back at Mayfeild

We were supposed to leave Kabarnet at 3am, however when we woke it was pouring and there was no electricity, so we waited out the rain to leave. We didn’t end up leaving for our 6 hour journey to Nairobi until sometime after 6am. This ended up being so wonderful, because we took a route I have never been on before and it was absolutely spectacular. Because of the rain, everything was so bright and green and fresh. The first hour or more was winding down the into the valley below, going up and down, making 160 degree turns, just weaving gracefully through the hillside in our big white van. The road was canopied by trees and brush, lined with the red rocky dirt. It was as if you were looking on an aerial view of this tremendous lush valley, and someone took a paintbrush and made a big sweeping strokes of gray along it, and that is the road we were on. As the sun continued to rise, it slowly unveiled the valley below, bringing it to life. The mountains became vibrant and the trees danced as we drove past, light revealing the beauty once hidden by the night. As we made our way, it was like a forest, and then all of the sudden a clearing would give way to a vast valley below, soft clouds gently passing through. Sometimes even we would find ourselves enveloped in white fog, only to come out of the cloud in the majesty of God’s creation. It was awesome.

When we were about an hour away from Nairobi, our muffler and exhaust pipe fell off. So we pulled over, picked it up and put it in the van, and carried on-like we were a race car or something. It was so loud. 4 koreans and 2 white girls driving through Kenya in a big white loud van. Awesome. Well, we did make it to Nairobi and had our last meal together. Nairobi is westernized, loud, busy, and sick with pollution. Most of the exhaust that comes out of the vehicles is black and just disgusting. However, now I can get things like good coffee, yogurt, and oreos. There are bathrooms here with real toilets, and even toilet paper! What a treat. So we ate together, did a little shopping, and then they brought me and my Canadian roommate Jennifer to Mayfeild Guesthouse, where I had a tear ful goodbye. As hard as my time there was, I still love them and will miss so many things about my “Korean family.” But you know, I am ready to be done, and glad to not go back.

I said goodbye to the special school on Friday, and cried each time a student left. It really broke my heart to know that I will not see them again. On Saturday we had the big graduation-typical Kenyan as it started late and lasted a long time-my musical was a hit. Then those students left rather abruptly as well. I will also miss hanging out with them. Then it was just a lot of down time on Sunday and Monday until I left.

I am very content to be finished. Of course there is much I will miss, but much of it was hard, challenging, draining, and something I don’t want to deal with anymore. So I am in a very happy now! Tomorrow I leave for Kijabe, about an hour from here in Nairobi, for a Spiritual Life Conference with AIM missionaries. I will stay there for the remainder of my time, then go on a safari  and then leave Kenya December 5th. I fly to London, then New York, where I stay overnight, then come home on the 7th.

I am not sure how to process everything yet, but I do know God is faithful, and he will always provide. I know he will carry you through whatever your circumstance, and I trust in his provision over my life even when I know I’ll never understand it with this mind. So God is good, and that’s all I really know.