You see lots of photos of our special times, but very few of our everyday life. My walk to work is something that I do around 4 days a week and whilst it now seems normal to me; it is a bit different to what we'd expect in the UK. So come with me today and see...
This is our apartment block. We live on the first floor (second floor if you're American).
The big lorry is regularly parked in our car park as it comes from Prakesh and Purnima's rose farm with deliveries for the city. Quite often a bunch or two of roses finds its way up to us as well :)
On the road outside our flat, this electrical transformer looks particularly safe...
Our road is an interesting mix of faith communities. We have 2 Christian schools (Bethanie goes to one); a Catholic convent; a Muslim radio station; and this is the Jehovah's Witness' Bible School. It is them we have to thank for our very nice pavement - one of the best in Nairobi.
See that nice pavement with no holes and trimmed grass verges!
These newspaper sellers stand by the speed bumps, knowing that their customers will have to slow down anyway.
Now we round the corner onto the main road, Ardwings Khodek. I wait with Caleb for the school bus to pick him up from the bus stop here and then continue on my way. First I pass MAF's (Missionary Aviation Fellowship - they often fly our team into South Sudan) compound.
This is a big new bus stop (that has taken up the whole pavement!), freshly decorated with another layer of election posters. All opponents' posters have been ripped off.
Currently there is a lot of litter on Nairobi's streets.
It's clearly a city with low wind speeds as they have some of the biggest billboards I've seen.
Looking up from the rubbish and car fumes can really cheer you up - how beautiful!
The entrance to Kilimani Primary School. I often seen children as young as 6 walking on their own to school. Parents or nannies will bring them if they can but they may have had to start work hours earlier.
Another bus stop; more posters
This cardboard is actually here for a purpose - it's the shady rest spot used by the builders on the nearby building site during their lunch break.
Another big smart high rise is going up. This one is built by the Chinese.
A colourful bus fills up at a local petrol station.
And this is a 'matatu' - minibuses that get driven in all sorts of crazy ways to maximise speed and profit. As a family we use the buses but try and avoid matatus!
Instead of 'The Shard' I like to call this one 'The Shroud' - it's been like that for over a year now. I guess the money has run out. Spooky looking though!
Traffic piled up on one side belching out visibly black fumes and a ditch filled with litter and bubbling green slime on the other. At least I'm nearly there!
The big puddle across the pavement has also been a permanent feature for the last few months - you have to step out into the traffic to get round it.
I had to pay for this picture. A homeless guy lives here and tries to make a living through his art painted on broken slabs of concrete. Some is quite good - I just don't fancy carrying it home!
I couldn't take a picture of where the pavement gets really tricky here (ie there is none and you're either walking in the road or a building site) as I'd have got mown down by a bus. Here you can see a big new ring road under construction (no idea how I'll cross it once it's done as pedestrian crossings are not really used here).
This is the Ethiopian Orthodox church that you can see in the background.
More election posters. That lady in the middle row is from our church.
This is the relatively quiet and leafy road that our office is on. You have successfully negotiated 'the bit with no pavement', 'the bus stop from hell', 'the giant uncovered manholes' and 'the dodgy taxi rank' to get this far - well done!
It's James on guard duty this morning. The gate is always opened with a welcoming smile and handshake. Asante sana James!
We're round the back
The SIM Sudan van is parked outside our container where things waiting to be transported into South Sudan are stored.
I'm not first into the office today - despite it being 7.30am
Stephen, the big spender in the logistics team (he does most of the team's purchasing), is here already. It usually takes Stephen around an hour to get to work if traffic is OK. Walking and using several different matatus. In his spare time he is studying for a degree in Community Development.
The office kitchen
Here is a visual guide to our team, grouped by base. You can't see above this board but there is a 'great cloud of witnesses' - all our alumni (that must number over 100 now).
These two godly men lost their lives in South Sudan whilst serving on our team. Dr David Masters (L) died 5 years ago today, in 2008, and Jacob Aga (R) died in Oct 2010 from cerebral malaria. His widow Tibarek was part of the Doro Evangelistic Outreach team that saw over 2000 come to faith at the end of last year. She plans to return to Doro with her new husband, Getachew, in May.
Now I am going up the stairs - this little lounge area can get pretty full on a Monday morning when we have team prayers here - the stairs are full these days too.
This is the boss' office. I have sofa envy...
This is Justin's desk next door
Recognise that handwriting? (it's too neat to be mine!)
And here we are in the Personnel office where Susan and I work
Susan's not in the office yet but here's a photo of us from last year's conference. We're a good team. Susan is the organised one with the mind for details (she trained as an accountant), often helping me think through the implications of things; and I enjoy talking with people and asking difficult questions!
And here we are at my desk - a bit tidied up for the occasion.
Here is the Personnel Team whiteboard. Each of those bright sticky notes is a person enquiring about joining our team. The box at the bottom R hand corner is the list of ones who are now 'official' and on the way. In the last year around 40% of enquiries made it through to joining our team. That was around 35 adults and 16 children. We are very thankful for all the people God is bringing to South Sudan!
Now I'd better put the camera down, make a list of things to do today, and then open up my emails! When I'm not taking photos, I usually pray for our team and my day on my way to work. I hope that someone else was doing the praying today ;)
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