to continue. I guess what has been happening before is white people go to the slums, take photos of the destitute lifestyle/homes there, go back to their country and ask for money to help improve this area/lifestyle but pocket the money for themselves.

We went to Kipsongo slum to visit the children from Mercy and Caring Home who had gone ‘home’ for a week’s visit, as it is their summer break. We met their parents or relatives who they were staying with and chatted with the children. I will post a couple of photos which I was able to take only because the people in them wanted me to take their picture, otherwise I would not have taken any photos there for reasons of respectability. As you look at the photos, you will see mud huts and plastic bagged little homes the people live in. Even though they have little hope of a better life, they are an incredibly welcoming bunch of people. One old gentleman shook my hand and said, “Oh, you’re from Canada, but are you Swedish?” Guess my blonde hair and fair skin gave him the idea. I wanted to take home all those little children with big brown eyes looking up at me while holding my hand or stroking my white skin. Maybe next time!

Today Trudy, Dane and I went to the baby clinic at the local hospital to meet little baby Dane, and is he ever adorable! Pastor Antony and his wife Mary Stella had a son about a week ago and named him after Dane Ruck. What an honor! Think I already told you that a calf has also been named after Dane!

We now have another chicken and named it Candice Ann (the children from the orphanage chose the name). I was invited to my friend’s house. She is the mother of one of the farm workers at MCCH and she and I have just clicked probably because we’re the same age. She speaks no English; I speak no Swahili, but we hug and laugh and shake hands. She and her family made tea and scrambled eggs for my visit. As I left, she honored my visit by handing me this little chicken, only two months old, which I carried home on the matatu. I introduced ‘Candice Ann’ to ‘Fred’, who wasn’t all that friendly to her!

I have mentioned before that no street, path, floor, sidewalk is even where we live. As I am not that steady walking, I have always been watching where I’m going, and Trudy, Dane, Candice and David have been so used to me grabbing onto their arm for help. On the way to my friend’s house with her son walking next to me, I tripped on the gravel and did a total face plant! He helped me to my feet as I realized blood was dripping off my face. Had just bought three new hankies the day before, so grabbed them out of my purse, dabbed my face and continued on our way. I felt shaken up all day, but was so thankful I ended with only a cut fat lip, very sore and loose front tooth, one sore knee and a bruised ego! One day shy of three months here – I’m surprised it had not happened before.

I have received so many birthday and Christmas cards/wishes from family and friends. I want you to know how much they mean to me, especially this year. I got an envelope yesterday from Ms. Knecht’s Grade 5 class from Gibsons Elementary full of pictures that each student had drawn of Christmas activities or life/wildlife in Africa and a Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas letter written on the back. They each asked a question about life in Africa, so I thought you all would enjoy knowing a little bit more information about Kenyan life.

Jackie – Yes, I know several people who have had malaria and children do get it, too. There are pills you can buy when you’ve contacted malaria that will make you well. You know when you have malaria – there are signs to watch for and you need to get immediate medical attention. I take a malaria prevention pill daily and will continue to take it for a month after I leave Kenya. You get malaria from a bite from an African mosquito. That is why everybody here sleeps under a mosquito net, as the mosquitoes usually come out late afternoon and during the night. And, no, there is no vaccine for malaria. I am sure scientists are working on a malaria vaccine as many people do die from it yearly.
Colin – The time difference here is 11 hours ahead of you in Gibsons. I have not seen one snake since I arrived here but I understand there are big long black ones in our guava plantation and I have no intention of going there!
Jeremy – I have not seen a lot of African wildlife. Other than monkeys, I think a person would have to go on a Safari or to a wildlife park to see the wildlife. Maybe I’m not in the right area of Africa to see giraffes, rhinos, elephants, etc.
Dawson – They do celebrate Christmas here but it is definitely not as commercialized as Canada/USA. There are a lot of Muslims living here, though, and they do not celebrate Christmas. The majority of people in our area of Kenya have not heard of Santa Claus.
McKenzie – Yes, it’s hot here! The sun is always directly overhead so my head gets very hot. In Kenya, the people eat a lot of maize (corn, but not ‘peaches and cream’ or sweet), both whole and ground, beans, peas, tomatoes, kale, spinach, carrots, rice, squash, potatoes. Very little meat is eaten except for kuku (you know, ‘Fred’!).
Nicholas S – It does rain here often but it is different than B.C. rain. It pours, and I mean hard, for about 20 minutes, then the sun comes out and dries the water up. Everyone is so used to the heavy rain that they run for cover anywhere and stay there until it stops raining.
Nicholas A – The children who live at the orphanage were chosen because they had lost one or both of their parents and lived in extremely poor conditions or came from a family who were so poor they could not take care of their children. There are no welfare payments or financial government help for families in need in Kenya, and with 40% to 60% unemployment there are lots of poor families.
Bailee – There are approximately 90 children at the orphanage, but MCCH also services several home-based children, which mean they go home to sleep but are fed and go to school at the orphanage, as their families are very poor.
Luke – Yes, there are super markets here, and pharmacies, hardware stores and other necessary services plus outdoor booths at markets everywhere.
Marvin – I have made lots of new friends here, both young and old. I really enjoy the older Kenyan women. A lot of the grandmas here are raising their grandchildren because the children’s parents have died of aids. I am always referred to as ‘mom’ because of my age. This happens in the stores, on the street, just anywhere – a sign of respect.
Sophie – Sorry, I have not seen one giraffe! I wish they were just hanging around here but they are not. However, we have just been told of a wildlife part not far from here which has giraffes, rhinos, elephants and ostriches you can ride, so hopefully in the next couple of weeks we will take a jaunt there.
Gabriel – I actually don’t think there are rattle snakes here in Kenya. I am over my snake phobia now! I did hear this story just this week that up in Lodwar, a very hot and dry part of Kenya where scorpions live, there are snakes big enough to kill a cow. They wrap themselves around the cow and squeeze until the cow dies. Then they feed on it.
Charlie – I am going to investigate on whether there are any caves here. I will let you know about that later.
Neil – The critters (cockroaches, crickets, geckos) get in my room usually because the window is open or from holes between the floor and the wall. I keep my window closed most of the time.
Jordan N – Yes, how is Fred! Well, actually, Fred has been injured and can barely walk. We don’t know if another rooster and Fred had a fight or what happened. But he’s in pain – maybe – let’s just say his pain will be eliminated on December 23rd!
Elly – Did I ever tell you that your mother and my son went to school together?!
Charlotte – No, haven’t seen any rhinoceros. I’ll keep looking.
Claire – How is your musical cheese play coming along?
Darby – Yes, the sunsets here are beautiful, and I understand they are exceptionally gorgeous in the month of January.
Scout – No, I have not had a ride on a giraffe. Candice and David did ride a camel. Where we live there are no lakes or swimming pools.
Liam – I saw some zebras as we drove from Nairobi to Kitale, but other than zebras and monkeys there doesn’t appear to be any wild animals around here.
Jordan M – No, haven’t seen any elephants.
James – Yes, our dinner on December 23rd will be tasty. I understand you’re going to eat chicken that night, too, in honor of Fred! I will just have to enjoy eating chicken and not think about who the chicken was!
Jarred – Yes, I remember you hitting the teddy bear around my yard!!
Quinton – The children’s hair are cut so short to prevent lice and probably because of the heat and hygiene.
Megan – Thank you for the compliment. I miss you all, too.
Lauren – No, they do not eat bats here. I haven’t seen any bats here either.

Thank you again, Ms. Knecht’s Grade 5 class and Ms. Knecht, for the interesting letters and fantastic drawings. I hope to attach a photo of the wall in my bedroom that now is covered with all your artwork. My bedroom is quite cheerful now!

I also hope to put these photos on the blog:
· me riding on a piki piki (motorcycle). It will be from the front only. The rear-end photo was not pretty!
· the bride and groom from the ‘wedding’ blog entry
· photos from my visit to Kipsongo
· photo of Dane Ruck holding little baby Dane
· photo of Dane the calf

Cannot believe Christmas and my birthday are just a day or so away. I will be thinking of each one of you and wish you a blessed Christmas.

Wedding, etc.

(I wrote this over several days so it is really scrambled!)

The big excitement this week is the wedding. Dan and Irene, both employees from MCCH, are getting married Saturday, December 5^th. It is supposed to start at 10:00 a.m., but we have learned that even “Roberts Creek Time” seems more predictable than “Kenyan Time.” So we won’t leave home until noon. I asked our host family if the wedding ceremony itself will be kind of short, and the answer was “oh no – it takes the bride at least one hour to walk down the aisle, then the introduction and speeches of all the guests, etc. ...” So we’re looking at a day’s event on hard chairs, but it will so interesting. Will tell more about it after I’ve gone.

We were invited to the Fundraiser ceremony for Dan‘s and Irene’s wedding, and it was quite lengthy but so entertaining (dancing girls, singing by a choir, speeches from every uncle, aunt, both sets of parents, cousins, sisters and brothers of both families – and they’re big families! – each gift was presented in groups, the parents group, the siblings, down to the neighbors turn to walk up to the bride and present their gift). Right in the middle of the whole service, the rains came, and when they come, it pours! But that did not stop the ceremony. Kenyans don’t get in a flap – they just continue as usual. So our meal was served in a little mud hut while waiting for the rains to stop. I was handed a whole cooked chicken as I was one of the special guests. I was to help myself then share it around. We had chicken and rice, which was a very special meal. Evidently anyone can attend the wedding and/or fundraiser and eat, and it would be considered rude in Africa to turn any person away without feeding them. People just kept coming from the neighborhood until there was no food left. It is okay to run out of food and not feed someone, but you happily accept anyone who arrives and try to feed them. As we left the fundraiser, our vehicle got stuck in the mud that was quite mucky from the rains. I’m sure the whole community came to see the production it took to get free. Then the matatu that was behind us got stuck – was good to see how Kenyans all work together to solve any problem.

Yesterday was Friday. Candice and I went into Kitale. Our matatu dropped us off right at Lina Moja (mile long), blocks full of little wooden stalls where people sell shoes, clothes, vegetables, fruits – anything you can think of and it’s crowded with shoppers. I bought a dress for $1.50 Canadian. When you’re in the open market place and find a dress you might be interested in, you just try it on ... right there in the middle of the crowd. When we got to the bras, it was very entertaining to see this lady try a bra on over her sweater, her friend did the hooks in the back for her while she adjusted the front part with her hands being sure the cups would be the right size, etc.! I dared Candice to do the same, but she bailed out! Majority of the clothes for sale are from the States/Canada – items that are used or nobody would buy them. It was exciting to see a t-shirt from “The Garden City – Victoria, B.C.”

I have to go back to the e-mail of our bus trip to Uganda. A lady went up to the conductor and obviously told him she needed a bathroom stop. So stop they did and all these people jump off the bus, walk over to the trees and relieve themselves. It’s very common – see it all the time at the side of the road while driving. We have so many inhibitions – they just do these things and no one is interested in looking or makes any comments.

Okay, I have attended the wedding and what fun it was - a true African wedding! It was held at Mercy Home. Dorcas, the very talented tailor who works at MCCH, had made beautiful dresses for the girls and new shirts for all the boys for Christmas, but they were told they could wear them for the wedding. The children looked so lovely, happy and had such a great time. Sure enough the wedding was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. – the wedding party arrived at 2 p.m. and the aisle routine did take an hour, but that’s because they do little dance steps together as they walk 1”, then do the dance steps again – another inch ahead! The procession started with the three little ring bearers, ushers, flower girls, lady attendants m then bride and groom each doing the little dance steps then going ahead one inch. It poured right in the middle of the procession and no one flinches, just proceeds. The bride looked beautiful in her long white dress and train and a crown on her head that lit up. The train is draped over the groom after the vows/rings are done. I won’t go into all the details, but I continue to learn to be patient so I will enjoy what is going on because that’s what you’re there for. We in the West are so busy hustling and bustling here, there and everywhere that even our mind cannot stop sometimes. But here ... better relax because nothing is going to go any faster! I still have to find out what the dowry was Dan had to ‘pay’ as I’ve been told 13 cows, but I think that’s a bit too much!

I have bronchitis now. Went to a doctor here – very professional and gentle. The visit and lab work cost 450 shillings ($6.25 Canadian). The antibiotics cost 1400 shillings ($20 Canadian). It’s a slow week at MCCH as each child has gone “home” (either to their relatives house or to a teachers home) for a week so no children are at MCCH. We have Trudy’s and Dane’s sponsor child, Alphine, here with us. She is so lovely and mature. We are really enjoying her.

Okay, it’s no secret how much I ‘love’ taking the matatus!!! The ‘hill’ used to be my first dislike, but I’ve become so used to climbing it now that it has fallen to number two and these matatu rides are my least favorite. So a matatu stops where we are to be picked up. It’s already full with 15 people in it, but they’ll cram in us five as well. This one had parked so close to the edge of the road where there is about an 8” drop, then the climb up into the matatu – well, I could NOT do it. So they drove down the drop off and told me to get in front (“you.” Then they point to the front seat.) The knees don’t bend, I was carrying a heavy bag and my empty water bottle – well, it took every bit of strength to get up into this matatu. By then my skirt is up around my middle and my face is beat red and dripping wet. Embarrassed and mortified. I know it’s pride – have to love it! And, yes, third are cold showers. Candice said it would keep my humor if I watch my facial expression in the mirror as the cold water hits my body! Tried that this morning after coming out of my toasty bed – not humorous!

The chicken house is being cleaned out so that next week the chickens will be put into their new home. It’s a masterpiece. We have ordered another hundred chicks so we will be in full swing very soon. The greenhouse is now being built. It will house tomatoes especially as there is a huge market for them.

All the secondary students who board away from MCCH have come ‘home’ for the year-end break (all of December) and so have the five college students. It’s been very rewarding to see how the children from MCCH grow up into such well-balanced adults. They enjoy seeing their ‘brothers and sisters’ and give them lots of encouragement and attention while ‘home.’

Are you all hustling around doing Christmas activities? We did buy a little artificial tree that we have decorated and light each night. It’s very hard to relate to Christmas coming. It just is not a big commercial issue here. Stella, the niece of our host family who lives here, had not heard of Santa Claus and she will be in Grade 8 next year, so the “have you been a good girl this year” tradition with Santa just does not happen.

Until next blog entry, hope you’re enjoying your pre-Christmas traditions.

Nancy

Great Time in Uganda, but Happy to be 'Home' in Kenya!

Hi All:

Our trip to Uganda was wonderful, scenery and people different and had lots of experiences. To get there and get back took the majority of each day, so we stayed an extra day. We had a tour the first day, then went back to the places we enjoyed the next day. Highlights:

* as we passed Lake Victoria near Jinja, Uganda, we saw two tributaries coming from the lake and then meeting together to form the start of the Nile River, which then flows to Egypt.
* Brenda, I went by a salon which said they cut 'caucasion' hair, so Trudy and I went in and had our hair cut. Had not found a salon in Kitale which cuts 'mzungu's' hair. Anyway, he asked if I wanted it layered and I said 'yes, and shorter.' Sooooo..... layered it is!! And shorter. Shows the 1 1/2" of grey which has grown out - I'll deal with that soon!!!
* On our way home in the bus we were stopped by the bad police, I think. How you tell them apart is the good police walk around the car then come on board to check things out, and the bad police make the driver come out of the vehicle and interrogate him. Reason I think they were the bad police is the bus helper got 1000 shilling bill, flashing it to us passengers, then gave it to the driver outside. That was it - on our way. That is part of the corruption here that people are just used to.
* A MALL!!! Yes, we went nuts of course! Then came lunch time and David, Candice and I headed to PIZZA HUT - pizza!!! Dane and Trudy went to a hamburger place to eat. Hate to say that pizza was one of the highlights, but it really way.
* Accommodations were fabulous. Huge house with beautiful grounds which we booked as we are a mission group. Candice and I roomed together (she mentioned that I snored - hummm, I'll have to look into that abit more!). We had a lovely western bathroom. Cost $30 US each night for each - not bad.
* Does seem to be differences in the countries. Uganda maybe more progressive. I asked the taxi driver the rate of unemployment there and he said 68%. Mind boggling.
* We went to a market where I bought a little mud hut, thatched roof manger scene with little black baby Jesus, etc. What was special is it was made by adult handicapped artists from Uganda. David bought a drum, Candice a gorgeous shoulder bag, Trudy material for a dress/skirt with African designs, and Dane a very nice shirt.
* We later went to Lake Victoria where David and Candice stuck their feet into the water. It also was in a bay so we never did see Lake Victoria without being in a little landed area.
* Money very confusing (30,000 shillings in Uganda equals 1200 Kenyan shillings). Things were very reasonable.
All in all, it was worth it going. Dane mentioned now we needed to focus again on why we are in Kenya, and I'm still in Vacation mode - can't shake it!!! It will come.

Went to MCCH yesterday and met the 'big kids.' These are students who were raised at the orphanage and now gone on to secondary school or college. Since the school year just ended for everyone, they have now come back 'home' for a month.

I'm a little disappointed in the wild life episodes - there are none! Well, we did see baboons in Uganda, but it seems as though all wild life are in national parks or are so far away from us that we will not see any.

Will hopefully add a couple of photos with this blog. They should be of:
* me getting my hair layered!
* me with my new male friend (haha: it was a statue at the Wildlife National Park for Disabled Animals. I also will add a photo of one of the cows from this park. The large thing hanging down is its stomach! Also a boat from the part which the kids got to ride in. Gershom, who is in the photo as Candice is paddling, had never been in a boat or ferry in his life - little nervous he was. He is the manager of MCCH.
* photo of a matatu (taxi van crammed with people) with live chickens on top!

Tomorrow will be December 1st. Happy Birthday Todd and Kyle (my nephew and son). I was a little 'I want to go home' the other day, but with the help of a friend and more self talk, I'm back on track again and looking forward to December as the kids at MCCH will not have school and we will be doing lots of activities with them. Christmas? There is so little about Christmas surfacing and it's so hot that it is hard to relate to all the Christmas activities going on in your part of the world. So enjoy your shopping and planning.

Love to you,
Nancy

(If photos don't get on this blog it's because I did not connect up with David who has the card reader for out camera chip. I will do it as soon as I can though.)

We're Off to Uganda !!

Hi Everyone:



I have just dropped by the internet cafe after our field trip to Kenya Wildlife Conservatory, a beautifully forested piece of property that houses and maintains deformed animals. There was a cow there with three eyes, four horns and his mouth was on one side of his chin and his teeth on another. Lots of cattle with short legs in the front. We took the grades 1 and 2 from MCCH, and we had a great time.



Before I add a few more interesting tidbits, just to let you know that tomorrow AM we will leave for Eldoret via a Kangaroo Taxi (a van that only holds 7 people). Then we will catch a Kampala Coach Lines bus to Kampala, Uganda. We will stay there Tuesday and Wednesday nights, maybe Thursday as well if we haven't done everything we wanted to do/see. Should be a very interesting trip. Have been told to watch what we eat even closer than here in Kenya, so I'm going to stop by Trans Matt grocery store and load up on rice cakes, peanut butter and water.



Speaking of water, we woke up to no water today - at all. The water company had stopped the water coming into the house and the host family had nothing stored up. So they were trying so hard to get enough water from their little bore hole for us to function in the morning.



Couple of days ago at MCCH - all the sudden one of the cows started giving birth. All the kids watched it, David took fabulous photos of the birth and "Dane" the calf was born from "Trudy" the mom cow. Here's the story of the cow: It was given as a dowry when Benta, the social worker at MCCH, got married. So she has named the calf after Dane Ruck and the mom after Trudy. Little Dane Calf is just so cute - very protective mom he (yes, it's a male) has. At out host house, we have three chicks which were hatched a couple days ago. Yesterday was their maiden voyage to the yard - oh my goodness they were adorable. Truly a farming community.



We, Trudy, Dane and I, attended the Kenyan MCCH Board meeting, as the three of us are on the Canadian MCCH Board. We were talking about some things taking so long to get done, (ie, the electricity), so the Chairman told us from Canada that he should have given us a rubber band when we arrived as it would show us you need to be very flexible here (and we are also learning to be more patient).



At the end of this week the MCCH children will be out for their holidays, going back to school in January, starting a new school year. So we as a team will be busier in December going to MCCH every day, interacting and doing crafts with the kids.



Remember Fred, the chicken which was given to us from Josephine? Well he is still alive and doing well and getting bigger. We have decided to keep him for another month and celebrate my birthday with a yummy chicken dinner!



Interesting politics going on here in Kenya. About a week ago a new Constitution of Kenya draft was printed in the newspaper. They are going to have a totally new constitution when it has passed. Right now they are asking Kenyans to give their feed back for a month, then they will go through it again.



Don't think I will be adding any photos this time. I totally believe your prayers for our safety and health have kept us safe and well. So I want to thank you for that and ask you to keep doing it while we travel to Uganda, especially since we have been warned to be very careful what we eat and traveling here and there - let's just say it's not the safest!



Hope you're all well. Is it American Thanksgiving tomorrow? Or was it last week? And is everyone starting their Christmas preparations - oh, it will be different here at Christmas. Hard to relate to it as there is nothing Christmassy anywhere here yet.



Love,

Nancy

Old Blog Post - Read it Anyway!!

Kitale has been host to an agricultural show held at the fair grounds. You could say it was a mini-PNE from years and years past. The Kenyan government sends this show all around Kenya.

We woke one day to no running water, which continued for four days. This happened because the show had come to town and they need the water to keep the crops wet there. Was told the water would be back on when the judges have finished judging the crops because then it doesn’t matter if the crops have water – their owners have either won or lost. So our little bathroom crew (Candice, David and I) had a discussion about what we would do re toilet water for four days. We hoped it would rain a lot so we could have that collected water to use. Our conclusion was to do what each of us had learned on our Mexico orphanage trips – “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.” It worked well, and the rains cooperated. Showers were extremely brief, dunking your head in a bucket of water first, lathering then quickly rinsing. I won’t go into all the times the power was shut off as well!

This past Friday all the schools in Kitale closed so the students could go to the show. The grades 4/5 children from MCCH went and so did our team. It was very crowded but very colorful as the students wore the uniform from their schools. Candice, David and I decided next time we could make lots of money by opening a booth for the kids to shake hands and talk to mzungus (white people) as we really were an attraction.

The kids from MCCH went on one ride. A few chose the ferris wheel. This ferris wheel had no electricity going into it. It went round and round by good old hand labor! And if you wanted your little child to have a ride in a car, you plunked them in the plastic kiddie car and the fellow pushed it up and down the dirt road from the back of the car! Candice and David rode the camels – check out the team’s blog, as I’m sure there will be photos of that event.

Course the whole trip started by me tripping over a bump in the road that I had not seen. Every road, sidewalk, any place to drive or walk here is not smooth or even, so I have to constantly keep my eyes down so I won’t trip. But back to the story! So I tripped, started falling. Candice grabbed my left side and I put out my right hand to break the fall. There was a piki piki (motorcycle) right there, so my hand grabbed the handlebar of the piki piki. I guess I also twisted the handlebar, which was really the accelerator, so it revved the motor. Like Candice said, I need to be thankful it was only in neutral! Gurrr – getting old presents its challenges. But I’m ever so thankful that the team members now automatically put their hand/arm out for me to grab whenever we cross the street, go up stairs, get on/off the matatus (taxi vans), etc.

We went to Kitale one day to go shopping, etc. The street kids see the truck and come over to us asking via hand motions or faltering English for money, food, shoes, etc. David, Candice and I were sitting in the back of the truck when this young lady came and motioned she had a little child back at Kipsongo, the slum where the majority of them live, and wanted money for milk to feed the child. You don’t give money because they spend it on glue, which they sniff through the nose or inhale by mouth. Guess a street fellow was watching her and told her to stop. She said something back to him that he didn’t appreciate, so he went after her, pushing her several times. It escalated - he picked up a stick and started after her to hit her on the head. At this point, “Candice the Brave” literally flies out of the truck and goes after the fellow, calmly telling him to stop and stop now. I guess at that point she asked herself – ah, what do I do now if he turns and hits me! It did end peacefully after a Kenyan came by to interpret between Dane and the fellow.

Today we went to MCCH for church. We had just arrived when Josephine, a lady from the ‘Mama’s Bible Study,’ came up with a little plastic bag and handed me a live chicken she had brought for our team as an honor for coming to Kenya and visiting her home. At that point the chicken started flapping so she took it out of the bag, showing that it’s feet were tied together to make it easier for us to carry on the matatu. I guess this is a tradition, so tomorrow the rest of the tradition will be carried out – the chicken’s life will be ended, then our host will cook it for our dinner.

So this email was dated November 9th and thanks to Jackie encouraging me to save the text in every possible way on my laptop I am able to send it now. Our Team were supposed to go to Faith Community Church today to help out with the street kids time there (bathing, washing their clothes, feeding them and giving them each a piece of clothing). But it was canceled so they could have a huge Christmas day for them in December, so we got extra computer time today.

Will keep in touch! Love, Nancy

Little News from Kenya

Hi Everyone:

I'll quickly tell my story of frustration, then get on with this blog entry. I had prewritten the blog entry on my lovely Mac laptop, then made the journey to the internet care to copy and paste. After one hour, I paid my shilings and left as it would just turn to computer garbage every time. So now I will type it out again on this internet cafe computer and it should go. Then I will attempt to send photos to Mark and he will enter them on my blog - you will then have updated news from me!

Life for me here is just going along well. The weather is heating up, so I am used to sweating now and realizing it takes about an hour to totally cool down after being out walking in the hot sun. I must have eaten something that was not washed properly last week as I did have some bowel/stomach problems, but after a couple of days I was up and at it again. I have to be very careful what and where I eat as it will make a person very sick to get some of these parasites on your food. I have started buying apples (30 shilings each = 45 Canadian) which I bleach then eat and, oh my, what a treat! Have not tried a salad yet - all of the contents would have to be bleached.

Couple of questions I will answer: no, I have not rode giraffe ... yet! Candice and David did have a ride on a camel at the Agricultural Show (photo on team's blog). The weather: yes, getting hotter. Think December will be the hottest. Our home stays very cool as I am surprised when I go outside how hot it really is. The rains have stopped ... for now. You never know when there will be a huge shower though. I have not seen one snake here, which is good!! I also have seen very few spiders and the ones I have seen are very small. The only bugs which are pests are roaches (few of those), crickets (always two in my room doing stereo chirping) and mosquitos, which come out at night and buzz around my mosquito net, which I sure am so thankful for! The games the kids at the orphanage play - well, yes, they make up their own as they have very few games. Lots of volleyball and football and rolling of old tires around the grounds by using a stick. I have taught them concentration with a deck of cards which they enjoy. In December we will be spending lots of time with them as their school year is over then and we will be entertaining them. I brought lots of new songs (thanks, Jean) and crafts (thanks, Jean) which will be a hoot to do with the children.

Last Friday our team paid for a field trip for the grades 6/7 to go to Kisumu, which is the third largest city in Kenya and is on Lake Victoria. The trip included a visit to the post office, the court house/courts, the airport (the children were invited to go up to the control tower, which is rarely done but the manager had worked for an orphanage for 10 years and had a soft spot for our students - their behaviour was impeccable!), then to Lake Victoria. It looks like the ocean. Some of the kids had never seen a body of water like that - they were thrilled. Wish we had had more time at the lake, but everything takes more time than you think. The trip there and back was beautiful. You leave the Rift Valley and enter a different torraine. Tea and sugar canes are grown in that area.

The Friday before we had gone with the grades 4/5 to the Agricultural Show which comes to Kitale every year sponsored by the Kenyan government. The children went on one ride each. The ones on the ferris wheel were wheeled around by hand power!

This Wednesday we will go again to Faith Community Church where the street kids will congregate and will be able to have a bath, wash their clothes, have their wounds/sores tended to, fed a meal and receive a piece of clothing. We really enjoy doing this as it starts a relationship with the street kids. We see them again everytime we go to Kitale.

Our chicken project at MCCH is almost ready for the final touches - the chicks (or kukus as they call it here). The coup has been wonderfully made and the kukus arrived a couple days ago. When it's in full operation, there should be 300 + chickens laying eggs or ready for broiling. The next project is a green house to grow tomatoes to eat and sell. Kenyans are hired to build these structures.

Speaking of kukus, last week at Church a lady, Josephine, gave our team a live kuku as an honor for us coming to Canada. It is a tradition to do that. So we brought it home on the matatu (taxi van) hoping it would stay in the bag! The tradition is to continue where the next day you kill the kuku and have it served for dinner. Well we named him Fred and he's still alive!! I think the plan is to keep it until my birthday, then have a feast of our little Fred!

I phoned Dana for his 35th birthday and had a little boohoo afterwards. Imagine that he's 35. I hear Scruffy and Farrell have races up my stairs - my little buddy must have been teasing me when he kept 'saying' "carry me - I can't walk."

I'll keep better notes on our lives for the next blog post. In the meantime, miss you all!!

Love, Nancy

Thank you ALL for the e-mails ... here's more photos!

Thank you so much for your e-mails I received after my last blog entry. It was so much fun to read each of them and picture each of you - I do miss everyone of you and our interactions together. But for now we will keep in touch this way. I was so glad to get some photos to you and want to thank Mark for posting them on the blog then and now. I think I am doing good just getting a blog entry done!

The photos this time should be:
1. two little boys with a hoop. They made this toy, which they roll around the grounds with a stick. It's made of sticks then wrapped with string to hold it together.
2. I love the photos of hands - we had so much fun doing it!
3. The two girls sewing are making Christmas dresses for every girl in the orphanage. Remember there is no electricity there, so those Singer Sewing Machines are run by 'treadeling.'
4. There should be one of me (not my best photo) and my two little friends, Lucy and Brenda, who run up to me when I arrive and grab my bags and carry them everywhere for me - what service!
5. Photo of the coffee beans (red) and after the red coffee beans are peeled, the white beans have to dry on racks (behind the red beans).
6. Course there is the photo of my sponsor boy Joshua and his friend Vince wearing the two pairs of shorts that Sharon Goddard sent - don't they look great!
7. The photo of all the students lined up in their uniform - well the neighbor to the orphanage gave a bag of gwavas (Sp?) and the word got out and the kids ran to get one!

Today I'm in pain - have pulled a muscle in my thigh. Hummm, too much walking up that hill or possibly 'the hole' experience has irritated a muscle!!

The power continually goes off at our home. It happens almost nightly at 6:30 p.m. just when our host lady is fixing our dinner. Lucky she has a propane stove. I wake each morning hearing Gabriel (one of the workers) getting water out of the well for our use by cranking this handle which makes the water flow. Then he lights a fire in this brick fireplace so we have warm water for our showers.

I continue to work with kids one-to-one, hearing stories of their childhood. They loved to be hugged and have some individual attention. I am also having them write to their sponsors back in Canada. They can't believe I drive! Keep asking to take out my silver teeth! Were wide eyed when I took out my playing cards and shuffled them - guess old people don't do those things!

It is hard to relate to Canadian holidays when the weather here is the opposite of what it usually is in Canada on those holidays. They do not celebrate Halloween nor do they know anything about it.

There is a huge malaria conference going on right now in Nairobi. The statistics of cases and deaths from malaria are staggering. If a vaccine could be found to deal with this little mosquito infected parasite it would be such a break through.

Here's an interesting tidbit I learned from the newspaper yesterday. Thousands of girls are missing thousands of days of school each month because of their periods. Families are so poor here that girls cannot afford to purchase pads so they stay home from school during menstruation. There is a group from California here who have been helping a widows group and one way they help these ladies is by having them make cloth reusable pads to sell or give. This will also help all these young women not to miss school every month.

Well, we will see how the rest of this week goes. Our water at our host home and every other home as well has been turned off because Kitale is hosting an agriculture show which the Kenyan government has traveling around the country. Guess they need the water from November 2 through 7th. We do have well water we can purify for drinking but we're praying for more rain, rain, rain so we can collect it and maybe have a shower!! And the whole of Kenya itself had a power outage this week for about 7 hours - some glitch. Oh well, we have not suffered any since arriving so maybe now we'll get a taste of no water and no electricity like so many people here experience daily.

I won the prize yesterday for the most mail received in one day! Poor Candice had to give up her 'title.' One of the letters I received was mailed October 4th and the other October 18th and I got them November 2nd! But it's fun to get mail (hint, hint).

Not too much to write about so I will leave it for now and 'chat' with you later! Just one other thing: Had to use the 'hole' again - faced the right way this time - no back splash!

Love,
Nancy

Photos ... hopefully!!!

Hi to you all:

Hopefully there will be five photos added to this blog. I am sending them to Mark at Gibsons Elementary in hopes that he can add them somehow. This is the second time we have managed to get photos on the internet, so here's hoping! Two were downloaded on the team's blog (thekenyateam.blogspot.com - I think). (Okay, now it's a few days later and Mark has added the photos via Yahoo - something like that. Just click to the left of the posted message to go to the photos. Thanks, Mark!)

If they are attached, the one of the little girls with the chicken on the bed was my first photo at MCCH. I had just arrived and the children took me for a trip around the grounds. We went into the girls dorm and here were chickens walking all over and on their beds. Another photo is of me and my sponsor child, Joshua. He's 15 and just a sweetie! There should be a photo of girls jumping with the jump ropes we gave them - those ropes came for GES staff and students. Thank you! Should be one of me and Candice Veale having our hair combed and played with. My hair especially the children love to comb and poke the scalp because my hair is so blonde! Then one of me and the children on sports day.

As I don't have much more time here at the internet cafe, I'll just add two things this time.

This morning Elizabeth called to inform me that my Auntie Esther passed away. My brother and I had visited her this summer in Wenatchee. It was so good to visit with her and how thankful I am now that we made that trip. Like Elizabeth said, have a little sad time, Mom, then get on with your day as Auntie Esther would want you to do that. Auntie Esther was the last of all my aunts and uncles on both sides (mom's and dad's) to pass away.

Okay, there's a first for everything. Yesterday was the first time I needed a washroom and could not wait to get back to our home. At MCCH the bathrooms are holes only so ... I did it! Next time I will squat lower (going to be developing a few more muscles!) as I got my feet 'wet'!

Love to you all,
Nancy

Another Adventure from Africa!

Hi My Friends:

It's been a week since I last added something, so I will get you up to date on our adventures here. Last Tuesday was Kenyatta Day, a holiday honoring Kenya's President Kenyatta from the past, as he gave the Kenyan's hope and worked for them. We went to the Mercy Caring and Children's Home (MCCH) and had a sports day for the children. They had so much fun playing 'football,' which is really soccer, with David and Candice. Even Dane got in and played! I sat on the sidelines and yelled.

Yesterday we went to Faith Community Church, where once a month they have a day for the street kids. There were at least 70 street kids that day. They come into the church's backyard, which is totally grassed, go over to the plastic tubs which are filled with water, take their clothes off and have a bath. Then some of them wash their clothes and hang them in the bushes so they will be dry when they are ready to leave. They play 'football' (called soccer in Canada), some with only their jackets tied around their waist as their clothes are drying! Medicines, bandaids and cleaning solution is brought out and any wounds the children have are cleaned out and tended to. If they are sick with a cold, they get cough syrup and antibiotics to take. Lunch is then served. Most of them eat some of the lunch but bring a plastic bag to put the rest of their lunch in so they can take it home to their starving family. They are then allowed to take one piece of clothing.

The behaviour and respect these street kids have for the church personnel doing this was humbling to see. We as a Team really enjoyed the day, interacted and put on our nurses' cap to help with this very worthwhile service. We hope to do it each month until we leave. The majority of the children are from Kipsongo Slums.

Last weekend we went door-to-door visiting with families. One of the other team members was telling that they were invited into this little house and the lady was putting fresh cow dung on the floor, so they had to step around it to sit on the couch. Guess the cow dung dries/hardens and they have a fresh layer of floor!

There is a wedding coming up from two members of MCCH staff, so we got on the topic of marriage at dinner one night with our host family. Their son had to have a dowry of four cows for the bride's family before he could marry her. The host said that it depends on what tribe you are from what the dowry would be. Another tripe it is sheep and/or goats.

I am still enjoying have children in one-on-one to talk with and to give a little special attention. One of the boys had just learned he was HIV positive. He has no parents and was very sad at the diagnosis. He barely responded to our talk, so I hope to have another chat with him and give him some hope and love.

I want to thank each of you at Gibsons Elementary School who sent items for me to take here for the school/children. I see the children walking around wearing new shoes and clothes. We have added to their small library - they love books! And the school supplies are definitely being used.

The girls and, yes, boys still love to play with my blonde hair - it's such a novelty. I don't know how they will react when they see that there is an inch of grey now growing from the roots of my hair. Between that and 'please take your teeth out and show us your dentures' makes me feel my age.

Little information on the Kenyan flag. Look up somewhere so you can see the flag. The red is for the blood that was shed for them to become independent; the white is for peace; the green is for the vegetation and the black is for the color of their skin. The shield in the middle is for defending their country.

Thank you for your e-mails, and if I don't get around to e-mailing each of you personally, I'm sorry. We are still working on photos being sent and also getting a modem into our host family's house so we can use the internet there. We are getting there but found out that the lovely laptop cannot handle it here in Kenya because it's a Mac!!

We are in the planning stages of going with the Grade 6's and 7's on a field trip to Lake Victoria (look on the map - it's very large) in early November and a trip for our Team to Kampala, Uganda late November. Time is going by fast.

Love to you all until the next time,
Nancy

Kenya is becoming like home to me!

Jambo (Hello) Everybody:

I am really starting to feel like Kenya is home to me. Things/views I would whip my camera out quickly to take a photo of is now just part of the day. Riding Matatus is the mode of transportation now. Gadari (beans and maise), ugali (maise flour/wheat flour cooked/baked), ooji (poridge) are our meals lots of the time - like potatoes and pasta in Canada!

I thought of you all on Thanksgiving. We took our host family out for dinner to a semi-western restaurant. There were 10 of us and we did have a wonderful time. Saw two mazoongas (white people) at the restaurant, and you just become instant buddies! These two girls were from Norway doing a teaching practicom in Kenya.

As we walk to the orphanage after our Matatu ride, little kids come running out of their houses yelling "How are you fine." It's a statement and all run together - the ony English these little ones know. Then you go shake their hands - very important. The majority of the population in Kitale speak English. All the children at the orphanage speak English, with the exception of the 'baby class' who are still learning it. They all have a certain accent when they speak English, but we're getting used to it and I can understand most people's English now.

I find that here people use every piece of earth to grow their staples and everything they have is used - over and over. Right now it is harvest time for their maise plants. They take the corn cobs, cut the corn off, then dry the corn on huge tarps in their yard. When the corn is dry, the corn is ground to use for their meals. The empty corn cobs are used for fuel. Then they stack and dry out the corn plant itself and use for animals feed. Nothing waisted. My host mother took me on a walk around her garden which has coffee plants, banana trees, papayas, guavas, avacados - it's amazing!

We visited Challenge Farm the other day. It is sponsored by some organization in California. That Farm takes children right off the street and provide a place for them to live, eat and have an education. Lots of children stay; some do go back to the street as it's just in their blood and hard to stay in another way of living.

Our orphanage/school has no power - yet (has been promised by the electrical company to be connected for two years!). You can imagine how this affects life there. There are no computers, no televisions, no lights. After 6ish there are two lanterns which are lit and the children study by those. I believe everybody goes to bed early in the evening but they get up very early so they can use the daylight hours. We (our Team) wanted to help in some financial way, so a chicken business has been started, spearheaded by Dane. We have ordered egg layers, meat birds and free range chicks and they will arrive in two weeks. In the meantime, a chicken house is being built. I think the dimensions are approimately 20' by 40'. Did an excavator come in to dig up for the foundation? Did a pumper truck full of cement come in to fill the foundation? A team of men hired by a fellow who is building the house, came with picks and shovels and in one day had the area for the foundation dug and ready for the next step. Next day men were mixing the cement by hand then wheelbarrowing the contents to the holes and filling them up with big rocks first then the cement. All by hand! We are so excited about this chicken business as it will help the orphanage become more self sufficient.

We helped Peter out again (the fellow who needed stitches in his leg). Peter needed to get the stitches out and it was good for us to be able to take him to the hospital to have that done. He is always thankful. We're hoping he is able now to ride his boda boda (bike) and make some money transporting people that way.

We soon will be able to send photos, as Nancy Cahill e-mailed us with the instructions and the whereabouts of the camera card reader which we need to send the photos. Believe me, David has tried every other method and it just did not work. We tried from the laptop my GES staff gave me, but it ended up being hours for one and it never did go. So soon.....!!!

The weather has been cooperating for me - I don't like it too hot! It's been around 24-28. The daily rains have stopped for right now but there is talk of an El Nino arriving next week, which would bring more rain.

It's been good chatting with you. Thank you all again for your prayers for our health and safety. Other than Trudy getting bronchitis, we have kept well and happy, and our little 'family unit' has bonded nicely.

Until next time, asante (thank you) for reading the email!

Love, Nancy
And, ladies, this one is for you! Candice and I went to the food preparation building. They have huge vats which they cook the food in. This is done by lighting a fire under the huge vat. While we were there, Dorcas came in. She is the lady who makes all the uniforms and anything else which needs sewing. Dorcas came with a cast-iron iron, which opens up in the middle length wise. She opens up where the fire is under the huge vat, gets a shovel and shovels out some coals, puts the hot coals in her iron, closes the iron and away she goes to iron!

The children are trying to teach this old mind to count to ten and laugh at my pronunciation of the words. They now come up and say, "Mama Elizabeth, it's (whatever their name is)" because they know I can't remember their names!

I'm Doing Well ... but miss you all!!!!

Hi Again from Kenya:

We took a matatu (van taxi) into Kitale so we could go to the internet cafe. It just is so good to hear from 'home.' Yesterday Candice took a Boda Boda into town, which is a normal bike with a little pillow on the back with a bar to hang on to and you ride side saddle. Then she took a Piki Piki (motorcycle) home. She loved it. I'll stick with the matatu. in which they cram up to 20 people! Believe me, you're squished - but it really is a hilarious ride!

I must tell the students at Gibsons Elementary School not to complain about how long you go to school each day. The students here go from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and half a day on Saturdays. Education is a huge priority to the students and they know that and they work so hard to pass all their exams. They also have chores to do. After lunch each day they sweep the floors with a little hand brush, wash the tables and then wash the floors. I am enjoying these children so much.

We are all frustrated that we cannot yet get a photo out of Kenya to you, but we are still working on it and one day I will send you a photo of the children jumping rope with the jump ropes you children at GES gave, wearing the clothes you also gave, and working in their class with all the supplies that came in for me to take to them.

I have a nightly ritual I do before bedtime. There are always little crickets in my bedroom and I have perfected a way to do away with them, because they are way too fast to smash with my shoe. I squirt them with my mosquito repellent which stuns them and then ... wham! Got them! I'm good at doing away with the roaches the first try.

I am doing well, and thankful for that. It has been very interesting to read/watch news as Kofi Annan from the United Nations is in Kenya now to help put in place some reforms - police reform, constitutional reform are a couple. The Kenyan people are hoping his presence will help.

Oh, one more thing - the children love to look at the veins in my hands which stick out (as you get older this happens - yes, it will to you!!!). They poke at them all the time. Then they said, "Open your mouth" which I did. "Pull your teeth out." I thought, what are they talking about? I told them that they are stuck in my mouth. "No, dentures - take them our - show us!" I don't know where they got that, but I refused to take out my partial!!!

I'll leave you now and will be back again soon, I hope. We are hoping to come into town to the internet cafe once a week at least.

To all the people on sd46.bc.ca e-mail, it will not send from here - comes back. Sorry.

Love and miss you,
Nancy

Kenya is like Gibsons Elementary - Never a Dull Moment

Well, each day is an exciting experience! It has been raining a lot here, but after the rain ... hot! Yesterday I did not feel very well - possibly got some little bug but today am better. When I was sitting in the car in Kitale yesterday, a man named Peter came up to me. Told me the story of how he was going home the night before at 7:30, and it is very, very dark, as he was riding his bike. A thug (that's what they call a person who attacks you here) pushed him off his bike, took his money, knifed him in the leg and left him. So after looking at the 'wound' we took him to the public hospital to get treated and stitches. On the hospital grounds there were monkeys flying from one tree to another teating bananas. Patience is what we are learning here - you know "Roberts Creek Time," well here in Kenya they say "Westener's have the watches: Kenyan's have the time."

Thinking of each of you - we still have not been able to post any photos, We will still keep trying.

What a Week Can Accomplish!

I had a wonderful article written and two photos to go with it, but we could not get it to copy and paste into my blog from the flash drive the staff gave me. It's not the greatest connection/internet here. Be patient - we will work it out soon.

Thanks for your emails - it really is so good to hear from you.

Welcome to Kenya!!!

We have arrived in Kitale, Kenya, after completing the four-day traveling part of our trip. I feel like I have entered into an article on Kenya from the National Geographic - I cannot even begin to tell you all about this amazing country/countryside/people, but will try when I get more time with the internet - that has been a hard thing to accomplish but hopefully it will improve once we get organized.



As we traveled the Rift Valley from Nairobi to Kitale, we saw zebras, a few baboons, huge birds, donkeys pulling carts of supplies, young boys tending cow and sheep herds, women working in field, women walking with bags of supplies on their head, and children running home in their school uniforms or playing with a simple bike tire and a stick, rolling it as they run. The scenery through the Rift Valley is lush and green. Kitale is 6000 feet above sea level, so it is not too hot - yet!! We evidently have come in the rainy season, although we haven't had rain yet.



None of our 15 - 50 pound suitcases, two guitars, an electric keyboard and 15 carry on bags were lost - a miracle!



Our stay in London before we boarded another plane to Nairobi was awesome. Took the Tube into town and saw Piccadilly Circus, Leister Center, Trafalgar Square and Big Ben in the distance. Then off to my first of 6 months nights sleep under a mosquito net!



We are now in our accommodation in Kitale. It is really wonderful. We each have our own bedroom, windows have bars on them, we have keys to lock our room when we are inside our room or go out and a metal gate to lock when we leave our wing of the house plus a locked/guarded gate around the house. We do feel very secure and safe.



As you drive around Kitale, all of the sudden there will be a police check. You are stopped, but quickly waved on as they see a 'mazungus' (white people), as they think highly of us. Their purpose is to intimidate you with some accusation of your car or driving, but will not cause you trouble if you pay them. That is one form of corruption, which is huge in this country. You learn to keep a check on your surroundings and personal belongings you carry with you as 40% of Kenyans are unemployed and very poor. We each have purchased a cell phone to keep in constant contact with each other.



Have been to the orphanage twice and ... well, that is just another story that is magical. When we arrived there yesterday, 120 kids in their red and blue uniforms came running out, hugging each of us. It was so emotional. While there today, two little girls were carrying my purse and two others were braiding my hair. I am known as Mama Elizabeth, or grandma - whichever, I am treated with lots of respect because of my age. Today we watched a football game which the kids were playing and they brought me out a chair to sit on while I watched it. I did ask them what they thought my age was, and their guesses were from 50 to 99! Take your pick!



When I have more time I will send a photo and write more, but I wanted you to know that I have arrived safely and am enjoying my stay very much. It is very relaxing here so I do not feel tired.

Love you all.

Countdown to September 20th!

First, I would like to thank Jackie Phelan for setting up this blog to keep you posted on this incredible journey I am going to experience.

Here is the team who will be going to Kenya:

Dane and Trudy Ruck, Candice Veale, David Williams and me. This will be Dane's and Trudy's third trip to Kitale. We have already learned so much from them and their experiences there. Candice and David are incredible young people, full of enthusiasm and focused on their mission. So our "family unit" consists of "mom, pop, the kids and grandma." I'm honored!

I have now packed four suitcases, each weighing 51 pounds precisely! I will leave this Friday afternoon for Vancouver to spend the weekend with my family. Then we will all meet on Sunday at Vancouver Airport where we will fly out at 8:30 p.m. to London. After spending the night in London, we will then fly on to Nairobi, where we will spend two nights and a day sightseeing before we board a bus for an eight hour "ride of our life" - I hear - to Kitale, Kenya.

I will update this blog when I can. In the meantime, please pray for our safety as we embark on this fabulous adventure.

Mercy & Caring Children's Home in Kiminini, Kenya

This September, Mrs. Nancy Miller from Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada, is heading off to Africa to volunteer at the Mercy & Caring Children's Home in Kiminini, Kenya (check the map below to get an idea where it is).

She'll be gone from 3 to 6 months (or maybe even longer!), who knows (they may love her as much as we do and decide to keep her).

To keep us up to date on her journey she'll be posting into this blog! We're hoping for tons of photos and lots of posts. That way we'll know what she's up to even when she's not here (we're used to seeing her all the time and it's going to be a bit of a shock to our systems not to have her available to us, we're a needy bunch -- but she's decided to branch out and help even more people, so what the heck can we do other than feel sorry for ourselves and wish her a good time).