Back to Kenya

Tomorrow I'm heading back to my home-away-from home, Kipkaren. I'll be spending Christmas in Africa this year. It will be my first Christmas away from my family. I'm excited and a little sad at the same time. This past month has certainly been packed full of emotions.

My paternal grandmother passed away on Monday last week. She had had a long battle with congestive heart failure. It's been hard to say goodbye, but at the same time it is nice to know that she is now free. She has struggled with severe pain in recent times. I know that now she can dance in the presence of the Lord. I also know that she has her eyesight back.

Last week I finished up with school by taking final exams a week early. That allowed me to be able to head out this week. Today we had a family Christmas celebration. It was nice to have Brett and Danielle over for lasagna and fellowship. Lasagna is a long-time Christmas tradition for my family.

Well as I mentioned earlier, I'm headed back to Kipkaren. I'll be flying out of LAX tomorrow evening at 8:30. I'll fly through London and arrive in Nairobi Wed morning. Then I'll finally make it to Kipkaren that evening. Please pray for safe travels. I don't have that much planned for this trip and I'll only be gone three weeks. I do plan to get the growth and development checks completed for the 94 children in the Children's Home. William told me today that ELI will be hosting a children's camp for the three days shortly after I arrive. Never a dull moment at that training center! However I am hoping for a bit of down time. I'm looking forward to some time just reading and meditating in the gazebo by the river. It's supposed to be the hot season right now. It'll be interesting to listen to "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" as the sun beats down. I do have a Christmas cookie baking date arranged with the two other American ladies in the village. And my mother thoughtfully picked up a small fiber-optic battery powered tree to put up in my hut.

Oh, and did I mention I'll get to spend time with William! That is going to be the highlight of the trip. I miss him so much. I am thankful that we have the phone and the internet, but they just don't take the place of an honest-to-goodness face-to-face conversation! Oh, and you can't get a hug over the phone lines either!

I'll try to get an update or two in while I'm gone. I'm just now sure how often I'll make it into town with this trip being less than a month long. However I will take plenty of pictures and look forward to sharing my adventures with you when I return. May the true spirit of the season reside in your hearts and minds during these coming weeks. God bless!!