Vacation Adventures

Hello all,
Where did we last leave off? It is hard to remember. Since we last wrote things have been in a little bit of a whirlwind. We planned to go last Thursday on vacation down to the coast for a week because it was going to be our last chance to go away as a family for a long time, plus, we needed it! Anyhow, with proposed rallies and such last week, we all felt it would be safer to leave on Tuesday, so in a whirlwind Sunday evening we changed reservations, flights, etc in a very short time and made everything happen.
The ride in for Sarah Monday morning to Nairobi was hard on the bumpy road, but we made it. Our time at the coast was good. We met some interesting people who we hope to stay in contact with in the future, namely another missionary couple here in Kenya and a family from Alaska.
We did see some sad things. The place we stayed was at about 1/4 capacity, despite this being the high season, because people are afraid to come into the country. The coast, however, is so quiet and peaceful. Local boys on the beach say that their income is decreasing and costs of living are increasing. They showed us several hotels and resorts that are normally bustling that had no guests. The violence here is affecting everyone in the country in some way or another.
We arrived back on Monday afternoon in Nairobi and began the shopping blitz. On the way into town from the airport we passed Uhuru Park where all of the proposed political protests and rallies are to take place. We were planning on this being our last trip into Nairobi before the baby is born. Then on Tuesday amongst all the things that we were doing we heard that Tenwek did not want us to come out on Thursday because of more proposed rallies. It was then determined that the best thing for us to do would be to fly out of here back towards Tenwek on Wednesday afternoon.
So, that is what we did. We hussled around Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning doing the last of our shopping. We had a 1 o’clock chartered flight with AIM (African Inland Mission) AIR. The plane was a small one-prop that couldn’t hold all of our groceries or supplies. We had to weigh every piece of luggage and box. We packed it so tight, with us aboard. It was only a 40 minute flight from Nairobi to the airstrip about 45 minutes away from Tenwek. The view was unbelievable. We flew over the Kibera slums that were so affected by violence, which was surreal to see. Maggie loved the flight. Plus, it gave a much needed reprieve from the brutal roads. When we arrived at the airstrip 2 cars were waiting for us to take us back and our stuff. After we flew in the pilot turned around and flew back 2 other people to Tenwek, along with the rest of our stuff. We learned that both flights cleared the weight limit by 7 kilograms (about 15lbs). It was a miracle. We and all of our supplies arrived back safely. (I have lost enough weight since arriving here, if I hadn’t we may have had to leave something behind!)
The funny thing was that as we arrived back on Wednesday, we learned that the proposed rallies for the next day that people were fearful of had been cancelled. That is just how unpredictable things things are. Things are still safe and quiet around Tenwek. Thursday I did a lot of administrative work and helped some around the house. Today was my first full day back at work. The inpatient wards were the quietest they have been since I have been here, but the outpatient clinic is a little busier. We do have some visiting doctors and our new interns here, which is a tremendous blessing to help with the work load.
Continue to pray for peace in this land.