“Snow” Days

Last school term, I mused to several of my coworkers here that I missed having snow days. Wouldn’t it be nice, I wondered, to just have some unexpected days thrown into the term where you could catch your breath and relax a bit, without having anything on your agenda? Well, our “snow” days are here, although not in the context we would wish. Our school term has been postponed for a little over two weeks due to the instability of peace in Kenya and the possibility of danger in travelling around the country. So, in effect, I now have two weeks of time that I wasn’t counting on. It is my new plan to use these weeks to get units and lessons better-prepared for the coming term, and to start some pre-departure projects that I’ve been thinking about, like scrapbooking and doing a pottery project with the girl I mentor (who is a “station kid”). I also see it as a good opportunity to update this blog, since it has been a while, and a lot has happened since my last post. (You wouldn’t believe what’s happening right now…seconds after I wrote the title, it started to hail outside—the closest thing we get to snow in Kijabe! Here’s a picture, just to prove it. This is right outside my door.)



SOME R&R

I took the opportunity of joining my good friends, Mary and Andrea, on a trip to Turtle Bay Beach Club in Watamu. It was my second visit to this beautiful resort on the Indian Ocean. The weather was beautiful, the amenities comfortable, the food excellent, the service satisfactory, the company stimulating, and the expectations on me very low, which all add up to a pretty successful get-away.

Bliss!

On a walk on the coral reef.

FOOD HAMPERS

Every year, the Titchie (elementary) Sunday School uses their offerings to purchase Christmas food hampers for people in need in our community. On Christmas Eve, many of the missionaries on station gather to deliver these hampers. I went with Mary and the Kinzer family to deliver 6 hampers to needy families up the hill from RVA. It was a wonderful morning of interaction with our Kenyan neighbours.



DECK THE HALLS!

My good friends, the Hall family, invited me to spend Christmas with them for the second year in a row. I had a wonderful, laid-back day at their house, along with my friends Mary and Debbie. We had brunch in the morning, opened presents, played games, and watched The Nativity after lunch, had meat, cheese, and chocolate fondue in the late afternoon, and then watched It’s a Wonderful Life in the evening.

Me and Mary

YUM!

When I got back home, I called Mom and Dad, and was able to talk to my parents, sisters, and niece, Elena. I missed being part of my family’s traditional Christmas experience. Here are some photos Sheryl sent me yesterday of their time together.

My darling neice, Princess Elena.

My beautiful sisters!

Please pray for peace in Kenya and for healing for the damage and hurt that has been done over the past few weeks. There is so much tension and worry and heartache in our community right now and it is hard to be so uncertain of what is ahead of us. Pray also that, as teachers, we will be able to focus on the tasks that still need to be done before the students get here, and that we will be flexible as we deal with the necessary changes to our schedules because of the new term calendar.