Wed. morning

We had an evening of wind, rain, sleet and snow but today the sun is out. Houses on the west side of Indianapolis have taken a hit. And this morning along with the sun, the temp is in the basement. Brrr. Brrr. I'm sitting at the church reception desk and today is Shepherd Center Activities. And...the old people are flocking in. Nothing stops them. This afternoon I'll finish getting decorations ready for Lent and then on to getting my hair cut. Home for a little while and then BELLS. Yahoo. We are playing for church while I am in Mexico. To bad...Mexico rises above bells at this point.

Unbelievable

Unrest and killings are happening in places once peaceful in Kenya. Word from Eldoret, Kenya is just almost impossible to comprehend. It sounds like the worst of the worst is waiting outside the city to come in and kill. All roads out of Eldoret are blocked, some with huge trenches dug by those waiting to come in. They are the Kukuya (the presidents tribe) chased from the western part of the country now coming back for revenge. The rumor is that they will be allowed into Eldoret where they will all be killed. Most of the gangs now causing the confusion are those kids/men in their early 20's doing the dirty work. It just makes little sense to us but all the sense to some who have been trampled on for hundreds of years. I think each tribe probably has taken their place at the top of the heap and all have taken their place at the bottom. Where will it all end? One article I read said that a Luo will make it to the presidency in the US sooner than in Kenya. ODinga is a Luo. Could be true? O'Bama is a son of a Luo. Could this spark more violence. Maybe. Currently all hope rests on Annan. So sad, so sad.

Monday evening

Wow...the morning brought the end of sleep at 4:15 am. Just really on edge about the Root Canal. Well, this is how it went. I got in the chair at 8:00...A little stick after some local stuff rubbed on the gum to make the stick more unnoticable. Then the head phones, the gas producer, the warm blanket along with the neck pillow and eye protection. My mouth stayed open with some great blocks of some sort and I just layed back and didn't have a bother in the world. And I survived in great fashion. The music was as loud as it could go and I heard a whole bunch of Mozart. That's the way to have a root canal. I'm such a wimp. I loved that gas. Wooo. Home by 10am. I spent the rest of the day in the chair watching T. Kennedy among others and sleeping even though I had coffee in hand. I was really happy to loaf. Yesterday I finished the two Campolo books and now finally have my Dissident Discipleship. It's a good one for sure. Reading for tomorrow evening's discussion. This chapter is about spirituality and community. There is a great example of community with a barn raising story taking place in Holmes Co. Tomorrow morning is North Notes preparation for mailing. It shouldn't take to long because of all the work I did on Friday. Then I'm pulling together all the Lent visual arts items that are going up Sun. after church.

My bag is 80% packed for Mexico.

I did get a package in the mail for Jacob. I love to send surprises.

Friday evening

Another busy week almost over. Worked at church today not leaving until 3:30. The church newsletter is being prepared for mailing on Tuesday by a group of ladies that I supervise. We are mailing 795 newsletters. Today I folded almost all of them and Tuesday the ladies will insert a Lent booklet, tab them and then I will take them to the post office. Most of the ladies have difficulty folding them because of arthritic hands. Folding them early helps to quiet the complaints. We still will have plenty of mailing steps to do. Answered the phone and helped a few people...one having such difficulty with getting a pin number for his foodstamps card. Got that taken care of. I changed a bulletin board and checked out Kenya newspapers on the net.
Preacher Tony Campolo is coming to North on a Sunday morning in April so I dicided to get some of his books to read. Interesting read to say the least. He says he is an Italian Baptist Preacher with lots of energy. I've heard the same from those at North who have heard him preach. Grandson Andrew is one sick little kid with lots of stomach stuff that little kids get. Such a mess. Hope things settle down for him real soon.

Wed. morning

It's dark and cold and Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. Swept the sewing room yesterday and once again it looks a little cleaned up. I think the sewing machine is going away for a bit. On to other things. Last night I joined a group at church to study Augsburgers Dissident Discipleship. Very interesting book and one I want to know more about. A committment on spending more time away from home was one I needed to be willing to do. I hope it's the right thing. This morning it's the Wed. schedule...church front desk and bells. JB would say...same old same old. I love my bells as my readers will know. Getting clothes ready for Mexico. My Goodwill stash is coming together. Sort of looking forward to Monday and the root canal. The jaw is getting a bit sore. What a bummer. Yesterday I bought 12 pr. of new gloves for Bread and Bowl men at Good Will, the money coming from a Sunday morning contribution. I think I got a lot of bang for my buck. We have a great supply of hats and gloves to give to those without. Off to church.

Sunday afternoon.

It's VERY cold today. But with warm clothes zero is not real bad. Yesterday I did some sewing. It's really great that the fabric shop is about 2 miles from home. I often think of ladies who buy fabric and don't use it. Seems to be such a waste of something really nice. I don't buy unless I have a plan. Tomorrow is a big sale and I'm buying a few nice colorful buttons half price. Church was really, really good today. Great music and very good sermon about seeing as Jesus would, deeper into people instead of just on the surface. Our organist is so gifted and does such beautiful music. It's such a gift to us. Most of the time people sit quietly after the closing prayer and do not leave the sanctuary until after the postlude. Hospitality time is just flying along. Lots of good pastries today, great coffee and the room was full most of the morning.

Football this afternoon. It's not going well for my team. So...I'm doing the blog. Green Bay will be colder than @#$%#@. I would love to see Bret F. win the Souper Bowl but I really am rooting for Eli. So...who ever winds will be fine.

Friday already

Well, sort of same old same old. I did find out Tues that I need a root canal which is scheduled for the 28th. I think I'm living in a "fixer upper". Or maybe it's even a Flip this House body. I was so disappointed that I needed to follow up on another body issue. Oh, yes...I slid on the mud at church Thursday evening and down I went again. I was one muddy lady. So...sat in my choir robe during choir until my pants dried and I could scrape most of it off. What a surprise. Didn't do the shoulder much good but I think I'm over that spill already. What next...don't know. There will be something I'm sure. Bell practice was great fun again. And I worked on the desk at church three days this week. I much prefer two or maybe even one. It's always an interesting place but more like work then not. I did spend some time serfing the net looking for information on Eldoret Kenya. Things heated up again. Not as many killed and it's more like kids roaming around with the police shooting guns. Lots of roadblocks. Hopefully the next week will be better. We are in for below zero weather this weekend.

Monday

It's cold in Indianapolis. What does one expect on January 14th. I'm working at the church desk today filling in for Chuck. I thouoght it would be crazy but it's as quiet as most Fridays. That's very quiet. I played with quilt patches yesterday. It kept me from going completely crazy watching the Colts loose. What a team. They have been exciting to watch. I'm moving on to the Giants now with little Eli. I think Green Bay will beat them. I cleaned up the sewing room this morning only to probably mess it up later in the week. I love my sewing machine. Oral surgeon tomorrow. What a bummer. I hope the little blister on my gum just is something really minor. I've had enough major in the last six months. It's time for someone else to carry on.

Tough

I'm getting tougher in my old age. The dentist yesterday filled a tooth and decided I need to see another oral surgeon for a sick tooth. This could be related to the neck surgery since the tooth is on the same side and a not uncommon thing to happen I am finding out. I call this another bummer. The shoulder is a bit better but I don't think I'm out of the woods on that one. Having one shoulder repaired and knowing the difficulty in recovery is the second bummer. But...I will not let it go untreated if it doesn't improve.

Wed. Great time at the fabric store finding some great fabric for bibs. Jacob and JB might even become bib wearers. The clerk was surprised I didn't find any material on sale. Well, I just couldn't resist these three fabrics and the Michigan kids will soon see why. I cut bibs last night and sewed this morning till 8:00. More to do this afternoon. What fun. Bell practice was a hoot. It's so much fun being with friends who have the ability to have fun. Thursday was Soup Kitchen with a bunch of folks coming through the line. Thursday afternoon was dentist time and then on to Goodwill. My bargin basement. Found some stuff to wear in Mexico. Paid 11 bucks for three tops and a pair of summer pants. Fewer bucks then the new fabric. It just makes me laugh. Choir practice was last night. Today is volunteering at the front desk and then on to the sewing machine.

The telephone has kept me quite busy today. Most Fridays are not like that.

Kenya continues to be a hot bed of activity. It's a long road to peace there.

Wednesday

There are so many ups and downs happening in Kenya right now. The story still evolves and will probably continue in the weeks and probably months ahead. It's such a rest for the mind when thinking about other things. I do that from time to time. I was given boxes of already cut quilting fabric. Such fun. I've used a bunch already just sewing and sewing and making pretty patterns. And I have another bib order to fill. I'll try to get on that this afternoon. That's more relaxation for the brain.

Yesterday was a huge work day at church. Christmas is back in the box. What a relief. We did extra cleaning up and while working in one room, I got my feet all tangled up in cushions that are a part of a prayer kneeler. That took me right down face first on the carpet not in the kneeling position. The sad part of this is that I landed on my almost good shoulder and now it's my very bad shoulder. I am so dissapointed this happened. I know what a rotater cuff injury is and I think I have a new one. It feels exactly like the right shoulder before it was fixed. I can just hear one of my mom's speeches about slowing down and being more careful. I'm staying on top of this one. I've heard from JB already about safety concerns. I guess that's my mother coming through in a voice that is alive.

I'm working at the church desk this morning. It's a dull, gray, rainy day in Carmel.

Monday Evening

Well, this has been the end of one emotional week. The prayer service at church was attended by over 400 people, many of them being Kenyans living in Indianapolis. It was a wonderful time of listening to African drumming, hearing the latest reports, the Kenyans singing their national anthem and being with people who have common interests in Kenya. It would appear at this point that Kenya is turning the corner coming back to some sense of a new normal. Many people have left the Eldoret area, homes have been burned and people are still living in Church courtyards and the IU compound for safety or a roof over their heads. The AMPATH program is being evaluated and recreated to meet the challenges of fewer workers, fewer patients but people are beginning to trickle in to the clinic sites for treatment. The Kenyan spirit is coming back to life. Travel is still dangerous but where safety is a lesser issue, there is an attempt to get medicine and food to some of 19 clinic sites in western Kenya. It is a challenging task that the Kenyans will achieve by means of a determined spirit. The story is that Humpty Dumpty could not be put together by all the Kings Horses and men but the Kenyans will get the job done.

Kenya continues to be on my mind.

It's been a tough week with emotions stretching from here to there. Some days the word from our Kenyan friends is better than others. What one sees in the paper and on line is only part of the story. The other stories come from the people themselves. Homes and churches are burned, food is scarce, the medical support is weakening, one reason being that people in that field are fleeing for their lives. The number of casulties is under reported. Clinics are closed.

This Sunday afternoon our church is hosting a prayer service for Kenya. It promises to be a very large gathering of folks in the central Indiana area with people coming from neighboring states as well. So at 4 pm if you are a reader of the blog, join us where ever you are remembering Kenya, praying for energy to stay the course for the Mamlins as well as those Kenyans who work with them. Include in your prayers those who are decision makers in the government. It's been a mindful week.

Kenya on my mind.

That is certainly the case these past days. The election is causing turmoil throughout the country with the wealthy tribe again claiming the win with miss counted votes. Democracy is a difficult thing to achieve. The American's in Eldoret have all been evacuated from the country with the exception of Joe and Sarah Ellen Mamlin. They chose to stay and the word is that they are in a secure place. I don't know what that really means. They were in the country during the 1992 election which was similar so with that experience along with many, many other experiences, I feel confident that they know when to stay and when to leave. This is not a good thing. I am receiving some news by typing New York Times Africa in the search line. Sarah Ellen e-mailed me last Thursday stating that life would become very difficult very soon because of miss handling of votes along with tribal feelings. And it has. The stores are closed and people are staying in their homes. Food is very scarce and bread prices have tripled. People accustom to shopping daily for food are facing the reality that shops are no longer open. They also are locking themselves in their homes. Yes...Kenya is on my mind.