I began today by waking before 4 am. I guess I’m either dealing with the time zone change or I just got too much sleep yesterday. You figure out which one it is. ;) I had presented Serge and Olivia with a bottle of Vermont (!!) maple syrup (aka, liquid gold) and a box of Aunt Jemima’s pancake mix as a hospitality gift when I arrived yesterday. Guess what she made for breakfast this morning. Yum!
Oh, by the way, yesterday I ate Nigerian. Olivia cooked arrowroot in a milk sauce and served it for lunch. It didn’t taste like anything I’d had before. It is a root so it had some of the texture of potatoes, pretty mild taste.
Attended an IT department meeting first thing this morning that split the time between a workbook based on the book “Grace that is Amazing” and then the final half discussing several IT projects. The rest of the morning was spent on a detailed tour of the new main building (pictured here) with the network administrator, Omonge, who is a really sharp national. He’s been there for a number of years and has done a great job ensuring the wiring system is modern and flexible.
Lunch time here is at 12:30. There are people here at BTL that prepare Kenyan food every day and serve it outside for an outrageously high cost… 80 shillings, essentially $1 US. I’m going to splurge one of these days and eat Kenyan.
Anyways, today was Madagascar for lunch, not Kenyan. I went back to Serge and Olivia’s apartment (across the courtyard form the office). I feel Olivia is going the extra mile with her hospitality. She presented a stuffed fish, smothered with mushrooms that looked absolutely amazing. Here was a fish, to all intents and purposes untouched (head, skin, fins, etc), covered with mushrooms, cut in slices like a meatloaf. What a surprise to find that the insides had been completely removed, the bones and junk tossed (except the head), the flesh mixed with mushrooms, rice and other items, put back into the fish and yet it still looked like a whole fish. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t get a picture before we consumed it. She promised we’d have this dish one more time and let me help her prepare it. I’ll get some pictures next time for sure.
The afternoon was spent with Omonge again but this time I got a detailed diagram of their computing setup and discussed how we might handle the main project that needs to be done during my trip. After we finished, I spent time compiling all the notes into a document and a couple of diagrams.
Dinner “chez Olivia” was homemade pizza with ham and sausage (Italian… what’s tomorrow going to bring?). Later I developed various options to accomplish the project we worked on in the afternoon, along with advantages/disadvantages, risk, time and complexity. Omonge and I will work through this tomorrow to resolve questions, decide on the right plan, get approval and then involve others in the implementation. Pray for wisdom for us as we meet.
We’d also really appreciate your prayers about new equipment (a computer server and some network switches) that JAARS shipped to BTL a while ago but has yet to be released from customs despite frequent attempts. (It won’t matter if you don’t know what a server or a switch is. God does.) My projects depend on this equipment, especially the server. There is a hope that it will all be released tomorrow but that has apparently been the word for a while.
Tonight the power went out, not uncommon in even large African cities but very common and lengthy in many areas. While a power outage here leaves the neighborhood in the dark until the problem is found and repaired, the BTL generator kicked in within seconds, restoring us to the light and able to function the way we need to. Thanks to folks (probably Wycliffe Associates or a team from JAARS) for providing such a reliable system in place.
It reminds me of how many people are spiritually lost in darkness in this world, unable to see, because they do not have an independent, powerful source of power that protects and provides for them. Praise the Lord for His presence in my life. I am so thankful to be part of the team working to provide God’s Word to shed life into the world.
And thank you to those who stand with Julie and me for also being part of that team.
Oh, by the way, yesterday I ate Nigerian. Olivia cooked arrowroot in a milk sauce and served it for lunch. It didn’t taste like anything I’d had before. It is a root so it had some of the texture of potatoes, pretty mild taste.
Attended an IT department meeting first thing this morning that split the time between a workbook based on the book “Grace that is Amazing” and then the final half discussing several IT projects. The rest of the morning was spent on a detailed tour of the new main building (pictured here) with the network administrator, Omonge, who is a really sharp national. He’s been there for a number of years and has done a great job ensuring the wiring system is modern and flexible.Lunch time here is at 12:30. There are people here at BTL that prepare Kenyan food every day and serve it outside for an outrageously high cost… 80 shillings, essentially $1 US. I’m going to splurge one of these days and eat Kenyan.
Anyways, today was Madagascar for lunch, not Kenyan. I went back to Serge and Olivia’s apartment (across the courtyard form the office). I feel Olivia is going the extra mile with her hospitality. She presented a stuffed fish, smothered with mushrooms that looked absolutely amazing. Here was a fish, to all intents and purposes untouched (head, skin, fins, etc), covered with mushrooms, cut in slices like a meatloaf. What a surprise to find that the insides had been completely removed, the bones and junk tossed (except the head), the flesh mixed with mushrooms, rice and other items, put back into the fish and yet it still looked like a whole fish. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t get a picture before we consumed it. She promised we’d have this dish one more time and let me help her prepare it. I’ll get some pictures next time for sure.
The afternoon was spent with Omonge again but this time I got a detailed diagram of their computing setup and discussed how we might handle the main project that needs to be done during my trip. After we finished, I spent time compiling all the notes into a document and a couple of diagrams.
Dinner “chez Olivia” was homemade pizza with ham and sausage (Italian… what’s tomorrow going to bring?). Later I developed various options to accomplish the project we worked on in the afternoon, along with advantages/disadvantages, risk, time and complexity. Omonge and I will work through this tomorrow to resolve questions, decide on the right plan, get approval and then involve others in the implementation. Pray for wisdom for us as we meet.
We’d also really appreciate your prayers about new equipment (a computer server and some network switches) that JAARS shipped to BTL a while ago but has yet to be released from customs despite frequent attempts. (It won’t matter if you don’t know what a server or a switch is. God does.) My projects depend on this equipment, especially the server. There is a hope that it will all be released tomorrow but that has apparently been the word for a while.
Tonight the power went out, not uncommon in even large African cities but very common and lengthy in many areas. While a power outage here leaves the neighborhood in the dark until the problem is found and repaired, the BTL generator kicked in within seconds, restoring us to the light and able to function the way we need to. Thanks to folks (probably Wycliffe Associates or a team from JAARS) for providing such a reliable system in place.
It reminds me of how many people are spiritually lost in darkness in this world, unable to see, because they do not have an independent, powerful source of power that protects and provides for them. Praise the Lord for His presence in my life. I am so thankful to be part of the team working to provide God’s Word to shed life into the world.
And thank you to those who stand with Julie and me for also being part of that team.
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