Ok, posting pics is pretty easy, look out now. We walked by this the other day & had to snap the pic. I guess only Jeff, Mel & Mark/Maureen (who got MARRIED here!) would recognize the change in this bldg.! Look up the old pics if you can’t remember. We aren’t there now, of course, since Laz built that nice new bldg. on top of 2 shipping containers!
Painted new.
Africans don’t usually smile, so Mel is telling me to get some pics of Dad when he smiles, since he looks like an African in pics. This is an attempt to download pics to the new upgrade. Ck. out that WHOLE fish on his plate! Scroll down, on right, if you need to see whole picture. This is new to me.
He smiles!
Three of our children may produce 30 grandchildren for us…maybe even by 2009, which is an average of 10 ea.
If our 30 grandchildren do the same, we’ll have 300 great-grandchildren, or a total of 330 grandchildren! He asked me how I’d like that for family nite! We’d have to rent Mahoney for those weekly visits! Booya!
(written by JJM, after hearing the joyful announcement of Jeff/Mel Mercer blessing us with another grandchild sometime next May.)
Bob/Steph would have 130 grandchildren. Dan/Mel would have 100 grandchildren & Jeff/Mel would have 70 grandchildren. If it continues, Miszuks would have 1300 great-grandchildren, and so on. The ‘crazy mind’ is at work here!
Off to dinner (at Kentmere), while most of you are at MCC.
Enjoy the news, Miszuks!
Miszuks’ blog is SO much more fun!
Ok, this is a boring blog, but interesting, if you’re interested. (duh)
You all met Laz’s family, I believe. Well. Here are some important facts about them.
Tabitha, who is 36, is graduating from univ. this week. She is NUMBER ONE in her class, of, (sit down) 890 people! Quite impressive!
She did her first 2 yrs. in Australia on a scholarship.
Now, for the children, Angela, who will be 10, is usually # 1, 2 or 3 in her class of 40 something. She also is # 7 out of 180 or so. (I’m guessing at the estimates as this was days ago that we had this conversation, and remember, I’m old.)
Muthoni who is 6, is also either #1, 2 or 3 in her class of 40’s. She finished #4 out of 140’s.
Then there is Laz, of course. The guy who grew up in the bush with literally nothing and had to carry his first pr. of shoes to his first day of secondary school, which is our high school. His story is this. #1 every year of primary school (grade school), #1 every year of high school, and of course, #1 in every yr. of university, graduating as an electrical engineer.
If those are not interesting facts, I’m not sure what else to tell you, except, John & I just finished making homemade pizzas 
with EVERYTHING on them and man, were they delicious! Except Laz’s, of course, did not have everything on it as it was exclusive of meat.
How’s that for interesting! (ha)
Here’s a few more facts about Africa. You’ve probably heard, sorry if I’m repeating. Gasoline here is more like $6 per gallon. (We can stop whining now!) OR, if you’d like to hear more to not whine about, how about whereas our tax is 7.5%, theirs is 16% AND they tax all food at 16%. Could we afford to feed our large families? (or large bodies?). Butter is $5 per lb. Outrageous, but then, there is also the flip side, of course. The most delicious popcorn is 50c per HUGE bag.
I think I’m done for now, as it is after ten in the evening, the supper is finished/cleaned up & movie time is beginning! After all, what else is there to do in Nairobi at night, besides read, snuggle, play games, talk, etc.
OH! That’s no longer a true statement! The video store and grocery store are now open 24 hrs. so people are venturing out more at night, but it’s still always been a little on the scary side. Thugs are always waiting somewhere.
Tomorrow, Fri., we head to the Dr. (an hr. away) and after a couple hrs. for sure (maybe 4-5?) of being there, (Africa time=slow time), we head to Kentmere Club, one of the most beautiful places on earth. (I’m jaded.) We will stay Fri. nite thru Mon. a.m. so, you MAY be fortunate enough to not hear from me, either on this blog, thru emai, or commenting (Kenyans’ accent on 2nd syll-A-ble.) on Miszuks’ blog, due to no internet access. Of course we will be carrying our equipment with us, in the hopes that the wireless will work, so, LUCKY YOU!
Otherwise, see you Mon. a.m. sometime! Have a great weekend everyone, whether in Colorado in the splendor of those magnificent mountains, in hot Omaha (maybe it’s cooled a tad by now), or wherever you may be.
Well, I guess I’m in complaining mode, again, as usual.
Jess & I commiserated together over texting, while we were both in cars, her in Colorado & me in Nairobi. AMAZING we have such technology! She well remembers the “smells” of Kenya (as she put it, how does one ever forget them? heehee), especially the diesel fuel smell that made me quite nauseous today in the car while travelling. (or, er, maybe I’m pregnant?)
So, now I’m back at Diamond Systems & used the restroom. Ok, Jeff/Mel, it’s been a LONG time since you were here and they are NOTHING like they were in the early 90’s! Thank the Lord for that! However, the funny story is, as I shut the door behind me, the sign posted says, in LARGE letters, YOU MUST FLUSH THE TOILET AFTER EACH USE! IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO FLUSH, DO NOT USE!
I sent the Finland pics since we finally had good internet. Well, as good as can be expected for Kenya. We are constantly being disconnected right in the middle of things. Yesterday I went to YaYA to walk the steps for some sort of extra exercise. (I ended up doing about 700 stairs, plus walked the mall for another hr. & a half, thinking I wouldn’t be able to step foot out of bed today from soreness, but, nothng happened, as in Amsterdam.) Meanwhile, power went out twice during those couple hrs. It’s real nice to be in the dark in an unfamiliar store, however, power did return fairly quickly. Also nothing as it was in early 90’s, right Jeff/Mel?
Last nite John pd $40 (!!!) a lifetime video membership here (for Laz, of course) and rented videos for $3 each! Can’t wait to get home to netflix! So Laz, who had to buy a house on a golf course, in a gated community with one-way in and one-way out (is there something wrong with this picture?) had to spend some time moving the tv & setting up a projector with laptop to point and display on the wall. Well it was worth the wait cuz, ahem, we’re a little spoiled & don’t really like 19″ tvs anymore.
You can tell I’m grasping at straws to figure what to write about, grrr.
Fri. we go to the Dr. for testing and then to Kentmere till Mon. a.m.!!! Wow, a bit of heaven on earth!
Oh yeah, Laz got pulled over by a cop the nite we were coming from Henry/Mary Thairu’s house (Sat.), get this, because he saw the mzungus. (white people). John nor I had seatbelts on, as did none of their THREE children scrunched in backseat with us. The copy never said ONE word about too many people, or kid not in belts, just that the “madam’ ” and john did not have on belts. He told Laz he wanted ’soup’. It used to be tea, now it’s soup. Needless to say, Laz was outside arguing & John said, if you’re charging me, I have the right to counsel. Well, this guy didn’t even know what counsel meant, so, ultimately, we were on our way w/out a ticket.
I’m thinking I’ve griped enough about Kenya, especially since other issues are going on right at this very moment, so, with that, I will close now. Till later……
And so have we! In Kenya, that is! (That title is just code.) This is my THIRD time of composing this and I gotta say, it’s sure lost some of its flavor along the way! We’ve had nothing but good ol’ Kenyan internet trouble all day. That isn’t to say that I won’t have more trouble, trying to send this one.
We arrived almost 24 hrs. ago, almost midnite Thurs. nite and it’s now going on 11p.m. Fri. nite. (In Omaha, it’s 2:30 pm.)
John had his sudden onset of needing sleep and foot pain, which is constant, so I tucked him in & am going to give this one last shot before heading there myself.
Laz turned 40 a couple days ago & we ate a b’day cake with the family tonite. Tomorrow afternoon we go to Henry/Mary Thairu’s home for 3pm lunch.
Sun. is off to Kabati for John to preach, I believe. Meetings, Dr. visits during the week & then a weekend at Kentmere Club, our favorite rendezvous in the world.
The winter just ended here with lows of 50 degrees during July, so we’ll continue our heavenly weather on this trip, unlike Omaha’s past heatwave! Why do you think I scheduled this trip at this time of year?!
Austin the dog is the same, as is everyone else here. More again. Let’s see if it finally goes!
I got a lot of emails & find this is easiest to answer this way today, since, we are still “stuck on ship” in St. Petersburg, as Luann put it, however, she’s been on a Carnival cruise before, so, you know, it’s not really a bad thing at all! We contemplated selling our house and cruising from ports to ports. (ha ha) We love all the food and activity, people, etc.
Yes, the Russian govt. wouldn’t let us off the ship unless we had a visa, which we did not know ahead of time we needed, thanks to our incompetent cruise agent. We heard it would’ve cost $250 each, I think was the amt. John told me, just for the visa. Ridiculous.
Then they said we could get off if we bought a Carnival tour. Well, they weren’t cheap either and you know? Had there been something worth seeing, we would’ve done it, maybe, since, John was pretty upset by then. I told him I had NO desire to see any cathedrals or museums full of antique furniture, paintings etc. for hundreds of dollars. Hence, we stayed in port on ship. Played mini golf, ate, snuggled, ate, watched movies, ate, visited with people, ate, exercised, ate, etc. You get the picture. A true time of R & R!
Tomorrow we go to Estonia, Talin, or Tallin, I’ve seen it both ways, so not sure. Again, at 75 cents per minute, we’re not googling at all!
In fact, that reminded me, since it takes over 5 min. to open or send anything, I’d better go now. Julie/Sean, we’re praying for you! Luann/Chuck, John said NO that guy is in trouble! (ha) so, let us know when court date is. Better run. Love to all. More tomorrow in Estonia?
Well, we’re pretty funny. At least I think so! When you see the picture, you’ll know what I mean. We are standing in a park in downtown Helsinki, with 2 laptops propped on a concrete base of the town statue, typing away! (Thank goodness for wireless!….that works!) This is John’s first connection since Dallas last Thurs. so I can imagine he was really suffering from some withdrawal. Pretty funny guy, that husband of mine. Good thing I’m married to him!
As for the picture, that will have to come later! (You know, since we’re standing in a park.)
So far, we’ve stopped at ports in Warnemunde, Germany (pronounced with a V instead of W.) and Copenhagen, Denmark. We did not go into Berlin as planned, but then, I didn’t really want to visit the concentration camps anyway. Seeing “the wall” would’ve been alright & John wanted to visit the Pergamom Museum, which would’ve been good also, but it was complicated. We needed a 3 hr train ride both out and back, plus the time spent touring, so it didn’t fit into our schedule at that point.
We’re 8 hrs ahead of you now, but tonite we move ahead another hr., making it 9.
The shows on the ship are fantastic, as always, as is the food. Dinners are spent with 2 Brits and 2 Jews. One night we shared a table with 4 Chinese from Canada. (originally Hong Kong.) One lady told us about how America invaded China. There was a bit of a (ahem) discussion about that one and she finalized with, “look it up”.
Last night we “got into it” with the Jewish lady about the Messiah they rejected. (Nice, John! Actually, it was great!) John thinks maybe she’s reachable but her father was speaking in Hebrew to her & she said he called John a “know-it-all”. We just passed them on the street a little while ago and they still like us, so…maybe there’s hope after all!
Then one night at midnite we met a Jewish couple that we immediately enjoyed, so we stayed up till 5 a.m. talking! (Well, and finishing cigars, of course.)
There’s never a dull moment, that’s for sure. In fact, it’s hard trying to do everything they offer. Of course I attended the John Travolta “Stayin Alive” dance class & the Abba “Dancing Queen” class as well. Loved it! (even tho I AM missing my dance shows at home. Is Chelsea or Courtney still on? or voted off by now, 
Hope not.)
Oh yeah, John did NOT enter the hairy chest contest again this trip.
More later!
Ok, I can type fast, faster than I speak, if you can imagine, BUT, this stinkin connection is nothing as fast as ours at home. Spoiled, I am!
So, this is VERY brief. Apparently Jerod didn’t tell immediate fam we arrived safely? Well, when I didn’t see an MCC saints email, I assumed that, so, sorry if you did your duty well!
John & I won our first 24 karat plastic ship on a stick from this cruise in the trivia contest, but only after succumbing to some young girls in the first game. (grrr again.) Lots of GRRR’s these days. As in our feet! Not only do John’s torture him moment by moment, but mine looked as if I had elephantitis after the long flight to London! Yech!
This is a ‘day at sea’, arriving in Copenhagen, Denmark Sun. a.m. We are 6 hrs. ahead of your time right now, but change to 7 hrs. ahead tomorrow and then 8 hrs ahead the next day. I believe one more hr. change ahead, to 9, on the following day? I don’t have that schedule in front of me and am REALLY trying to scurry thru this since it’s so expensive. John would kill me if he knew! Good thing HE never is on a computer ever! I should be safe. (ahem.)
So…for that, I will close. Pls. pray for us during the entire journey, especially for my husband’s pain, which is constant & debilitating, even if you don’t think he looks as if he’s being tortured.
Later, love to all, especially those beautiful and wonderful grandkids of mine! (and their parents!)
We’re finally down to the last hour of sitting in the TX. airport for most of the day! From here we fly directly to London where we arrive the morning of the 25th. Our next big challenge will be transporting ourselves and luggage to the ship. We’ll probably take a train to get this done. Once on the ship, our European cruise will begin & I’m guessing we won’t be accessible much until we dock at our first stop. Hopefully we’ll locate our first European internet cafe where we can drop a quick note & see if there’s any American news. See ya then!