JANUARY 4^th (LEAVING KENYA)

Today, I was able to leave Kenya without much emotion. I had accepted I was leaving, with the full intention I would be returning soon. This was the only way I could accept the departure with such ease.

Evan reacted the strongest to leaving Kenya. He clung on to us today, perhaps anticipating the immediate changes. He admitted to be feeling sad. He told us he was looking forward to going home to Canada but would miss Grammie and Grampie.

The night flight to Amsterdam was painless in regards to the children. Both of them fell asleep for the duration of the plane ride. I sat next to a young man from Berlin. We spoke all of three sentences in English to each other and breathed in each other's personal space for almost nine hours! He had difficulty understanding English. All I can say in German are the words, good morning. Being on a night flight, I had no German words to share. How pathetic! The lack of breathing space intensified when we ate our meals. It's never good to place a right-handed person on the right of a lefty! I would have been more comfortable wrapped up in duct tape.

JANUARY 5^th (REUNION WITH LONG-TIME FRIEND AT THE AMSTERDAM AIRPORT)

Not only was my old friend Shirley just happening to be going at the Amsterdam airport half an hour after us on her way home to Scotland, it just happened to be her Birthday! People who do not believe in spiritual intervention are obviously missing something major! I choose to believe the good Lord cares about the little details of our lives. Julianne made some jewelery for Shirley. I had the opportunity to hand-deliver my Kenya journal, along with some handcarved stone picture frames. How cool it was to collide in the midst of our travels! I had the advantage of being more in sink with the Amsterdam time zone since Kenya is only two hours ahead. Shirley appeared to be suffering from a 5-hour time difference from Canada. I think her internal clock was telling her it was two o'clock in the morning in New Brunswick. I was able to see her for about an hour and a half. It wasn't a long visit, yet a sufficient one. How often do we allow windows of opportunity to pass us by? We knew it was possible we would not meet, reasons being out of our control. We still chose to bring some gifts. We still chose to stand at the correct gate waiting for her to come off the plane from Toronto at 7a.m. We must have watched a few hundred people walk through the gate from the Toronto flight. Finally, Shirley accompanied by her husband and mother were in clear sight. How neat it was to see friends while travelling one-third around the world and back!

We had spent time in three continents within a thirty hour period. This traveling made us quite tired. We took turns cat napping during each flight. We got really good at it by the time we flew between Toronto and Saint John via Air Canada. All four of us ended up falling asleep during the short hour and a half flight. Apparently, one of the flight attendants became quite fustrated and admitted to the other attendant she felt neglectful of her duties due to her inability to serve us food. I thought to myself,“After travelling on KLM twice, Honey, no one in my family was in need of more food. Trust me on that one!” She assumed we had travelled further than just from Toronto. "You flew from Nairobi? Oh, now I understand how all of you could fall asleep on such a short flight!" She made it sound like it was an impossible task, never accomplished by any of her passengers during all her years as a flight attendant.

With eyes half opened, we all piled in a taxi to take us to our home sweet home. The air was cool and crisp. There was a minimal amount of snow along roadsides and fields. The short drive to home along the Loch Lomond Road was peaceful. It looked like a picture on a Christmas card. As much as I loved our Kenya trip, I had no difficulties being back in Canada.

JANUARY 6^th (FIRST DAY ON THE HOME FRONT)

Usually when the children ask to go outside to play before I am out of bed in the morning, I am not very approachable. In fact, I can be downright nasty and unaccommodating! "Mom, I want my winter clothes on right now to play in the snow!" To this statement, I would normally reply with a bad attitude, “In all its good timing!” Instead, I crawled out of bed without a spoken word and dug out their winter attire. Evan's first instinct was to lay on his back in the snow to form a snow angel. Julianne just wanted to be outside and began shoveling the snow in the back yard. It was a real Canadian Kodak moment.

Mike and I couldn't get over how clean and crisp the air felt in Saint John this morning. Our city is highly industrilized and is known for its smog. How could Saint John's air feel and smell so fresh? In populated areas of Kenya, the air often smells of diesel fuel, burning charcoal, and sometimes the scent of the sweet burning grass. In general, I would think Kenya has better air quality than our city. To convince you otherwise is the endless red dust breathed in during everyday living in Kenya. How I love this dust! How I hate this dust!

The smooth and seemingly safe roads to church were refreshing this morning. Unlike our travelling days in Kenya, we all had the luxury of seat belts in our van.!

Mike and I were thrilled to be able to recycle our plastics and cardboard today. Recycling hasn't caught on in Kenya yet. It's funny how it never thrilled me to recycle until now. Mike and I went on a big guilt trip in Kenya every time we threw out recylables. Canada taught us well!

This morning,we were able to have showers without worrying about wasting water. Many Kenyans struggle to get clean water to drink, as well as to get water for everyday use. As long as I can remember, we've always had plenty of clean water available in New Brunswick. How fortunate we are!

Asante sana for hopping aboard on our Kenya safari. It wouldn't be the same if I kept my story hidden.

During our 5-week vacation in Kenya, we have gained a lifetime worth of experiences. God willing, we will be returning to Kenya soon.