Home Sweet Home

We were talking tonight about our home in Kenya and thought I'd show you where we live while there. It is a 20x20 home with four 10x10 rooms - you walk into the living room, bedroom is to the right, kitchen/office area is straight ahead then to the right of that is our bathroom.

The living room has two couches (I think Gideon brought them back from the US in the 1980's) there is a coffee table and a corner stand. This is where most of our stuff lands when we walk in at night.

The bedroom is big enough for a bed and nightstand. Our last trip we actually took the door off the hinges so we could move the bed!

The kitchen/office area has a refrigerator that is about 30 years old. If we have electricity we can barely get it to freeze water for ice! We also have a small table which holds our cups (2), spoons (2), my instant coffee and an electric heater to heat up water for the instant coffee (again only when we have electricity). Then we have a desk which holds our toiletries for the bathroom and a place to work on the computer.

The bathroom is one room with shower, toilet and sink. The shower has an electric shower head to heat the water. I know - electricity and water do not mix! It was a bit scary the first couple of times and I won't turn it on for fear of touching the open wires on top. 240volt and water just don't mix and doesn't appeal to me!

When we don't have electricity the water has to be heated up by firewood then brought to us in a big jug. Then we pour it from there into a smaller tub so we can pour the water over ourselves. We learned that during those times without electricity we only wash the "vital" areas. I think you can figure out where those are.

So that gives you a glimpse of how and where we live in Kenya. It's amazing how much you don't miss. We have no tv, no radio, no heat, no air conditioning, sporadic electricity and water...the list could go on. But when we get back to the states those things become luxuries. It shows us how blessed we are here in the United States but it also shows me that we have so much to do and share with our brothers and sisters in Kenya.