Hey everyone, heres blog post number 14.
the last week has been busy. I headed into Nairobi twice, bought a sheep, and learned to cook new foods. i noticed that i have not really talked about the food here as much as i should. so i will list out the foods that i have eaten, cooked, and learned to love.
-Chapati. i call them African tortillas, but in reality they are much better. it's very simple to make, mix flour and water till a dough is made, add oil, make them flat, and throw them in the pan till they brown on both sides. you can eat them with anything, but stew is the best to have with it. once and a while, we will get 3 left over chapatis and we consider it a major blessing if we do. i bought 3 massive ones in Nairobi on friday before i left. they are about the size of med. pizzas. they are an awesome food to eat.
-Samosas. before i came, i did not know much about samosas, other then the fact that they were real. when i got into kenya, it was like a rumor that samosas existed. i looked all over, but never found them. until saturday. my housemate and i took a trip down to one of the teachers houses, and she spent the day teaching us how to make samosas. it took a while, but were very well worth it. a samosa is ground beef that has been cooked with spices and then put into a dough pocket, and then fried. you can eat them with your hands as you walk. they are one of the best foods i have had here.
-Githeri. this one has grown a bit on me. its maize and beans, boiled together and then served. we have it everyday for lunch, and when i mean everyday, i mean everyday. other then the few rocks that find their way into the food, it's a fine dish to eat. once and a while, we will add an onion or tomato into it, or in my case, a beef stock cube. i don't know if i will miss it when i get back.
-Ugali. i am still trying to find a way to enjoy Ugali. i have tried a lot of things, but the only way is to just eat it. what you do is take maize, ground it down into a flour, and then add water. it's a heavy block of maize.
-Stew/rice. this is something that we love to make cause A) it's easy and B) it's cheap. you can put whatever you want into a stew, we put: goat, onions, garlic, tomatos, ginger, cilantro, beef stock cubes, and potatoes into it. put it over rice and it's heaven.
-Mandazies. this is considered an awesome treat here. it's fried dough. who can't love that? they are served with tea most of the time and bought in packs of 6-12. they are a nice snack and very cheap to buy.
those are the basic foods that I get my hands on here.
now for the other part of Kenya. The part that does not eat.
I can't walk down the road here with out seeing a child, i say "Jambo" they reply "give me food". I have had this happen so many times. after a while, it starts to hit you harder. I burned through a book last week called "under the overpass". the Author takes a few months of his life to see what it is like to live the homeless life. in it he describes the way that todays Christians in several cities ask him to leave, or walk right past him. but he also describes the way that several Christians in several cities dropped everything to help him. i then started to think of my own position right now, coming all the way across the world to do Gods will, but yet i am the person who walks by the homeless in Nairobi, who all they want it something to eat.
I made it my goal friday to at least try to tackle the issue. Instead of buying a piki piki ride up to junction to get a matatu, i used the 50 schillings to buy a pack of mandazies. so far so good, i also packed along with me tracts from FMP. not a bad touch. i was excited to make it into the city and help a little. they first man i see is holding to canes holding a cup asking for money. knowing that some will use money to buy booze or drugs, food is a much better option. i hand him the mandazi and the tract, told him God bless and moved to where i was going. as i continue to walk, a man starts to talk to me, this is normal for Nairobi, and i know what he is looking for. he talks about the struggle in the country he comes from, and then pops the question that most christians will have to face, "can you buy me rice?". this is the hardest thing to do. of course you want to buy him the rice, but you know if you buy him a bag, why not everyone else? I told him my problem with it, but handed him the mandazis, the whole bag that i thought would be shared with his family that he talked so much about. he then got mad, cause i would not buy him tea to go with it. i handed him a tract and walked away trying to figure out what just happend.
I have always been told by veterans of missions work never to buy anyone on the street anything, cause it will start a chain reaction that can't be stopped. it's like if you buy a mouse a cookie, they will want a glass of milk. those who know poverty, look at Americans as open bank accounts who drop money to the poor and sick. ministry takes a turn here, you want to love them all you can, but the money in your bank account can't handle some of it. you can't feed them all. When Jesus sees the huge group of people, and he wants to feed them, but only has a few fish and a few things of bread, he multiplys them, giving enough for everyone. I wish that could happen all the time, everywhere.
it's emotionally tough to have to say no, and you feel like a bad christian when you have to walk away. but it's the situation that you have to look at, and what will happen when you give in and buy the bag of rice. give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life. they will always expect something from Americans who are here for missions, cause they know are hearts are soft, and our pockets are deep(sometimes). it's a harsh reality, that many can't fathom or conform to. i hear stories of missions groups that will toss money out of cars to the poor, or will start pumping money into the churches that have little. i sound like a horrible person for saying this, but it's the only way that ministry can really operate here. if i had millions, i would spend it on Kenya, but i don't and neither do most that come here for the same purpose. we can't fix the nation with money, but we can with God.
thats all i have to say about that.
the last week has been busy. I headed into Nairobi twice, bought a sheep, and learned to cook new foods. i noticed that i have not really talked about the food here as much as i should. so i will list out the foods that i have eaten, cooked, and learned to love.
-Chapati. i call them African tortillas, but in reality they are much better. it's very simple to make, mix flour and water till a dough is made, add oil, make them flat, and throw them in the pan till they brown on both sides. you can eat them with anything, but stew is the best to have with it. once and a while, we will get 3 left over chapatis and we consider it a major blessing if we do. i bought 3 massive ones in Nairobi on friday before i left. they are about the size of med. pizzas. they are an awesome food to eat.
-Samosas. before i came, i did not know much about samosas, other then the fact that they were real. when i got into kenya, it was like a rumor that samosas existed. i looked all over, but never found them. until saturday. my housemate and i took a trip down to one of the teachers houses, and she spent the day teaching us how to make samosas. it took a while, but were very well worth it. a samosa is ground beef that has been cooked with spices and then put into a dough pocket, and then fried. you can eat them with your hands as you walk. they are one of the best foods i have had here.
-Githeri. this one has grown a bit on me. its maize and beans, boiled together and then served. we have it everyday for lunch, and when i mean everyday, i mean everyday. other then the few rocks that find their way into the food, it's a fine dish to eat. once and a while, we will add an onion or tomato into it, or in my case, a beef stock cube. i don't know if i will miss it when i get back.
-Ugali. i am still trying to find a way to enjoy Ugali. i have tried a lot of things, but the only way is to just eat it. what you do is take maize, ground it down into a flour, and then add water. it's a heavy block of maize.
-Stew/rice. this is something that we love to make cause A) it's easy and B) it's cheap. you can put whatever you want into a stew, we put: goat, onions, garlic, tomatos, ginger, cilantro, beef stock cubes, and potatoes into it. put it over rice and it's heaven.
-Mandazies. this is considered an awesome treat here. it's fried dough. who can't love that? they are served with tea most of the time and bought in packs of 6-12. they are a nice snack and very cheap to buy.
those are the basic foods that I get my hands on here.
now for the other part of Kenya. The part that does not eat.
I can't walk down the road here with out seeing a child, i say "Jambo" they reply "give me food". I have had this happen so many times. after a while, it starts to hit you harder. I burned through a book last week called "under the overpass". the Author takes a few months of his life to see what it is like to live the homeless life. in it he describes the way that todays Christians in several cities ask him to leave, or walk right past him. but he also describes the way that several Christians in several cities dropped everything to help him. i then started to think of my own position right now, coming all the way across the world to do Gods will, but yet i am the person who walks by the homeless in Nairobi, who all they want it something to eat.
I made it my goal friday to at least try to tackle the issue. Instead of buying a piki piki ride up to junction to get a matatu, i used the 50 schillings to buy a pack of mandazies. so far so good, i also packed along with me tracts from FMP. not a bad touch. i was excited to make it into the city and help a little. they first man i see is holding to canes holding a cup asking for money. knowing that some will use money to buy booze or drugs, food is a much better option. i hand him the mandazi and the tract, told him God bless and moved to where i was going. as i continue to walk, a man starts to talk to me, this is normal for Nairobi, and i know what he is looking for. he talks about the struggle in the country he comes from, and then pops the question that most christians will have to face, "can you buy me rice?". this is the hardest thing to do. of course you want to buy him the rice, but you know if you buy him a bag, why not everyone else? I told him my problem with it, but handed him the mandazis, the whole bag that i thought would be shared with his family that he talked so much about. he then got mad, cause i would not buy him tea to go with it. i handed him a tract and walked away trying to figure out what just happend.
I have always been told by veterans of missions work never to buy anyone on the street anything, cause it will start a chain reaction that can't be stopped. it's like if you buy a mouse a cookie, they will want a glass of milk. those who know poverty, look at Americans as open bank accounts who drop money to the poor and sick. ministry takes a turn here, you want to love them all you can, but the money in your bank account can't handle some of it. you can't feed them all. When Jesus sees the huge group of people, and he wants to feed them, but only has a few fish and a few things of bread, he multiplys them, giving enough for everyone. I wish that could happen all the time, everywhere.
it's emotionally tough to have to say no, and you feel like a bad christian when you have to walk away. but it's the situation that you have to look at, and what will happen when you give in and buy the bag of rice. give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life. they will always expect something from Americans who are here for missions, cause they know are hearts are soft, and our pockets are deep(sometimes). it's a harsh reality, that many can't fathom or conform to. i hear stories of missions groups that will toss money out of cars to the poor, or will start pumping money into the churches that have little. i sound like a horrible person for saying this, but it's the only way that ministry can really operate here. if i had millions, i would spend it on Kenya, but i don't and neither do most that come here for the same purpose. we can't fix the nation with money, but we can with God.
thats all i have to say about that.
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