My life has now come full circle.

Favorite student quote from student teaching last spring:

[Talking about me teaching in Africa for the next year]

Student 1: "Naw, but for real, Miss, you gon' come back changed."

Student 2: "No, she's gonna come back BLACK!"

Yesterday:

Student: [after looking at my ridiculous chaco tan and seeing the skin color my feet were before coming to Korr] "MADAM! Your skin is turning black like ours!"

Yessssssssss.

"Take care!" or "How I Spent my Midterm Break"

Well, if you were guessing what how I spent my Sunday, and you guessed that I spent 12 hours riding precariously perched atop of the African equivalent of an 18-wheeler with 65 other people, you guessed correctly.

Every midterm break we take our students on a retreat of sorts. In Kenya, "retreat" means "get out of Korr for a day, make a ridiculous amount of food, and play lots of games." Last term we went to Ngurunit, which is a tiny town in the mountains about an hour southwest of Korr. This time, we decided to go to South Horr instead (google it! IT'S ON THE MAP!).

Now, don't get me wrong - South Horr was SO fun (and GORGEOUS), but it's about a 5-6 hour drive away from Korr. This wouldn't be so bad...if this were America. But this is Africa, and here in Korr we are about 4 hours in the opposite direction away from "paved roads." (I use that term VERY loosely...these paved roads are historically known as some of the worst in Africa. And that's saying something.) So 12 hours in a car, bumping along as our driver follows two tire tracks in the sand, driving over rocks, through dried river beds, and around hairpin curves in the mountains does not make for a relaxing drive.

We rented a lorry for our trip. We needed to get 64 students, 12 teachers, and 2 cooks to South Horr/Kurungu - and although Africans can squeeze into cars better than clowns in a circus car, taking two pickups like we did last term was NOT an option.

So we took this instead:

[Don't worry Mom...I'm alive, just a little more bruised than usual. I didn't tell you about this part until now because I figured you would worry :) ]

Typically on one of these things, the back is used for storing and transporting animals, while anybody who hops on for a ride sits perched up where I'm sitting in the picture. You sit across one bar and hold on tight with one or both hands to the bars around you - because once the lorry starts driving, it gets pretty bumpy up there!

We left Korr at 4 AM on Sunday. Alicia and I sat down in the back while Ruth rode in the cab and Claire rode up top. The students brought mattresses and laid them down in the back to sit and sleep on, but as the sun rose they all wanted to sit up top on the bars instead.

By the time we arrived in South Horr just after 9 AM nearly all of our 64 students were riding up top (gives the term "top-heavy" a WHOLE new meaning). Alicia and I had hopped up there a few hours before because we wanted to feel the breeze and see the GORGEOUS view as we drove through the Ndoto mountains. We had a LOT of carsick students along the trip - I'd go as far to say that half of them threw up at some point on the journey. Poor guys...they almost never ride in cars, and this bumpy lorry ride was almost too much for their stomachs to handle. But OH how much they loved hanging (literally) out on top of the lorry!

The only bad thing about riding on top? Having to duck to avoid low-hanging thorn bushes and trees. There were two or three times that the thorns were so bad that EVERYBODY on top of the lorry had to get off and walk while the lorry drove through. John, one of the teachers at school with us, had a giant hole ripped in his shirt and his back pretty badly mangled by these nasty thorns. Even with everyone shouting "take care!" (that's Kenyan for "watch out!") to warn everyone else that an acacia tree branch was quickly approaching, we all got decently scratched up and cut. Oh well...this IS Africa!

Hangin' out on top of the lorry...and talking on our cells. Just another day in north Kenya!

As we pulled into South Horr, any teacher or student who owned a cell phone immediately whipped it out and began talking on it. South Horr has a cell phone tower...glorious! I was back on the grid for 7 hours and managed to text my parents and Kendall...all of the numbers I really had in my phone.

I could get used to waking up to views like this every day...

All of the green everywhere against a backdrop of beautiful mountains was a sight for our tired desert eyes. Did I mention it was in the mid-70's here? During the DAY!? After sweating it out in Korr this was a much welcomed break!

We spent the morning attending church at AIC Kurungu. We were in Samburu country, so the service was conducted in Samburu. Our students REALLY enjoyed it - most speak Samburu and not Rendille, so they're about as keyed in at church here in Korr (where the service is conducted in Rendille) as I am. They even sang a few songs for the congregation in Samburu! I may be a little biased, but I think TSS's choir is just about one of the best around :)

After church, we headed back to the AIM missionary's compound in Kurungu and drank a lot of chai, cooked a delicious lunch of rice, camel stew, and chipattis, and played quite a few games. Claire found a tree with these beautiful flowers on it, and gave one to each of the girls with us. The girls LOVED them!

Ann was creative in how she wore her flower.

You WOULD have two flowers.

Alicia and I taught our students again how to play "This is so much fun." (which they loooooove...thank you, Impact) and "Down by the Banks," which is a hand-clapping game we played back in elementary school.

There was also a rope swing on the compound - created literally hours of fun for everybody. Whoever was on the swing was surrounded by students trying to push you as high as you could possibly go...which is pretty darn high.

After cleaning up and a quick group picture, we hopped back on the lorry and drove back to Korr. I spent most of the ride back perched on top of the spare tire that was lashed to the top of the lorry.

It was a LONG day, but SO fun. Our students really enjoyed getting to see a new place - no one had been to South Horr/Kurungu before. I would definitely go back to South Horr, but hopefully won't need to ride a lorry anywhere again any time in the near future :)

Ministry Update

I sent out an email about this, but for those of you who aren't on my email update list - here is an update on some of the details of the length of my stay here in Korr:

About six weeks before Alicia and I were to leave for Kenya, I began to seriously question my length of commitment to teach three terms of school in Korr. (Kenya's school system operates on a trimester basis - students spend three months in school, then have a month off. Alicia and I originally committed to teach three terms, beginning in September 2009 and ending in July 2010 with the months of December and April being school vacation months.) But, to be completely honest, when I signed up with AIM I never seriously prayed to ask the Lord how long He wanted me to serve in Africa; I just signed up for the longest time that AIM would allow us to go.

12 days before Alicia and I left for Kenya, we discovered that our budget had been miscalculated by almost $6,000. Even though I had raised well over my original budget, I still only had enough funds to stay for two terms of school instead of three. That is, I only had enough funds to stay through the end of April instead of through the end of August as I'd originally committed to. I've been praying ever since about what all of this means and about how long the Lord truly has me in Kenya.

About a month ago God finally made His will known to me - and it was the last thing I expected. I am coming home at the end of April, when my funds run out. This has been confirmed through a ton of prayer and Scripture, as well as by the missionaries here in Korr, my supervisor in Nairobi, and the AIM office in New York.

It's not a matter of "wanting" to leave...I REALLY love it here. Tirrim Secondary School is a really special place - God is moving in big, big ways here and I've been so humbled to be used by Christ here. At the same time, I am confident that this is the Lord's will for me - and I trust Him enough to know that I will try to be obedient to His plan for me, even if I don't fully understand it. God doesn't "need" me here in Kenya to accomplish His will and purpose for His kingdom, but He has chosen to bless me with the opportunity to BE used. Whether I'm here or not, Christ's name WILL be glorified here among the Rendille. I have no idea if I'll ever be back to Africa - I am completely open to coming back if God calls me back, but right now I don't see that in the near future. It's strange - the last 2 1/2 years of my life it's like there's been this neon sign pointing towards Africa. As this chapter comes to a close, I can honestly say I haven't a CLUE what is next - but I know He knows and that He is faithful, and that is more than enough.

I have six weeks left in Korr before I head down country to do some traveling and debriefing before I head back to the States, and I cannot BELIEVE how the time has flown by. If you would like, please pray for the remainder of my time here in Korr - may the Lord use me how He sees fit, and may I be willing to do whatever He asks of me. And, if you have any questions about this or anything else that's the Lord is doing here in Korr and how you could play a part in it, please don't hesitate to email me.

Waakh ki gargaaro! (May God cover you)

Jamie

Rooma...it wasn't built in a day.

Last Saturday night Nick & Lynne were over at our house visiting with us when some people showed up to talk to them.

In walks Indubayyo (in-dew-BYE-oh), one of the ladies from church. She begins talking rather animatedly to Nick. Lynne tells us that she's asking Nick about how the translation of Romans is coming. Nick and his team have been working on the translation of Romans for over a year now, and for the next 3 weeks Nick will be down in Nairobi working with a consultant, revising and editing what we are all praying is the final draft of Romans.

Indubayyo is a stunningly beautiful woman with an even more beautiful testimony. This woman cannot help but beam as she talks about Jesus. Indubayyo can tell you the exact verse in Mark that she read from the Rendille translation that led her to a relationship with Jesus Christ. It had such an impact on her that she named one of her children Marko..."Mark" in Rendille. Indubayyo's job as an evangelist for the church is to walk from goob to goob, sharing with them who Jesus Christ is and what it means to be a Christian. There couldn't be a more perfect job for this amazing woman.

(To read more about Indubayyo, PLEASE read this)

(Photo credit: Andy Brown, AIM On Field Media)

Everywhere Indubayyo goes she carries with her the Rendille Scriptures. I wish I had a picture of this bag and the pages she keeps tucked away inside. Her Rendille New Testament books - the ones Nick and his team have finished translating - are worn to pieces. Tattered pages, worn covers. These books have been well-loved and used often. Lynne told us she refuses to accept new books...she says that these books are too precious to replace.

Indubayyo asked Nick how Romans is coming. She cannot WAIT to for the book to be complete! A few months ago, Nick was in Nick gave her a photocopy of Romans to use when she evangelizes. Saturday night, as she was talking to Nick about the translation of Romans, I was convicted of how much I really take for granted.

Indubayyo reached into her bag and pulled out this same photocopy Nick gave her months ago. The several pages she has are tattered and falling to pieces. Indubayyo carefully and tenderly unfolded it. She treated it as if it was the most precious thing she owned.

Indubayyo, like the rest of the Rendille, is thirsty for God's word. Thirsty doesn't begin to describe what these men and women feel when they think of the Bible. Traditional Rendille culture is very much like the Old Testament. A group of people wandering around in the desert? Hello, Rendille. Sacrifices? They have those. Clean and unclean animals? Yep, they have those too. Camels? Herds of animals? Pastoralists? Check, check, and check. In fact, two of the very first books ever translated into Rendille were Genesis and Exodus chapters 1-20...because the Rendille can relate to them very easily.

But, unlike you and me, they don't have access to the entire Bible in their mother tongue. They don't have access to everything the Bible has to say about Jesus Christ being the ultimate sacrifice. Traditional Rendille like Indubayyo only speak one language - Rendille. A Bible in any other language is worthless to them. Nick and his team have been working almost thirty years on translating the Scriptures into Rendille, and it hasn't been an easy process. Before translation even began, Nick had to write down Rendille as a language. Because before Nick and Lynne came, Rendille was purely a spoken language - no one had ever written it down before.

In 30 years they've just finished 86% of the New Testament. But because it is so expensive to print, only a few books are actually available until they complete the NT and bind it all in one book.

Can you imagine your life without your Bible? In the West we have about 18 million options for our Bible. NIV? ESV? NASB? The list of acronyms could go on for days. The Message? Study Bible? Backpack Bible? Red letter Bible? Student Bible? What color do you want the cover to be? What kind of material? How about the pages? That's not even asking how many Bibles we all own. I mean, me personally, I own about 5. I don't really need 5, nor do I even know where some of them are.

Can you imagine your Bible without Romans? What a rich, heavy book. How about without the entire Old Testament? I can't even imagine. Psalms, Isaiah, Deuteronomy...gone. Ecclesiastes, Job, and Daniel are a figment of your imagination. Jeremiah doesn't even exist.

For the Rendille, anyway. Or for 2,392 other languages spoken in the world without access to ANY of the Bible in their mother tongue. The number of people that affects? 200 million.

I wish I had as much thirst for the Word as Indubayyo does.

Pray for the translation project. Pray for Nick and his team...they left for Nairobi yesterday to work with a consultant to finalize the book of Romans, or "Rooma" in Rendille. Pray for funding to continue the translation project. They are SO close to completing the New Testament!

Pray for the Rendille.

Living in Korr is...

Needing to speak 3 languages on any given day to be able to communicate. (Rendille, English, AND Swahili)

Walking past herds of camels in the morning as they wait for water at the well.

Being woken up every morning at 5:00 AM by the mosque's call to prayer.

Meeting Rendille warriors in town who are dressed up in the most manliest clothes they own - pink kangas with fake flowers on their headpieces. (Don't worry...they carry mirrors with them so they can preen themselves before they come into town!)

Having to throw rocks at the goats who've broken through your fence to graze in your yard. (Not to hurt them, but to scare them out!)

Being called "Mzungu!" (white person) in town by everybody because they don't know your name.

Being called "Siberyan" (my given Rendille name) by all of the Rendille I know because "Jamie" is too hard to pronounce.

Drinking chai prepared with camel's milk during tea time at school.

Experiencing flip-flopped seasons. It's snowing in Texas? It's 100 degrees outside here.

Donkeys and goats wandering through the school yard (or trying to come into your classroom!) don't distract your students, but a car driving by has them out of their seats and peering through the window to see who's driving. (We don't have too many cars driving through Korr!)

Buying sugar in town and having to fish out the GIANT sugar ants before you can use it.

Living in a culture where wealth is not judged by how much money you have but rather by how many animals are in your herd.

Fist-bumping every child I see as I walk to and from school to say hello (because they think it's HILARIOUS, and shaking hands spreads some pretty nasty germs around here...which I may or may not have learned the hard way.)

Learning to cook sheep meat in ways I never thought were possible.

Where eating fruit or fresh vegetables is like Christmas! (The freshest vegetable we can buy in town is tomato paste, and the nearest place to buy fresh produce is a three hour drive away.)

Having students who beg you to give them more homework or quizzes because they're so excited and eager to learn.

Responding to "Madam" like it's my real first name.

Teaching mathematics and geography in somebody's old living room that's been turned into a classroom.

Being covered in chalk dust from leaning against the chalkboard too much as I teach in class - no Smart Boards here!

Teaching at a school where students are so thankful for an education that they come to school at 5 AM to study before school starts at 7:30...and study until the lights are turned out each night at 10:00 PM.

Sweating every day from 10 AM to 7 PM because it's so gosh darn HOT outside.

Having to wear ankle length skirts every day because, while toplessness is culturally acceptable among the traditional Rendille, showing your knees is most definitely not.

Having the most ridiculous Chaco tan line ever. You have one from your summer as a camp counselor? I promise it's not as bad as mine.

Knowing what fields in town will have sheep for sale in the afternoons, and how much to pay for a "good" sheep. (About $13.)

Where hunting spiders and lizards are normal wall decorations.

Waking up to the most breathtaking sunrise I've ever seen...since yesterday, that is.

Walking outside in the evening and seeing every single twinkling star in the night sky. No light pollution here...we're so far from the power grid it's comical.

Learning true selflessness from older, more experienced missionaries, who have given literally everything they have to the Rendille people.

Seeing God move through a people group that has been stubbornly resistant to the Gospel for SO long, and now suddenly is literally begging to hear more about Jesus is...and knowing that their change of heart is only from Him and in His timing alone.

Being reminded every time the wind blows and cools us down that God loves us, jealously yet sacrificially, and will provide for our every need.

Living in Korr is waking up every morning to the desert splendor of God's beautiful creation, and witnessing God moving and changing an entire generation of Rendille to live for Him instead of clinging to proud religious traditions. Where you rejoice when it rains because it brings life and abundance to the Rendille after years of harsh droughts. Where slowly, after reading through Genesis and Exodus, the Bible comes to life in the people around you and just makes so much more sense. It's being challenged and humbled by the faith of Rendille believers, who can tell you the exact verse they read in the Rendille Bible that led them to a saving knowledge of who Christ is and what He did for them on the cross. It's truly appreciating that I can read any book of the Bible I want in my own language...something millions of people across the world - including the Rendille - cannot do because the Bible has not been fully translated for them.

Living in Korr has its fair share of challenges. But those challenges fade away in knowing I have the humbling privilege of being a tool for Jesus to use however He sees fit to further His kingdom here in north Kenya. No matter the cost.

In his name the nations will put their hope.

[Matthew 12:21]

The things we take for granted

After living here in Korr for almost 5 months, there are some things that I will never take for granted again.

Like electricity, for example.

In Korr we're so far off the power grid it's ridiculous. Praise the Lord for solar panels - we are so fortunate to have electricity in Korr because of them.

However, the batteries that our solar panels charge up need lots of distilled water. LOTS. But what do 4 twenty-something girls know about solar panels and batteries and keeping them healthy and fully functioning? Next to nothing. I mean, we didn't even know we should be checking these things! Thank goodness Intebessyie thought to come over and check them for us. ALL of our batteries were stone dry. Which, apparently means they could quit working at any time.

Yikes. These batteries are EXPENSIVE. That, and you have to buy them down country and bring them up yourselves. The next time we head down south? April. So tonight, Alicia and I with the help of Bagajo (our night guard) topped off our batteries.

Thank you Jesus for providing us with electricity, and this stunning view out our front door every evening:

Apology Letters, Part 2

RE: APOLOGY FOR COMING TO CLASS LATE:

The main aim of righting this piece of paper is to argue your forgiveness by not coming to class on time. Please Madam I will never repeat to do that search mistake. I kindly wait for your sweet reply.

Yours faithfully,

Geoffrey L.

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And, my favorite thus far:

To Madam Jammie,

I apologize for coming late in your lesson. Please in your cordial heart forgive me. I reckon that you will going to forgive me.

And I will never do like that until when I have a heavy circumstance. I apologize profusely.

Thank you.

"Dear Maadam Jimmy"

Here at Tirrim Secondary we only have two classrooms - one classroom for Form 1 and one classroom for Form 2. As a result, students stay in the same classroom all day - instead of students switching classrooms for each class, the teachers rotate into the single classroom when it's their time to teach. The kids get two breaks each morning before lunch - one 5 minute break after period 3 and one 25 minute break after period 5 for chai.

Lately, most of the teachers have been having some trouble with students showing up late to class. (Side note: we have a student prefect who is in charge of ringing an actual bell to signal the end/start of class. A real bell! Love. It.) My rule has always been this: if I beat you in the door to the classroom, you are late. Since we don't have tardy sweep or d-halls at Tirrim, it's up to the teacher to decide on acceptable punishment for being late to his/her own class.

Alicia, Claire and I have all adopted pretty much the same policy for tardiness: if a student is late, they have two choices: they can either sit outside the classroom for the remainder of the class, or they may come into class and write me one paragraph on why it is disrespectful to me, their teacher, and the rest of their fellow classmates, to be tardy to class.

Last week was a hum-dinger: I had at least TEN students run past me into math class on Wednesday well after the bell had rung - and then THREE more students late on Thursday to geography class. Seeing as there are only 32 students in each class...I had a LOT of students late! I told everybody who was tardy that they owed me one paragraph on respectfulness - however, since Claire had just taught them the proper format for a letter in English class, I received 10 well-intentioned letters instead.

But, this is rural Kenya: our students don't have access to computers, let alone extra paper. We have to carefully ration exercise books out to them because we don't want to excessively waste paper when it is so hard (and expensive!) to get more. So most of my apology letters were written on carefully folded scrap notebook paper they tore out of the back of their exercise book.

One letter from Elias, a Form 1 student:

-------------------------------------------------------

Jimmie Backnight

APOLOGY FOR LATE COMING

I am hoply here by writing to you this apology letter on the behave of the mistake I have done to you. Madaam please forgive for what I have done to you and entire school rules. I didn't have intension to break your heart is all about the time of short break and I have to ran to the toilet. Please madaam I do promise that you will never and ever see me doing such mistake in front of you and entire school rules. I will alway respect you and follow your class rule. But madaam I know that I have done a mistake but mistake is not a mistake but when repeated. I will alway follow you rule to the day you will fly back to loving home (TEXAS)

Yours kindly,

Student Ne-yo Elias

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Elias (or Ne-yo, as he likes to be called...yes, after the American R&B singer that he loves) is a good student, and although you can't tell from his apology letter, his English is quite good. Most of our students can speak it pretty well, but writing it down is something they are still perfecting.

The next apology letter is from Jonathan, a Form 2 student. I LOVE Jonathan...he's smart, kindhearted, and very respectful. If you can picture Alicia as a male Kenyan...that's Jonathan. Meaning, while he is all of these things, he's got a bit of sass to him as well :)

(The address he used is the actual address for the Tirrim Project up here in Korr - and our mailing address. Really, it's the mailing address for anybody who lives in Korr...even though it's in Nairobi.)

-------------------------------------------------------

Tirrim Secondary School

P.O. Box 21028

Nairobi 00505

Kenya

Madam Jamie B

P.O. Box 21028

Nairobi 00505

Kenya

Dear Madam

RE: APOLOGY FOR COMING LATE TO YOUR CLASS

I would like to apologise to you for coming late to your class. I never intended to come late. It was not something that I deed intentionally but I was talking to a teacher when the bell rang.

Surely Madam I am very sorry for what I did. I know that you will not be happy when students come to your class late. Please Madam forgive me for what I did and I promise that I will not come late to your class unless with a strong reason that you can understand. Thank you for considering my apology.

Yours sincerely,

Jonathan

R.S.V.P. (Please Reply)

Jonathan M.

P.O. Box 21028

Nairobi 00505

Kenya

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Ahahahahaha...besides the fact that he asked me to RSVP, this is my favorite part: "I promise that I will not come late to your class unless with a strong reason that you can understand."Not, "I promise it will never happen again," but "I promise it won't happen unless I've got a really REALLY good reason."

Eh, well...at least I know that he's being honest and that he'll keep that promise!

(Also...I've been here over 4 months and Jonathan is the ONLY student who spelled my name correctly. Hmm...)

Thank you, Lion King, for explaining the circle of life.

Last Saturday we bought a sheep for Ksh1000 - about $13.

Today, we had mutton stir fry for lunch.

How did we get from the first picture to the second?

Well.

We bought Sheepy from our friend/old night guard Obeyle's herd of adi (Rendille for a herd of sheep and goats). Obeyle slaughtered Sheepy (we named him for the 15 minutes we owned him before he became our lunch) in our backyard with a panga - or handheld machete. I'll spare you the details, but it was morbidly fascinating to see how it's done. He handed us a bucket (literally) full of raw sheep meat (including the liver!) about an hour later, and after carefully washing each piece, we now we have a deep freezer full of various parts of Sheepy.

Just another day in the deserts of Africa.

No one on the corner has swagga like us

This is Abednego. He's a Form 2 student here at Tirrim. Last weekend Abednego was playing football and collided head-first with another player. He's got a pretty nasty bump above his left eyebrow, but fortunately the nurse here says it's nothing too serious.

I don't know if the accident correlates with this hoodie, but he's been wearing it ever since. Not even just wearing it - nooooo. He wears the hood up, pulled down low over his left eye. And every time Alicia, Claire or I see him walking, we start singing "No one on the corner has swagga like us" under our breaths. Because this Kenyan has got some serious swagger when he walks.

Too bad he has no idea who Kanye is.