Happy Belated New Year!

I know, I’m a month late. How is it February already?

So, I returned to Kenya in mid-January and have been running 100 mph every since, and somehow in the chaos of it all, my blog entries slipped through the cracks. Forgive the delay, but I’m back on track now, and I’ll be back to my 2 entries per week routine.

A lot has happened since I last wrote…here are the highlights:

Christmas Break in the U.S.A.
The whole team departed Kenya and took a “home leave” back in the U.S. Doug and I took a sweet week-long vacation in Zanzibar to kick it off. We enjoyed every moment together and soaked up the beauty of the turquoise waters and mystical tides of the Indian Ocean in the heart of Swahili culture (more good language practice for us).

Then, after a week of bliss, in less than 24 hours we made the very presumptuous assumption that our bodies would be able to handle the transition from moist tropical 100 degree heat to an icy -6 degrees in the Windy City. As my Kenyan friend Lucas says, “Ahhh, no.” I got hit really hard with bronchitis, spent a couple hours on Christmas Day in the emergency room (really!) and then Doug got a bout of the evil cold/flu thing too. We loved every minute we spent with our family over Christmas, but to be honest, I spent most of the time in bed.

My voice came back by New Year’s and I was delighted that my best friend, Kelly threw a party so Doug and I could be with our Chicago friends. We had a blast, but we were ready for the heat again. Maybe I’m just getting old, but I really don’t think human bodies were designed to sustain such arctic conditions. I salute all of you mid-westerners still braving the cold. You are tougher than I!

Back in Kenya
So, we returned to Kenya a bit less rested than we hoped to be, but somehow energized. The only way I can explain it is that we really believe in the work we’re doing. And, I can’t fully articulate what a gift it is to be able to be on this team as a married couple (although there are challenges too, especially with no ceilings).

A lot went down in the first couple weeks back on the ground:

-We selected potential deep well locations for the first phase of our “Water for Schools” project.

-We finally moved into the Nuru house! Yeah for ceilings, finished floors & running water (well, most of the time)!

-We completed the hydrogeology study- basically analyzing the rock and water below ground to find good spots for deep wells.

-I finished a report documenting pretty much everything I did in the first 3 months here and the water and sanitation needs we’ve seen and heard (more on that later).

-Lucas and I selected 5 people who we will train to lead the water/sanitation program long after I’m gone.

-We’ve had power outages nearly every day we’ve been back, including a couple that managed to span the entire work day (thank God for back-up computer batteries).

-Doug and I went on a weekend getaway to Kisumu and had a lovely time enjoying real drip coffee (oddly nowhere to be found where we live), a sunset on Lake Victoria over a glass of wine, and chicken (the chickens near us eat garbage and taste gross). Side note: One of our goals for this 3 month run in Kenya is to go away together for one weekend a month…to reconnect and pour into our marriage…not easy in this demanding 24/7 kind of job. More hilarious tales on the adventure of traveling to and from Kisumu later.

It’s good to be back in Kenya. I feel alive, healthy and euphoric about what’s coming up in the water/sanitation program and glad to be back to bloggin' about it!