T.I.A. (THIS IS AFRICA)

            T.I.A.- Three letters that have become a widely-used aphorism among expats living all over the beautiful continent of Africa. During my first few days here I have heard this phrase used to explain things like driving habits, long lines at Nakumatt (a Walmart-like store based in Kenya), and the sudden loss of power/hot water with no idea of when it will come back on. This IS Africa, after all, and even though I have been here before, and have spent the last 6 months preparing myself for the possibilty of the unexpected, jumping into a cold shower first thing in the morning and coming within inches of hitting another car or pedestrian while driving, seem like things that are going to take a very long time to get used to.
            I finally arrived here on Wednesday night after falling very ill on Saturday and needing to delay my plane flight for 2 days. Because I had delayed my trip, there was no time to recover from jet-lag and I hit the ground running first thing Thursday morning. The first few days we have been staying at a guest flat about 2-3 miles from the apartments we will soon be living in. We went shopping yesterday for all of the necessary household items for setting up an apartment. Tomorrow we will be getting our bed frames and mattresses. We went mattress shopping yesterday, but quickly realized that although they have the same names for mattress sizes that the US does, a twin bed could describe a mattress that is 3'X6', 3.5'X6', or 4'X6'. Again, T.I.A., and you can expect nothing to be the same as you would find in the US :) So far everyone has adjusted and adapted very easily, and we have started to build the foundation for some great friendships. Much of our time has been spent getting acclimated to the area, eating, shopping, eating, Q&A time, eating...do you see a pattern? The school, and all of its staff, have taken very good care of us. We had a cinnamon roll and banana bread breakfast, as well as a Kenyan dinner at the Boccaccio's house yesterday, and had a taco dinner at the Bussell's house tonight. A lot of the other staff members went to the Maasai Market with us today to help us get good deals on traditional crafts, jewelry, and household decorations. Pam also took a few of us to furniture row to see what kind of deals we might be able to get on furniture when we eventually are ready to buy it. You can get almost any kind of furniture hand made with wood or metal for a fraction of the price you would for a similar item in the US. The pride and dedication they have to making a quality product is evident when they try to call you over or follow you with pictures when you walk by their roadside stand. Today as we walked we had quite a few people yell to us "Hello white ladies!" or "Hello sister!". I actually had a young Kenyan boy point at me and laugh today. I can only guess it was for the same reason they pointed and laughed at me last summer; I am the whitest of the white people in our group :)
           Tomorrow we are going to a Giraffe Park where we will have the opportunity to have a Giraffe eat out of our hands (or mouths, if we so choose). I hope to get a bunch of pictures to be able to post. The internet is actually better than I expected it to be. Although it can sometimes take a little longer for things to load, overall it is not much slower than my connection was at home. Most of the girls have been able to upload a few pictures to their facebook pages or blogs. I hope to do the same once I take more pictures. Next week starts orientation and classroom set up at school. All of the other girls got to see their classrooms on Wednesday before I arrived, so I am excited to see what mine will look like! The next few weeks will be very busy with lesson planning and continued transition into Kenyan living. We are going to start driving cars on Monday which should be quite the experience because not only do they drive on the left side of the road, but they also have no driving laws except no talking on your cell phone while driving. It's pretty much a free-for-all when it comes to driving here! (To the staff at Ganse: I have to learn to drive a car while I save up the money for Akar ;) )
             I am so excited to see what else God has in store for me and the rest of the new staff here in Kenya. He has already done some amazing things in our lives and has blessed us in so many ways. Please continue to pray for all of us. I miss all of you and can't wait to continue to share all of my adventures in Kenya with you through this blog!

Prayer Requests:
- Our financial situation is even tighter than we expected it to be. Please pray for continued financial support for all of the staff and for wisdom in budgeting.
- For friendships to continue to be built between the staff members.
- For all of us to find a church quickly that we feel like we will be spiritually fed at and welcomed into the congregation.
- For the first few weeks of school to go as smoothly as possibly and that we would begin to form great relationships with our students.

Verse of Encouragement:
"As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength."~Psalm 138:3
My prayer is that God continues to encourage us by giving us the strength to face each challenge that we will encounter here in Kenya. I also pray that prayer would be our first response when we do face those challenges because as this scripture says, He will answers as soon as we pray.

5 Weeks Out

The last three months have been a little crazy to say the least, and posting on this blog has been the last thing on my mind (except when Paul reminds me weekly at work that it hasn't been updated ;) ). With 5 weeks left in the US before I leave for Kenya, my days and weeks seem to be flying by faster and faster!

Although I feel like I have a lot more to do before I leave, I have had fun getting prepared for this adventure! I have gotten my vaccines, sent out support letters, purchased my plane tickets (I even got to pick my seat on some of the planes!), and purchased my luggage. God has really blessed me along the way financially. My vaccines were mostly covered by insurance, and I found a really awesome deal on plane tickets, to pre-field training, from my local airport. I am still greatly in need of monthly supporters. Thank you to those who have already given donations or signed on for monthly support! I cannot thank you enough! Thank you also to those who have been praying for me as I prepare to leave!

I will be in Mississippi for training from June 27th-July 8th. I can't wait to meet my new co-workers and learn more about what I will be teaching! I find it funny that the first missions trip I ever took was to Mississippi, and the second one was to Kenya. Now I get to go to Mississippi to train for Kenya. Evidently those are the only two places I am called to. God really has a sense of humor! Please pray for safe travels, and for good relationships to be built between the staff.

I am trying to make the most of every moment that I get with my friends and family, and enjoying the comforts of home before I leave for a very different culture. Having spent two weeks in Kenya last summer has allowed me to become much more comfortable with the idea of living there for 2 years. I know a little bit of what to expect, and I am going into this move thinking of everything that I learned from my last journey to the other side of the world. Some things I learned from my last trip to Kenya; 1) Even the poorest people in America have a great deal more than the poorest people in some parts of Africa. This was very humbling for me and made me realize how little I really need to survive. 2) In some areas, things are run on "Kenyan time." As Americans, we often feel like we live in a fast paced, need it done yesterday, don't sleep til it's finished, kind of society. My experience with Kenya was that most people were much more laid-back and easy-going. I am looking forward to the change of pace 3) If you travel outside of the city, seeing a giraffe is like seeing a white tail deer! You don't see them all the time, but if you do, it's not that surprising evidently!
Thank you all for your love and support during the last few months of preparing to move. I know that I am going to face challenges, and I am so happy to have such a strong network of people praying for me, and supporting me back here at home. If anyone is interested in coming to visit, I would love to show you around and see you in person, rather than through a computer screen! You can keep in contact with me through skype, facebook, e-mail, and snail mail  (My mailing address is Amber Geist, PO BOX 1333-00502, Karen, Kenya). I will try to update this blog as often as possible, but please be patient with me, especially in my first few weeks, as I am going to be a first year teacher in a foreign country!

Verse of Encouragement:

"Trust in the LORD with all of your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. Seek His will in all that you do, and He will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3: 5-6

Always remember to seek God's will above all else. His plan is perfect, and although there may be trials along the way, He will never leave your side.

Prayer Requests:

-Please continue to pray for all of the new teachers coming to Kenya with me (Rachel, Angela, Kristin, Gari, Jenn, and our newest group member, Tara, who will be teaching 3rd grade!)

-For safe travels and strong relationships to be formed at PFO in Mississippi.

-For smooth airport/plane travels to Kenya

-For an easy transition to a new culture

-For financial support to continue to come for myself and the other teachers from NICS

-For myself, my students, and co-workers at WNS to have a great year together!

Karibu! (Welcome, in Swahili)

Hi everyone!

Welcome to my blog about my journey to teach in Africa! I have recently accepted a 4th grade teaching position at the West Nairobi School in Kenya. Through this blog I hope to keep my friends and family updated on my life and adventures while serving God through this opportunity. I hope to add a verse of encouragement and prayer requests every time I post. I have already learned so much about God's plan and purpose for my life, and can't wait to see what else He has in store for me!

There is a short story to go along with the name of this blog. I currently work as a pharmacy technician and I have a wonderful family of coworkers that have been very encouraging to me in the process of finishing school and applying for this teaching job. They are very interested in what it will be like for me to live in Kenya, and they ask many questions. Soon after I had accepted the position to teach at the WNS, a co-worker asked me, "What kind of transportation will you have to get to and from work?" My response was simply, "A car." Without a moment's hesitation, my very witty co-worker, Paul, asked, "Is Akar the name of your camel?" It has now been the running joke of the pharmacy that I will be riding a camel to work each day while in Kenya. I have so named this blog for the purpose of creating not only a comical and memorable site, but also to be reminded each day of the people who have helped me to get where I am today.

If you would like to support me in my mission to teach in Kenya, please contact me at amgeist@gmail.com and I will send you an attachment of how to send support. I will be making a small amount of money in salary from the school to cover some basic expenses; however, I also need people to partner with me on a month to month basis, as well as offer one-time donations. This will help me to cover my additional expenses and have a small amount of savings to be able to travel home during holiday breaks. My goal is to have 25 people sponsor me at $25 a month. If you are not able to help financially, I am thankful for your prayers! This is a huge step of faith for me and a big jump out of my comfort zone, but I know God will only give me what He knows I can handle!

Verse of Encouragement:
"Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession." Psalm 2:8

Prayer Requests:
-Please be praying for the new teachers for the coming school year (Rachel, Angela, Kristin, Jenn, Gari, and myself). We are all about to make a huge move!
-Please pray for the current teachers and administration at the WNS as well as the other schools that are part of the Network of International Christian Schools (NICS). Especially pray for the NICS school in Japan. They have a challenging next couple weeks in recovering from the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster.
- Please pray that financial support would start to/continue to come for all of the teachers. God's economy is very different from ours!