farm sweet farm ❤️

ahhh. it is good to be back 🇺🇸 ... and i can't wait to return 🇰🇪

electricity, clean water, starbucks.... you are definitely not overrated. 

i may have booked a flight yesterday 🫣.

there is SO much about to pop in omboga, it is stupid hard to know i am not there. and i am not, so i will oversee from afar. for now.

the flights home were smooth and not awful at all! i rarelyyyy watch movies at home. on the plane. jeez, i learned this trip that if you can't sleep, you might as well be entertained 😜

we opted to uber home because of two things -- you never really know when you will land (supposed to and actual ain't the same), and mainly because i didn't want to chat or do anything that requires a brain to function well, like conversation. i love uber, anyway. so, we get in and our driver, samuel, is african-american. naturally, i ask if he was born here or where. you know where this is going. he is kenyan. so much for not talking 🤪. we are now friends. 

esther and i stay up until 10 p.m. and then sleep like babies. heaven. 

the next day, i wake feeling mighty fine and really energized. what the hee-haw? we need to pick up monster and get food anyway, so perfect. we are in produce at kroger, and i overhear a lady on her phone, and she says "sawa". if i have heard that once, i have heard it thousands of times. "okay" (sidenote: in kenya, they never end a phone call with goodbye. it is usually just sawa or the end of last sentence. click. they do this because they say the conversation doesn't end. it will continue another day or time, so why say goodbye when it isn't ever really over? i find that both cool and endearing).

being the friendly or weird person i am, i have to ask the lady in kroger if she is maybe kenyan? my mind is thinking that a gazillion african countries probably say sawa. but, i can't help myself. 

she is from zimbabwe, but her beautiful 10 year old son malachi and husband are from kenya. they both got back yesterday from a month long trip! malachi had never been. yes, he lovesss it. i holler at esther to come meet them. and the woman says, "my name is esther too ❤️!" cutely, malachi and my esther have matching kenyan bracelets ☺️.

it really is a very very small world. 

and i have been going like crazy since we got back. i have zero idea how i eluded jet lag. my energy level is abnormally high, go figure. 

esther, you travel so well. thank you for the memories ❤️❤️❤️

she went through photos and sent me some i hadn't seen. yes, the memories, sweet and awesome memories 🥰

trip #7 coming next. 

days 30 and 31 friday & saturday

back to where we started. one of those where it feels like you were just here and like you lived a lifetime since then. 

as esther and i were double checking our room to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything, a good friend sends a link for "the goodness of God". yes, He has been so good. we have experienced Him in endless ways and places this last month. no matter the hard things of the past, Jesus has taught me about things i never knew. a level of inner peace that i have wanted for so long. not every minute but getting closer and closer to walking faithfully and surrendered. 

esther and i have grown both together and individually. these trips force you to go to a new level of intimacy. lydia and i experienced the same thing. i will forever treasure the conversations she and i have shared. so many opportunities to train her, teach her, watch her become who God has called her to be. we've talked about faith, boys, school, life, friendship. our time in devotions and the Word opened these doors seamlessly. as a mom, it is the greatest joy. 

my mind and body needed these two days to just be. i have eaten healthy, gone to steam room, got interesting massage, and laid in bed writing blog posts. it takes me a stupid long time 🙃 part of it is going through photos and part is trying to think about how to best say things. i enjoy it, and so i do it 🥹.

street photos from cra-cra streets of nairobi. the traffic. oh my. and nobody stressed, so why would i be?

we have dinner at stephen and vane's house. she is a really good cook and prepares a feast for a small army. it is an easy evening. i love doing things i have done many times before. it is that familiar feeling that i love. 

and it is "winter" in nairobi. she has forgotten indiana obviously 😝

and now we sit in the first of four airports. headed to frankfurt, germany. hopeful things are smooth sailing through the air 🙌 until next time, kenya. a girl will dream 😌 

my new ankle bracelet. pink! because i needed another one 🤭

day 29 thursday 🚗

ugh. the time has come to go our separate ways from bella 😭. i am very grateful she has helped me so much with this project. as both a teacher and administrator, her input was critical. of course, first we have breakfast and coffee overlooking beautiful lake victoria. hugs and promises of seeing each other soon. esther loves her like i do 💕

before we start the looong drive to nairobi, stephen and i really want to go back by the property. it is so peaceful. he wants to talk with several workers as he will be overseeing the final stretch from his home in nairobi. he wants to have a fence put up to separate my property from the community buildings and install a filtration process for the water system.

the water results weren't what we wanted, and so plan B is required. pure and safe water will be worth it. the bore hole is over 500 feet deep, and yet bacteria has entered somewhere. this happened at kisii, so at least we know what needs done. small setback, but fixable without extreme effort or expense. 

now that my home is complete, stephen will begin construction of his home. his hope is to have vane, ombija and ariaro here by end of the year 😊. culturally, you only have a home if your parents already have one. and since i am his mom now 🤗, he feels free to begin his. it is down the road in a very secluded area. his brothers, evans and frederick, are next door. and his ginormous herd of goats are in his back yard 🐐. 

stephen stacked four stones, and we dedicated the place that will serve as his cornerstone. just like we did at mine last november. it was a sacred moment. 

and we begin the journey back to where we started. sportsview kasarani hotel in nairobi (think steam room, remember?!) we arrive around 9:30. stephen and i can converse for hours. he's knows so much about so much, we engage in really interesting dialogue. for sure, it makes the time feel not so long. we drive through miles and miles of tea farms. and for the 12th time, stop at sahara. as a lover of tradition, this feels like we tie a bow on trip #6 ❤️

and i just opened my quote of the day ❤️

day 28 wednesday 🛋

the kitties have names! meet simba and simbi 🩵🩷! stephen2 is now a proud cat daddy ❤️

look at his fat little milk belly 🤣

the original plan (hope) were that the beds, bedding, couches, chairs and farm table would arrive tuesday. bella, esther, and i would have spent two nights in our new home 🥹 but alas, it wasn't meant to be... they arrived and were totally worth the wait! everything is solid and beautiful! look!

and the outside. oh my goodness. equally incredible. the front, the back. makes a statement. it is a bright and happy home 🏡 ✨️. the gazebo will be getting its thatched roof soon. please come sit and have coffee with me. if you read this, you are officially invited ☕️💕

and sunset from the back steps? perfection. 

and everything delivered from silas in oyugis too! the chairs, tables, and desk for the library are AWESOME! hard to explain, but they scream old library! i am so pleased with them. and the four tables for the coffee shop will fit perfectly! i cannot wait to return and see everything in place. 

george the carpenter has worked nonstop to build the library shelving and coffee shop cabinets. geez, he does quality work. i am so thankful for his skill and committment 😁

and the 50 chairs, 8 tables, and very large white boards arrived as well. this is really happening!!!

and to top off the furniture delivery, WE HIRED THE OMBOGA COMMUNITY CENTER PROGRAM MANAGER!!

woot! yay! his name is joel, and he comes so highly qualified and experienced! he's been a teacher and principal for over ten years, and has endless contacts within the schools and communities! he actually came to the leader's meeting in march, and has actively been following the construction process. so when the job posted, he was first to apply. he is a large man which will greatly help his respect and position in this new venture. he is respectful, kind, knowledgeable, and greatly desires to make this new venture successful. when stephen told him about the mobile donkey library, i thought he might be taken aback, but no, his smile showed true love of it! he said that we will be a one of a kind and people will respond heartily 🥰

this is a significant milestone. stephen and bella have no reservations about his abilities. he is well known and well respected within the community. God dropped the exact person we needed squarely in our laps. we interviewed two others, and it is so hard to not be able to hire them too. they are degreed in education, but with no experience, it just isn't right timing. 

stephen, bella and i spend hours together working. what would life be like without them? i don't want to know. 

interviewing is tiring. we just chill at the property for several hours, just talking with various people who come and go. this place has a good energy about it. people are so very thrilled to be part of something new and exciting. we leave late, exhausted and with satisfied hearts 💕