#LiveNLifeWell

Don't give up before you have had a chance to witness your best self at work.

Refuse the urge to turn away when required to stride those last steps to reach your mark.

You only need one courageous movement & one moment to propel you forward - if only 1 inch or 5 miles.

Maybe Monday ... its known to be the best day to do something new, something daring, and worthwhile.

All these things you have heard before, yet still there's more for you to prove.

Fill your moments with well thought out plans by taking stock in everything you do.

LIVE:
Long Lasting
Invitation to
Value
Everyday... It's for you

N 
Now, iN - the moment, Not giving up = like Nope Not today = Nada ...

LIFE
Let your
Intention be the vibe to
Forgive, Forget, or move past what you Failed to do
Everyone & Everywhere


Make your moments count
#LiveNLifeWell

Mrs Nez

Kenya Missions Trip Recap

Traveling to Kenya was an awesome experience for each of us.

 (Shown in the Picture L to R: Pastor C. Danny Johnson, Me, Georgita, and Lakeysha)

I realize this blog post is long overdue and you have been waiting patiently for me to inform you how my trip turned out. My plan was to send a video out as soon as I arrived back home. However, as soon as I landed I hit the ground running full speed then jet lag kicked in. I didn't know what hit me, I was sort of delirious. Despite all of that, I must have thought about sending this video out a thousand times since then.

 'Thanksgiving' is now upon us, but I must say the timing could not be better. Why? Because it is you that I am most THANKFUL for this holiday season.Your kindness and generosity have changed many lives. It was your support that made this trip possible to serve poverty stricken communities with food, medicine, and exercise tools. I am so thankful you decided to take this journey to Kenya with me. It was your prayers and donations that made each of the moments captured in the video and in my heart special.

I recently had an opportunity to share pictures and stories with nearby friends over Kenyan tea 'Chai time' and desserts. I later put together this short video for our church as we celebrated Mission Sunday. The hope was to capture the moments that had the greatest impact as well as introduce you to the Pastors, clinic staff, the Massai, and Mkamba people. AND now it's your turn to experience Kenya ... through my eyes.

I am so thankful for You!

Blessed (favored; happy) are those (YOU) who consider the poor. -Psalm 41:1

Enjoy

Mrs. Nez

Road Trip

We were scheduled to take a road trip to Eldoret on Wednesday then return to Noarobi on Thursday evening. Eldoret is very different than Salama in many ways. It's obvious there are different tribes or groups of people there, but we experienced a change in climate which turned out to be a great break from the safari dust.

On the way to Eldoret we made a stop at Rift Valley. The valley is a place similar to our grand canyon with one exception,the lower elevation is inhabited by the Maasai people.

 Eldoret AKA Obama Land named for our President Baraka Obama is mostly a farming community. The ground is fertile, wet soil, very green grass, and many many shade trees.  

Let me introduce you to someone we met while in Eldoret ...  Meet Mr. Limo.

We lodged on his property while there. Mr Limo owns hundreds of acres of land that include a church, school for boys, dormitories, guest houses, etc.This week he hosted pastors from all over Kenya for  leadership training. Mr. Limo is 87 years old and has made many visits to the USA.  He was really excited we came to serve at the two clinics here in Kenya.  He thanked us for greeting the people at Rombo saying 'sometimes sad people can be forgotten'. He has been working in the community to make Kenya a better people and a better country. 

I gave him a walking pedometer as a gift during our visit as all the other hosts. He initially thought it was a speedometer. I explained to him it should be used to measure his walking steps. He laughed from his belly and said 'You Americans are always coming up with something'. He said he would use it to increase his walking, but he also wanted to hang it on his mantle because he thought he might not get to access another.

Smile :)

Our time spent with the orphans of Salama and Rombo was always fun. We were able to give them jump ropes, soccer balls, and letters from children from home. We also played hand games, ate candy, and took lots of pictures. I attached a few... ENJOY!

Transformed Thinking

We are traveling to spend our second day among the Maasai people at the campsite. On the way we made a quick detour into the marketplace to purchase maze and beans to distribute to the widows and orphans. We also bought a bag of soccer balls for the orphaned children in the area.  We hoped they would enjoy playing a game after lunch.

The market is an interesting place. You could buy almost anything there such as food, clothes, shoes etc. I was more impressed that there were so many beauty salons and everyone and I mean everyone had a cell phone. I tried to take a few snap shots of it all. People in Maasai land used phones while on motor bikes, walking on the side of the road from village to village, with water containers on head … on a cell phone y'all. 

While discussing some of the issues of the day, one of the Pastors mentioned in  conversation that we may be the first African Americans to travel to Maasai land and spend time with the Maasai people. I pray we are not the last. Theses are a strong people with an impressive legacy and a need that's unparalleled to say the least.

At dinner last night, Pastor Grace asked what I would tell others about the things I experienced earlier in the day. I began to rationalize some mambo jumbo about there being people in need everywhere and how surprised she would be to witness the conditions of poor people in the U.S. But today after having an opportunity to process everything I took in on yesterday, "I relent those words".  In all honesty I have never witnessed poverty to this magnitude  before. I am at the point where I feel like the words poverty and poor could not adequately describe what I am seeing. The Maasai people are in need of basic things for living in the 21 century such as an accessible clean water source, trash irrigation, plumbing, and health care. 

 I am one who could adapt easily to most things but I'm telling you as hot as it was in the bush that day I did not drink much water because I did not want to have to visit the bathroom. Plumbing at the campsite consisted of a metal box, a nail, and a hole in the ground and this was luxury in comparison to the living conditions the Maasai people would return to. The Maasai have lived this way for hundreds of years, while the whole world is advancing all around them. We were immediately able to identify multiple needs when we arrived to the camp because we had experienced far better, but they came because they had abnormal symptoms, pain, infections and headaches. The Maasai people didn't recognize what we perceived as a need. How would they? How could they possibly know? The Maasai live in their own isolated piece of the world enjoying life as they know it and everyday you can find them doing just that... living life.

I asked Grace what message I could share with others about the Massai people and she requested I make this simple statement, 'These people are poor and they need our help'.   

Fan Ya Mazoezi

"Fan ya mazoezi heelie ooh way na uzima wa afya" is translated as "Do exercise that you may have good health/well-being". I hesitantly spoke this phrase to the people at the clinic after reviewing prescription medication instruction. Some had no idea what I was saying because of the unfamiliar syllable pronunciations within the words. Others smiled and nodded because they knew this "A" American was trying to make connections by speaking their language. However, none had really given much attention to the statement being made.. 

The Maasai are a physically active people. Their daily tasks place them in a very high category for Phyical Activity (PA) in comparison to the numbers in the U.S. They far exceed the recommended amounts of PA set by the  American College of Sports Medicine or American Heart Association. These people walk more than 30+ minutes a day and perform muscular endurance activities for hours by carrying water, food, etc on their heads. We frequently do PA to improve our capacity to carry out basic activities with ease, for example, you walk on the treadmill to improve your ability to walk to work or up the stairs. What we consider activities of daily living they would consider everyday living. Can I make it real for you? To get to the clinic, people had to walk 6-7 miles one way and this did not include the miles they tread earlier that day to get water or go to the market. 

These people are already very active and I knew that prior to coming. Yet, I was determined to find a way to connect and as much as I tried on the first day I only captured the attention of a few Maasai. Most of the interest in exercise for improving health came from the other members of the medical staff and our driver. I found this to be exciting because they would become essential in recommending exercise for others. I gave them jump ropes and exercise bands to sample and eventually keep for their own personal use. Each of them found the tools promising in the fact that they could assist them in improving their activity level.  In our down time, I taught them how to properly use the exercise bands. Competition soon arrived as they challenged each other to see who could jump the longest or highest. The use of jump ropes became a reminder for them to do activities they enjoy. I told them they didn't really recognize they were exercising because they were too busy having fun.  However, I was determined to introduce the concept of using exercise as a form of medicine to prevent and treat illness and disease in the Maasai … that's the reason I made the trip - Right? 

We were a little late arriving to the campsite on day 2 but at least two dozen Maasai were there awaiting our arrival. This day created some special moments for me. The first began with a woman who appeared to be in her 70's maybe early 80's who suffered from lower back pain. She walked holding a large staff in hand. She was not your typical 70 year old, this woman and her friends walked 6 miles to the site and would take the return 6 mile journey back to their village.  

The woman's consultation papers recommended she receive exercise instruction to minimize her back pain. I taught her basic stretches to improve flexibility and upper and lower body exercise to improve muscular strength. With each progressing exercise she laughed out loud making these loud jubilant sounds. She particularly enjoyed the hip rocking movements I used to help decrease back stiffness. She was excited to learn and she was just what I needed that day to draw attention to exercise. Everyone that watched smiled and laughed with her. Little to say she was the beginning of the Maasai Exercise Movement.

On this day I was able to introduce physical activity and exercise as a way to improve health. I assume the other women inquired how she was able to Fan Ya Mazoezi (do exercise) because the next 25-30 women that came through our tent had back pain and needed exercise.

Adventure is out there!!!

"Adventure is out there" and it found me only a few hours after boarding my flight to Kenya. I began this journey with flight delays, re-routes, and communication difficulties. I touched down in several countries including Switzerland, Turkey, and lastly Kenya. My flight from New Jersey to Switzerland was delayed causing me to miss my connecting flight to Nairobi. I was immediately re-booked on a later flight leaving me to spend four hours in the Swiss airport. It would not have been so bad had my technology made the proper connections to their operating systems. When it came to the conclusion that I could not bury my attentions on social media outlets, I tried making conversation with those around me. To my surprise no one around me seemed to speak English, so I settled for my music and thoughts.

I was originally scheduled to meet the rest of my team in Nairobi at 6pm, but I arrived at 2am to a tent constructed in place of the Nairobi international Airport terminal which had caught on fire about a month before my arrival. I had a few hours of sleep before attending preparation meetings for the work we would do at the clinic. While touring our host churches' facilities, we stumbled upon a group of students enjoying their study break.

We gained valuable insights about the community we would work with during our training session.  We were first informed about what's most important, "how to communicate with the natives". This was very important, considering I had just sat four hours in Switzerland with little communication exchange. English is well known by many; yet very generational.  Older adults spoke little to no English, but the youth did. However, the language of the land is Swahili along with 42 other languages specific to the various tribes/people.  It was sad to admit most of my exposure to Swahili came from watching the Disney animated movie Lion King.  "Asante San a squashed banana nananana".  Asante San  means Thank you very much or "Hakuana Matata" means no worries. I hated to admit that just now but it is what it is.  I did take the time to study and commit to memory proper greetings, numbers, time of day, exercise, and health related Swahili terms.

Going Going Gone

Its almost time for me to board my flight for Kenya. Are you ready to go? You agreed to take this journey with me...Remember?

I will go with both hands filled with the gifts you donated. I believe The communities we visit will be

excited to receive them. The gifts are non-traditional. They are fun for improving endurance and strength, and in creating an environment  and active. It has been amazing witnessing the out pouring support by each of you. I invited you to take this journey and you joyfully accepted. 

I wanted to give you a glimpse of some of the donations before I pack them away. My friends from YoBCC (Youth of branch of the Body of Christ Church) with the help of their parents graceously wrote letters hoping to make pen pals. Other friends donated jump ropes and exercise bands for fitness promotion.

Active people = an active community.

When my youngest daughter found out I was going to take jump ropes, she wanted to teach me games and songs to teach teach the girls i Kenya. It was so much fun watching her in action. Her face was beaming with excitement as she demonstrated each game. I grabbed a few snapshot of her as she jumped high into the air with her big hair catching the wind.
Come back here for more updates during this Journey.
Mrs. Nez

SWeeT PoTAtO piEs

Southern hospitality at its SWEET-est is what I’d like to call our latest visit to Montgomery Alabama. Momma Jones or ‘Nana’ as my children like to call her decided to host a pie fundraiser and donate the proceeds to my Kenya Journey.

People in the community love Nana’s SWeeT PoTAtO piEs, so when she announced that she would sale pies on Sunday people were excited. I didn’t really understand how big of a deal these pies were, but I would soon learn.

We went to the grocery store to buy pie ingredients. While unloading the ingredients from the shopping cart the customers in front of us noticed the supplies and asked if we were making sweet potato pie? “Yes”, I replied, “they will be sold at Freewill on tomorrow in support of a Missions trip to Kenya”.  One of the women began to debate for a good minute or two (out loud) rather she should stick with or dismiss her nutritious eating habits to pre-purchase pies. She finally concluded that she was doing good and should not mess things up. I thought this was hilarious considering there were no pies in sight – we were only purchasing the ingredients.

On Sunday, 100 + pies were sold in less than 5 minutes. For the next 15 minutes I watched people enter the hall and shake their heads in disappointment as they witnessed the empty box on the table. Nana promised them that she would sale 150+ more pies on Next Sunday. I too was shocked at how quickly the pies sold. It was my intention to buy a pie following the sale - how foolish of me. My husband grew up with those pies so he made a wise choice. He purchased his right as they were coming out of the oven.

I didn’t really get to see all the 'secret' ingredients Nana added to her pies, because the pie filling was created while I was sleeping.  Not that it matters anyway! Right?  All that really matters is I am convinced ... Nana makes a good pie and I NEED to get that recipe.

Thank you Nana and Thank you Freewill Baptist for your support.

Mrs Nez