Catching up

Well, its been awhile since I've written. Of course we loved having Pastor Jim, Dr. Rand and Madison come out. It is so funny how much memory is linked to scent. As a little girl I used to love coming into the room Pastor Hamman had just left and smelling the aroma left behind. Oh, the things that impress small minds. Having the smell of his cologne in the house again brought back memories.

Schools been interesting this term. Five teachers left/are leaving the high school and have been replaced, though not really oriented yet. The primary has fared a little better with only three turnovers. I think we have some great individuals joining the team. Dan adds a lot of maturity, since he has kids the age of the rest of us teachers. Dennis is always working hard at his desk (a rarity in a staff room with eleven desks and no cubicles), though he joins in the laughs occasionally. The others I still haven’t gotten to know yet. Yeah, so you can continue to pray for my mom who has to interview all the teachers in addition to the regular responsibilities of running a school.

Anyway, I think all that has past and we are back to a "normal" schedule.

It's been fun having Andrew here. He still spends alot of time on his comp. But he has managed to build a few things, takes Jon back and forth to school and is part of the youth activities.

Andrews first ride

I asked Andrew if he wanted to drive. He didn’t think he would on his first trip across town. We were going to the church. It was a lovely day, and as we headed off I had completely forgotten the rumors of riots and the sounds of gunshots that were heard just hours earlier. Forgotten until we got to town. The remains were there. A pile of ash here, a garbage overturned there. It all seemed pretty calm in the aftermath, though. We would soon find that it was merely the calm before the storm. There were a lot of people at the bus stop…. More than usual. Uh, oh, too late to turn around. I hope those guys…bang! A hand hit the car, soon many more were pounding. A hard hit on the right. Just push through before they destroy the car. I revved the engine and kept moving forward “Keep driving, Cheri” Get out of the way, dude A light bump showed him I was serious. Just keep forward momentum Crash! Glass flew by my head as our back window succumbed to the force of a 10 pound projectile. More banging, but we were finally clear of the crowd. I hit the gas. “I see police coming” The riot was broken up behind us. We were out of there safe, but with a badly dented car.
The rumor is that the riots were in protest to the city bulldozing a row of kiosks (wooden stands where they sell goods) along the road where they were not permitted to build. Really it doesn’t take much to get unrest started in a city full of unemployed 20 some-things. Welcome back to Kisumu, Andrew.

PS: The second time Andrew went to the church with my Dad. The radiator pipe blew up and they waited around for an hour for the mechanic to fix it. Amazingly, he still thinks he will stay.

Solar Fury

Well, I have been in Kenya for over a year now, and it was just this week that I got my first major burn. I’ve had a little extra pink in my cheeks after some afternoons in the sun, but have managed to avoid any serious scalding. Until Monday afternoon. For our last hurrah before the family returned Jonathan and I spent most of the day at the pool, had lunch there, swam, laid in the sun and read books. After the family came in that evening, I realized that my legs were really burning after I hefted the suitcases into the car. Yep, they were raspberry red. My legs and back are still burning three days and 12 aloe vera applications later. Lesson learned: SPF 60 is my friend.

Family Reunited

Jonathan had stopped asking about Mom and Dad the last two weeks. 6 weeks is like an eternity to him, so it was easier to just settle into life without them. But boy, did he ever get excited when the plane came down and it really dawned on him that they were coming in. He rushed to the gate and was the first to spot them when they stepped off the plane. He could hardly contain himself. He was waving as hard as he could until they spotted him. When they came around the gate the excitement turned to awe as he assessed his brother. “He’s a big man!” summed up the changes that Andrew had undergone in the two years since Jon saw him. He must have repeated the phrase a dozen times throughout the course of the evening. There was a good half a dozen people there to greet the returnees, and help with luggage. In the end we got all 8 bags in the Pajero and headed home. It was great having the whole family around the dinner table again. Jon sat by Andrew and watched his every bite in undisguised admiration. “He’s taller than me!” was his conclusion. As the evening wore on we had fun unpacking the gifts Mom and Dad brought with them…though Dad and Andrew had trouble staying awake. We finally gave up on the unpacking and left the whole mess to be considered the next day. And as we all went to bed we could hear drifting from Jon’s room “He’s a big man!”