and now back down to 3....

Erika left last night. We took her to Nairobi and she flew toward London just after midnight. Apparently there is an ash cloud over Eritrea that makes the flight longer right now?? What is this? Our news sources here are quite limited, but isn’t the volcano problem in S. America?? I don’t get it. In any case, it is morning now and I am able to see that her plane landed. She has a plan to take the speed train to Paddington Station and walk to Trafalgar. I hope it works out. That would be a nice way to pass the layover.

Erika was here with us for more than 5 months! It seems strange to see her room empty and it is odd to wake up to just the 3 of us again. Thankfully we only have a few more weeks or we would all be feeling pretty low. Before Erika left she said goodbye to her soccer team...there were many calls back and forth looking for “coachie” so they could arrange a last scrimmage on the “lower field”. She played her last pick up BB with the men on Sunday, always the only female on the court. We had our last walk to the fig tree on Sunday morning, a place she has loved to go for sun and quiet.

During her time here she has followed doctors on rounds through the hospital, spent time in the OR, worked in the dental clinic, babysat, made relationships with locals, hiked, traveled, read, slept, ridden motorbikes, made friends...People were coming by to say goodbye for the past few days. This time out from all that is her life at home will probably show up in lots of different ways, many she won’t see until she gets home and goes back to familiar things. It feels like a lot has come together for her here. We feel so grateful that she could take this amount of time and that we could have her with us for this large piece of the year. John cannot imagine it any other way!

As far as returning home she likes the prospect of being on roads that don’t make her car sick every time she gets in the car, having “town” close to home...rather than an hour or more away, exercising on flat ground and at sea level, just paying the set price and not having to barter, driving a car...seeing friends and Alison...and our house and dog.

We walked in the door after dropping her off to find monkey prints coming in through our bedroom window, down the wall and onto the floor! No other detectable mischief noted, and the cookies were still on the kitchen counter?? Not sure what that was about, but we were left with no doubt that we are still in Africa! Only a few more weeks and we will be on our way home as well.





the fig tree.



last shot in kijabe.



nairobi traffic!



the airport.