Good-bye to Kenya

Our Kenyan adventure is over. We are in London having a wonderful time with Katie and Silas (and our friend Coreen) but feeling a little mournful to have left our Kenyan friends behind. That's what sticks out: we have some dear, dear friends there, and we are missing them.

I suppose if you live with somebody for two and a half months, you will either get a lot closer to them, or you won't particularly want to see them for a long time to come. Our experience was definitely the former. Getting to know the Okonji and Wachira families better, including their kids and their close relatives and friends; experiencing Jan Okonji's wedding; talking through work projects with Haron Wachira; and on and on--the texture of life was rich and interesting. And these friends made us feel so loved and welcome! They took care of us in a hundred ways.

We feel very privileged to have such wonderful friends. We will miss them a lot.

The last day in Kenya--Wednesday--was naturally preoccupied with packing. We had our stuff scattered all over in two households, and organizing it was a significant job. We got everything into our three large suitcases, and then the gifts started coming. Most of them were relatively small and light, so no problem to pack, but at 11:00 p.m. Bob and Wanjeri Mburu arrived with a wood carving, carefully ensconced in a heavy wooden case, that measured about four feet high and one foot wide. You can probably imagine our conflicting emotions. One: you shouldn't have! That is such an amazing gift, we don't deserve such love! Two: how on earth are we going to carry this? However, we managed, though we had to give up the heavy wooden case and just wrap the delicate carving in cardboard.

The next morning, early, Michael and Risper Okonji drove us to the airport. We had overslept, due to my faulty skills in setting the alarm on my watch, and that meant we rushed into the terminal without much of a proper farewell. After we got everything checked in, we looked out the large plate glass windows and saw that Michael and Risper were still there, making sure we got off safely. So we stood by the windows and talked a bit before saying a final goodbye. I can still see their lovely, kindly faces.