Camping on lake Naivasha

           

     I love to camp, and Lake Naivasha is my favourite place. Lake Naivasha is only about two and a half hours away from where we live, and is a short yet beautiful drive. Driving there we got to see lots of Acacia trees, Zebras (my Favourite), Giraffes, antelope, gazelle, and some others I forgot. I didn't get a picture of it, but I saw many road signs like: Zebra crossing, Giraffe crossing, or dangerous animals.:-)I thought that was funny.:-)

Lake Naivasha with the camp sight in the background

      We got there Monday evening, and ,quickly, set up tent before dark.(Yes, our tent is big enough to fit all seven of us.:-) It's a cabin tent.)

That night we were "true campers" and roasted hot dogs and marsh mellows over the fire, but the rest of the meals we ate at the restaurant, on the camp sight.:-) 
      For breakfast,on Tuesday,I had two French toast with bacon strips ,and syrup on top. I enjoyed it heartily.:-) Afterwards I joined my brothers in fishing, and I think I caught like twelve fish. They were not the huge fish that I would brag about, but hey, I caught them.:-) Dad says I have a very, unique way of catching fish ,for I hooked the fish on the back, one on the eye, and another just above the mouth.:-) The poor fish were probably quite mad at me. Oh, and I have to tell you what we used for bait, Cray fish. We would catch the Cray fish live ,and Taylor or someone else (I couldn't bring myself to do it:-) would twist the bottoms off, so we could put it on our hooks. Taylor got quite a few pinches from those angry, little Cray fish.:-)

Suzy helping with the Cray fish

      Later in the day we went for a game drive around Crater Lake, and that is where you see the pictures from Crater Lake. There weren't many animals ,but we did see a few Flamingos. We hiked up to a high viewpoint and got a great view of the lake and it's surroundings. Zach had to walk down the hill bare foot because his slippers broke on the way up :-0 Actually he wasn't walking down he was hopping down, because the stones were so hot from the sun. 

at Crater Lake

Crater Lake

 

Mr. Baboon

Flamingoes

A huge dust devil we saw from the viewpoint 

Wednesday we made our trip back home, and ended our exciting trip.
By - Ashlyn Elaine
  

     

Where we stopped for lunch on our way home

(I hope you guys like pictures because I put on lots!:-)

Game day

           Today, at one of the Baptist churches(Open Bible Baptist Church)  here in Thika, there was a kids Game day. We were able to help out, and had a lot of fun ,as well. 
          It was such a blessing to see around seventy five kids come out today. I got there around eighty forty five, and from then on the kids just kept coming, little by little, till around ten thirty. Emily and I helped with a game called ladder golf. It was the first time I had heard of it, but I assure you now I am an expert.:-) Most of the kids loved it, and just kept on playing, over and over. (No, we did not have any golf ball injuries: I'm surprised at that:-) Sara and Mrs. Simonsin worked with the little kids games and their Bible story, Aaron did the soccer games with the boys, and Daniel and Taylor helped with the bean bag toss. 
          To wrap things up, the little kids had a Bible story, with Mrs. Simonsin, and the older ones a preaching session, with Dr. Rick. Then we had a much- needed refreshment, of cookies and juice. So ended a very fun and tiring Game day! I hope many of these kids can come back on Sunday for Sunday school, and maybe even bring their parents.
          After cleaning up and all, my family, the Simonsins, and Sara and Emily went to grab some lunch. I was starved, and thoroughly enjoyed my chicken burger and fries.:-)
Enjoy the pictures!
By - Ashlyn Elaine

The ladder golf game

Sara helping in the little kid's games

ladder golf once again

playing Simon says

broom golf :-)

Bible story

Blow the bean away (my favourite to watch ;-)

still playing

time for prizes

A Walk in the Mud

Walking is a big thing in Kenya. So the other day Sara, Ashlyn, and I decided to go for a walk through our neighborhood. Here are some pictures of our experience. (Unfortunately it is rainy season and the roads are muddy.)
By Emily Swain

walking down our street

maize growing in the fields

One room shack

nice house behind walls; maize growing in fields

car driving through mud

nice big house

crossing the mud puddles 

more maize in the open field

Ashlyn Talking

A girls orphanage 

Apartments on the top two floors and shops on the bottom floor.

very muddy road

picking our way carefully across the mud

Ashlyn leading the way!

single file through the mud

dryer road

Walking on the grass to avoid the mud

Happy Easter!!

This Easter we were able to get pictures of us missionary kids. Hope you enjoy!

Teen Guys

Rains Girls

Halstead Girls

Teen Girls

Simonsen Boys

Yet Again

Teenagers

Girls!

All together

Cute!

Rains Boys

Deputation Memory's

  What is Deputation? For a missionary it is a time when you travel around telling different churches about what God has called you to do in a different country in order to raise support needed to live in that country. For a missionary deputation entails a lot of work. But this is from an MK's perspective not a missionary's.  
  My families' deputation lasted four long years. (A typical deputation can last between 6 months to 8 years, depending how long it takes a missionary to raise the funds needed to live on his particular field.) Being on deputation for four years was quite an experience. For two of those four years we lived in an RV. This RV/ motor home was 32 feet long; we had six people living in it; and there were NO pull outs. In the back was a bed room with two bunk-beds and in the front over the cab was a big bed. We had a small bathroom where you could hardly turn around in. There was a small kitchenette with an oven that was small and didn't cook evenly, a small refrigerator, a small shallow sink, and practically no storage space. I’m sure it must have been hard on my parents but I never thought so. We had so much fun. A lot of people would say that the hardest part about being on Deputation is being in a different house every week. That problem is solved if you live in an RV/motor home. You might be cramped, but you will always have the same bed to sleep in. Another problem about deputation travels is that you spend so much time in the car. An RV has plenty of room to spread out in and a bathroom ready to use at a moments notice. 
   Unfortunately we didn't ever get a break from school. Six days a week, rain or shine, we did school. And if we were sick, well too bad!There is no one for you to infect and if you can sit up you can do school. I said six days of school because when you are in church meetings and mission conferences week after week you are bound to lose a day here and there on school. So no matter what, you do school, so you can take those days off. We even did school on holidays…don’t tell anyone. 

   Part of being on deputation is traveling. Having a history lover for a father insured that we saw the sights no matter the cost. I'm thankful for this because when you mention Mackinac Island, Greenfield Village, Mount Vernon, Lincoln Monument, Mount Rushmore, Key West Florida, Niagara Falls, Library of Congress, Boston Harbor, Plymouth Plantation, and many more places, isn't just a name it's a place. 

   With all this traveling it is easy to lose track of names and places so we have our very own code for the places we have been: "The place where Wesley got bit by the dog." Yes, we will never forget you guys."The place with the three legged dog," Who can compete with a three legged dog? "The place with the lime green auditorium," yea I know... "The place where that one girl said that then you said that..." As you can see we have unique memories that stay with us.

By Emily Swain

Independence Hall

Key West Florida

Library of Congress

Mackinac Island

Mt. Vernon

Niagara Falls 

St. Louis Arch

Titanic Museum

USS Constitution