Monday, February 1, 2010

You Know You're in Africa When...

We have been in Kenya for about 3 weeks now and we have made a few observations that we would like to share with you.

You know you’re in Africa when:

~It rains on your clean laundry hanging out to dry and you call it a second rinse

~Chickens that live next door are your “weed and feed”

~The sheep are your very own lawn mowers as well as pets tied to a post in your front yard

~You’re not sure if you’re getting a tan because you live on the equator or your bath water looks like this before you actually bathe


~This is Aquafina at it’s best: Purified water=4 hours of direct sunlight


~You get an urgent call from the OR that a woman is in on the table in need of your blood type so you rush in only to find that there is only 1 man who has a key and he is at home. So he comes 30 minutes later only to take you to a secret refrigerator that has a secret stash of blood that no one knew about.

~You wake up to this every morning:


~Everyone stops to say “Habari” or “Hello” and shake your hand

~The rooster that lives next door begins crowing at 3am, then 3:30, 4:00…

~You are greeted by these faces every time you get home:

~You don’t need a floral shop all you have to do is go to your backyard and find this:

~Electricity during the day is “optional”

~This is 10 minutes away from your home:


~When you order a couch and ask for light green this is what you get:

~You have to travel 2 hours to get your computer modem serviced (sorry it’s been a while since we've posted)

~Things are quite comical around here at times, but it keeps life interesting.

We are enjoying our adventure here.

Love and praying for you all!


23 comments:

rjonestexas said...

What a great post!! THANKS for sharing your new life with us! What a beautiful place!! You all look so happy & at home there. :) also, love that couch! so fun!!

Chloë said...

Sounds like you've had some excitement alreday! =) I hope life is starting to get a little more "settled."

Thanks for posting the pictures! The scenery is BEAUTIFUL! =)

NHP said...

Hello Sweet Friends!

I sure did love this post and all the pictures.
The laundry and 'clean' water are so funny. I loved the emergency blood story too, I laughed out loud. But the tears came when I saw the beautiful view. OH, MY God, You are amazing!
Hudson looks to fit right in with all his new friends and Isaac looks to have grown- big.time.

Adam is off to Haiti for 7 days and I will send you a link for our blog when he gets back. Tell Kyle he gets to "play" doctor's assistant for a medical team of 8 helping all the Haitians. I am SO proud of him.

Enjoy resting on your new couch and chew some Obama for me, haha.
Love you all so much. You are doing a great job.
Much Prayers,
Natasha

jan crouch said...

Great to see a bit of your daily life, the boys all look wonderful, glad to see that you're wearing that OU T shirt
LOVE the retro green couch

Elisabeth said...

Amazing! What a blessed life you all are leading.

Thanks for sharing!!

Rebecca Viagran said...

Hello one of my favorite family! I love the photos of Hudson and his little buddies! Too adorable...
Ok, but the obama gum makes me smile!

Anonymous said...

by the way..can you send me some of the Obama Strawberry flavoured bubblegum? Really I am serious...

Travis and Marlene said...

What a fun/funny and creative blog post! Love it! And the pictures are great! Miss you all so much!
Love, Mom

LRD said...

so so so funny guys, great to see some pics and hear what you have been up to. we miss you guys sooo much but are so happy for you and proud of what you are letting the Lord do through you.
Your prictures brought back so many memories :):) Hanna and are thinking about coming to see in you June what do you think???
Send me an email and fill me in on all the nitty gritty of your new life :):) Love you guys!!!

amanda torres said...

I am so glad to read that life is going smoothly for your family. All of the pictures look like you are right at home. Thank you so much for the service you are doing.

Unknown said...

SO good to see your faces!!! Perfect post!!! love you guys!

Eric North said...

Wow. Brings back memories of our time at Tenwek. Absolutely beautiful. Thanks for the laugh.

Karen Baker said...

This was sooooo great--it was good to see everything and have a perspective on how to pray for you guys......oh and the beautiful scenery picture reminded me of Liberia....so beautiful. Our water was cleaner though---it was brought by the UN and boiled:)
Praying for you all!
Daughn, Karen and Kids!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful post - thanks so much for the pictures and update!
Love and prayers from your cousin Nancy in Atlanta, GA (your mom's first cousin from the Wells family, Kyle)

Amanda said...

Vanessa, I miss you a bunch. It is so good to see your face. Isaac is ginormous!!! I teared up looking at the beautiful landscape and hudson with his buddies. I am so proud of you. Did the skirts fit? I hope so. I love you so much and can't wait to skype. What time is best for you?

Shannon Pierce said...

I have been looking every day for a new post. I am so happy for you guys. Life looks amazing. I am sure it's hard at times, but wow, God is incredibly faithful. Guess you should have gotten the fabric after all. Oh well, throw a quilt on it or go modern. Love it. We are good here. Miss yall.

Learning 4 Life said...

Truly amazing. Your perspective on life is beautiful and the pictures are beautiful as well!

3kidmama said...

Love the post - our daughter Hannah is currently in Kapsowar and she thoroughly is enjoying your sweet boys - and Lauren too! Thanks for adding a smile to our day - Lois Patton (Minnesota)

3kidmama said...

Hi Jones family!

My name is Lois and I am Hannah Patton's mom who is there with you all in Kapsowar right now with a portion of the Howard family. I just read your blog post to Dr Howard's 9yo daughter, Anjaela, so she could enjoy the pictures and I have to tell you when she saw your couch she exclaimed, "Oh THAT's pretty! Well..., I mean,... at least it is better than a wood couch or something like that." LOL
Enjoying your blog so much - thanks for helping to give us a picture into everyday living in your new world! We are praying for the entire Kapsowar team. In Him - Lois Patton

Sarasa99 said...

Hi Kyle & Vanessa, this is a wonderful post!!!! I laughed out loud several times, thank you so much!!! We hope you are doing so very well. Miss you and wish you the best :) Thank you for serving there. L`dogg

Aunt Faye and Uncle Johnny said...

Hi Kyle and Vanessa, We enjoyed your blog and the pictures so much. It helps us pray for you more effectively as we see pictures of you, your children, and your 'appointed place' in Africa. We love you, Aunt Faye and Uncle Johnny

Unknown said...

I loved the post. Just make sure you dont get Obama stuck in the new green couch. Stacy and I are praying for you regularly. Can't wait to hear from you guys again soon.

Alecia said...

Soooo fun!!! I like the You know you're in Keny when facts! I miss you all soooo much but and thankful for your example of obeying God's call on your life! I love seeing Hudson and his new friends! So sweet! Can't wait to hear more!