After the whirlwind known as the last month, I am glad to be
home in Kijabe.
Between my brother’s wedding and planning and carrying out the
LIMBS Training in Nairobi, I was exhausted. Last week, I was running nonstop
from 7:30am until 10pm Sunday through Friday managing logistics during this
long awaited training. Seriously! I even forgot to tell my parents that my childhood
friend from Rwanda was coming to visit me before attending an educational
conference in Kijabe. Normally, I would not be able to keep my mouth shut
because of my excitement; but not this time. In fact, my head was still spinning
when I arrived (via driver) at the airport to pick up Katharina.
We spent Saturday through Sunday watching a family’s kiddos
while their parents attended a missionary marriage retreat. Now, before you say
poor thing, hear me out. This distraction was exactly what I needed after a
LONG HARD week. I was able to cook some great meals (involving LOTS of stress
reducing chopping), laugh at the cheesiness of a sci-fi movie with the older
girls, and was encouraged by the youngest; a 7 year old, ’s enthusiasm to go with
me to the local church’s praise team pre-church rehearsal (at 7:30 AM!).
On Sunday, Katharina and I moved 2 doors over to another
missionaries house to watch their dog and housesit this week. Right now, RVA,
the missionary school here in Kijabe, is on break and many families are taking this
opportunity to take much needed vacations! This can cause a dilemma however,
because many of the missionaries in Kijabe have animals and/or pets they have
to find accommodations for while the family is away. Enter a single missionary
female who loves animals and doesn’t mind house sitting for other missionaries.
This is a win-win situation; especially since this young lady has only one bed
in her house and has a friend visiting her! Therefore, I had the privilege to
watch a VERY laidback dog in a BEAUTIFUL house with high speed internet for 5
days. The house help still came every day so I did not have to do dishes or
clean the house. It was an ideal place
for me to get my head back on straight! Plus, I got to hike Mt Longonot on
Monday with some friends and got to see at least three giraffe fairly close up!
I returned to my quaint little cabin today.
First, I want to tell you all the ways God has blessed me
this month. One, God caused my flight to the USA at the beginning of March to
be delay by 24hours and by doing so, got
me over jetlag very quickly! You see the international flights out of Nairobi
are all late at night. Mine was scheduled for just after midnight. At first the
plane was just delayed, but finally at 5:30 am, because of mechanical problems,
the flight was postponed until the next night. Because I had been awake all
night, I was ready to hit the sack and did so after getting something to eat at
the hotel that the airline booked us into. So by the time we boarded the plane
that night, I was pretty much on Eastern Time. I was even upgraded to main
cabin extra for my flight from London to Raleigh, NC. Secondly, the place where
the LIMBS team and I stayed during the training last week was wonderful and accommodating.
The walk to the school hosting the training was short and my boss even
complimented me on my choice of lodging for the team. Also, God arranged that
one of my best friends growing up would come and arrive from Rwanda at the same
time I was scheduled to travel from Nairobi back to Kijabe so I could pick her
up from the airport and we could travel back together. Then, God provided the
distraction I needed by watching kids (actually high schoolers and a first
grader) and then spending a week house sitting for another family.
I am VERY blessed!
Now it might sound like the last month was not too bad, but
with the blessings come the challenges. First, travelling to the USA and back
in one week requires a lot of cultural adjustment; fast. Then, add to this the
fact that even while I was setting up my brother’s wedding, I was still trying
to iron out the details for the training at the end of March (last week). Then,
after I returned to Kenya, the mother of my contact at KMTC (where the training
was hosted) died suddenly. His substitute did not have contact information or
details about one of the patients we were using for the training. During the
training, public transport went on strike forcing half the
attendees/participants at the training to walk across town to reach the school
on foot. One of the demo patients and attendees couldn’t make it from Mombasa;
3 out of 4 of the attendees did not show up for their slanted training
sessions. There were misunderstandings about transport between Nairobi and
Kijabe during a scheduled team visit. Katharina’s flight from Rwanda was late
arriving and even then the arrivals board said, “to be advised.” Meetings from
the last week require a large amount of follow-up and drafting. And last but
not least, I have been having mini anxiety attacks every evening.
Everything needs to be balanced. I know I have a lot of work
and pressure on my during the next few weeks, but I also know that I need
adequate rest.
Praises:
- The Training went fairly well.
- Transport worked out in the long run
- I got to spend 4 days with a wonderful friend
- My cat was there to greet me when I returned to my little house (in fact he will not leave my side now)
Prayer Requests:
- My anxiety seems to be getting more cumbersome. Please pray for peace!
- What happens during the next 6 months will determine what happens with LIMBS in Kenya in the future. Pray God’s will be done and that I will be at peace with what He does.
- I have several conferences to attend during the next several months. Pray that the details will work out.
