What did you do for vacation?

After a pretty long hiatus from this blog, I am beginning to put together two or so thoughts that are remotely coherent. I seem to function better in the presence of routines and schedules. Our winter break was wonderfully unstructured (for the most part) and filled with opportunities to leave campus and immerse ourselves in our new surroundings. But I couldn’t make myself sit and write for any length of time. So for this entry, in honor of the beginning of second term, I am going to share a little of what I did over Christmas vacation!

1. AIM Spiritual Life Conference – an annual event held here at RVA offers a gathering place for missionaries in our organization refresh. I had the honor of joining On-Field Media’s Andy Brown and his wife Lisa leading worship for the four-day conference. I told Laurel, “This is my Woodstock!” Maybe not, but it was a very special time.
2. Visiting IDP camp in Rift Valley – a dry wasteland  filled with temporary relief tents is home to over 1300 Kikuyu people from communities all over Kenya, just a twenty minute drive down the hill from here. We joined a number of Kijabe staff, visiting families who have been surviving there for over three years following 2007 post-election violence. We are still reeling from that visit, trying to wrap our minds around the challenges of their daily lives.
3. Naomi’s Village Children’s Home – a tremendous project undertaken by a couple working at Kijabe Hospital, this orphanage will provide a home to a great number of Kenyan children. I got to help lay some laminate flooring in one of the dorm rooms, spending the day on a Kenyan job site. Despite the great needs here, many bright lights shine in the darkness. This is definitely one of them.
4. Game drives in Machakos and Nakuru – trips to Machakos and the home of one of our sophomore students put us on a 20,000 acre game reserve, giving us a chance to camp out amidst the giraffe, wildebeest and zebra. Pretty wow! Another short drive to Nakuru gave us some up close and personal experiences with African wildlife – Logan even got close up live footage of a hyena making a kill. Absolutely surreal!
5. Legal Alien and Driver’s License – Laurel and I have now surmounted the bureaucracy of immigration to achieve “alien” status. I am expecting antennae to sprout any day now. Maybe they’ll help me to navigate the psychotic Kenyan traffic I am now driving in!!
6. Shopping trips to Nairobi – always kind of a shock to see the disparity between affluence and poverty – impossible to avoid seeing on the way to the mall in Nairobi though. Nothing new, just seeing it like it really is.
7. Handing out Christmas hampers in Maingi – up the hill from RVA, an annual opportunity to share some of what we have with widows struggling to make ends meet. This is the best way I can imagine to spend Christmas Eve.
8. Christmas morning at Beat the Drum – a home for children infected with HIV and AIDS was our morning’s visit, where we played games and music, gave gifts and food, and loved on a group of great kids. Another bright light. . .

So there it is – very possibly the best vacation I have ever spent. Sounds busy, and it was. But I feel more rested and ready for the start of term than I ever have. Maybe you should come check it out!!