A Bright Christmas 2

Early Thursday morning we packed up the rig, and the kids and headed over to pick up Beth and Mwende. We made the trek out to Ukambani with everyone full of excitement. On the drive out I was struck once again by the difference in lifestyles here and in the US. We take for granted how easy our lives are. I was in awe of the people and the women who work from before dawn to after dusk in order to keep life moving for their families. We arrived that afternoon and were greeted by Mutysia, his parents and his two sisters. The kids quickly ran about and started exploring. Mwanza and Mutisya had gone to get rope in order make tire swings for the kids.

This trip was both a wonder and a challenge for me. More and more I am coming to realize that I am a very privileged and selfish person. I try desperately to convince myself I am a strong, bold and brave person. In reality I am insecure, timid and weak. I found myself struggling not with the things one might think, like no electricity, no running water, an outhouse, spit baths and sleeping in a tiny room with spiders and other bugs. (Though the last one was a little challenging.) What I found more challenging was coming in to a situation where everyone knows each other. I found it challenging to sit in on a conversation that was spoken in Swahili. I don't know the language yet so it makes it difficult to contribute. I was challenged by feeling like I was not doing anything and therefore contributing to the notion that white people are lazy and don't really do manual labor. I struggled with not knowing what was acceptable and unacceptable behavior for me and my children. Zoe was not feeling well and had little appetite. She was crabby and clingy and everyone kept asking what she would like to eat and what was wrong. I was then challenged by feeling like we had become a drain on them and their resources. It was the most uncomfortable I had felt as company in a long time and by no fault of our hosts. It all stemmed from my selfishness and self absorption. I only hope I haven't caused too much offense. I would like to take from this a new perspective and hopefully change my persona.

Like I said there was also a lot of good that came from this trip. When Brian and I had come to Kenya before he took me out to Mulango, where he grew up. This trip we took the kids out to the house where Brian grew up. We also took the Munyokis to see the house they had lived in so many years ago. For Mama it was the first time she had been back since they had left.

We had several visitors while we were out in "the bush". The kids spent a few hours with the tortoise until he made his escape.

Brian recently bought a piki or for the rest of us a motorbike. We all had a chance to take a ride, which the kids were very excited about. (Don't worry mom we wore helmets. The following pic was staged so they didn't have them on.) I even got to take a lesson on Mwanza"s bike since it was more my size. That was both exciting and a little nerve wracking.

It was nice, once again to get out of the city and the apartment for a few days. It was cool to hear the bush babies calling during the night. The kids were thrilled to play in the corn fields and sleep in the tent. Alaina had a few dogs to play with so she was in dog heaven. We played cards, monopoly and even fought colds. Our Christmas was very relaxing and outside the normal American tradition. On Christmas day there is a special Christmas service, which we did not attend, and then the day is spent enjoying each other and the gift that Jesus is to us. No presents were exchanged only words of love and the gift of relationship.

You all are a blessing to us and to me. I hope that as the new year approaches we can remember that people are more important than things and that tomorrow is a new day. These are things I also need to remember. I am blessed by all of you in my life and by this chance to experience something new. We are being changed and I pray the change continues, especially when it gets hard. Just pray that I will have the strength and the courage to step outside of myself and experience life, in relationship with others. Have a safe new year!! My love to you all.