We've been in Kenya for over a month now and it's been full and fun and frustrating. So much has happened that it feels like several months have gone by instead of just one. I wrote more about our transition to Chogoria Hospital on our mission blog but now I want to post a bunch of photos just for fun.
One week after we arrived in this country, we headed to the Kenyan coast for our annual field retreat. The timing was perfect since we could see everyone in WGM Kenya all at once. And we decided to take an extra day on the front end of the retreat so our family could relax. We hadn't taken a day off in ages because, well, transition is what it is and it consumes a lot of time and energy.
So we took a day off a week after we got here, which might seem silly, but which was much needed for our souls. We just happened to be at the Kenyan coast to do enjoy it.
The Kenyan coast is beautiful and exotic...and hot. And humid. And sticky. It is at sea level very near the equator, so ya get what ya ask for. At any rate, we were able to use our day off to go on a glass-bottom boat tour and snorkel near a reef. It was a wonderful adventure and not a single kid had a single meltdown. Now that constitutes a successful day off together!
So here's the photo dump of our time at the coast. Lots of fun was had and lots of sweat was sweated!
Ghost crabs bury themselves in the sand during the day and come out at night. We spent an evening exploring the beach at night and finding tons of crabs. The boys were elated to catch some and no one got pinched this year!
This hermit crab was crawling right outside our room one afternoon. What a great discovery!
Asa's first camel ride! Who says the beach is just for swimming and sand castles?
We used to take so many pictures together...and we took tons of selfies before selfies were cool.
This boy! I cannot tell you how much he makes us laugh!
These photos are from our glass-bottom boat tour. As soon as the boat took off, the loudspeaker started blaring "Country Roads" by John Denver! I kid you not! The Indian Ocean + John Denver quickly became one of my new happy places :)
Lots of sea creatures were to be found:
sea spider
sea urchin
pregnant star fish
starfish
there was a plethora of starfish
snorkeling with Daddy
listening to a conch shell
The House of Horn
So it was a good week and a great start to our reentry into Kenya. Afterwards we headed up to Tenwek for a few days to see friends and say hellos and goodbyes all over again. It was so good and a huge help for us as we transition from one hospital to another. After visiting Tenwek, we headed to Nairobi to shop for furniture and other supplies for our new house in Chogoria. Then, finally, we officially moved to Chogoria.
And we are still trying to get settled. The settling-in process takes a long time, not only because it just does, but because it's not easy to get what you need once you realize you need it. Bins and shelving for organizing closet space? Requires a 4-hour drive into Nairobi to find that stuff. Bookshelves for all those books you brought over? Requires hiring a local carpenter to build them and waiting a few weeks before they're ready. Getting simple spices you forgot to buy while you were in Nairobi, like garlic powder and parsley? Requires an hour drive to a store that's big enough to have stuff like that. Getting your new washing machine hooked up in a house that was never built to accommodate a washing machine? Requires a plumber to come and drill a hole through a wall to add piping and connect tubing to the current water supply and drainage system.
So it's a long process, this settling-in business. But we're getting there, bit by bit.
And by golly, even when the power goes out again and again (which has happened way more than we'd care for, if we're being honest), our new all-gas stove/oven is still usable which means I can still bake "transition cookies" to help with all the transitioning and settling in and the emotions that come with it!
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