"Do you like Tumeric?" Musings from Nairobi

We landed in Nairobi around lunchtime yesterday and spent the night here. As Bryan's post eluded to, we landed to find a city in distress and battled against fear and anxiety in our own hearts regarding the situation. A man named Odyssemus picked us up from the airport and recommended we go ahead to a small market store to buy some staple groceries before heading to Kijabe. It was similar to an American supermarket, and we did our best to think through converting dollars to shillings. I loved the spice isle where I picked out spices like coriander, garlic, cumin, curry and last but not least ... Tumeric. I have heard of this exotic spice before, I thought to myself. But I can't remember if I like it or what it's like. The bag was quite big so I proceeded to ask several locals what they thought of Tumeric. Unfortunately all I got back was some strange looks and comments along the line of "I don't know what you are saying." Oh well. I bought it! We will see how it goes! After leaving the market, he took us to the Mennonite Guest House. I loved taking in the scenery of Nairobi on our way. It is definitely the nicest, cleanest third-world city I have been in. The Guest House is very charming. We arrived at "tea time" so after we got our bags tucked away in the room we got to enjoy Kenyan tea and coffee along with donuts. It was at tea that we met several others staying the night- a nurse from Charleston whose wife and adopted Kenyan daughters hen had come to visit (after two years their adoption still isn't final so she stays here with them) and a nurse named Jeffrey who works on a Navajo reservation doing research on a new strep pneumo vaccine. He has family here in Kenya. After tea, Bryan and I did some exercise and took much needed showers. They served us a  grilled cheese with a curried butternut squash soup for dinner. It really hit the spot after so much traveling. Sleep last night came quickly for Bryan but not so much for me. We could hear the helicopters that were surrounding Westgate mall which severed as a constant reminder of our nearness to evil. God's word helped me battle against the Restlessness. It is so comforting to know that in John 17 he promised, "My peace I leave with you... I do not give as the world gives by fear not. I have overcome the world." Evil will not prevail in the end. Nevertheless, it was sobering to experience for a night what so many people in the world live in on a daily basis. This morning, we were up early for breakfast and eggs, granola, papaya and bananas before loading up our bags for Kijabe. We are on the way there now and it is a cloudy, cool day since the beginning of the rainy season is here.

Thanks for praying for us! We will do our best to keep you posted on how it goes with the Tumeric... And all of the much more important things too of course.

Sarahbeth