What's in a Name

Many Kenyans have Biblical names.

This is Rahab:

I teach Moses reading and writing.  It was kind of weird the first time I called on him in class.

But this post is really about Steven, a class one student.

Steven and David were fussing (shouldn't one of them be named Saul?);  anyway, David announced that Steven broke a flower pot:

My teacher instincts kicked in and I thoroughly grilled the suspect.  Actually, he confessed to this mayhem:

"I was playing Samson with Munythia.  He picked the flower pot and then I picked to be strong.  I could not hold and the pot was made to fall."

How can you be mad at a six-year-old when he is role-playing Biblical heroes?

Nice vs. Not Nice

As previously discussed, Kenya is beautiful. But not everything in Kenya is nice. I will now present several exhibits so you know which is which.

First, nice:

She's a cutie!

Then, not nice:

Yeah, definitely not nice.  They were hanging out behind my classroom drums.  I will save the goat drums for another day.

Nice:

 

I love this kid!

Not nice:

These are the thorns on an acacia tree.  They are as long as my finger.

Very, very nice:

He was praying for our day and that we will have a successful visit from the department of education on Thursday.  I love listening to our kids pray!

Finally, this one is up in the air.  I'll let you decide if it's nice or not.  I'll tell you how I acquired it another day.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog, Kazuri Kenya. I will be sharing the everyday adventures of our life in Kenya as we serve in an orphanage outside of Nairobi for the next two years. Don't be astounded by my fabulous, creative and ingenious blog name. Everything else I could think of was already taken. (There's another "Kate in Kenya"?) This is also why, when you can't remember the blog name later, you shouldn't be mad. Anyway, Kazuri means "small and beautiful" in Kiswahili. While Kenya is not small, it is beautiful, and life usually happens in small moments that add up. I will try to share those moments with you so we can experience Kenya together!