Protein and Precautions

It would be very difficult for one to be a successful Atkins dieter while in Kenya. (I am not on the Atkins diet, but if I were, I would have failed miserably) Most of their staple foods are all carbohydrates. When we visited an orphanage the other day, we were served chiapati (Kenyan’s basic bread product), rice, and a stew that consisted mainly of potatoes. I did have one tiny chunk of meat in my stew to give me a bit of protein.

But last night, I think I made up for three weeks of no protein. We went to a restaurant called The Carnivore, which as you can imagine serves lots of meat products. It is rated by some as one of the top 10 restaurants in the world. They grill all their meat over a huge open flame on huge skewers, and then they bring the chunk of meat to your table while it is still on the skewer and slice it directly onto your plate. They served many different things: chicken gizzards and various other chicken parts, beef sausages, impala meatballs, ostrich, pork spareribs, roast beef and crocodile. I had to try everything, of course. And most of it was really tasty, except for the crocodile. It tasted like fish, but had lots of fat.

I think that protein allotment should tide me over for at least a couple of weeks.

“Has the traveling ban for Americans been lifted?”
A team just arrived from the U.S., and yesterday we took them shopping in the city before they left town for their outreach. As we were shopping, one of the shopkeepers asked Vanessa and me this question. It took us a while to figure out what he was saying, but when we finally understood, we gave him a puzzled look. Neither of us was aware that there was a travel ban. I still don’t think there is (though I haven’t checked). I know that a couple of weeks before I came, there were no travel restrictions for American tourists, though there were cautions, since there is a Muslim population in Kenya and there have been some incidents in the past. I believe that the threat level may have gone up after the bombings in Spain, but I’m not sure. Maybe I should be more aware of these things. I do know that one of the precautions that Americans are urged to take is to stay away from places that are known as places where many Westerners (Americans and Europeans) hang out.

Of course, immediately after leaving the shop, our team went into the lobby of the Hilton Hotel, which is definitely a place that is frequented by Westerners. Then after some more shopping we went to dinner at The Carnivore, which is also a place that is full of mostly white faces. And the shopping center where we do much or our shopping (because it is close to our house) is known as an “American joint” by our Kenyan friends.

I don’t really stress about safety all that much, though I think we should us wisdom. I don’t think we should be reckless, but I don’t think we should worry constantly, either. God is in control, and I trust him.