Christmas in Kapsowar

Merry Christmas from Kim, Kris, Dominic and Nala!

Two years ago, I made a promise that someday I would write about Christmas 2021. From a professional perspective, I had endured more difficult periods in Kapsowar than those 48 hours starting at about 7pm on Dec 23. But that Christmas, and the tragedies I bore witness to in the lives of my friends here, are a poignant example of why being a rural doctor - in ANY community, in ANY country - can be so heartbreaking. And why being an OB/Gyn - in ANY community, in ANY country - is a profound privilege, as we walk with families during their moments of greatest joy and deepest sorrow.

There are about 200 employees at AIC Kapsowar Hospital. If I make a conservative estimate, in the 4 years I've been here, I've probably been involved in caring for about 10% of these employees or their spouses during their pregnancies. There are 3 employees who I've cared for during 2 pregnancies each - and two of those delivered their babies on Dec 25 and Dec 26, 2021.

I met the first employee's wife when she presented with a non-OB concern VERY early in her pregnancy. I was consulted to comment on the potential risks of treatment for her non-pregnancy related condition, and found out that she had numerous reasons for a VERY high risk pregnancy- including prior stillbirth, a prior very preterm delivery due to a serious pregnancy complication, and two significant medical conditions despite appearing to be a very healthy young woman. In North America, she would have been extensively worked up by a High-Risk OB doctor before pregnancy, and been followed weekly or every other week until a likely early delivery.

However, our options for Rachel's pregnancy were limited (not her real name, of course). She was returning to her job about 8 hrs away, where she would be living for most of her pregnancy. Her medical conditions required close monitoring as they would likely worsen during pregnancy, but she wasn't able to perform the monitoring from home due to lack of proper testing supplies/equipment. Ultimately the couple decided to continue antenatal care with a specialist close to her work, but running his recommendations through me before implementing them. Things were going okay- she saw me for a growth ultrasound a checkup around 20 weeks, and there were no signs of poor health in mom or baby. But we had quite a while to go before this baby would be "viable" - have any chance to survive outside the womb. In Kapsowar,  "viability" is 28 weeks or 1kg, but babies born that early have a LONG fight ahead of them.

Fast forward to the week before Christmas. Aaron (not his real name), still working in Kapsowar, told me that Rachel had had an ultrasound at the specialist's office because the baby wasn't moving well. The specialist said the baby was smaller than expected. No big deal, we'll just change your due date, he told Rachel. I was speechless. We had the best possible dating for Rachel's pregnancy - a first trimester ultrasound that agreed with her last menstrual period. Rachel had at least 5 good reasons for her baby to be small or "growth-restricted," all of which were reasons for significant concern and further testing, NOT reassurance and changing her due date. I told Aaron that I was  worried, and that I recommended that Rachel either find a doctor in her area who could perform proper antenatal testing, or return to Kapsowar as soon as possible so that I could assess the baby myself.

The next day -the night before Christmas Eve - our family was at home watching a Christmas movie in the evening. I got a call from Aaron. Rachel had returned to the specialist- she had not felt the baby move for over 24 hours. The specialist was gone - traveling for Christmas holidays - but the person filling in for him had performed another ultrasound and diagnosed stillbirth, now Rachel's second. He recommended emergency c-section to remove the baby, because Rachel had had a c-section for delivery of their only living child. I asked some follow-up questions- was Rachel okay? Were her blood pressures normal? Was there any reason why she couldn't travel to Kapsowar? And then recommended that she leave her local hospital and travel here so that I could safely induce her labor and spare her a major surgery if possible. Aaron agreed.

All through Christmas Eve, Aaron and I waited for Rachel to arrive via public transport. Meanwhile at home, I tried to carry on with our Advent celebrations - but awaiting the birth of the Christ child, and anticipating the birth of my friend's demised baby, produced a sobering contrast of emotions. When Rachel finally arrived, I confirmed her diagnosis, explained the induction process to the couple, and prayed with them for a quick and uncomplicated delivery. Through that Christmas Eve night, Rachel labored, knowing that this Christmas baby wouldn't be the gift she has waited for.

On Christmas morning, Rachel was able to deliver safely and quickly, and I was even able to be there for the delivery (I don't often make it for normal deliveries since all our moms are unmedicated and can't wait for the doctor!). I went home, mourning but thankful that the worst part of the day was now over, and ready to celebrate Christmas.

A few hours later I got a call from maternity. Sharon - another employee at the hospital, pregnant with her first child after years of trying, and Aaron's next-door neighbour - had just arrived at maternity. She hadn't felt her 34-week baby move in 24 hrs. The nurse had listened, and listened, and listened for the baby's heartbeat, but couldn't locate it. Could I come in and do an ultrasound to find the heartbeat for them? Sharon was starting to get anxious.

I grabbed my things and walked in to the hospital with a sinking feeling. My nurses almost NEVER fail to find a heartbeat. But maybe these were inexperienced nurses, on call on Christmas Day. Maybe the baby was in a funny position, making it difficult to find the heartbeat. Maybe it was just fetal distress - maybe the heartbeat was low, but we could still get the baby out in time with an emergency c-section. Lots of maybes, and prayers, and pleading during that 5 minute walk to the hospital - but the ultrasound was clear. Sharon's baby had also died.

Two years later. Did it really take me that much time to recover emotionally from that Christmas, to tell their stories? Well, yes and no. This Christmas, Aaron and Rachel will celebrate Christmas with their infant twins, born last fall after a VERY closely monitored pregnancy (between me and a real High Risk Pregnancy Specialist in Eldoret). Sharon and her husband will celebrate their daughter's first Christmas - after receiving a diagnosis of diabetes and starting treatment, Sharon was able to carry her pregnancy to term and went home with her healthy baby in September. We've all talked about sadness that we experienced that Christmas, and that we remember every holiday season, and about what a blessing it is to have something (someone) to celebrate this year. And those tiny someones give me the courage to share their families' stories.

BUT. Sharing their stories is something I also do with caution. There are a lot of heartbreaking and amazing and unbelievable stories to tell in our community and in this area of the world, and I want to tell those stories with the gravity and respect they deserve, because these are real people, my real friends and neighbors, not statistics or tragic characters designed to stir up sympathy and donations. We're really excited to have a videographer on our team who is helping us to navigate that balance. Here is a recent short video that she put together about the hospital. We hope this video helps explain why we are here and why we do what we do!

If you are interested in donating to the "Needy Patient Fund," please follow this link to donate through African Mission Healthcare, an organization who supports our hospital in a variety of ways. 

Giving Every Day

Based on the number of emails in my inbox yesterday, it looks like I definitely missed out on a popular day to communicate with supporters, by NOT sending out a Giving Tuesday communication! It did remind me about this blog post that I've been meaning to write, though.

At last count, our family has 90 households and six church congregations financially supporting our work in Kapsowar. But what does "support" mean? Where does that money go? All of our support comes through Serge (www.serge.org) and the Great Commission Fund (www.gcfcanada.com). Every month, money is distributed from our account at Serge to pay our salaries, social security, health insurance, retirement contributions, and child education expenses. Other monthly expenses that are covered include our rent and utilities, salary for our house helper, and administrative fees for Serge, which include things like Member Care (the team of people that make sure we're staying physically, emotionally, and spiritually healthy while we're overseas), administration of our account and website, education support, help with other details of living abroad. We also submit receipts for one-time expenses. These can include things like travel to and from Kenya, conferences that we attend, support we provide to co-workers, patients, or other local community people (for example, medical treatments or counseling expenses), supplies for our places of work, or tea and snacks for our weekly Bible study. Our visa expenses, and my medical licenses (US and Kenyan) and continuing medical education fees are also covered. Pretty much anything that is associated with our ministry (work at the hospital or theology school) or an additional expense that comes with living abroad is covered, in addition to costs associated with travel to raise funds or visit supporters. 

That seems like a pretty comprehensive list, so you might wonder what our support-raised funds DON'T cover! Well, on a daily basis, we pay for our own food and any recreational interests. When we travel for fun or vacation, we pay for those expenses too. We own our own car here in Kapsowar, so we pay any vehicle-related expenses (although if we're traveling for a ministry-related reason, we would be able to claim that mileage). If we're making major improvements to our house because of where we live (for example, repairing our solar power panels because our grid power is unreliable) we get reimbursed for that, but if we're just buying something for our home because we like it - like upgrading our bed and mosquito net a few months ago - we pay for that kind of stuff. And of course clothes, books, household supplies, everyday living type of stuff we pay for ourselves. 

Thanks so much to those of you who generously give to support our work here in Kenya. If you are interested in knowing more about that work, please email me or leave a note in the comments, and I'll be happy to add you to our newsletters!

October Vacation!

We had a WONDERFUL month with Dr. Allan helping me at the hospital, a week-long vacation, and a visit from Kim's parents, brother Andrew, sister-in-law Elyssa, and new nephew Levi!

Here are some of the highlights from our time away from Kapsowar:

A fun new recipe - Giraffe Bread! (and washable markers on our serving plate)

On the train ("SGR") to Tsavo National Park

Dominic took lots of pictures of these blue-bodied, orange-headed lizards at the safari lodge near Tsavo

We took a guided nature walk around the safari lodge - past the hippo-hole, crocodile hang-out, and leopard den. At least, that's what the guide said! We only saw a monitor lizard. 

"Man Eaters" is named after the two mane-less lions who became infamous for attacking, killing, and consuming the men who were building the railway from Mombasa to Nairobi. One of Kris' favorite movies is "The Ghost and the Darkness," and we surprised him with a stay at the actual location where the events happened.

The railway station at Tsavo

I think these are called the switches, used to redirect the train tracks. This particular rail line is still in use, although these switches are no longer used.

We saw real elephants, and this one in our room!

After a few nights in Tsavo, we took the train on to Mombasa, where we stayed at a resort. We got up for a sunrise jog on the white-sand beach! (Well, Kris and Dominic jogged. I took pictures and had a cup of coffee.)

After two days at the resort - Dominic spent most of it in the pool! - we moved down the coast a few miles and then picked up Mom, Dad, Andrew, Elyssa and Levi at the airport. Our AirBNB was right on the beach. Here are Dad and Dominic going for a walk in the Indian Ocean, with matching outfits right down to their hats!

We chose this AirBNB for it's proximity to the beach and ALSO a private pool.

We took a day to check out Diani and go out for lunch. All of our other meals were prepared at the AirBNB by a chef that we were able to hire to cook for us. It made the vacation so much more relaxing to not have to think about shopping for food or preparing meals!!

Back in Kapsowar - Kim had to go back to work on Monday, but the family came to stay with us for almost a week. Mom and Elyssa came to the hospital to see the new blood bank refrigerator (that's to some generous donations from YOU) and Elyssa stayed for a c-section - and got a baby girl named after her!

Allan gave me one last day off to go to Kerio View in Iten for pictures, a view of the valley, and an early dinner. 

It's our favorite time of year to go to Kerio View, as every evening the clouds roll in and sometimes you get a great view of lightening across the valley.

We were thankful for all the help with preparing meals at home...

Andrew did a great job baking in what we call our "Easy Bake Oven" (no temperature control and no convection, minimal insulation and of course the challenges of high-altitude baking).

And now some pictures completely out of order and context from everyone else's cameras :)

Elephant across the river from our tent at Man Eaters

So fun to meet baby Levi!

Elephant on the SAME side of the river as our tent at Man Eaters. Don't worry, the guards carry sticks, sling shots, and flashlights at night.

Cousins!

Grandpa brought a kite for the beach

Mom got up at sunrise one morning

Dad won a multi-night, multi-city game of Phase 10

Saturated

We're approaching our 4-year anniversary in Kapsowar. This past month has felt like a lot of lateral motion. Others might describe the movement as "running around like a chicken with it's head cut off" but I think "lateral motion" sounds slightly more refined. Generally, it feels like I'm doing a lot, but not ever getting any completed. Maybe this is a natural feeling at four years - it's the longest Kris and I have lived anywhere in our married lives. Maybe it's the upcoming end of Dominic's school year. Maybe I'm just distracted by our upcoming vacation (thanks to Allan for coming back to Kapsowar to work while we get away for a break!). 

I wouldn't describe this feeling as burnout. It's more like being saturated - I'm at my maximum ability to do, care for, organize, teach, lead, report, plan or dream. Honestly, I'm not sure if that's a bad thing. It might just be an opportunity to recognize my limits, and to thank the MANY people in the MANY areas of my life who help me (and us) hold life together. 

- Kris, for taking on more homeschool duties this year, and always covering home and childcare responsibilities whenever I'm stuck at work.

- Gladys, for caring for all the details of our house and home: cooking, cleaning, food prep, laundry, and of course watching out for Dominic during the day.

- Our team-mates on station and at the hospital, who watch out for each others' kids, help with preparing for and hosting volunteers, lead Bible studies, feed each other and visitors, manage all kinds of details and finances, are experts in so many different areas, and are just all-around good friends.

- The midwives at the hospital, who work so hard to care for our patients and who have become trusted co-workers.

- The hospital administration, who do their best in sometimes VERY difficult circumstances to lead the hospital wisely and to provide great healthcare to those in need.

- The short-term volunteers who come to Kapsowar to provide much needed relief and supplies, as well as their prayers, encouragement, and emotional support.

- The organizations which back each short- and long-term worker here, many of whom have become good friends over the years.

- Of course, SO importantly, our family and friends who stand behind us, without whom we would never have gotten here and we would never have the courage to stay.

Next month: Pictures of vacation! Stay tuned!

(Still) Homeschooling

Today I'm getting ready to sit down with Dominic's homeschool curriculum, and plan/order next year's supplies. We use the Sonlight curriculum - not because we shopped around and found it to be the best fit for us, not because I talked to several other families who recommended the curriculum, but because when we first started homeschooling, on April 6, 2020, it was the curriculum our neighbors were using, and they generously agreed to loan me some books and worksheets. We didn't think that more than 3 years later, we'd still be doing this homeschooling thing!

Flashback: Dominic's first day of homeschool, a few weeks after Covid lockdown took effect in Kenya

Sonlight uses a "check box" type of curriculum - it tells you what to do when, and when you've done it, you check the box. That works really well for us as Dominic has a minimum of two teachers (Mom and Dad) plus whoever else we can get to help out on a given day or week. We just divide up the check boxes among the available number of teachers. It's also (I'm told) very literature based, which we like. Since he was very small, Dominic has loved listening to stories. We're so happy that in the past year he's started reading more independently!

Our schedule must inevitably be flexible, based on the nature of our lives in Kapsowar. Here's the goal:

6:45 - 8am: Dominic and Kim work on reading, spelling words, writing and grammar, as well as breakfast and getting ready for the day

8-9am: Psalms and Prayers with our community (except on Wednesdays)

9-10:30am: Dominic and Kris work on history, reading, Bible memory, and handwriting before Kris leaves for work

10:30-1pm: I'm not really sure what happens during this time! Sometimes Dominic goes to the theology school with Kris where he works on worksheets or sits in on classes. Other times I assume he plays with his friends or works on math at home.

2-3pm: Kim tries to come home to teach math and science

A recent science experiment demonstrating the effect of acid rain and salination of ground water caused by rising sea levels

3-5pm: While Kris does Swahili school online, Dominic finishes up whatever schoolwork is remaining, plus some math "games" on his iPad.

There are some obvious differences between homeschooling here in Kenya, and the type of education Dominic would likely be receiving in N America. Being one-on-one with his teachers means that he hasn't been exposed to things like classroom etiquette (raising his hand, working quietly, working with time restrictions). Because of the nature of where we live, he doesn't have an opportunity for organized extra-curricular activities or other "enriched" activities like art, music, computer skills, or gym class. And before you suggest it - we know, there's a lot of that stuff that we could probably find access to online. But Kris and I both work full time, and we don't have time to supervise any more than what we're already doing. A 7-11 hour time difference from N America (depending on the time of year and time zone) means that working with a N American tutor or school would be REALLY tricky, and would require Dominic to do school at the exact time when most of his friends (Kenyan and ex-pat) are out playing. 

Maybe we can count this as shop class - staining our new picnic table with Dad

But despite all of the challenges, this year I can honestly say that our experience has been much better than the previous years. I think that a major difference has been Dominic's improved reading, which gives him more independence from Kris and me. We've also decided to focus more on science this year, which he enjoys. And we know our rhythms - Mondays are always tough as we get back into groove. Wednesdays we get an extra hour of school in the morning, which means Dominic gets more playtime in the afternoon. On weeks when there is a math test, we do extra math every day so that we don't have hours of math worksheets to complete on Friday. And when the day DOESN'T go well, we talk about it and come up with a plan to make the next day (or week) better.

And finally, we schedule and ENJOY our weeks off! Last week Kris and Dominic went for a visit to Eldoret as they were both off school for the week, and I was busy with some extra work at the hospital. We're looking forward to "summer break" in less than two month!

Recycling 101

Recycling in North America is undeniably an industry. We appreciate that so much of the packaging and products we consume can be repurposed and recycled just by dumping them in a can by the side of the road. It is certainly easy - sometimes so easy that we forget that the first two of the three R's are REDUCE and REUSE. 

Not so in Kenya. Every product we buy at a "western" style store has packaging, every product that breaks or wears out has to be disposed of somehow. And at our station, we spend a lot of time talking about the best method of disposal. Recycling is not an industry in rural Kenya - it is an art. An art that we are trying to become better at, when REDUCE and REUSE fail us. 

A comment on reduce and reuse: one reason recycling has not yet hit rural Kenya in a big way is that reduce and reuse are the way of life here. For subsistence farmers, "packaging" is a non-issue. You don't package the eggs that your chicken lays before you consume them, so you don't have to worry about plastic vs cardboard egg containers. You don't wrap your vegetables in plastic wrap before you cook them for lunch. The amount of waste in their lifestyle is minimal, and for those storebought items that do produce waste (a jar of cooking oil, for example) there is almost always a way to repurpose them. Plastic cooking oil containers are reused over and over to deliver milk or kerosene, for example. 

Waste disposal is a problem everywhere, of course. Here, people have traditionally burned waste. However, not everything burns, and not everyone wants to burn. Trash pits attract animals, and the trash gets scattered around the environment, not to mention the fumes and toxins and greenhouse gases created. The alternative is a "dump" - which in our region is just literally a spot someone picked in the forest to dump trash. Again, lots of wildlife are attracted to this, and unfortunately people may also try to find treasures in the trash, which can put them at risk of injury digging through potentially dangerous refuse. At this point, there isn't a great third option, although we continue to discuss and desire another way.

What follows are the ways that we have been learning to reduce, reuse, and recycle:

Buying locally: Our eggs and milk come from our neighbors and therefore don't require any packaging

Making smart choices at the grocery store: Looking for packaging that can be reused or that can break down naturally, which is often a better choice than traditionally "recyclable" materials in N America like aluminum cans.

Socks and underpants wear out and can't be repaired and passed on as hand-me-downs:

So, they find a new life as filling for a new stuffed monkey:

Our pop gets purchased in glass bottles that are reused over and over. We bring the crate of "empties" to a shop in town, where we trade it in for a crate filled with full bottles of whatever kind we choose (our favorite flavors here are Krest Bitter Lemon - Kim, Stoney - Kris, and Fanta Blackcurrent - Dominic)

Even medicines get recycled here! When I was struggling with a post-viral cough, my neighbor kindly gave me here barely-used inhaler :) Our hospital doesn't take previously distrubuted or expired medications, and thankfully we no longer have to re-use needles or normal suction tubing. But we do routinely reuse (after soaking in bacteriocidal solution) several medical supplies including those little blue bulbs used to suction out a baby's nose and mouth after delivery (for any OB/Gyns out there: also Kiwi vacuums, amniohooks, suction tubing and curettes for D&C)

Saving up our recyclables: We have a spot in our house for broken electronics that we take or send back with visitors to the states. Disposing of those electronics at the right place means that those rare metals can get reused instead of burning up in a pit fire; we save certain plastic containers to bring to Nairobi where we know they'll be accepted at the grocery store chain where we purchased them; we pass along our glass bottles to a shop in Eldoret that makes them into drinking glasses and storage containers.

If I had to guess, these containers may have previously held soy sauce or olives

Have other great recycling ideas? We would love to hear them! Better yet, come to rural Kenya and help us learn to be better stewards of the beautiful environment here!

An excuse, by way of an anecdote

The past week has been a lot. A lot of joys, a lot more sorrows. Feeling like life is a tight-rope act, and some days we're just not up to the challenge.

So yesterday, as I was running around the house trying to get baking and meal prep done, clean the house, and clean myself before an afternoon party (a baby shower for our neighbor), I realized I had only 5 minutes to spare, and I still wanted to shower and needed to pee. "Well, I guess I'll just have to pee in the shower," I thought. And then I stopped and thought about that thought. I realized that wasn't a choice I had to make. I didn't move to rural Kenya, away from the craziness of life in North America (sorry, everyone) just to reestablish myself in a self-inflicted rat race over here. So I showered. Later, I peed. I was a few minutes late for the baby shower (venue: my house) which was fine, because everyone else was late, too. 

Today, "Write Blog Post" is on my to-do list. I have some pictures I want to share on my phone. Others are on my computer. The cable that connects the two is at my office, and I'm at home. So today, I'm going to do the best with what I have, upload a few pictures, and call it good. It's today's version of not peeing in the shower. I hope you find a way to not pee in your proverbial shower today, too. Happy Father's Day, Dad, and Happy Birthday, Mom! Sorry for using the word "pee" on the internet - you definitely raised me better than that. 💖

Dominic, the reader

Long weekend at Naivasha

Horse riding at Naivasha

These giraffes came to say hello every evening while we were eating dinner at our cabin

Kris and Dominic ran a 2K together!

Waking up in the night to watch our new cousin's baptism!

Visiting friends at Kijabe

I ordered a mint limeade - I wasn't expecting it to be phosphorescing!

Father's Day breakfast on our new picnic table

Gathering to celebrate a new baby

On call

Early in 2023, I had the privilege of welcoming three OB/Gyn docs (one resident, one attending, and one retired) who helped me manage my work load at the hospital and (perhaps most significantly) shared night and weekend call. Since we live about a 5-minute walk from the hospital, being on call means taking phone calls during the night/weekend, coming to evaluate any complicated OB or Gyn patients, and performing emergency surgeries (for OB/Gyn call in Kapsowar, that's usually c-sections, sometime dilation and curettage for incomplete miscarriage/abortion, and occasionally ectopic pregnancy).

When I don't have short-term visiting docs, I am usually on call about 50-60% of nights and weekends (the other 40-50% of the calls are taken by our hospital's medical officer, who also takes medicine call). This usually works out okay - while it's a lot of nights "on," I don't usually go to the hospital every night. But being available for emergencies more nights and weekends than not requires some getting used to. Over the past three years, here are some of the things I've learned (I'm sure there are many rural docs and other "call" takers who could add pages of advice and lessons to this short list!):

Life can't stop just because I'm on call: When I first started my career as a rural doc, I would *not* schedule events (meetings, inviting people over for dinner, calls to people back in N America) while on call. I would go to bed early in case I would get called in during the night. Now I know - life can't wait for non-call nights. We still invite people for dinner, and I have a (very limited) number of dishes that I can prepare in advance and just pop in the oven or InstantPot with Kris or Gladys' help. (Of course add to that our unreliable power supply, and just getting dinner on the table can become one of the most exciting and uncertain parts of the day!) Usually, things work out fine-and when they don't, most people don't seem to offended when I have to run off to deliver a baby.

Being on call didn't keep us from hosting a Coronation viewing party and potluck at our house - with a lot of help from our neighbors! 

Keep the cell phone charged: There's nothing worse than going to bed during a power outage with a cell-phone battery at 20%, and waking up multiple times during the night just to make sure the phone is still on! It's a great way to ruin an otherwise peaceful night of sleep.

Hold your plans and expectations loosely: I quickly found that if I hold too tightly to a plan (things I want to accomplish during a weekend call, for example), I would begin questioning my judgement at the hospital. Did I do that c-section because it was in the best interest of the mom and her baby, or because I promised Dominic that I would make cookies with him? Going into the hospital with an open mind and no expectations helps me to be less frustrated when things don't go according to plan - and believe me, Labor and Delivery *rarely* goes according to plan.

Set small, achievable goals: Baking a loaf of bread from scratch during call is a recipe for failure. I'll get called to the hospital when the bread is halfway through it's second rise, or just as I put it in the oven. However, there are a LOT of small things around the house (or office) that can be accomplished in the quiet moments. For example, writing a blog post...

I occasionally bake while on call, but never anything as ambitious as this super yummy 6 layer rainbow cake that my neighbor/coworker/supermom baked last weekend while on call!

Mute non-essential notifications: you know those people who have to look at their phones with *every* notification? While on call, I'm one of those people. Which means I liberally mute all notifications from people or groups who I know won't be contacting me about an emergency. I feel less tethered to my phone that way...and being less tethered to my phone is a major goal for my life!

Rest: taking call every other weekend means that Sabbath rest isn't likely in the traditional sense. So, I try to create space for rest, relaxation, and worship when and where the opportunity presents itself. And I nap - or I should say *we* nap. If you find our house locked up on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, odds are pretty good that we're actually at home, enjoying a quiet time or nap while we can. So please - come back another time :)

On call: not a great time to start a big project, long board game, or haircut. But a perfect time to cozy up with a book or knitting project by the fire!

And with that - I'm on call, and I have to get going! Thanks for reading!

Happy belated Mother's Day!

Going somewhere?

Over the last month we have been busy with travel *within* Kenya. Due to Google maps and the internet, we do have greater freedom and confidence to travel around the country. Here's a glimpse at the methods we have used to travel in Kenya over the last few years (and some options we have NOT opted for in our personal journeys). 

Planes:
Our preferred airline is JamboJet simply because they are the most consistent airline at Eldoret Airport. We can get direct flights to Kisumu, Mombasa, and of course Nairobi from Eldoret. As in North America, air travel is the safest and most expensive way to travel. The dangers of the road in Kenya make air travel MUCH more appealing here - and also too expensive for most of our neighbors.

Dominic was 4 years old the first time we flew to Eldoret

Nala arrived to Eldoret in this tiny private plane

Trains:
The SGR (Standard Gauge Railway) connects Mombasa and Nairobi, and passes straight through Tsavo National Park, which means you get a view of Mt. Kilimanjaro AND lots of animals as you travel.
The journey itself takes about 5.5 hours and since the train stations are a little far from the city on both sides, it's really a full day of traveling. It's fun, safe and very affordable as long as you have the time for it!

Capturing photos of the wildlife was difficult, so we just took pictures of each other

Automobiles:

Personal vehicles: Well beyond the resources most rural Kenyans is a private vehicle. Having a person vehicle gives us independence to get out of town when we're able on our own schedule, but also comes with some pitfalls, including run ins with law enforcement, high risk of accidents and getting lost in areas where Google maps is misleading.

Hitting the road for our first trip in our "new" car back in November 2020

We have to keep a keen eye out for wildlife on the road!

Taxi and Uber: most ex-patriates we know have phone numbers saved for local drivers who know the area well and are trusted.
Tuk tuks: we haven't personally used a tuktuk - they are more common in the flat lands like the coast. They look like a tricycle but enclosed.
Matatu (buses/commuter vans): These are a very common method of travel and are probably safer than motorbikes, but still have a LOT of accidents.
Motorbikes (piki piki or bota): This is the most affordable and flexible AND DANGEROUS mode of transportation that we encounter in Africa. It seems that nearly everyone who uses a motorbike has been in an accident (minor or major) at some point.

Boats: We've been on three boats in Kenya - a canoe at Crescent Island, a ferry in Mombasa, and a glass bottom boat in Diani.

Bikes: Kris and Dominic both have bikes that they ride around our station. Bikes are probably more common in other areas of Kenya, but due to the very hilly terrain around Kapsowar, they are not a common method of transportation here.

Kris bought Dominic's first bike at this used bike "shop" in Nairobi during language school

"God gave you two good legs..." As I commonly remind Dominic, we have a great method of transportation in our legs! Traveling around Kenya you will find that most people are outside most of the time, working in their fields or gardens, walking from one place to another, cooking or preparing food, getting water, conducting their business (taking advantage of the free lighting provided by the sun rather than putting their business inside and then artificially lighting it), or relaxing - watching their surroundings or socializing with neighbors rather than turning on a television, videogame, or computer. Many places are inaccessible by vehicle or bicycle.

Walking to see giraffes at Kruger farm