Goodbye

I am sitting on the front porch of the guest house waiting for our ride to Nairobi to arrive.  This according to Kenyan time could be anytime in the next two hours!  The month has gone quickly in most respects although in others it seems like a year!  Like last week when I had the flu bug!Each year has been very different and this year is no exception!  Marv found the OB Dept to be in the best shape ever!  It gave him a lot of opportunities to teach residents and medical students instead of putting out obstetrical fires!  I did work in the nursery and bonded with several mothers and babies.  I also seemed to have more opportunities to visit Kenyan homes and churches than in the past.  The nursery census was lower and so I did not feel the stress of being in the nursery.  Acquaintances really want you to come and visit them in their homes.  It is often an eye opening experience.  Homes are small; some have cement floors, others are dirt. Some  have electricity; lots do not.  It is amazing how well kept they are considering the red clay that surrounds them.  

Well guess what!  Our ride was on time and I am now in the Nairobi airport awaiting our flight to Amsterdam.  The drive from Tenwek is  harrowing as there are only two lanes and a lot of traffic especially as you approach Nairobi.   However, Samaritan's Purse has reliable careful drivers and that makes it easier.  Security is tight at the airport so we were glad to arrive early and get through it all with time to spare.  

I guess what struck me most this time is how much of the labor especially in the rural areas is still  done by hand.  From washing the hospital floors, to mixing cement, to unloading a load of rock, to digging the foundation for a house, it  is all done by hand.  Field labor, most often done by women, is  also done with a  pick hoe or perhaps a donkey with plow.  In the rural areas woman do not wear pants; skirts are the fashion of the day!  It feels like one hundred years ago.  On the other hand most Kenyans carry their cell phones with them constantly!  It is a meeting of old and new.  These contrasts make our visits fascinating.

I will close by saying that I feel blessed to have been able to make this trip again after being unable to come last year.  It is definitely a spiritual experience to join voice with Christians half way around the world.  I was overwhelmed to have many many people tell me that they had been praying for me and would continue to do so.  How humbling.   We American Christians have much to learn from them.  It is always hard to say goodbye and answer the question "when will you return?"  My answer? "Lord willing, soon!"

Micki