Postscript

We’re going from 110 to 220–volts that is. We’re going through our electronics looking for dual voltage accommodation, and searching for the appropriate converters for the ones that aren’t. The voltage in Nairobi is 220 (as opposed to 110 as it is in the US), and they use a different kind of plug. Electronics we’ve purchased in the US that do not accommodate both 110 and 220 volts, will not work if we try to plug them in, in Kenya.

Our computers are already dual voltage. Today, I’ll be trading my hairdryer (only 110 vt) with my mother who happens to have one that is dual voltage. We’ll be able to buy electronic items there, but they will be equipped to run on 220 vt and won’t work here in the US.

We’ll be able to purchase plug converters in Kenya. The metal prongs at the end of the plug are different from what we’re used to in the US. The plugs in Kenya look like the ones on the top row in the middle in the picture. It’s the same kind of plug they use in the UK. Everything we want to plug in that we’ll be bringing with us from the US will need a plug converter.

Malaria

• disease carried by mosquitoes
• eradicated in the US in the 1940s primarily through the use of the chemical, DDT
• still effects people in many parts of the world
• about 350-500 million cases a year
• kills about 1 million people each year, mostly children in sub-Saharan Africa
• no vaccine

Thankfully, in high altitudes (like where Nairobi is), malaria is less prevalent. Some medicines are available that you can take to help prevent malaria, but many of them have bad side effects and shouldn’t be taken over a long period of time. They don’t always prevent all forms of the illness.

Some good news? A vaccine is being developed.

“Malaria is a huge worldwide problem infecting from 300 to 500 million people a year and killing more than a million worldwide,” said Dr. Marc Siegel, an expert in infectious diseases and an associate professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine. “In the U.S. we don’t give it the attention it deserves. The new vaccine is very exciting, and highly worthy of our attention and support.”

We currently have a subscription to an internet music service that lets us browse through thousands (maybe millions?) of songs and listen to whatever we want. It’s nice because you can be very selective about what you choose to hear, and there’s a great selection. Today, I’m listening to some traditional Chinese music. We’ve both developed appreciation for some non-Western music, and become familiar with some crazy instruments.

Doing the band thing in school, I got used to what I thought was a typical array of instruments. You know…clarinets, trumpets, flutes, saxophones, snare drums, and if you got really crazy…tympani and oboe (bassoon, anyone?). Of course in an orchestra you’d include a bunch of string instruments like violins, cellos, etc. A little piano in the mix every now in then.

It’s really not all about the piano…or so I’ve learned. There are so many different kinds of musical instruments in the world. Every continent has their own unique collection, and many communities also have different kinds of musical notations, scales, etc. There’s a lot more variety than I knew about. I remember when I first discovered this; I was just amazed. Really? Everyone in the world doesn’t know what a clarinet is? Yup. And, other people use instruments I’ve never seen or heard of? Yup. One instrument I’ve since grown to appreciate is the Chinese Erhu. I find its emotive sounds relaxing and calming–I just like it.

Check out these web sites to learn more about world instruments:

• Chinese Instruments
• African Instruments
• Native American Instruments
• Indian Instruments

Music–styles, instrumentation, rhythms, melodies and harmonies–are unique to peoples and intertwined with their culture. The study of world music, called ethnomusicology, is an important part of knowing and understanding a people. Wycliffe has a team of ethnomusicologists that helps communities develop music to worship God according to their own culture and musical styles. When scriptures and the principles of scripture are set to music, God’s message comes alive in a whole new way.

Also check out Wycliffe’s World Music Band, now called IziBongo.

About a week ago we told you about how we met with a couple who invited us to stay at their home for the next several months. They live most of the year in Orlando. Today, we moved in! We’ll be able to stay here until June or until we leave for Kenya (whichever comes first). We are so thankful that God provided this for us!