Christmas in Kenya

Here are just a few highlights from our Christmas in Kenya:

1. The EMM/MCC retreat the week before Christmas at Brackenhurst Retreat Center.

2. Singing Christmas carols with our church's choir at their annual Christmas Eve service held at Village Market (the mall near our house). Complete with blaring synthesizer and squealing mics.

3. Spending Christmas Eve and Christmas day with our Kenyan friend, William. His entire family went out west for Christmas to visit grandparents, but he wasn't able to go. So we family-less people hung out.

4. Attempting a home-style Christmas dinner: the green beans and mashed potatoes were great. We won't talk about the ham loaf.

5. Skyping home on Christmas day. It is amazing how much we can feel like we are there.

6. Hanging out with our EMM/MCC Nairobi family on Christmas evening. Some kind of Christmas magic allowed the children to play peacefully together for hours. I think they hunted the little black cat with a bow and arrow for two-thrids of the time.

7. Greeting our visitors Chris and Kari at the airport! They brought Christmas to us on the 27th, including 7 rubber scrapers. There is no longer a shortage of rubber scrapers in Kenya!

8. Viewing the incredible book/calandar/scrapbook that Chris and Kari brought along. (Thanks, Janine for coordinating this!) We eagerly await each new day to read a new page. Thanks to all who contributed... We don't know who all of you are yet!

9. The numerous cards, letters, and pictures, and even a few small packages that made it through the post office box! The person distributing the mail at Rosslyn facebooked me to let me know that my mailbox at school was overflowing and I needed to check it soon! What a blessing. We treasure each one.

10. Camping, hiking and general traveling in the Rift Valley with Chris and Kari. We saw rhinos, giraffes, wildebeests, water buck, hippos, so many zebras, African buffalo, ostriches, gazelle, monkeys, baboons. We also had a great hike to the highest point in the Aberdares: 12,000 feet. The picture above was taken as the four of us (Chris, Kari, Nate and I) straddled the equator near Nyahururu.

Kenya is really beginning to feel like home to Nate and me. Thank you for your prayers in that direction. Staying in the area for Christmas has really helped to solidify that fact, and we're beginning to recognize the many relationships that are developing.

Thank you all for making our Christmas here such a great one.

posted by jill