Christmas

 The past 3 days have been a wonderful celebration of family - the  realization of a new generation as our children play as old friends, and we wait with expectation for Ashley's new little girl in a few short weeks. David and I look around and we feel the culmination of years of dreaming. My sisters and I are women, with families and careers and lives of our own that merge in a controlled chaos for a few days a year to recount memories and settle into the safety of my parent's home. As we sit around the table, laughing as santa Yoda enters the Christmas story to tell Mary there is no room in the inn, we are relaxed -  and I can see the phantom of the years rolling out as our children grow and our lives settle into routines and new realities.
We are family, and it is wonderful.

But our looming reality creeps into the quiet moments and comfort of tradition - in the Candlelight Service, I wedged myself between my sisters as we sang Silent Night - and with one brain we playfully mouthed the German first verse, unsure of the words - then swung our candles side to side like we were at a concert  for the second.  The tears streamed down my face as we waited for mom's disapproving look only to see her tears matched mine. And, at that moment, a quick slap to my rear from one of my sisters sent me into peals of laughter as the song ended.

It is a Christmas of joy, of goodbyes, and of sacred moments.  I cling a little longer in hugs, and talk a little less than my family is used to, ponder the journey of wisemen and shepherd's to a fantastic unknown. . .I wonder what Emma will look like in her Christmas dress next year and what words my nephew Oliver will have learned - I wonder what 80's reference will enter the story of the Christ Child as the family retells it. I wonder and hope that there will be a place in Kijabe to find such joy and rest.

A bit of my heart is in Kenya this year, but most of it is here with family - and next year I know a bit of theirs will be in Africa with us.

Answers to the most frequently asked questions. . .

Where in Kenya are you going to be moving?

We're moving to Kijabe, Kenya. It's a small village built around a mission station established 120 years ago, about an hour northwest of Nairobi, the capital.

Where are you working? Is Arianna going to be doing pediatrics or everything?

I'll be working at AIC Kijabe Hospital (http://www.kijabehospital.org). It's a 320 bed hopsital that takes care of anywhere between 50 and 100 kids on any given day.  I'll be doing all pediatrics, all the time, but I won't just be in the ER. I'll split my time between the nursery, the ICU, the inpatient wards, and the outpatient clinic (sometimes all four in one day :)) . 

We have some big basic things, like oxygen in the wall, IVs, antibiotics, and most common medications. There are 3 ancient pediatric ventilators if we need to ventilate a kid. The needs change day to day as far as equipment, and  here's a link to some of the things the hospital needs right now. It will be very basic compared to Children's where I work right now, but it is amazing what we can still do. There are fantastic pediatric nurses there as well and a nursing school to help train them.

I'll still be teaching and will be working with some of the smartest, most motivated residents I have ever met. They train in pediatrics, OB, Medicine, and basic surgery while doing their residency, so we get to teach them as much as possible in the snippets and months we work with them on the Wards and in Nursery.

And,  what is David going to be doing while Arianna is at the hospital?

The short answer is serve.  Take care of the girls, support Arianna, and then to pitch in as needed in the community.  In our month last summer, that meant bush whacking with machetes, taking photos of the hospital and staff, making connections and friendships with the Kenyan workers, and learning Swahili.  Will I continue to be a professional photographer?  Possibly, we will have to feel it out and decide if it is fun and worthwhile or if it is too stressful do deal with the logistics of shooting in Africa. But the skills we have learned with image making over the past decade will certainly come in handy, first and foremost, to give you a glimpse into our lives and adventures!

Are the girls excited? What are you doing for school?

Ask them next time you see them - I love watching the broad smile spread across Madeline's face matched by Annabelle's shy one. They've always been pretty laid back and up for adventure. They talk daily about what they think life will look like when we move. Kids are everywhere in the village, both missionary kids and Kenyan.  It's a idyllic place to be a child, the beautiful mountainside, endless playmates, trees to climb, safaris just an hour away.  Madeline and Annabelle will attend school at RVA, or Rift Valley Academy, which is an absolutely fantastic mission school just a few minutes up the mountain from us.  The students are from all over Africa (and the world), so it will be a phenomenal cultural experience and learning environment.

Are you selling your house ? What are you doing with all your things?

Yes, we're hoping to have it on the market in March, so if you know someone looking for a great house on Alford with an attic playroom and big yard, let us know ;).  It's interesting to think about selling all of the things we've accumulated in the 12 year since we got married - but expect a big yard sale in the near future, and feel free to claim something if you come to visit. We'll be taking 8 suitcases with us to Kenya and storing pictures and more personal memories, but everything else is going to be sold before we go. I might need some extra hugs this year when I take down our Christmas decorations . . . 

How long will you be in Kenya? 

 The Samaritan's Purse post-residency program is for two years.  The design of the program is to place recent graduates in the field and give them opportunities that will pave the way for a career in medical missions.  In the latter part of the program, we will start working on a transition toward a long term sending agency.  We are committing to Kijabe for two years, but placing ourselves in a position to do this for the long haul, whether that is five years or fifty.

When do you leave?  

End of September, 2014.  We have our last few weddings booked for September, so we'll shoot those and then jump on a plane!

How can we help?  

Keep up with our journeys here. Prayers and encouragement will be our lifeblood, so please add us to your prayer list and shoot us an email from time to time!  Financial donations can be made through Samaritan's Purse or our church.  As we get closer to the date of leaving, I'm sure we'll have more specific things, but for now, keep walking alongside of us as we figure this all out. 

These changes have made us more vulnerable than we have ever been and we are incredibly grateful that you are all walking with us.

Heading back :)

When I was writing people from Kenya in July, my sister Alli replied to one of my emails with a simple question:"Why can't you actually end up there in Kenya? Sounds like they need you. Sounds like you fit in just a few short weeks." It was the question that had been echoing in our minds all week. Kijabe, in 2 weeks, felt like home. It felt like our hearts were taking root it a way neither of us could explain.

After my crazy call, I sat down to dinner. . .
David looked at me, smiled, and said:

"You want to come back."
I nodded.
"Me too," he said.

And I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I realized, that once again, in this crazy, life changing thought that I feared was too strange to be shared, we were on the same page.

It was a quiet whisper in the middle of the storm.

From that moment we started a whirlwind -  a spontaneous coffee break at Mardi's kitchen table, some pointed emails with certain pleas to Samaritan's purse, two 30 page applications, and 7 letters of recommendation in 3 days, two interviews, uncertain moments, redirection. And then a phone call on my way home from work from an unknown number in Boone only 6 short weeks after we landed in Kenya. . .

"We are excited to welcome you into the Post-Residency program for Samaritan's Purse. . ."

I'm sure things were said after that, but it's one of those moment's where time stood still and I realized the entire course of our lives had shifted -  and I was ecstatic, a bit terrified, and so grateful as another door was swinging open for us, taking us back to a place and people that we loved already. 

A couple of days ago, we received final confirmation that we have an official place in Kijabe, starting next September for at least the next two years.

David will keep shooting weddings while we are in the States, I will keep learning and soaking in every bit of wisdom from the doctors and nurses here and finish my fellowship.  And we will start preparing to sell everything we own and move to a place we cannot imagine not calling our new home.  

Stay tuned for the continuation of the adventure. . . 

-ari


After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19

Westgate Mall

We've been getting questions about the situation in Nairobi and I want to share some insights from our friends in Kenya right now. A big part of why we want to return to Kijabe is to have the opportunity to learn from amazingly wise people like these. . .it's like reading a textbook on how to handle, process, and work through a nightmare situation.
 http://paradoxuganda.blogspot.com/2013/09/westgate-mall.html

http://steeres.com/?p=5811

Adventures in Birmingham

Some good friends came to town for Labor Day and we went to the zoo (yes, B'ham has dinosaurs at the zoo) and the science center. Touching live sharks, watching the baby Orangutan play, hearing the T-Rex roar, it was a lot of fun.  It's easy to take for granted when we live here but Birmingham has some great adventures!

The girls are back in school and absolutely loving it. I'm a pretty laid back parent and they love having the structure and learning schedule that school provides. . .not to mention new friends and wonderful teachers.

touching sharks and rays

baby orangutan

The Good Life

I received a phone call from Papa yesterday. "Habari," he said. "Nzuri," I answered, quite shocked. He continued, "Jambo," and I answered "sijambo." He was pronouncing the words absolutely perfectly and I asked where he was learning Swahili.

"At the liquor store from the Indian lady who used to live in Kenya."

Keep in mind, this is in South Carolina, and her daughter goes to Harvard - the world is small and fascinating!

I emulated Papa when in Kenya, telling cheesy jokes like he would, always making the first move to introduce myself and smile. He is naturally shy, but goes into pastor-mode when he is out and about, exuding energy and smiles, making connections, building bridges, offering prayers, advice, and friendship. So many times I thought how happy he would be in Kijabe, how he would have love a certain moment or interaction!

I was at my friend Andy's house, watching him separate sunflower seeds from the plant that grew in his garden. It occurred to me that a big part of my happiness in Kenya was because I was living a mirror of Andy's life. They live smack in the heart of Bluff Park - one of those neighborhoods where everyone knows each other and the kids are free to romp every day until dark. Andy is a jack of all trades sort of guy and has about a jillion projects going on - but like me, he looks after the kids while his wife works a normal schedule. Andy is great about never being too busy to have a conversation. . .he makes a big point to get involved in the lives of his friends and neighbors. Part of his method is to be outside: working in the garden or walking the kids to school.  I learned this lesson in Kijabe - when you walk, you stop and get to know people. Our girls love to play with his, and it's a rare day when they don't have 5 or 10 kids playing in the backyard. Andy is also big into renewables and self-sustenance, whether it is the garden or rain barrels, or the plans for solar water heaters. He is about pragmatism and big dreams - we have this or that resource - how could I use it to do something I want? My favorite moments in Kenya were spent when I was living like Andy. . .maybe the best moment was the afternoon I spent with William, googling plans for a solar oven and a rocket stove - both ideas I learned in conversations with Andy before we left.  I pictured Andy there with us, dreaming big and so excited about these little tools to recycle and use natural means as the solution to a need.

Matthew Boyle, one of my favorite people in the world. He was in my Sunday school class, but despite (or maybe because of)a few years difference in age, we have become good friends. Matthew is a tinker - endlessly clever with a love for building, tinkering, and big cool science. He introduced me to Tesla coils and gives me lessons in materials engineering an quantum physics. We had lunch yesterday and I realized that Matthew and my Kenyan friend William are twins born on different continents. Their quick smiles and laughter, love of learning, brilliance and resourcefulness. . .I hope they can meet one day!

In religion classes we used to talk about "the good life." I see a great picture of a life well lived in these and so many of my other friends. It is not necessary to go to the ends of the earth to have the good life. . .but going to Kenya did help me realize that I need to shift a few priorities and live more like these wonderful people, and most importantly that I need to make more time to hang out with them!

SP Interview

We did a whirlwind turnaround trip to Charlotte yesterday to do an interview with Samaritan's Purse/World Medical Mission. We met some amazing people, answered and asked lots of questions, and our heads are spinning with possibilities and sheer exhaustion!  The planning process is a roller-coaster of emotions - we'll have to do our best to be patient and let things unfold over the next few weeks.  Hopefully we'll have a chance to recover from jet-lag and travel soon as well. . .we've flown around 30 hours and driven 2100 miles in the last two weeks, shot two weddings, and Arianna is already back to her normal work schedule!

Winston

We went back to Winston-Salem this week to photograph a wedding.  Taking pictures at St. John's, our old church, is a landmark event.   Arianna and I were married there a little over 11 years ago and we have photographed a wedding there every few years since.  The church is a great measuring stick of our progress as photographers, and it is always wonderful to be back to our old home.

It is always amazing to be back with our family in NC. . .they talked me into "running" a 5k, we hit the volleyball around, the girls were able to go swimming, and as always, ate better than we ever should!

One of the most special parts was that everyone had seen the blog and knew exactly what was happening in our life, or at least Kenya-wise.  There were many days where I sat down to write an update, wondering if anyone would actually read. . .then to find out some of our long-time friends were keeping up with our adventures and praying for us. . .absolutely wonderful!!  "Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." (John 6:5-7 ESV)." From the porch in Kijabe, it was easy to say, "lets stay in Africa," but now that we are home, the idea of going back is much more daunting. But we are beginning to realize, in encouraging conversations with amazing friends, if returning is God's plan, he knows exactly what he will do to make it possible!

Back to life

Some more thoughts as we adjust to life back home.  

Just heard about this. . .we received a warning from the state department last week about August 7th, which is the end of Ramadan and the 15th anniversary of the Nairobi embassy bombing.  The embassy was closed due to the perceived threat, and we are glad that we flew out on Monday morning.  Our bags never made it home and may well have burned along with the airport. . .
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/big-fire-rages-at-nairobi-international-airport-flights-rerouted-from-kenyan-capital/2013/08/07/ffba8f98-ff1b-11e2-8294-0ee5075b840d_story.html

Annabelle picked up the cutest accent from her Australian and Irish friends. . .all of her a's are soft, so candy is cahndy and fanta is fahnta.  I'm sure it will disappear the minute she sees her Alabama friends, but it is delightful!  

Annabelle and Madeline were wide awake at 4 this morning, giggling and so proud of themselves for waking up early.  They watched TV and played, and we went back to sleep.  Now they're stamping passports and boarding passes and selling me tickets to New Zealand!  

It's hot and humid in Alabama - it was winter in Kijabe, so 50 at night and 70 degrees during the day, which is my absolute favorite weather.  

The sounds are different in the States, especially at night, a cacophony of crickets and cicadas, mosquitos buzzing everywhere, weeds exploding in the yard, frogs croaking.  Kijabe had the squack of the ibises, roosters crowing, and dogs barking. . .but the insects were silent.  

I feel almost superhuman now that I'm at normal altitude, down from 6500 feet. . .I should run a 5k before my body adjusts!  

America is expensive. . .I was astonished when I looked at our bank account and saw how little we spent in Kenya.  We went grocery shopping at ALDI this morning - I'm going to have a hard time going back to Publix prices.  Also, when you are walking 15 minutes to the store and carrying everything by hand, you tend to buy a lot less!  

Here are a couple of videos that I wasn't able to upload until we came home:  

These little guys were dancing like crazy before church started.  

The African Inland Church version of the wobble. . .I was walking by the hospital and heard music coming from the church up the mountainside and popped in to watch for a few minutes.

Jumbled thoughts

The flight home is long and anxious, as if I'm going away from my heart and calling, back to a holding pattern for the coming months. It's not that I'm not happy at home. . .but I want life to be significant, to make the dent in the universe. I want to see God work in amazing ways and to be in the midst of that work. I do love taking pictures, but it's the sixty hours of drudgery afterwards, of feeling like life is passing me by while I stare at a computer screen pushing buttons. I need times of solitude, but I also need to be out in the world, out of my front door, to be a true friend, a father, a husband. I thirst for adventure, for life, for newness and sacrifice and passion. But to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. . .maybe this is the time to sow an prepare a little longer even though I long to be enjoying the harvest. . .

I sat next to a delightful pair of Irish ladies on the plane ride who spent three weeks in Karen, near Nairobi volunteering at an orphanage. They told stories and shared pictures, as people do, but one story was astonishing. A little boy, named Moses, had been abandoned in the forest and quite literally raised by monkeys. The women occasionally saw him, but the monkeys carried him, fed, him, and treated him as one of their own until he became too large. . .and he was found and take. To the orphanage. He is now 11 and doesn't speak and has strange mannerisms that they describe as birdlike, he is very detached and distant, unable to use his jaws properly and refuses to chew food, swallowing everything whole. They had one picture of him smiling, and in the photo he looks like the most normal, beautiful boy. So strange and fantastic I can hardly believe it, but who makes up a story like that?

The plane ride from Nairobi to Amsterdam was fantastic, across the Sahara, over the Mediterranean, over the Italian/Austrian Alps. If I only had a parachute. . .:)

The Sahara (aka, the world's largest Sandbox)

Moses

The Alps

Heading home

We drove from Kijabe this afternoon, and looking out the car window Africa is still as big and scary and crowded and intimidating as when we arrived. But there is a little village of in the midst of a huge continent where in such a short time we carved out amazing friendships and astonishingly quickly felt at home. As I looked back over the mountains, I felt like we were leaving a place of light and joy, and I am already nostalgic. The boys taught me a simple phrase: rafiki ni rafiki, which means a friend is a friend. Just as we did in the little town of Pingtung in southern Taiwan 9 years ago, we left a little bit of ourselves and our hearts in Kijabe, and whatever the future holds, we can proudly say of the people we met and loved, we are friends.

Day 20

My last 10 days in Kijabe were in the intensive care unit. . . it's a five bed unit that is shared between the adults and the children with 3 nurses to five patients - and it is always full. For the last two weeks, it has been mostly pediatric patients.

The nurses on this ward are fantastic - they reminded me so much of our nurses in the ER at home. They know how to set up the ancient vents,  how to maneuver and manipulate the pulse-ox probes and temperamental oxygen, but most importantly the subtle moments in medicine where a patient goes from bad to worse or worse to better.  They care for their patients with compassion and develop relationships with their patients and their families. They witness miracles of medicine and miracles that defy medicine daily and they approach their work with a deliberate joy. I loved working alongside them.

They had early chai and mandazi for me yesterday morning to say goodbye - with nurses on shift and those that had come in or stayed late for that moment.  It was a time of friendship and laughter, of joking and learning more about each other even as we said goodbye. And they prayed  for me and our family - that God would bless us and multiply our joy and that He would bring us back to Kenya- and that I would remember to bring more pens when I returned (apparently my ability to lose pens spans continents). I loved every minute.

Then I rounded on my ward patients one more time.  I collected email addresses to follow the carers of the sweet residents who have taught me so much and work so tirelessly - taking call for surgery, OB, and peds in the midst of their busy rotations.  I said goodbye to the sweet moms with their babies - some who have been at the hospital the entire time I have been in Kenya. Smiling at the ones who are better because I have played some role in their journey - and puzzling one more day over the ones who are still mysteries. I feel like we have been here so much longer than three weeks.

And then we said good bye to Mardi and her kids as they headed to the duka, and cleaned the house to have 20 people over for dinner  ( Because that's what normal people do the night before they leave for America, right? ) We asked them to bring plates and forks, because we didn't have enough, and people arrived one by one. David's friends came over - Jeremiah and Robert and Zech and William. And all the visiting doctor's we knew came as well- the neonatologist from Montgomery, the visiting radiologist and his wife with the newly arrived short term internal medicine doctor, and the 3 kids the girls have spent so much time with in the past three weeks with their parents, and Abigail, the Kenyan girl who comes most afternoons after school. And we ate spaghetti with sauce David made from scratch from the market with chocolate cookies and curry that someone brought. And we laughed and watched worlds collide. And it was good. A bit crazy, a little loud, but overall very good.

Today we pack up, with a few more trinkets and a few less medical supplies in our bags - we begin our journey back home with anticipation and excitement. But knowing that  we leave a bit of our heart here , and will be anxious to return.

Asante sana (thank you so very much) for taking part of this journey with us. Stay tuned for the next chapter :)

.

Day 18 & 19

 The past few days have been very hectic, taking pictures of the entire hospital and several missionary families, working on plans for when we come home and  - God-willing - come back again.  We are both absolutely weary, but so happy.  It has been a roller-coaster of emotions, but very exciting as well.

The nurses in the ICU had a going away party for Arianna this morning -which is apparently quite uncommon in a world of lots of short term doctors. They gave her a beautiful necklace and wrote her notes of gratitude. Her goal when she came to Kijabe was to serve as part of a team alongside the doctors and nurses . . . from taking call to give the long term doctors sleep to standing alongside the nurses doing what needed to be done to keep the patients well. In a world where doctor and nurse relationships tend to be a bit of more hierarchical, it was wonderful to see that her desire to break down those barriers did not got unnoticed.


For the last few weeks, I've been spending time with the boys who cut grass around Kijabe station. On Wednesday, I noticed a number of long faces among the group - the reason why -- they had been hired on a temporary basis and the next day would be their last of work.  Some, namely those who have more influential relatives, will retain jobs around the hospital.  Others, like William, who I have become good friends with, are now out of work.  William was very upset. . .so I asked him what he would want to do in a perfect world.  He answered, "to be a nurse."  Kijabe has a nursing school connected to the hospital, and after talking to several different people, I found that it is possible to set up a scholarship program for him.  For his family, tuition is way beyond their means, but it would be very do-able by American standards.  If you would be interested in helping out, please send me an email (shirkdavid@gmail.com) and I'll get you more details.

Our trip to Kijabe has been life-altering . . .in more ways than we can imagine. But for now, we are getting tangible proof that, although we have received so much more, we have also left a small mark on this place.

Playing with friends for the last few days

 Madeline lost her 4th front tooth - they have been disappearing like crazy!  

 Last Swahili lesson with Edward - the best teacher ever!  

John, happy to be going home!  I met this little guy in the hospital the other day and he is so, so happy and friendly.  This was his second stay in the hospital, so pray that he stays healthy this time!  

Day 17

 Daktari Ari and one of her favorite little ones.  He had been sick for weeks and after trying everything, Arianna and Mardi put their heads together and decided to start treating for organophosphate poisoning, and several days later little man is doing fantastic, still on oxygen, but feeding well and showing huge signs of improvement.  Mom wanted us to take a picture (to remember Arianna) so I dropped by today to take a few, and then even managed to get it printed.  I was talking to our safari driver over the weekend and he said his wife owns a print shop, so of course I asked if they could print pictures.  He said, "I think so, but we've never tried!"  So Madeline and I walked up this afternoon and they had a great Epson printer that read my CF card and printed a great 4x6. . .and they charged me almost nothing as I was their first customer!  I'm excited for Arianna to be able to give this to mama tomorrow!

We had a quiet day as Madeline and Annabelle's best friends were on Safari and it was cold and muddy for the first time since we arrived (we've been very fortunate to have amazing weather).  I'm trying to catch up on my album designs before we head home and back into weddings, so they played with their new ark (it's way cool, I'll post pictures soon) and I got some designing done.  I did also take some headshots for the hospital heads-of-stuff for their new website and also did a few quick family pictures for the Steeres. . .over the next couple of days there will be much more formal photography going on, which feels quite strange after the couple of weeks off!

I did stop by the shop to find William soldering a broken radio together.  In a place like Kijabe, very little is wasted, not plastic bags, bottles, and especially not old broken radios.  I asked William what else he knows how to fix and he answered TV's, ovens, pretty much anything!  Such a talented guy - he fixed two radios in the ten minutes I hung around with them. . .and hooked the antenna up to a plumbing pipe so they could get better reception!

Prayer requests: For Arianna to rest well tonight - her allergies have been bothering her a bit.  For us to use our remaining time well and wisely.  For our transition back to life in America and that God would enable us to come back to Africa soon.

Day 16

It's been a fairly quiet week so far, which will likely end tonight as Arianna is on-call, but we needed a little rest after the crazy weekend.  We had a little worship/prayer time on Sunday night, which was fantastic.  It's been years since I've played guitar with anyone other than Chip, and being able to play along with a great pianist and violinist on a Martin Dreadnought was sweet.  My fingers were calloused and smelled like guitar, a great scent!  Then Swahili lessons, playing, feeding rabbits, jumping on the trampoline, and dessert night with the missionaries.

As iron sharpens iron Proverbs 27:17

 William cutting grass

I spent some time cutting grass with the boys today, which is always wonderful for banishing my loneliness. . .they have really started to let me into their circle, which is so fun.  I also met their boss today, who is like a father to them - it makes me happy that although they work very hard, they are well cared for.  They are diverse bunch, and I really would love some more time with them if we are ever able to come back. . .I'm just starting to get a sense of their backgrounds, family situations, and needs.  What I don't know if they realize is that I need them as much as they need me.  Kinda like our Sunday school crew back home, being around young people, laughing with them & loving on them makes me feel alive, makes me feel like I'm making a dent in the universe; even if it's a little bitty one.

Prayer requests: For Ari on call tonight and the families and patients she'll be caring for & for our future plans. . .  Asante sana! (thanks a bunch!)

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Yesterday I made the journey to William's church. . .I had no idea where it would be, I assumed down the mountain, so I was a bit confused when we started uphill.  Maybe it is near Kijabe after all?  No, it turns out, it's so far away that we need to get a taxi!!  His family is Turkana, a tribe from Northeastern Kenya (on the border with Sudan), and his church is a mix of Turkana, Masai, and several other tribes that occasionally show up.  After bouncing down the mountain, picking up his parents near the main highway, and bouncing down another road we spash through a stream and arrive at the church.  William was right, I think it would have been at least a 2 hour walk, although a good mountain bike might have made the journey much faster than a car. 

We arrived a bit early, so we went boulder-hopping in the stream, which had thick jungle all around it, quite a contrast to the dusty valley, which is very dry this time of year.  Then we climbed the mountain behind the church, because we had a bit more time and why not?  

 termite mound - you can see the line of trees in the background - wildfires burned the near part of the mountainside and there is a distinct line where the fire stopped.  There was also a prayer request about a wolf that had eaten a bunch of Masai animals in the area the night before (something you don't hear at church in the states very often!)

 cactus tree

Church was fantastic, exactly what I pictured African church would be like (save for the microphones and electric guitar powered by a portable gas generator outside), kids dancing, singing mostly call-and-response songs as there were no hymnals, drums coming from the back of the church, played by the moms, a sermon that had the church laughing and engaged, a good lunch of rice-and-beans afterwards.  William was a bit of a celebrity for bringing me along, the pastors and his family were very proud of him.  

 After lunch we went to see William's home.  The best way to describe it would be a compound - high stone walls around the outside, and on the inside a small garden with corn and pumpkins growing, several open air rooms (I assume for their goats), then a little house with timber beams, corrugated steel roof, and clay walls.  They have gutters to catch rain-water which they will use for cooking, and a solar panel that powers a tiny florescent light at night.  William's dad is a security guard at the hospital and William makes the journey up the mountain with him every day for work.  Both of his parents are beautiful people with huge, electric smiles that they have passed on to their six children.

William's family doesn't have much extra in the way of things (at least by Western standards), but they have enough.  They work very hard, but they have a happy, healthy family and smile & laugh as if there is not a care in the world.  Walking around the hospital and church with William - he is one of those people that everyone loves and is drawn to.  People laugh with him, joke with him, the slashers try to wrestle with him.  He is an absolute light and I'm just glad I've gotten to spend some time with him, and I hope this week isn't the last time!!

Mom, Ken (brother), and William - dad stayed behind at church to prepare for a wedding and the younger kids were out grazing the goats.

 We had a full troop of Kenyan friends to play with in the afternoon!  

Day 14

We're two weeks in to three weeks, but it feels more like two weeks into the rest of our lives.

I feel like it has been years since we left the States, since we were sitting on the plane for 3 hours in Atlanta just waiting to take off. I expected to know what was next when we got here - either to feel that this was  a dream that would not work for our little family or for it to fit like a glove -

The medicine is the hardest I have ever done in my life - but I know it will make me a better doctor. I have to ponder the physics and micro-workings of the body to take advantage of the simplest interventions to make children better.  In Kijabe, I can do more than I expected, but knowing each test I order may equal a week's wages for a family makes each decision carry ten times the weight I felt before. However, rather than paralyzing me, it has given me more freedom and joy in my work.

I have more trust that the body is fearfully, wonderfully made. Although I will never master it's intricacies, as I release perfection and embrace the possibility that exists in medicine in Africa, I know that He will work powerfully.

I am watching the doctors that are here and absorbing as much as I possibly can of how they have made this all work - how they are parents with amazing children that see the world as a big place and  speak with strangers with ease. How they have built a world where they create a haven and reach out into uncertainty daily.  How they speak the truth in love and they live Christ daily. It is quite magical to watch.

And my family - my sweet girls and wonderful husband.

My girls are more content than I have ever seen. . .they have asked to go home only once, to watch Doc McStuffins :) . . . Other than that, though, I have watched them thrive, watched their imaginations come to life, watched them make friends with ease. I have watched fearfullness turn into a spirit of adventure. I have seen wonder and joy on their faces daily, and it is humbling. Kenya fits them like a glove.

And David, you've heard more of his voice this trip than mine. In Taiwan, I quickly became known a "Dawe de taitai" - David's wife. I am sure it will happen again He had an ability to bring joy and create friendship where it was unexpected and unusual.  His gift continues.  His role in Africa has always been more nebulous than mine, but I see already how it will be even more powerful. He has friends already that he will be sad to leave. . .he has eased into Kenyan culture and  daily is having small victories in breaking down the barriers that come from being the outsiders in a world where there is so much separation of those that were born here and those who have made it their home. The introvert in me is a bit baffled by it all as I desire to retreat into normality, but he works at it with easy, deliberate effort. Kenya suits him as well.

Yesterday we scaled cliffs (literally - at one point all four of us climbed a 15 foot wall to get out of a gorge) together and the girls bounded ahead, leaping over puddles.  I am in a place of introspection where I barely know the thoughts going through my head. So here we go, week 3. . .more ICU for me, 2 more calls. . .and then a plane back to Atlanta. It doesn't seem quite enough. But it is a good first step.

-ari

Safari Day

It's a simple thing, but walking out your front door and seeing the rift valley and the huge sleeping volcano Longonot, watching the monkeys scatter from the tree and the clouds dance across the sky; witnessing this beauty on a daily basis is so good for my spirit.  Kijabe is a place of fantastic beauty and having the time to enjoy it is such a blessing.

For since the creation of the world, God's invisibile qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly understood from what has been made.  Romans 1:20

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We took a safari (trip) to Hell's gate canyon and Lake Naivasha today, which was fantastic.  We got to see some giraffes, zebra, gazelles, fish eagles, and even a king cobra (only I saw that one - it was across the path when we were walking out of the canyon, and I wanted to see it more out of fear of which direction it was headed than curiosity).  The canyon was slightly treacherous, but we had a great hike, the girls really enjoyed it, and Arianna scrambled up and down the cliffs like a monkey - I was quite proud!  Annabelle made good friends with John, our guide, who carried her for most of the journey, which was amazingly cute!  

home sweet home!

Prayer requests:  For our future - we'll have some "decisions" to make in the coming months about our future plans.  Long term we want to come to Africa for at least several years if not longer, but there are many factors that will play into making that possible.  Decisions is in quotes, because it's in God's hands, but we do need His guidance and your prayers!  Asante sana!