Chameleon
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Some here we mark the seasons not by the weather, but by the insects that make themselves know in massive quantities as the weather changes. We have recently passed through a moth season which we are lucky enough to have never experienced. We are familiar with the termite seasons and the grasshopper/locust seasons. Our homes are not well sealed, so when the insect seasons come we turn down all the lights inside, pull the curtains tight, put towels under the doors, and try to hide from the oncoming wave of flying nuisances before they swarm into the house. We had short term visitors over during the moth wave, and we commented on how romantic the setting was as we ate around lantern light while the moths banged against the roof and windows. It is so fun to live here . . . . right?!
We are still here in Kijabe! It may appear our life is always interesting. But our life is more normal than you probably expect. Allison goes to teach at RVA. I go to the hospital and take care of patients. Our kids have successes and failures as do we, the parents. Sometimes I want to pray and read my Bible. Then I have stretches where it is hard and I watch Instagram Reels instead of praying. So the point is that life is normal no matter where you live, and it gets hard to think of things to put on the blog. And then sometimes things are hard and you do not want to do the blog. Or work and life is busier and it is hard to find time. However, I will give it another try, because I feel responsible to those of you who pray for us and support us to let you know what is going on. And really it is a joy to share how we get to serve God, as long as it does not become too narcissistic. Thank you for anyone who manages to check this again after months off the internet. Enjoy some pictures from the past several months. . .
We are glad to be home! I am working again in the hospital. In fact this weekend I have been busy covering the ICU. I am glad for the meaningful work, and again I am impressed with the challenges of doing good care in complex situations. Allison is teaching at RVA, and the kids are in school. We all feel a hole in our lives where David was, however it is not a painful hole, but a sudden missing of having him around. We are happy for him at ACU! He seems to be having a good time. The weather has been beautiful overall, and that has allowed us to get out and do some walks on the weekend. All these pictures are taken within an easy walk of our house. We live in a beautiful part of the world. We are thankful!
It has been a weird four years. Moving to Kenya as a freshman and then all the losses COVID caused. David heads out on his Senior trip tomorrow. We are super happy for him! He graduates next Saturday. Hopefully we will have a trip to the our favorite restaurant in Nairobi to celebrate the following day, and then back to Dallas. The group in the picture above were the core of his friends. Not all of them made it through all four years as their families moved home or away, but they flew back this summer after they finished school in the US to have one last hurrah in Kijabe! I am thankful for each of them. We had barely arrived in Kenya in 2017, and on our first full day in town this group walked by the house and invited David to go up the hill with them for a bonfire. That was the beginning and they have been good friends since. God has been good to David with these loyal friends. Now we look forward to how God gives him friends at ACU!
A visitor to Kijabe was coming up the local road when a leopard jumped on the road in front of their car. They slowed down and despite the its camouflage were able to get it on video. As I walked by this spot yesterday with my dogs, I took my headphones out of my ears and kept a better lookout than usual. Today riding bikes with David, we blew by it quickly. It is very cool to have a leopard nearby. We have baboons, hyenas, and now leopards right around Kijabe. A bike ride away I have seen elephant droppings in the forest. If you go down to the valley there are all sorts of grazing animals like giraffe, buffalos, and zebras. When we camp by the lake, sometimes the hippos come It does not feel wild around here, but we certainly have a lot of wild animals.
. . . you might be surprised when rounding a corner, come to a complete stop, and then grab your camera! I know this is just a normal thing for people who have grown up here, although even Kenyans generally get excited when they see the big animals up close. However for a kid from Oklahoma, these sightings are always exceptional.
Today is Madaraka Day in Kenya. It is a national holiday celebrated every first of June. It commemorates the day in 1963 that Kenya attained internal self rule after being a British colony since 1920. Madaraka is a Swahili word for authority/power. For the hospital it is a day off from routine activities. So emergency care and surgeries continue, but clinics are closed. I am on call for the ICU today. Rift Valley Academy does not celebrate any national holidays from any country and so for them it is school as normal