THQ, Road Trips, and Blackouts

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted anything here, I apologize to those who may have checked it a few times looking for something new when there wasn't. Here are some of the things I've done since last Thursday.
Last Friday Catherine and I went with Pastor Mutangili into downtown Nairobi. We stopped at a couple banks and went for some tea, which they drink a lot of here in Kenya so that was pretty normal. A couple times since I had been living in the house up until that point the topic of conversation came up about what churches Catherine and I attend. Pastor was very excited to hear that I was from The Salvation Army church and we had talked about that a few times. After we finished tea we went walking around downtown a bit and then Pastor says to me "Stephanie, tell me what that building says." I looked and it was the THQ for this territory in Kenya. I didn't have my camera with me and we didn't go in but he said he'd take me back I'll take some pictures and maybe go inside and meet some of the people there. So that was pretty cool.
Last Saturday there was a worship team practice going on at the church, and so I went up to that. I just listened and got to know some of the people, but it was a good chance to talk with them and find out a little more about the team. They seem very receptive of me being there which I am very grateful for. One of the members who I have gotten to know a bit was asking me about vocal training techniques and such so that makes me a little bit more comfortable because for me it's a sign that they are open to me doing some teaching while I'm there.
On Sunday we went to church and were introduced to the congregation. They have two english services every Sunday and one in Swahili. During the second service there is a young adult Bible Study, which generally starts when the worship team is finished in the second service. It seems like on Sundays what will happen is that I'll participate in the worship team and be in the first service and then be a part of the worship team in the second service and then go to the young adult Bible study. I think Catherine or I might end up leading that sometime, but that hasn't been totally worked out yet.
Monday was our day off and we did not really do much. Although I'm getting a bit of a reputation of a bookworm because a lot of my free time I spend reading, so I think I started the book The Shack last Thursday and finished it on Monday and then I started a book called Take One which I finished a couple days ago.
Tuesday morning we went to a prayer meeting at the church. It was a good experience with Kenya time because as some may know, they are not as time-oriented as we are in the west. So this was supposed to be starting at 10:00, but it was about 10:20 when we left for the church and by the time we got there they had finished because they had started early. A couple of the people who were there told us what had been the Scripture focus that morning had been and we talked a bit about it and prayed again. Tuesday evening there was a young adult Bible study here at the house we are staying in. This was good and interesting and I think starting this coming Tuesday Catherine and I will be leading that. They're studying the book of Hebrews, and it was very interesting and I am sure it will continue to be.
Wednesday was another relaxing day. The highlight was going up to the small market that is held in the parking lot of the little shopping centre up the road. Catherine and I both bought sandals. As we were walking around there were people always trying to get out attention and get us to buy something from them. The white skin that we had often portrays wealth to people here so in a place like a market we would be desired customers, and apparently they also double and sometimes triple the prices for a white person.
Thursday was a very exciting day. We left at about 9:00am and drove to the village where pastor grew up and where his wife, Sylvia grew up. These were both small places out in the country, and it was all so beautiful. I took about 40 pictures of the scenery. The mountains are beautiful and provide wonderful views when we were driving at the tops, we could see for miles. We met pastor's mother and stopped at the little home that he has out in the village. It's a small little home with just a main room and a couple rooms off of it. There's no running water or electricity in there. Part of me wanted to be serving in a more rural area when I saw that because it was so much less busy than the city, but don't get me wrong I am very happy with where I am and I am sure that God will be using me this summer. The town that Sylvia was from was a bit bigger. We met her grandmother and a couple other family members. There was a funeral for a friend of the family that Pastor wanted to go to and we went to that for a little while. We stood there for about 40 minutes and then Catherine, Mwende and I went back to the car to wait for Pastor. He had mentioned the day before that whether or not the funeral was finished we would leave b 3:00, we left at 4:20. :) We got back home at about 6:20 and overall had a good time. There were a few times when we passed some schools with children walking home and Pastor told us to wave at them because it wasn't everyday they were greeted by a couple of 'wazungu' (westerners in Swahili). This kind of made me feel like I was on a parade. So that was a very exciting day.
Yesterday we went to a prayer meeting at the church at 5:30. When we were almost finished the lights went out and at first I thought that it was just the church lights flickering, but when we got home they were using candles and lanterns because the power had actually gone. It was gone for about 2.5 hours. but it was a lot of fun. There were a few people over visiting and Catherine and I taught a few of the people we have come to know better how to play Uno. It was lots of fun. It reminded me of being at my Grandfather's cottage on Vincent's Point in Newfoundland because of the lighting and just sitting around plaing cards. I enjoyed it.
Today I am going up to the church to practice with the worship team again. I will be playing/singing with them for the first time tomorrow, which I'm looking forward, but I am a little nervous about it. It is good to be getting involved in the church and now that we have more of a routine time is picking up the pace, and I know that it is going to go fast. For those of you encouraging me to sieze every opportunity I get don't worry, I will be.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. There has been some rain in Kenya over the past week, but there are still some dry areas. As we were driving on Thursday Pastor kept pointing out some places where it had rain and some places where it was still dry. It's coming, but there are still dry places that need prayers. The church could also use your prayers because they are trying to raise funds to finish a building project, and they are also in the process of hiring a youth pastor. As far as Catherine and I go, we're still adjusting and getting used to everything. We're still not 100% sure on everything we're doing and hoping that clarity will soon be made of that. Please pray that no matter what we are doing God will be doing the work and not us, and that we will always be relying on him and not ourselves.
Blessings,
Kwa Heri,
Steph