You Probably Have Wondered…
I have tried to get my friends to go with me on these trips to Kenya. I always mention that there is plenty of work to do, but we can take a day to do some fun things or stay longer and add a safari to the adventure. So far, no takers. Certainly a trip to Cabo or Maui would be far more fun and relaxing. What I have found after those kind of trips is a renewed strength to carry on. It’s a good thing. When I come back from a work trip to Kenya, I find myself tired and uncomfortable with my life. Doesn’t sound like a good thing, right? Seeing me like that probably does not entice friends to tag along next time either. What is amazing though is the excitement I feel on the inside. I don’t feel I can merely carry on; I feel like a kid again with all the optimism and energy to make a difference. After the year we’ve had in this country, I think everyone could benefit from the latter.
My traveling partner this trip is a junior at U of O. I met her the day we bought our airline tickets. She is not an ed major but has a heart for missions. We will be very busy and she’ll probably be able to run circles around me. At the very least, she’ll be able to drag me back to the apartment at the end of the day.
So what is it that we’ll be doing? We will be “in country” nine days, working eight of them…
Day 1- add, inventory and reconfigure our instructional materials and supplies
Day 2- training the mommies how to stimulate brain growth and insure good mental, physical and emotional development in their babies
Day 3- working with the social worker on program materials for the mommies
Day 4- training the nannies who care for the abandoned babies
Day 5- working with our sewing/small business teacher
Day 6 and 7- third training workshop with the preschool teachers
Day 8- beginning the library project with translating our initial gift of boardbooks
Day 9- sight-seeing in Nairobi
The we have 24+ hours to sleep on the plane as we head home. Yes, we’ll be busy but the return is far greater than any paycheck I ever got. 
