head above water

Back home and finally getting my head above water... I am amazed with how oblivious the kids have been to the craziness that has been their lives for the past seven days. I am starting to wonder if I should relax and start taking notes from them.

home again, home again

Home again, home again jiggity jig... we had a completely uneventful travel experience. I couldn't have asked for anything more! We left Nairobi at 11 p.m. - both of the kids slept the entire first flight, played "nicely" at Heathrow airport, watched movies on the second flight and didn't melt down until we were well out of earshot, safe and secure in our own car driving home from Phily. We came home to a nice meal that a friend had dropped off for us... fed and bathed the kids and fell asleep. We are slowly putting the house back together and trying to catch up with life...

back at mayfield

We made it back to Mayfield and got the kids tucked in for our last night in Africa. Again I find myself sitting in the den long after everyone has fallen asleep... enjoying the quite but wondering when sleep will hit me. We have a long day tomorrow (Ben's birthday) and another long day after that... would welcome any prayers you wanted to shoot our way!

line dry

I spent a good portion of our last day washing and drying our clothes... an activity I despise back home, but on our last day in Kijabe it was a perfect end to a memorable month. Standing outside our building with a clear view of Mount Longonot, hanging our clothes on the line and visiting with a very pregnant African friend... we talked about her overdue baby and the joys and frustrations of motherhood. Max and Maggie were happily entertained feeding veggie scraps to the neighboring goat and for a moment all was well with the world. As I hung the last pair of Max's little superhero underpants on the line I was reminded of how quickly these moments pass... and how easy it is for me to wish away these simple sweet blessings.

walks

Amazing trail heads right at our doorstep... beautiful views and sunsets!

fire

One of Ben's favorite parts of Kijabe... fires every evening.

adoption

Givan is a remarkable man that we met here in Kijabe. He is a guard at Rift Valley Academy and also runs a chicken farm in the valley. His wife Jacquline makes and sells traditional Maasai jewelry. The above photo was taken about 7 months ago shortly after their daughter Lydia was born. While Jacquline was pregnant with Lydia they heard about a young Massai women in their village that was about to terminate her pregnancy. They offered to adopt the baby if the young woman would carry to term. They now have two sweet kids Lydia - 7 months and Adam - 4 months (named after the mission kids that live across the hall) and are working to raise the remaining half of the money needed to finalize the adoption. Unfortunately, adoption proves to be about as inaccessible and expensive as it is in the states...

dinner

We had a great dinner last night with some new friends. Helen works in our building - helps with laundry and cleaning twice a week for the short term mission families. It has been a joy having her in our home. She is an extremely hard worker and has been so kind to our kids... she was particularly helpful yesterday when Maggie took her dirty diaper off at nap time and played with it in her bed - YUCK! Her husband Edward is a Swahili teacher and a wonderful conversationalist. He gave us a complete history of Kenya and even got us a little bit caught up on what is going on back in the states. We had a great time getting to know them. Max and Maggie fell in love with their two boys. Max particularly enjoyed having some older boys to roughhouse with.

little lambs

On Thursday I left Max and Maggie with with Ben and went up the hill to help out at a day camp for orphans. Little lambs supports 50 - 60 kids who have lost one or both of their parents, providing them with one to two meals per day, supplementing their school fees, clothing them and covering the bill when a medical need arises. African Inland Mission prefers the idea of day camps (rather than orphanages) so that kids can stay with their extended family in their villages. Possibly the sweetest memory I will be taking back home with me... precious hopeful kids, healthy program, refreshing look at what can be done with a little prayer and compassion. Well done...

thursday evening dessert

The first week we got here we had a hot fudge sunday party to get to know some of the people in our building. Thursday evening dessert turned into a wonderful weekly ritual and a great opportunity to hang out with friends.

compassion international

A few days ago we had the opportunity to meet the child we sponsor through Compassion International. It was a special day and one I will remember for a very long time. There is a link for Compassion on the right... a fantastic organization that is changing lives and slowly breaking the backbone of poverty - one child at a time.

quilting

My College Station friends might remember when I started my first (and only) quilt way back in 2000 and my Delaware friends might remember when I put the last stitch in it about two years ago. In my opinion 7 years is too long for ANY "project" and thus I haven't even thought about attempting another quilt until we came to Kijabe. Our across the hall neighbor (a mama of three) whips them out in a matter of days and has inspired me to give it another go. I am going to start simple and skip the hand-stitching this time around. I bought the fabric (East African kikoys) so there is no turning back!

1st quilt 2000-2007...

brackenhurst

On Sunday after church we drove 30 minutes to Brackhurst conference center for a nice lunch with friends. It is well noted as one of Ben's favorite places in all of Africa... now I know why. Cool mountain breezes, fireplaces burning hot, beautifully landscaped views everywhere you look, lots of quite sitting areas to have a nice hot cup of coffee, kids laughing and playing... a small piece of Heaven here on earth. The Goodgame's came to Brackenhurst for conferences when they lived in Uganda and Ben spent six weeks working on the grounds the summer after he finished high school. The kids had a blast running and playing with friends and I could tell it brought back sweet memories for Ben!

brackenhurst pictures