tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3457814092055911282024-02-19T00:24:11.849-05:00Mr. StatlerJust living here in Kenya, teaching kids music, and learning how to love life.Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-76812826768016399262012-03-20T01:16:00.002-04:002012-03-20T01:16:18.088-04:00To Not KnowThere are some <u>awesome</u> things happening in Kenya and, more specifically, Nairobi. There are art displays, music festivals, concerts, musicals, plays, movie premiers and showings, poetry readings, and many other cool artistic events that happen every week here. [Here's a link if you want to look specifically at what some of the events are: <a href="http://nairobinow.wordpress.com/">http://nairobinow.wordpress.com/</a>] And there are incredible people working for the good of people through the arts in Nairobi.<br />
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My musical life began when I was in a preschool choir at Grace United Methodist Church in Rochester, Indiana. Then when I began school in Rochester I had a music class during the school day - general music, choral, and/or instrumental - from the year I began school until I graduated. In addition to that, I had the opportunity throughout all of my secondary school life to be a part of a music ensemble outside of the school day with students from all around Indiana. I have been blessed to have music education in my life from the time I could pretty much hold my body upright until today (when I still sometimes struggle to hold my body upright).<br />
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So herein lies my problem: Nairobi is a city of around 3 million people, and the majority of those people are very unexposed to the arts. Young people have an especially difficult time being a part of quality music ensembles. From what I understand, very few schools in Nairobi have music classes in their curriculum. Many have after-school choirs that meet once or twice per week, but it is very difficult for some students to be a part of those ensembles...either due to transportation or fees or home lives or safety risks. <br />
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I want to offer kids a chance to do music...together...with quality. And to be quite honest with you, I have <i>no idea</i> how to do that. I've been praying a lot about it, trying to see what God wants me to do with this passion, but I still don't know. I don't know where to start advertising...I don't know where rehearsals would be...I don't know how transportation for the kids would work...I don't know how concerts would work...I don't know where financial support would come from...I don't know a lot of things to do with this. I think maybe God has other things He wants me to learn first, but I also don't want to waste my life away on myself. The best I can do right now is pray and ask Him to teach me and lead me where He wants me to go...and then to follow Him and do what He asks. But I guess <i>To Not Know</i> is a place to learn and serve in still. So here we go.Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-13806509946424542542012-02-26T14:30:00.001-05:002012-02-26T14:30:31.415-05:00Back at itWell...hello there again. Welcome back. (I'm saying that as much to myself as I am to you.) I'm here to share with you what's been happening in my life the last few months. So, here we go!<br />
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Audrey came in January and spent the entire month here. It was great, and we were so blessed to have so many people support us financially to make that happen. She was able to see my life here, meet a lot of my fellow teachers and friends, see the beauty of Kenya, and get excited about where we'll start our life together in July.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just a taste of the beautiful colors on the coast.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumcZ3zloqrVthJEpxZpj7xb-GQuilhzHn5mZhoij2iYXWAnrIgROTfTdjmbDzuPLmyg5fd2Tm0fFgvIDtMxZ-jhxunGGqg-3Vb0HxissDkliYZwVboiyWm1P4B4gZwf-lv_qDqYOjCgA/s1600/DSC_0120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumcZ3zloqrVthJEpxZpj7xb-GQuilhzHn5mZhoij2iYXWAnrIgROTfTdjmbDzuPLmyg5fd2Tm0fFgvIDtMxZ-jhxunGGqg-3Vb0HxissDkliYZwVboiyWm1P4B4gZwf-lv_qDqYOjCgA/s400/DSC_0120.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baobabs!</td></tr>
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The first week she was here was spent recovering from jet lag (for both of us - I had to pick her up from the airport at 2 am!) and visiting the Kenyan coast. We spent 3 days in Malindi with my roommate and a few other friends, and it was <i>incredibly</i> beautiful. We swam, ate lots of delicious seafood, walked on the beach, took engagement pictures, read, and enjoyed being back together finally. Our favorite things we saw were the baobabs. If you weren't at the Rochester Vacation Bible School in the summer of 2010 titled "Baobab Blast", and don't know what baobabs are, they are huge, old, awesome trees that are found mostly in East Africa. They look like giant, grey elephants, and are the epitome of everything Audrey and I love in nature.<br />
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When we got back from the coast, Audrey was able to come in and help out at school almost every day. She accompanied the choirs on piano most days, gave a speech in my 7th grade speech class, and helped run rehearsals for the middle school play. I was spoiled having her here to help me. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7opliBCaS-yYvXcmF-FfldApokHaZbMCo160BmkQJwzEOXGVZZOL0USjMqkFa7Epwti8o92CXfQZsQHX7akfigMNfO9Vrz9j7KKWoWr5eR-A_acA_kbkgh3_l5HRstIo5rtIRpoxWjw/s1600/DSC_0777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7opliBCaS-yYvXcmF-FfldApokHaZbMCo160BmkQJwzEOXGVZZOL0USjMqkFa7Epwti8o92CXfQZsQHX7akfigMNfO9Vrz9j7KKWoWr5eR-A_acA_kbkgh3_l5HRstIo5rtIRpoxWjw/s320/DSC_0777.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hi, Mr. Giraffe.</td></tr>
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Before she left, I took her to Crescent Island, a part of Lake Naivasha that you can actually walk around on the island with the animals. We hung out with some eland, buffalo, giraffes, dik diks, gazelles, and zebras. It was a beautiful, sunny, hot January day, and we enjoyed walking around the island and taking pictures and spending time outside together. Coolest part of the day was when we were in our car on the way out of the park and a giraffe stood right beside our car with his head literally right above mine. Giraffes are huge.</div>
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Shortly after that day, Audrey left to go back to the States. Terrible night. I drove her to the airport at 3 am, we cried a lot, and I watched her go up the escalator past the ticket desk out of my sight. That's one of the worst feelings...having to watch someone that you love so much leave, knowing you can't do anything more to help, and you can't be there to comfort them. We're both glad that we'll never have to experience that again.<br />
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Well, then I was back to normal life without Audrey. Choir class, speech class, ultimate frisbee every Sunday, Nairobi Music Society (just singing as a part of the choir this semester), and the middle school play. The play performances were last weekend - Thursday, Friday, and Saturday - and the name of the play was <i>30 Reasons NOT to be in a Play</i>. It was a great show, the students performed really well, and the audiences really enjoyed it. :) And now I have a lot more time on my hands.<br />
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Well...there's a quick recap of the last few months. Be on the lookout for more posts in the next few weeks. Exciting things on the way.</div>Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-10758761513394121622011-09-14T14:36:00.001-04:002011-09-14T14:37:55.697-04:00Nairobi Music SocietyAs of Saturday 3 September 2011, I am going to conduct the Nairobi Music Society choir. I'm not sure how I was chosen for it, but I know this: I'm BALLER excited. Would you like to know why? Here you go:<br />
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<li>It's a community choir in Nairobi, Kenya. That's awesome in itself.</li>
<li>One of my dreams in life is to combine 3 of my life passions: Coffee, Communities, and Choir. I really didn't plan on all of those starting with C's. Don't hate me for that. Anyway, my dream is to start a coffee shop/community music center where people can come and be influenced in great ways. Two of these C's are beginning right now, and why not bring in some coffee to rehearsals every once in a while and complete the third?</li>
<li>It's such an awesome way to get to know people here in Nairobi...singing with them, being a part of an ensemble, and taking tea (soon to be coffee?) with them during a break in a rehearsal.</li>
<li>We sing pretty challenging classical music. Currently we're singing Puccini's <em>Messa di Gloria</em>, and I'll be directing a Christmas oratorio for the Christmas program.</li>
<li>I have a chance to proclaim the Gospel through directing music to a group of people who are singing songs about Christ but may not know him. Ripe for the harvest? Not to forget: This group of people will then be singing for an audience that will hear the message of these songs. Awesome opportunity.</li>
<li>I love this. It gets me more and more excited as I think about it.</li>
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I ran first my rehearsal on Tuesday night, and thanks to God's grace, it went really well. It's so much fun to <em>make</em> music with a group of people that love to make music together. I've experienced conductors <strong>drawing</strong> music out of me, but this was my first time to be on the other side, drawing music out of the group. So cool. I loved it. And I got to preach the Gospel. Part of the section of <em>Messa di Gloria</em> says this:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- Who takes away the sins of the world, receive my supplication. - </span></div>
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It starts softly, with the basses singing the Latin line in a quiet, timid way. The whole choir comes in a little louder next time with the same line. The sopranos then take it back to a soft, quiet, heart-breaking way. And then everyone comes in <em>fortissimo</em> - very loud - with that line. After we rehearsed those sections, I read Ephesians 3:10-12.....</div>
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"His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Here it comes...) In him and through faith in him we may approach God with <strong>freedom </strong>and <strong>confidence</strong>."</div>
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I talked about how we can come before God with confidence (the <em>fortissimo </em>section), because of our faith in Christ. We may start softly and timidly, but as we realize God's love for us and Jesus' purpose here on earth, we can come before God knowing that He sees us as pure and blameless.</div>
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I'm loving my opportunity with the Nairobi Music Society. Pray that it's always for God's glory...that I give my life away for Him everyday and in every rehearsal with them...and that I can serve these people and love God with all that I am.</div>
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Amen. :)</div>
Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-42654684956617275342011-09-03T01:19:00.012-04:002011-09-03T02:53:32.188-04:00Striving to Be a 3Many of you might know about the Enneagram (AnnieAndGrams) personality stuff. If you don't, I'll give you a quick rundown:
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<br /><div align="center">There are 9 different patterns of motivation that give rise to nine different personality types. They have names that go along with them, but I'll just stick with calling them by their number (a 1 or a 7 or a 9, etc.) Now if you're thinking right now that you hate being placed in a box, please continue that thought process. The worst part about personality "tests" to me is that they tell me what I <u>am </u>and I feel either obligated to continue those patterns or try to do completely the opposite of them. The thing about the Enneagram is that it's all about <em>motivation</em>s<em>.</em> Now, yes, it does happen and can happen that you place yourself in a box of "who you are," so just don't let it happen. :) Now, I would love to sit down and tell you all about the 9 types and help you figure out what you are, but it would take a long time to describe each of the 9 types, and I'm in Kenya so it's hard to sit down with you, so I'm just going to describe myself and what this post is ultimately about.</div>
<br /><div align="left">I am a 9 (with a 1 wing), and 9's are generally very easy-going, peaceful, like to be comfortable, enjoy resting, help others feel comfortable, and are very loyal. Those are great things...if I do say so myself...and I love being who I am - it's hard for me to even imagine other motivations sometimes - but they can also lend themselves to some not-so-great traits. 9's are awesome at being <em>where they're at</em>, which makes them fun to be around and good at staying in the moment, however you can imagine (or have experienced) what this means to people who aren't in a 9's immediate surroundings. 9's are also awesome at being comfortable and making others feel comfortable around them, peaceful, and calming to others. This is a great thing, especially for 6's who get very anxious (Grandma Moses is a 6). However all of this desire and motivation for comfort and peace doesn't always help to push a 9 out of his or her "box of comfort."</div>
<br /><div align="left">A 3 is a very motivated person who wants to make goals and accomplish tasks and work hard. 3's are also very loyal and responsible, and they generally are very successful at what they do. The thing that attracts me about a 3 is the way they are <em>motivated</em>. As a 9, I struggle sometimes to be motivated and do everything I know I should do. I'd rather sit back and let things happen and do what I need to do to <u>get by.</u> As anyone knows, that's not a good way to live. Now, at this point, if you're thinking, "So you want to switch numbers to a 3? That's not how personality types work...you can't just <em>choose</em> what you want," get ready, because this is where the Enneagram takes over and becomes boss. You have a <strong>main</strong> number - for me it's a 9 - but you also have other numbers that affect you and are incorporated into your motivations. Along with that, all numbers have a clarifying feature of three levels of how healthy you are...Healthy, Average, or Unhealthy. Healthy 9's, along with many other traits, help others to feel comfortable and use their peace to do good things for others. Unhealthy 9's, again this is only one part of a 9, are those who are stuck in being comfortable and are content to never move past where they're at now.</div>
<br /><div align="left">I'm striving to be a 3 while I'm here in Kenya. I don't <u>want</u> to be stuck in the same things I do every day. I want to try new things, get to know new people, be pushed out of my normal levels of comfort. Going to different churches, playing ultimate frisbee with a bunch of sweet people who do crazy cool things in Kenya but whom many of don't know Jesus, running in a 10k race, finding new and creative ways to teach (i.e. using the Braveheart speech to make better eye contact), being a part of and conducting the Nairobi Music Society...and working hard at all of these things. </div>
<br /><div align="left">But I'm also striving to remember that many of my family and friends are far away and could easily become a non-existent part of my life if I stay stuck in where I'm at and don't push myself to Skype and blog and email and share my life with them. I fail a lot, and I'm sorry about that, but I want to be better and am striving to be more of a 3. </div>
<br /><div align="left">Thanks for your prayers and encouragement as I've been here so far. I'm loving life and teaching and my roommate and friends and all the sweet opportunities I get. I love you all.</div>
<br /><div align="left">Hugs and hearts,</div>
<br /><div align="left">Mark (Alan)</div>
<br /><div align="left">p.s. Since I know you're interested in the Enneagram now, here are a few links to get you started...and I'd love to tell you more about it (we can try to sit down via Skype):</div>~A quick, 5-minute explanation of all 9 types: <a href="http://www.fitzel.ca/enneagram/index.html">http://www.fitzel.ca/enneagram/index.html </a>
<br />~A little more in-depth look at the good and bad of each number: <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/ideasandrew/enneagram-summary">http://www.slideshare.net/ideasandrew/enneagram-summary</a>
<br />~A look at the 9 types as well as the way other numbers affect them: <a href="http://www.optimized-results.com/enneagram_types_abbreviated.htm">http://www.optimized-results.com/enneagram_types_abbreviated.htm</a>
<br />Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-90736378023095260682011-08-08T14:59:00.005-04:002011-08-08T15:09:43.336-04:00Just Another Sunday<div>
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<br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Sunday was a great day and so full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I’m being blessed by so many new people and experiences and opportunities…I fail a lot, and I’m dumb a lot, but thankfully God is fully of grace, and so are other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>2 other teachers and I walked to Karura Community Chapel…roughly a 25 minute walk…for the 10:30 English service.</span></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0E_FVupc3PoGOn_gyr1Z4kKH_i7V-jGkwW87nDlqPAr-kpMLxpXKVzzmeW40WayonQtSnH00s7FAq2GdeHrlFGWshGOfT0elRuryo83BnhMVjVv5si0n0exhCdUKO4q80RQCrRojaUY/s1600/Karura+Community+Chapel.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638562126008141570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0E_FVupc3PoGOn_gyr1Z4kKH_i7V-jGkwW87nDlqPAr-kpMLxpXKVzzmeW40WayonQtSnH00s7FAq2GdeHrlFGWshGOfT0elRuryo83BnhMVjVv5si0n0exhCdUKO4q80RQCrRojaUY/s320/Karura+Community+Chapel.jpg" /></a>
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<br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">As I’m seeking out a home church here in Nairobi, I was so blessed by this local body of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It had a western feel to the church, but it was completely Kenyan led, very energetic, and Biblically based.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The worship band was made up of a worship leader, 5 vocalists, an acoustic, bass, keyboard, and drum set.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The songs were pretty much all in English, besides a few choruses of “Hakuna, Hakuna, Hakuna, Mungu kama wewe.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(“No, no, no God like you.”)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The pastor preached on healthy disagreement in the church…the idea of not getting caught up in our “secondary” differences that are more culturally and personally based.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We should share in our primary beliefs of God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth and Jesus Christ, his only son our Lord…and the rest of the Apostles’ Creed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A great message for a church of 1500 or so who come from various backgrounds and cultures and tribes and denominations.</span>
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<br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">After church the three of us walked to an orphanage called The Nest just up the road to help the women<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM7-n011Oy6-4zxZTXf3CJZW7Nx7vuyKNqJoxvcLzTHq0xkn-IM7kKKE1aa_NRSqcYDZ5Vqys-XNeMjm6OrJ9LrY7pjhlGebuaW1DzXK2xUny7KedIv-zoVLeNNPc8uMJcycVP7ovr1Bs/s1600/Church+and+Orphanage+017.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638562958766348642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM7-n011Oy6-4zxZTXf3CJZW7Nx7vuyKNqJoxvcLzTHq0xkn-IM7kKKE1aa_NRSqcYDZ5Vqys-XNeMjm6OrJ9LrY7pjhlGebuaW1DzXK2xUny7KedIv-zoVLeNNPc8uMJcycVP7ovr1Bs/s320/Church+and+Orphanage+017.jpg" /></a> there feed, hold, and give attention to the 20 babies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I mostly held my new friend Leonard who, whenever the bottle wasn’t in his mouth, was smiling his big, toothless smile.</span></p>
<br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">From there we walked back to our house on Rosslyn’s campus for Sean and I to change and get ready for some Sunday afternoon football.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I wasn’t as terrible as I thought…and I didn’t get too embarrassed, so that was good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We then headed over to the International School of Kenya (ISK) with another Rosslyn teacher to play some ultimate frisbee with 40 other twenty-something mzungus (white people) who play ever week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I got a little more embarrassed a few times there, and my feet and legs are thanking me today…but it was awesome playing and meeting a bunch of great new people who come from all different walks of life who work in all different areas of Kenyan life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We came back to campus at dark and topped off the day with watching Harry Potter 7.1.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">…Just another Sunday in Kenya.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>:)<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div>
<br />Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-87215272062405102892009-12-14T06:04:00.013-05:002009-12-15T14:17:55.096-05:00Pictures from the Concerts.<div><div><div><div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArwYuNAwT35lbGGcrKuOJPJlhEDRy27K8rCjMp07a6ygw2TTTlO9LJmXlPFO-HnWfgN4ctKXWrcl67yGLjPoq-1mViTo88owbMub19dcpS9bwhTmrMMBopJ2RjM94_ic15AFwwWZfKDw/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 156px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415046175093392594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArwYuNAwT35lbGGcrKuOJPJlhEDRy27K8rCjMp07a6ygw2TTTlO9LJmXlPFO-HnWfgN4ctKXWrcl67yGLjPoq-1mViTo88owbMub19dcpS9bwhTmrMMBopJ2RjM94_ic15AFwwWZfKDw/s320/untitled.bmp" /></a> If you look hard enough, you might be able to see some middle-school-hip-shaking action going on. Thank <em>you</em>, Richard Simmons.</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQW4DeaobhIbB2JlLbvIQzALDJZLTeXAgN27Ehx9q5oku-JycXwOZv4opxNeKfaoOJnvqGGwj0aHHAQapPCQrnAihI4KCCZt94wTmCdjRl4-0NK_cDwNVtqPfBN30VTTUl-sKQX1tV5g/s1600-h/Christmas+Concert+005.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415529305961576050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQW4DeaobhIbB2JlLbvIQzALDJZLTeXAgN27Ehx9q5oku-JycXwOZv4opxNeKfaoOJnvqGGwj0aHHAQapPCQrnAihI4KCCZt94wTmCdjRl4-0NK_cDwNVtqPfBN30VTTUl-sKQX1tV5g/s320/Christmas+Concert+005.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center"><br /> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Ah the handbell group...playing their little hearts out.<br /><br /><br /></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTr5ksc2qmdGwNJVgzomkF0e_TvLvEa4ZeGF3SWAfwV6nGY3b-ixZTVybU5qFiIMROvZMhrPh9dtJQEDt8xcgH29eilf2SzqYGwfHq05QnJ3pFqZVp0XqK-0irrHFi0Rm6214UveUh3f0/s1600-h/DSC01752.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415531814425637778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTr5ksc2qmdGwNJVgzomkF0e_TvLvEa4ZeGF3SWAfwV6nGY3b-ixZTVybU5qFiIMROvZMhrPh9dtJQEDt8xcgH29eilf2SzqYGwfHq05QnJ3pFqZVp0XqK-0irrHFi0Rm6214UveUh3f0/s320/DSC01752.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div align="center">The High School Choir. I did everything in my power to make them smile. It worked some?</div><div align="center"><br /><br /> </div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nOQStD0TY9CxAvOrPjU3FQzeP1ikcR_aKD0yn-MWdAoK7bngrhQtrbyNHENsADzJiipHw4yym_PJNACLxPWB05oP8XZFfd3301OZsMMea5muwYbGBT6g08XXYRdQJUX6dSeAjnom8yI/s1600-h/DSC01764.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415536152435029586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nOQStD0TY9CxAvOrPjU3FQzeP1ikcR_aKD0yn-MWdAoK7bngrhQtrbyNHENsADzJiipHw4yym_PJNACLxPWB05oP8XZFfd3301OZsMMea5muwYbGBT6g08XXYRdQJUX6dSeAjnom8yI/s320/DSC01764.JPG" /></a></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">Nairobi Music Society. This is the large choir that I sang with...you can kind of see the orchestra in front of us. We sang two large works: <u>Magnificat</u> and <u>The Many Moods of Christmas</u>.</div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /> </div></div><div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMdL-VVKfp1S9kYtpAb6dXh4UwCXeSIEUQu_cdpMkS4NCUvxd43DRWd1mdn-pKT_ujUVrkbbj_cyXF5C8BXmkm_t8cIBIUQI5OLvtFxVumKERG0HBTk_FmahQcb1ZNzaj3F8fbpQdw00/s1600-h/DSC01765.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415542297261334034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMdL-VVKfp1S9kYtpAb6dXh4UwCXeSIEUQu_cdpMkS4NCUvxd43DRWd1mdn-pKT_ujUVrkbbj_cyXF5C8BXmkm_t8cIBIUQI5OLvtFxVumKERG0HBTk_FmahQcb1ZNzaj3F8fbpQdw00/s320/DSC01765.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">This is the other choir, a small group of about 16 people that I performed with as a part of the Nairobi Music Society. We sang songs in Spanish, Latin, German, French, and English. It was great.</div></div></div></div></div>Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-19065575191735559462009-12-09T08:11:00.019-05:002009-12-09T09:04:29.840-05:00Concerts Galore.Yeah, this weekend was "plentiful" and had an "abundance of" (thanks, dictionary.com) concerts. We had the Friday night Rosslyn concert, but then I had two Nairobi Music Society concerts: Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. It was a weekend full of beautiful Christmas music.<br /><br />The Rosslyn concert went <u>great</u> as expected. The students were so prepared. Mostly I just loved how my 6th, 7th, and 8th graders did flashlight choreography with Richard Simmons-esque movements...probably my favorite part. The handbell ensemble did great as well; people absolutely love to watch handbells play, especially since there aren't very many at all in Kenya. As for the high school choir, well...let's just say that I have the ability to make them laugh pretty hard while they sing. They had a really nice, soulful Christmas song called "Rise Up Shepherds and Follow," and I may or may not pretend I'm singing the women's part while conducting. Don't judge me...that's just how I feel the music, ok? I really enjoyed how the high schoolers were able to add in some different, fun things like percussion instruments and movements to add some "spicey spice" to the songs. The format of the concert itself was really cool as well, thanks to my cooperating teacher here. We had the fun, Santa-y songs in the first half, and the second half worked more like a more traditional Christmas cantata service. There were Scripture readings telling of the need for, the coming of, and the birth of Christ, and each reading correlated to a hymn sung with the congregation or a song sung by one of the choirs. It was meaningful...which is nice.<br /><br />Onto the second concert of the weekend: NMS Christmas Concert #1. There are actually two choirs part of the NMS, a large ensemble choir that sang with the NMS orchestra and a small, chamber choir of 16 people. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to sing in both. A Kenyan conductor, Ken Wakia, directed throughout, and he was a fun man to get to know. Now of all my weekend concerts, this was the most entertaining by far. It was made so due to a few factors: A large portion of men standing up during the middle of the concert when they weren't supposed to, a replica of Mr. Bean that I sang next to, restarting one of the movements of "The Many Moods of Christmas" 3 times due to a lack of percussion entrances, and sitting next to a guy I've gotten to know throughout our rehearsals and laughing with him at the hilarity of it all. It was a blast.<br /><br />The third concert, NMS Christmas Concert #2, went much smoother than first, and I maintained my composure throughout the concert this time. It was a bittersweet time, though, because as I said my goodbyes to friends I've made with people in this group, I knew that it would be a long time until I would see some of them again, if ever....Muryah, Sylvester, Tony, Stefan, Daniel, Beth. Being a community choir in a large city, it was a very diverse group made up of Kenyans, Americans, Brits, Canadians, Germans, French...young and old alike...it was amazing how any song that was sung in a different language was able to be translated or spoken to us by a native speaker of that language. So we exchanged email addresses and Facebook names, and if I'm ever in Kenya in the future or if they're in the States, we decided we would get together and hang.<br /><br />I'll be posting pictures of the concerts soon. That's all. Other than that, my weekend was boring. Clearly a weekend of 3 concerts is not enough. :) Thanks for caring about me and reading my blog, guys. I can't wait to hear about all of your lives when I get back.Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-75334392404512614262009-12-04T08:47:00.005-05:002009-12-04T09:07:51.027-05:00Welcome to Our World.<div align="center"><strong>Welcome to Our World</strong><br /><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 227px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411381059195747234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-tRYpHwVmx8JEaKt9nGVtna7HbhyphenhyphenfZERPthClQ7EiMqd6c3xLjYyjxPOaBMHoUXakYbfKsDTATuVfaZSVwPGQdzorGC1PxAyKyldgc-9NFrlcUVix1OlFP0PQC2ZfVnUE9JavUNlGVAw/s320/Christmas+Program+cover+option+2.jpg" /> <p align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Christmas Concert<br />Rosslyn Academy<br />Friday 4 December 2009 6:30 pm<br /><br />Under the direction of<br />Lynn Charisse Zettlemoyer, Choral Director<br />Mark Statler, Taylor University</strong><br /></span></p><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><p> </p><p>Tonight I direct a Christmas concert in Kenya. Less than 2 hours away, actually. Don't be too jealous (although I know you are).</p>If you're reading this within the next two hours, some prayers sent up on our behalf here would be very much appreciated. As the students and I have talked about, our goal for this concert is simply to sing a message of God's love to the world. If you have the chance, listen to Chris Rice's song "Welcome to Our World" (which our concert is aptly named after). It gives the greatest encapsulation of Christmas that I have ever heard in a song. The message of our need for Jesus and God's love in sending Him down to us is so strong; and I pray that is the motive behind our performance tonight.Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-7175133307864572552009-11-21T09:22:00.008-05:002009-11-21T09:57:11.713-05:00The Greatest Day Ever.The actual day was Monday 16 November 2009. But it literally may have been the best day in my life thus far. I mean, when I daydream and think about everything I want to do in life, this day nearly encapsulated all of those desires.<br /><br />The day began when I woke up at 5 in the morning in order to watch the Colts - Pats game. Lucky for me, it was on our ESPN channel in the house...sweet, I know. So basically the Colts sucked it up the whole game, shown by a 17-point deficit in the 4th quarter. But because of many fortunate events and the understanding that this was the morning of the greatest day ever, the Colts came back. Holding the Pats on a <u>huge</u> 4th and 2 play on the Colts 30-yard line with 2:00 left, the Colts marched right down the field and scored with :13 left on a BEAutiful pass and catch - Peyton to Reggie. The Colts won 35-34, and I wanted to pee my pants I was so excited.<br /><br />We drive to school, and I proceed to differentiate the instruction to my students by watching a taped "mock" performance from last week and evaluating it. It was great - worked for every class, was fun, different, and I noticed a pretty significant difference in their sound (and posture...) when we rehearsed afterwards. The teaching day ended with a comment I made to the high school choir about "making the good better"...they awwed. It was a special moment.<br /><br />We leave school, and I'm in great spirits. As we get home, I finally work up the courage to introduce myself to some of the guys working with the Chinese food business based out of our house. Turns out one of the delivery guys is a music teacher! What the heck, right? We got to talking, and he invites me to a choir rehearsal on Tuesday night - the Nairobi Music Society choir. Yes, please. I come inside, change, eat some snacks on my bed, thinking about how great of a day this is when I hear basketball being played outside. I think, "Heck...let's just add some more greatness to this day." So for the next hour and a half I play basketball with Cymn, Robert, Edward, and Fred...it was great.<br /><br />I then eat dinner, have great conversation with Harrison, Cymn, and Steve, watch some KTV (Kenyan Television) news, make a playlist of "Greatest Day Ever Reflection" music, and I sleep fully.<br /><br />Simple joys: American football, teaching a fun lesson, meeting a Kenyan music teacher, playing basketball with 4 great Kenyan guys, and having great conversation. Mmm. Great.Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-5243318940161753732009-11-15T04:38:00.002-05:002009-11-15T04:48:21.483-05:00The Loss of Hope.I always thought that a person who had lost all hope equaled a person who was weak and did not have enough willpower. I understand now that a person’s hope is not so much lost as it is stolen. A young woman has no choice when she is kidnapped, drugged, and sold into sex slavery. A beautiful, young girl who is betrayed by a person who is close to her in order for him to have a few moments of pleasure whenever he wants is rendered paralyzed to resist, think, or later, speak about it to those around her. A boy living amidst violence and chaos, surrounded on all sides by the influence of gangs, members of which are the only people in the world he has to trust, has no choice to even see what the other side of the fence may hold. If these young men and women have not hope, it is not because they have lost it themselves; it has been taken from them. Satan has invaded their lives…their stories, and hastily taken their hope, their chance, their futures. In no way is it their fault. They have not chosen this path for themselves. Much like those of us who have been blessed to have a loving, hopeful path fall before us, they have been cursed to have a painful, discriminatory, abused, frightened, hurtful path fall before them. They have had no such choice to live in a suffocating environment as I have had no such choice to live in a family of a father, mother, and sister who love me and support me in everything I do. The loss of hope is just as natural for them as are the thoughts toward the future, daydreams about who I want to be someday, and hope that I experience everyday are natural for me.<br /><br />I will not profess to know why this is the case. I just know that Satan has so much of a hold on this world that hurt is obvious to abound in people’s stories. It is not my job to “fix” hurt. I am immobile to fix hurt. It is impossible for me to fix hurt. But the One who ‘wrapped our injured flesh around Him, breathed our air and walked our sod, robbed our sin to make us holy’ can. He is the King of Redemption stories…He is Jesus, the King of The Redemption story. <br /><br />He can place meaning in a story where there once was none. <br /><br />He can give the woman sold into sex slavery a reason to live, a person to lead her out of it, a reason to share her story. He can give the girl raped by the man she trusted a voice to speak, a reason to love, and pride in the woman she will become. He can give the boy surrounded by gang pressures a way out, a future abounding with meaning, an influence that will lead him to the other side of the fence. <br /><br />He can give hope. He will give hope. He does give hope. <br /><br />And for that, Lord, we thank You.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">"God has a way of bringing unique challenges to help each person mature. No matter what decision you make, God will always send His angels to get you through the struggles." -- <u>Teaching Hope</u></span><br /><br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">The past couple of days have impressed upon me the need for hope. I am beginning to understand how difficult it is to keep a mindset of hope when a person is in a situation or environment that does not lend itself easily to it. This writing was inspired after I read a section of the book <u>Teaching Hope</u> entitled “Challenges” and a long conversation had with three great friends here in Nairobi.</span></em>Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-75914393818874504032009-11-11T12:44:00.009-05:002009-11-11T13:34:06.068-05:00Football.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402908824660929666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpXbgWPaD2I-mJtXmq59-yi1Obi0u-eBfqGA3Ee21V1Puxo7JaeczPG7qhVe3DCM5eEMfFg8IUA9628KkxzIEDU3RTuME12P-zPz3voMu5bAvciH93cLjhOaDRPPEBhj_ogjP47wdPuw/s320/Rosslyn+Football+012.jpg" />I'm successfully making the transition to football. Because in Kenya...football is where it's at. They say it's the most popular sport in the world. And after tonight, I can tell why.<br /><br />I watched the varsity team play in the semi-finals game versus their archrival, Rift Valley Academy, this evening. It was incredibly exciting. It made me want to start playing football. Actually, it <em>makes</em> me want to start playing football...like...right now.<br /><br />Here's how it went down: The game was dead even through the entire first half. Both teams had very strong defenses and skilled goalkeepers, and there had been few shots even close to getting in, so the score going into halftime was nil-nil. The pace was a bit quicker the second half, and a few balls nearly scored, but impressive plays by both sides contained the score still to 0-0 after 89 of the 90 total minutes. With less than a minute to go, Rosslyn kept the ball deep in RVA's territory; with a strong offensive push, a lot of heavy body contact, and a goalkeeper not quite getting to the ball, Rosslyn scored the one and only goal of the game! The crowd went nuts, I high-fived some of my middle school students sitting next to me (we had previously been beating on drums and blowing <u>extremely</u> loud noisemakers throughout the game together), and a few short seconds later the refs blew the whistle, and Rosslyn advanced to the Finals. <br /><br />It's things like this that connect you to a school and its students. Sitting amidst a community cheering for their team, playing drums and yelling at referees with middle school boys, asking other teachers if they've heard updates on teams playing away games...I really do feel so much more a part of Rosslyn Academy after tonight.<br /><br /><div></div><div>Ok...but seriously...I want to go play football right now.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2xOhmmfHoGiIOw8WAkSwXvfBqRdLdvwNNxVsY7B5UMO5zwhNwON3lsEukNnc0BKJxd4-Xe059h3aXUdhMMkLH2_uM58V0RvTDZkgQTY4a6r8ENLwPdbbHZTyroCu6TMH5DGLcjk01V20/s1600-h/School+and+Football+014.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402913248208230178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2xOhmmfHoGiIOw8WAkSwXvfBqRdLdvwNNxVsY7B5UMO5zwhNwON3lsEukNnc0BKJxd4-Xe059h3aXUdhMMkLH2_uM58V0RvTDZkgQTY4a6r8ENLwPdbbHZTyroCu6TMH5DGLcjk01V20/s320/School+and+Football+014.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div></div><div>p.s. I'm going to incorporate this into my choir rehearsals tomorrow. I'm trying to get my students to understand the concept of a <em>sforzando</em>, in which you attack a note, back off quickly, and <em>crescendo</em> out of it. Rolling a football from one side of the piano to the other, the choirs are going to sing from <em>forte </em>to <em>piano</em>, <em>crescendoing</em>, and <em>decrescendoing</em>...and hopefully they'll make the connection from the football pitch to the choir room. Thanks, teachable moments.</div>Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-57673712860676918252009-11-08T09:44:00.005-05:002009-11-08T10:46:03.651-05:00Other Peoples' StoriesSometimes I just love getting wrapped up in other peoples' stories. Especially if they're real. Take Donald Miller for instance...he's done some awesome things, and he's great at writing about them. Or a friend of mine here in Kenya named Laura...she's been here for 3 months, living in a hut in the northern part of Kenya for most of it, and she has some funny and crazy stories to tell. Or pretty much any of my students here at Rosslyn Academy...because they've either lived in 4 different countries in their 12 years of existence or they've grown up speaking multiple languages or their dad works for the UN or their mom works as a missionary in a local organization...or because they're just different than I am.<br /><br />The trouble is...I can sometimes get caught up in someone else's story and forget about my own. I mean, here I am in Kenya, living in a neighborhood where I can count the number of white people on one hand, people with completely different cultures and backgrounds surround me, and I <em>still</em> have the option to forget my story and seclude myself in another person's.<br /><br />That's why I have to constantly pray that God would help me to remember that I <em>am</em> here, in this world, for a purpose that He wants me to fulfill. I love books and movies because they can help me to see a different side of the world I don't know, they can fill me with empathy for others' stories, they can remind me of how to live my story, and they can give me knowledge of how to help other people...but if I forget to live these learned things out...well...it's not worth a lot, is it?Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-46923149452242881892009-11-03T05:34:00.006-05:002009-11-03T06:22:54.749-05:00Above the Clouds<div align="center">I just lived a great story.<br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399824539085017666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwx9VqSz6MbFaDGML6eXSOKN9XJqjDejcGWs0tgDSoq1qO9pV4FJvbEezvX1JuL4KgAa7WdQrUNPyJNMsk_1YHtKtnLyhNMF7OKiFRf4_W88EZhw1OtLEj08FBGcQTCxBxeakHSuMuQ8/s320/Mount+Kenya+137.jpg" /> <br />For the past 3 days, I had the opportunity to hike up the 5199 meter (17,057 foot) Mount Kenya. I for real climbed a mountain. I mean, we had it all: a guide, a cook, porters…we walked in and above clouds, through rain and snow, and loved every minute of it. We walked nearly 45 miles in the 3 days…from the Mount Kenya National Park gate at 2650 meters all the way to the summit of Mount Kenya at 5199 meters. It was an incredible experience.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSKfiS1HSNmAqUgOWlRT3Jopm7Q6LyxgXxUX1AB4tJqnoqtymzCkATJlEksgaLr2atatSmJz3pkGR7vHf35dFqVaKyf4Kyf0CbwlytqzM0b_HmuW7B7byFY6QLlaV2KEgiW7vOE_9wUkE/s1600-h/Mount+Kenya+142.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399833884810269138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSKfiS1HSNmAqUgOWlRT3Jopm7Q6LyxgXxUX1AB4tJqnoqtymzCkATJlEksgaLr2atatSmJz3pkGR7vHf35dFqVaKyf4Kyf0CbwlytqzM0b_HmuW7B7byFY6QLlaV2KEgiW7vOE_9wUkE/s320/Mount+Kenya+142.jpg" /></a>On Friday, we hiked a consistent uphill trail about 5 miles to Old Moses camp to spend the night. Saturday we left and hiked a rainy, muddy, and difficult 15 miles until we reached Shipton’s camp at the foot of the snow-capped peaks. We began in the dark hour of 4 a.m. the next morning, and we reached the cold summit at 7:30 a.m., climbing through the wind and snow. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1_mU9DpfYmGMETZMPGXANICriCdnSGerWCLNiIsmlsKH82Cs3bmU1Ou1I6EU4oefz1h3ds5XB2_KhQNfH07NvQoYjdCJbcxRnXkDJSHf-J7HjQxO3Eeh14qwTIAr2H6hdlIxzf07VD8/s1600-h/Mount+Kenya+124.jpg"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-lfi-JpaVGpDjuGCv2ytluujueFNptW_KB5d1e5s4MLCKdTNJy7ozpB5jrTtJY8P18wR5DITAPxhtR6iLx48Y_Xpl14iJgyV0dhbMM_F-KwrfuCjsbPNtas3K1-NiuU_PitLmNVK300/s1600-h/Mount+Kenya+124.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-lfi-JpaVGpDjuGCv2ytluujueFNptW_KB5d1e5s4MLCKdTNJy7ozpB5jrTtJY8P18wR5DITAPxhtR6iLx48Y_Xpl14iJgyV0dhbMM_F-KwrfuCjsbPNtas3K1-NiuU_PitLmNVK300/s1600-h/Mount+Kenya+124.jpg"></a><br />We spent a few minutes taking pictures and reveling in the idea of being on a summit before playing in the snow and having a snowball fight with Simon and David, our Kenyan guide and one of the porters with us on our hike. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtblGmnCIfOKGxa5IE8RH1BeD4XfFO6xn2spboqU0BSqvXw1ayih-Bz-T4728AYiN5EH70KjYSpvTtc1MLkXCd4-zK8ikth32rEFu14J1rIzY0p3n1yhyphenhyphen2y9M8tZG5G0ppewdsdBcQlyc/s1600-h/Mount+Kenya+124.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399836052000432274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtblGmnCIfOKGxa5IE8RH1BeD4XfFO6xn2spboqU0BSqvXw1ayih-Bz-T4728AYiN5EH70KjYSpvTtc1MLkXCd4-zK8ikth32rEFu14J1rIzY0p3n1yhyphenhyphen2y9M8tZG5G0ppewdsdBcQlyc/s320/Mount+Kenya+124.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Following a nice, warm breakfast at the foot of the peaks, we began our seven hour hike on tired legs back to the gate where we rode a matatu (cheap and ridiculous form of dangerous Kenyan public transportation) back to Naru Moru and caught a cab back to Nairobi.<br />But basically the point of all my hiking boils down to this: I walked above the clouds…it still blows my mind.Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-55841581716919546082009-10-27T10:25:00.005-04:002009-10-27T10:51:25.154-04:00Habari gani?Well, here I am! Nairobi, Kenya. This is going to be quite an experience, I can already tell. Just in the conversations I've had in the past few days, I can see I really don't know very much (Although most of you probably already knew that...). <br /><br />For instance, I found out that a "napkin" is actually what is used to make a diaper...not what most of us would first think of. I also found out that the people who clean public bathrooms will walk in and start cleaning while you're going to the bathroom...even if the cleaner is a woman. Yeah...that one was a little awkward to find out. Also, electricity is, well...sporadic to say the least. At least 10 times throughout the school day, the electricty and lights will go out before the generator kicks them back on after a few seconds. When it happens, no one really seems to notice, because it happens so dang much. And at my family's home, the power was out from the time we got home from school yesterday evening (around 5:30 pm) until we left this morning (7:30). We ate dinner, hung out, read, and wrote all by the light of candles and lanterns until we fell asleep.<br /><br />So as you can see, I'm already learning a lot, and I anticipate to learn and share many more of those stories as they happen. But right now I'm headed off to eat pizza and hang out with some of the walimu (teachers). I'll be adding pictures of the school and my home soon. <br /><br />Kwa heri (Bye)!Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345781409205591128.post-1507819940556782142009-10-23T15:52:00.009-04:002009-10-23T16:22:19.573-04:00'Twas the Day Before Kenya...<div><br /><br /><div>What does one do the day before they leave for a far-away land where they will be spending multiple months? "Oo..I know, I know! Packing?" No, no, no...that's saved until much later. (Such as the last few hours before I leave for the airport.) This is definitely a leading question, and the answer I'm leading you to is this: Riding horses. Oh, yes. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpo6Al_GvJLTgl7rhXqbd8L0qKHeIDkUZeOrxejmv3mcH5654UudtEOl6RCAPyEOM5yyB02dxuMbq_lnKWMlztTxRi5QopsPuU3aPVx8wZa5jCaFdJC_hi1GCqBNebektPudwXHcPxJG4/s1600-h/'Twas+the+Night+Before+Kenya...+057.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395891858519219714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpo6Al_GvJLTgl7rhXqbd8L0qKHeIDkUZeOrxejmv3mcH5654UudtEOl6RCAPyEOM5yyB02dxuMbq_lnKWMlztTxRi5QopsPuU3aPVx8wZa5jCaFdJC_hi1GCqBNebektPudwXHcPxJG4/s320/'Twas+the+Night+Before+Kenya...+057.jpg" /></a></div><div> </div><br /><div>It was a fantastic time, and it should be in everyone's pre-Kenyan trip experience. Other forms of entertainment for this kind of time frame: Driving down roads marked as construction that have all of their pavement scraped off, nearly hitting owls sitting in the middle of the road, and taking pictures of trees in the dark.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Thank you for being a part of my first blog post, and I promise that once I'm out of an airport and in the beautiful land of Kenya, I will be able to post entries much more worthwhile to all of us. :)</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>The next time you read something from me, I'll be in Nairobi, Kenya. Bye, bye, now!</div></div>Mark Statlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333138755085578826noreply@blogger.com5