Yesterday we arrived at the Moffat Guest House and got settled in our rooms. We were warned to not leave our windows open when we are not present in the room because of monkeys. The monkeys are known to enter in through windows when the room is vacant in search of food. The most common ones to do this are the Skyes monkeys.

As predicted, we had our window open and a monkey attempted to enter while we were in the room. He pulled back the curtain and stuck his head and arms in the room. Our screams quickly startled him and he ran away for a short amount of time, but he came back multiple times to check to see if we had left.

The moral of this story is that monkeys WILL enter your room. As Miriam says, “They are the squirrels of Africa.” Miriam also offered to pay me (Peyton) $20 to pull the monkey’s tail, but unfortunately, I (Peyton) am short and couldn’t reach the tail so I didn’t get the $20. Later that evening, Dr. Dixon informed us that we shouldn’t pull the monkey’s tail because they could break our arms with their strength.

We then had samosas for dinner. They were good, you should google a recipe, Mom. After dinner, we were all exhausted because we had to stay awake all day after 24+ hours of travel, so we went to bed pretty early. 

Today, we woke up and had breakfast, which consisted of an english muffin, porridge (oatmeal), fruit, sausage, and chai. Unfortunately, I (Caroline) woke up very sick this morning and was unable to attend breakfast or church. I feel much better now. We then walked about ten minutes to AIC Kijabe Mission Church.

The service started at about 8:30 with multiple songs in English that we were all familiar with. They then had announcements and the message was then delivered. It focused on Psalm 136, which emphasized praising God for who He is, for His deeds, for His actions, and for His mercy.

After church, we went back to the guesthouse and Isaac, our main personal contact for this trip, came and talked with us. We then had lunch which I, (Caroline) ate some of! It was rice with carrots, fries, chicken, and vegetables.

After lunch we debriefed about the book we had to read called Serving with Eyes Wide Open by David Livermore. We also discussed two main themes observed in Kenyan churches, which are an emphasis on God’s sovereignty, which is portrayed in the worship song selection. The other theme is the emphasis on the providence and blessings that God bestows upon us.

Later tonight we will have dinner and work on our readings and essays.

By Peyton and Caroline