What will you do on your "S-Days"?

Dominic attended preschool for about 12 weeks in Nairobi, where he had two lovely women caring for and teaching him: Teacher Dorinah and Teacher Esther. He learned many important lessons, most of which had nothing to do with academics. One song he learned has stuck with him - a little diddy to remember the days of the week.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,

Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Seven days are in a week,

What will you do on your "S-Days"?

Dominic saying goodbye to Teacher Esther - obviously pre-COVID!

Our "S-Days" have varied a lot in the past year. During the peaks of COVID, while our hospital was not yet receiving volunteers or visitors and the country was under lockdown, our weekends were pretty quiet. Being busy at the hospital, and being a pretty strong introvert, I have to say that I didn't mind that too much. I had lots of time to cook, bake, knit sweaters (four in the last 12 months) and prepare Dominic's homeschool lessons. Kris liked to use the weekends to workout, read, chop firewood, and play with Dominic. For Dominic, of course, every day is pretty much a weekend - the only difference is no school in the morning and maybe a chance to watch a movie or play a board game at night. We have decided not to take Dominic to in-person worship services on Sundays as we know COVID is still making its way around our community and we don't know which variant it is, so we have been participating virtually in worship services from Vancouver First CRC, where Kris and I attended church over a decade ago!

I had several opportunities to attempt pie-baking during lockdown. So happy to have rhubarb in Kapsowar!

Now that travel restrictions have eased somewhat, and we have more visitors coming in and out of Kapsowar (and fewer "permanent" households to welcome them), our weekends look different. More socializing, coordinating trips to different hikes or tourist attractions, figuring out who is coming and going in the week ahead, worship services at station, campfires, and recently, shopping trips to try to furnish our "new" (previously unfurnished) house. I may not be the biggest fan of Ikea, but I can tell you that after two months without a dining table, even Ikea is starting to sound pretty good! 

Enjoying a meal at a new restaurant in Eldoret with our new friend Anna

Dominic after a long hike

An outdoor potluck/worship service. I'll never figure out how the four little boys got chairs while the grown-ups are sitting on the ground!

After nearly 12 months of routine, it has been nice to see some new (and old - I mean familiar!) faces, to experience Kenya through their eyes, and to be encouraged by them. Now that the North American summer is drawing to a close, it looks like our weekends will be settling back into the old routine for a while. During those quiet times, we're thankful for memories with new friends, and looking forward to future visits!