Prague

There is something wonderful about an old friend - somebody who has known you for a long time, and still loves you. Something even more wonderful? A whole family of old friends who are friends with your whole family - that is, the Stewarts. Mark, Joanna, Sasha, and Izaak are living in Prague working with World Harvest ministries and blessing lots of people with their warm hospitality.

I've tried to visit the Stewarts a few times, but we keep on missing one another - so when I emailed and they were home - I almost couldn't believe it. Since I hadn't seen them in several years, we had lots to catch up on, and even a new baby to meet! (theirs, not mine)

I arrived Saturday morning, and Mark & Sasha picked me up from the airport - we headed straight home to eat a delicious breakfast of cinnamon buns that Joanna made from scratch. Good start. Then, Joanna, Sasha, & Izaak took me for a walk to 'our castle' as Sasha calls it, through Malastrana, and back home - perfect to wake me up from the long (miserable) overnight flight from Kenya. A bit of lunch, and then back to the Stewarts' for Stitch n Bitch, Joanna's weekly knitting group! (Thank you, Joanna for teaching me how to make granny squares) Afterwards, Mark & the boys took me out for beer at the beautiful Augustinian monastery. There's a brand new Easter beer out, which we had to try. Delicious, of course.

Prague is a great city if you like beer and red meat and long walks-- perfect, actually. The architecture keeps your eyes entertained, and the cobblestones keep your feet guessing. The beer and sausages are so delicious - I think it would be worth dying of high cholesterol to live there.

Sunday was a relaxed day - in the afternoon, Sasha and I went on a date to the 'playground without the one red slide,' and then we took a long adventurous exploration walk. It was so fun! Afterwards, I got to attend their church and see one of my good ole college friends, Betsy. What a small world.

Then Monday, the whole Stewart family took me into Old Town Prague where the Easter markets are open. We walked through the cobbled streets until we got to the Charles Bridge, where you get the most lovely views of the city. Really, every view of the city is lovely - but the bridges are remarkable.

It was such a great weekend - have I mentioned that Joanna is a fabulous cook? I ate and slept and saw a new bit of Europe. The Stewarts get lots of visitors, but they were absolutely happy to give up their free time to hang out with me. Sometimes when I visit a new place, I feel like-- that was great, but I don't need to come back because I've seen all the city has to offer. I do feel like I got a great overview of Prague, but actually Prague is a place that I'd love to visit again - there's so much to explore.

Strong Like Lion

Imara Kama Simba - that's the Pilsner brand motto here in Kenya - it means 'Strong like Lion.' I think that's my favorite kiswahili phrase!

We've had some fun adventures in & around Nairobi so far. Over the weekend, Mary and I visited the house where Karen Blixen wrote Out of Africa, then we stopped by Kazuri Bead & Pottery factory (see previous post below), and then we went to this giraffe conservancy where we got to feed giraffes by hand! (I'm counting - now that's rhinos and giraffes - whose slobber do I want next?)

On Sunday, we went to the open-air Masai Market. To me, these places have gotten a bit old - the chachkis are interesting, and of course I bought some little things - but agressive vendors physically grabbing you and using every manipulation tactic they know - it's very overwhelming. I think the worst one I experienced was in Victoria Falls - where I made up a fake identity (27 year old Amy from NYC, thank you very much) to avoid the overwhelming-ness of the vendors.

I have started to make a game out of it - how fast can I get through all the stalls without offending or buying anything (Hello sister! Yes please, I will give you the best price - a special price for you, my sister! Please make my day, and be the first one to buy from my shop. Yes madam, these goods are all the best quality - I make them myself. For you, the resident price - I can see you are not a tourist - but your friend, she must be a visitor. It started at 1500, but I give it to you for 1200.) Here you have to be a really tough bargainer -everything gets cut in 1/2 immediately, and you end up paying about 70% what they initially offered. I had a great moment on Sunday, when somebody asked me a ridiculous price for some bracelets, and I just burst out laughing and walked away. The vendor came all the way down to my price (16% of what he offered)!

Then, today my colleague and I visited this baby elephant orphanage where they rescue elephants who have been abandoned by their packs (or orphaned by hunters, poachers, natural causes, etc). The place is only open to visitors one hour each day - so that the elephants don't get too used to humans, and can learn to live in the wild. The orphanage takes them in anywhere from 2 weeks up to 2 years - and feeds them until they are 3 years old, at which time they are returned to the wild to join an elephant family.

Visitor-time feeding takes place from 11-12 every day, and the elephants come into a little roped off area to drink their bottles and play in the mud. If you love elephants, this place is for you. They are so fun-loving and cute! They roll around in the mud, cuddle with each other, and even make friends with the visitors. The elephants' skin is rough and scratchy and wrinkly, but they are just as playful as they can be - one of them even knocked a soccer ball my direction! I shot it back of course. As cute as the animals are, you still get the sense that they are wild and very powerful. Just a little tiny baby elephant could easily knock you over.

That's all so far - I'll be sure to post pictures from these places as soon as I can.

Hekima Place

I've been having a lovely email friendship with a woman named Kate Fletcher over the past 9 months. Neither of us can quite remember how we first connected, but I have been so curious about what she does, and she has been completely open and welcoming to me. I had the honor and privilege to visit Kate yesterday afternoon:

10 years ago, Kate's husband died - and she decided to move to Kenya and start a home for orphaned or street girls. She started with $30,000 and 10 little girls off the streets. Today, she is the founder and director of Hekima Place, a home and boarding school for 58 precious girls. Kate says, "Anything more than 60 girls, and we start to lose the family atmosphere." The ages range from 2 months old (abandoned on somebody's doorstep) to 22 (a Junior at the University). Each girl gets a sponsor and a buddy from overseas - the sponsor pays for school fees, and the buddy writes letters and sends a birthday present. Kate theorizes that it's better to spend $10 a day for one child than $1 a day for 10 children. You give them a better quality of life that way.

Mum Kate took me throughout the four houses - split up by age group - each house has 2 'House Mums' responsible for the care and upkeep of the girls in that house. The land where they live now is about 5 acres, and they have a little farm to grow beans, corn, lettuce, kale - lots of great things. Kate wants the place to be self sufficient - and knowing her, someday they will be!

Hekima is run by a board of directors - and they have 9 churches that now sponsor them (they started out with just 2). They just purchased 10 acres of land in order to build their own place, and Kate showed me the plans for their new home. It's very exciting! She figures each house on the property will cost about $20,000.

I know I've been mostly talking about the brains & muscle behind Hekima - rather than the girls. Kate says, "I get to live with my blessings every single day." The girls are so happy and so sweet - they love visitors, and welcomed me with very open hearts. They held my hands as we walked throughout the property, and then we played some sort of schoolbus-driver game on a fallen tree trunk.

These girls have been homeless, abused, orphaned, without food, begging, often HIV+. If you think about it - they are the most vulnerable population. After such conditions, they all think that Hekima Place is heaven. And I'm inclined to agree with them. You walk through the green green grounds, and you think that there is no place more peaceful and more full of hope. Kate wants these girls to grow up with an education and positive self-esteem. She wants them to save their bodies not just for any man on the street. Many of the girls have goals to become lawyers, doctors, journalists, actors - and they will do it.

I could have stayed for days and years - you feel like time stands still in a place like that. I'm starting to brainstorm about ways to help Kate raise money for the next few houses on the property. She is coming home in April and then August to do more fundraising - so I have to think fast. Any ideas?

Hekima means courteous or wise in kiswahili - this is 'a place of wisdom' for 58 girls who would otherwise have little opportunity in life. They are well fed, and boy are they loved!!! Kate knows each one by name - and the staff cares for each one like family.

How would you conclude a post like this? The gospel is at work in Hekima Place. When all around I feel like the world is working against development and progress, what an encouragement to see these happy girls who have a chance thanks to God's provision in their lives. Truly, the Lord moves in mysterious ways.

small & beautiful

Kazuri Bead & Pottery factory isn't small any more, but it certainly is beautiful. My colleague & I got to take a trip out to Karen (a suburb of Nairobi named for Karen Blixen, the author of Out of Africa - you might know it as that Meryl Streep movie). I'll write other posts about our other adventures - but this place deserves its own:













Kazuri means small & beautiful in kiswahili, and the factory was begun in 1975 as a small enterprise to give single mothers a sustainable livelihood. Like that? Keep reading. The factory is now huge, giving work to over 100 people. The artisans make beautiful ceramic beads and pottery - all by hand. We took a tour of the factory, and got to see all the different stages - mixing the clay, cutting & molding the beads, firing 1, glazing & painting, firing 2, quality control, and jewelry production. The pottery side of the factory is a smaller, but still very successful. Artisans throw pots, use molds, and also hand-sculpt the various pieces.













The bead factory has become wildly successful and popular all over the world - so it was amazing to see the home-base of the operations. I could hardly believe I hadn't heard of this place before.



After our tour, Mary & I spent about an hour in the shop - it was like walking into a candy store: bright colors, shiny textures, beautiful jewelry, beautiful pottery. Everything was so tactile and so inviting - I'm surprised I didn't break anything! We justified our (exessive?) spending by the fact that we were purchasing direct from the makers - no middle men or shipping costs.











For me, the best moment was realizing that my boss gave me some Kazuri beads several years ago - and I had now found the origin of my beautiful red necklace.

Nairobi

Considering that my last trip here was only for a total of 9 hours, I feel like this is actually my first time visiting Nairobi. For all yall who haven't been here - guess what? Nairobi is way more developed than the city I grew up in (Richmond, VA, and proud of it). There are fancy restaurants (Tuesday - Salvadoran, Wednesday - Thai), plenty of shopping, movie theatres, nice hotels (heated pool? check), and yes - even a baby elephat orphanage (details to come as soon as I get a chance to visit!). One of my friends who grew up here said, "I'm so glad I got to live in Nigeria too, because Nairobi isn't like real Africa."

Since Nairobi is so developed, it has become a hub for lots of regional offices - so in addition to the cool places to go, there's a huge expatriate population living here. On the airplane, announcements were made in Dutch, English, and Spanish!

But, some things are the same as other in parts of Africa:
1. overwhelmingly attentive hotel & wait staff. enough said. it's annoying.
2. danger! car jackings, kidnappings, crazy crime like that - people get lulled into this false sense of security because the capital feels safe - awareness is key.
3. getting hit on by married and/or old african men. never changes.
4. i'm still a better swimmer than everybody else at the pool
5. at the end of the day, the food is never quite spicy enough.
6. they serve meat 'n potatoes at breakfast
7. the weather is all i could ever ask for. hot in the day, cool at night, and an occasional rainstorm
8. the people are uncommonly welcoming - I love that about them. Everyone is your friend.
9. I get to the end of every day feeling like I need an extra shower - the dust is so heavy - maybe it's the smog.
10. loads of huge open markets (holding with a thousand things that i will doubtless find irresistable)
11. the only good thing on tv is the adam sandler movie on mnet. ick.

That's all the first impressions I can put together at the moment - more to come when I get pics and stories-

tip #84

don't travel sick. just don't do it.

I was supposed to leave Thursday night for my Kenya trip - but Wednesday evening found me doubled over, blacked out, bruised, aching, feverish, and generally not ready to travel. Thankfully I have smart coworkers and friends who all told me the same thing - 'Go back to bed, and don't even think about getting on that plane!'

The next day, I felt better - but still not quite up-to-snuff, as they say. Thankfully (again), everyone said the same thing, 'Wait until you're 24 hours symptom-free.' I have such good advisors. They all knew what I had deliriously forgotten - nobody else wants sick Abigail on the plane either. ew.

So now, I am almost back to 100% (although let's be honest - tonight's dinner is sitting like a rock in my stomach) - and I'm supposed to leave on Sunday night. I'm feeling a bit nervous about getting myself through the 21 hour trip to Africa, but hopefully all will go smoothly. Updates to come from Nairobi!