Craig & Kayla in Kenya

WE HAVE A NEW BLOG....

2008-07-30T05:45:00.001+03:00

Since I am (we are) no longer living in Kenya we thought that we should start a new blog. So, from now on you can stay update on Craig and I by going to...
gilleyadventures.blogspot.com
We hope that you stay in contact with us!!!

chop chop chop

2008-07-16T01:36:00.004+03:00

I had been growing my hair out for the wedding for awhile now.
So, now that it is over...time for a new change. So, I had someone whack it all off...good times!!!

Just a few wedding pictures :)

2008-07-01T22:14:00.008+03:00

DONE AND DONE...

2008-06-23T04:52:00.001+03:00

MY FIRST ENTRY AS MRS. CRAIG GILLEY :) AND THAT IS SAID WITH A BIG HUGE SMILE. WE ARE OFFICIALLY MARRIED AND THE WEDDING WAS MORE THAN I EVER DREAMED. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO WERE ABLE TO COME AND SORRY IF YOU WERE NOT BECAUSE IT WAS AMAZING!!!! PICTURES COMING SOON I PROMISE...FOR NOW WE ARE OFF TO CANCUN!!!!

Only one week...

2008-06-15T05:55:00.001+03:00

Keep us in your prayers...only one week until the BIG DAY!!! We can't wait!!! Seems hard to believe that it almost here. Hope you can make it...if not pictures will come soon!!!

Saying Good bye....

2008-06-15T05:50:00.004+03:00

It was not easy by any means for Craig and I to say good bye to West Nairobi School. This has become our home and our new family. We will miss you all greatly!!! Please keep in touch! We miss you already!

Red Wedding Shower...thanks Daylan!!!

2008-05-20T12:18:00.004+03:00

My bridesmaid and very close friend here in Kenya...Daylan had a Bridal shower for me this weekend. It was really fun. There was a red theme..thus everyone is wearing red. We played lots of fun games and ate lots of good food. It was really fun to have special memories with some of my friends before I leave...I am going to miss them all SO much!!!The games started with a video that Daylan took of Craig...different questions about me. He did really well. He knows me quite well!!! Good job MY MAN!

Watching the video....

Funny game...they were drawing what I will look like in my wedding dress. But they had to do it with the paper on their head...they turned out pretty scary to say the least!

It was really fun to have everyone there!

Beautiful table and yummy food!!

The whole group...teachers, other staff members of WNS, friend from other organizations...

Good friends Hannah and Rachel

I wasn't so good at loading the pictures in order this time...ooops! Here are a few more silly pictures of drawing the wedding dress!

WNS Field Day 2008

2008-05-15T12:49:00.001+03:00

Happy Early Mother's Day

2008-05-09T16:18:00.003+03:00

TO: My amazing Mom...Sisters who are amazing Moms...
Grandma...my soon to be Mother-in-Law!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

Hell's Gate National Park

2008-05-07T13:33:00.001+03:00

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

2008-05-06T14:35:00.002+03:00

Thanks for the presents and all the phone calls, emails and facebook messages!!!
It was a really good day!

Water Cycle by First Grade

2008-04-30T15:48:00.007+03:00

MR. SUN SUN-----MR. GOLDEN SUN-----PLEASE SHINE DOWN ON ME

Being gathered up into the sky!

Cute little rain drops!

(Director Kayla)

Cute sunshine...collecting up the rain drops!

It is hard getting a group picture with everyone looking!

My class has been learning about the water cycle in class. We have also been working on oral reading so...I mixed the two and we did a small skit on the water cycle. Most of the kids were water drops and then there was also a sunshine. They really got excited about it and the parents came and watched. GOOD TIMES TEACHING FIRST GRADE!!!

SOCCER!

2008-04-23T07:57:00.001+03:00

Soccer Game!!!

2008-04-23T07:49:00.001+03:00

Our friend works for Ambassadors in Sport and plays for a team here in Nairobi called World Hope. We have been able to go to a few of his games! They are always a fun experience! This was his last game as he will be going back to the US to do a little fund raising for a new project they are working on. The team won...which was AWESOME! GOOD TIMES!!!

Ethiopian

2008-04-22T12:20:00.004+03:00

I tried the boiled egg for the first time and enjoyed it. But my favorite are the vegetables on the right side and the meat on the bottom. GOOD STUFF!!!

Some friends that went to dinner with us. Big groups are good to share Ethiopian food with. It helps to have a large variety! :)

Craig has learned to really like it. Actually I think it would be best to say that I have learned to like it. The first time I had it I said, "NEVER AGAIN!" But now I actually enjoy it. I think Craig liked it from the beginning!

Crazy Kids

2008-04-17T15:42:00.002+03:00

We got our class pictures back from the company and this was the one I got to keep! So great! Some fond memories with these kids...but this shows it best! Gotta love them!!! Unfortunately I missed out on the first grade picture, but I am sure it would have been just as crazy...
if not more! :)

Wedding Shower

2008-04-07T12:05:00.006+03:00

This weekend some of the moms of my first graders had a wedding shower for me. It was a pretty far distance from town so it was nice that so many people were able to make it. I was humbled to see both new and old students, as well as, some families that I have never even taught their children. It was a very special time of sharing and prayer and of course...good food!

They blessed Craig and I with some awesome Kenyan gifts! :)

Of course we had to play some silly games.

Above are some of the parents who attended. And below are some of the high school students.

What a blessing and encouragement the whole day was. It was so great to hear the encouragement and advice that these amazing women and girls had for Craig and I. I was truly blessed!

Lake Nakuru National Park

2008-04-02T13:24:00.001+03:00

Safari...

2008-03-29T18:28:00.001+03:00

Craig and I just got back from a short trip to Lake Nakuru. We had lots of fun and saw lots of animals...we will post pictures soon. They are just so big so we have to make them smaller and then will upload them! COMING SOON!!!

SLOBBER TRIP :)

2008-03-29T18:10:00.004+03:00

BIG KISSES...not sure what else to say. But he did let the giraffe eat out of his mouth/off his face about 3 more times. I guess he life giraffes! :)

So...here is the story. Craig and I went with Daylan and her parents to the Elephant and Rhino orphanage. They find the animals in the reserves and places, that have been abandoned or injured and they help them live. So, we were visiting and watching and just enjoying and of course taking lots of pictures. So, we were posing for the next picture and all of a sudden I hear this elephant running (and my back is turned) and then I hear the elephant keeper guy start running...so I freaked out...and this was the picture we got. As you can see he was going for the guy next to us, who was squatting down (BIG NO NO). We were not attacked...but I did freak out a bit! HA! GOOD TIMES!

Easter Wedding

2008-03-25T11:28:00.007+03:00

This is one of the teacher's from our school who got married this weekend.
It was very beautiful!

Here is the happy couple after they were announced!

We were practicing taking pictures...ha!

We got better! It was a fun cultural experience.

1st place after all!!!

2008-03-15T18:31:00.002+03:00

After a long season of soccer games and tournaments...yesterday the league finals were announced. WNS girl's soccer won 1st place in our league. We did not even know until we showed up at the awards ceremony so it was quite exciting! Not only that, but we were also awarded the sportsmanship award. This was especially exciting to me! I mean last semester we got the sportsmanship awards and I was so proud of the kids...but they did not have a very good record. But to beat everyone and still get the sportsmanship award, was really exciting! I am so proud of the girls!!! The boys' basketball team got 2nd place in the league. It was a good sports season...maybe because of our excellent new Athletic Director ;)

Team pictures at last!

2008-03-15T18:23:00.005+03:00

They were pretty excited to make into the final game...they worked SO hard all day!!!

The boys' MS team accepting their first place award!!! They were REALLY excited!!!

Accepting our 2nd place award...we were excited!!!

Here is our team of middle school girls that worked so hard! It was a beautiful sunny day!

Another 2nd Place

2008-03-10T16:43:00.002+03:00

With the size of our soccer team this year we were able to fit into to leagues. We had a junior varsity team as well as a middle school team. Earlier in the season we took the JV team to a tournament and got 2nd place. It was an awesome day and the girls worked hard. On Saturday we took our MS teams to another tournament. Last year the boys' basketball team got 2nd place but this year they were able to get 1st. They played well all day and it was fun to watch their games in between ours. Not only did they do well...but so did our team. Last year we placed 9th out of 9 teams :( OUCH! But this year we were able to get 2nd place. We missed 1st place in a shoot out that went to 8 people shooting. It was a close game the whole way. The girls did AMAZING and it was so fun!
....I will try and add pictures soon...internet is SLOW today! :( TIA!!!

One year of love...many more to come!!!

2008-03-01T12:50:00.002+03:00

Craig and I celebrated our 1 year of dating on Feb. 28th (Brookie's Birthday). Probably the only time we will ever celebrate our "dating" anniversary, but it was a nice night out. He surprised me with 20 AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL white and yellow roses. Thanks baby! It was a special day for us...LOTS MORE TO COME!!!

LONGONOT TOGETHER!!!

2008-03-01T12:22:00.002+03:00

After my many hikes up Mt. Longonot Craig and I finally got to do it together. It was great to finally get to share the time together. We were able to hike up last Sunday with some friends. Now that Kenya is really headed in the direction of peace (PRAISE THE LORD) we are able to get out of the city again, we are enjoying it! Thanks for all the prayers!!!

2-1-1

2008-02-23T13:15:00.002+03:00

The Junior Varsity girls' soccer team that I have been a part of coaching this semester is off to a good start. Last year I think our record was about 0-7. So it is exciting to have TWO WINS IN A ROW!!!! The girls are really learning a lot, not only about soccer, but about team work and trusting each other to play their position on the field. Good life lessons mixed in. Of course we always encourage the girls to be a good example of Christ through all of our games. It has been really fun...two more games next week. We will see how they go!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-02-16T16:36:00.001+03:00

Story of the tournament...

2008-02-09T17:22:00.000+03:00

Today we had a soccer tournament at Brookhouse school. There were 8 teams involved. We were split into two separate pools and we played the first game. The girls started off a bit sleepy but they worked hard. The team we played against appeared like they were not going to be that good (did not really have uniforms, some in pants, some with hats…things like that) but they ended up doing really well. The first game ended 1-1 and we knew we were going to have to work hard. We rested one game and then played the next which we won 1-0. YEA! We rested another one and played again and won that on 2-0…YEA YEA! After the games for our pool finished it ended up that we tied with the first team we had played (with points) so we had to have a shoot out. WE WON THE SHOOT OUT! Which put us directly into the semi finals. We waited one game and then played our fourth game winning 3-0. This then put us into the FINAL game. The girls played hard the whole game….1 minute left and the referee called hand ball in front of the goal (TOTALLY WAS NOT A HAND BALL…EVEN THE OTHER COACH SAID SO). So, they get a free kick….shoot…and our goalie blocked the goal and caught it. WE REJOICE! Referee blows his whistle and calls a re-kick. He had not blown his whistle before the penalty (HIS FAULT) and the girl kicked too soon (THEIR FAULT). So, they got a re kick and scored on the second one. 30 seconds left in the game….we pushed our whole team up the field and attacked hard…but unfortunately were not able to score. It was sad end to an AWESOME day. The girls ended up in 2^nd which was more than we hoped for. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a lot of fun! YEA YEA YEA! Much better than 7^th place like last year! HA! We have all learned a lot since then…thankfully!

Girl's Soccer Tournament...WHAT A FUN DAY!

2008-02-09T16:56:00.000+03:00

Hanging out between games. Trying to find some shade!

Some of the boys came to support the girls also...they had lots of coaching advice too. They are all very good kids!!!

Little bit of coaching during our semi final game.

Our AWESOME Athletic Director came to support the team!!!

Accepting their awards for 2nd place.

We were excited that the day had ended well!!! So proud of those girls!

Crazy Hair Day

2008-02-09T16:51:00.000+03:00

CRAZY HAPPENINGS IN FIRST GRADE....

2008-02-06T19:27:00.000+03:00

The boys making a "big A"

The girls' practicing how to make a "little b"

searching for living things...

she found some :)

They have clay to play with when they get done with their work...just keeps them occupied and in their seat for a bit longer...messy but so GREAT!

working together on a Bible project...they are good friends :)

working on drawing out the story of the paralyzed man who was healed...they like artistic things

Best looking PE teacher!!! :)

2008-02-06T18:58:00.000+03:00

Here is a little bit of what Craig's new job includes...teaching MS boys' PE. I must say I was definitely ok with passing that class off to him! :)

Explaining what happened during the play...and why he is out. Good job teach!

Making sure everything is going as planned!

Little bit of sunshine on rough days...

2008-01-31T18:25:00.000+03:00

Pray for Craigo....

2008-01-31T18:18:00.000+03:00

Please pray for Craig as he recovers from malaria. He is feeling much better but the last few days have been pretty rough. Things in Kenya continue to be unstable. Please pray for the administration at our school to know what is best for the safety of the children. God is at work...I am sure of it!

Still uneasy..

2008-01-23T17:44:00.000+03:00

Just wanting to remind you all to please continue to pray for Kenya and reconciliation and peace. Today at school we had to keep the kids longer than usual due to rallies and violence on the road. Thankfully it clear up quickly and we were not delayed too much. However sports games and practices were canceled. There are going to be rallies again tomorrow possible. KEEP PRAYING!

Getting Ready for the Kids to Come

2008-01-18T16:35:00.000+03:00

Writing out the name tags for the kids' desks.

Craig getting the desks ready to stick the name tags on.

Magnetic letters have LOTS of uses..not sure what the kids will think :)

Daylan helping to get the bulletin boards ready!

WELCOME TO FIRST GRADE!

First day of first grade...FOR ME!

2008-01-18T16:25:00.000+03:00

Here are a few pictures of the first day back to school. It was a short (1/2 day) on Tuesday and then school was canceled Wed, Thur and Friday so I am excited to start back on Monday. I know it is going to be a fun semester...LOTS OF ENERGY!!! I could use the prayers!

School Canceled

2008-01-16T10:48:00.000+03:00

Kenyan Parliament House opened yesterday. Due to this, there are scheduled rallies all over Kenya for today (Wednesday), Thursday and Friday. Schools have been canceled all over the country.
Yesterday, was our first day of school. It went really well and was really fun! I will post pictures soon!
Thanks for your prayers!

Vacation in ZANZIBAR

2008-01-09T16:01:00.001+03:00

For my family....

2008-01-06T22:07:00.000+03:00

So, I have lots of great beach pictures that I would love to share with you....HOWEVER I am holding them ransom until I get to see some Christmas pictures! HA!!!

Hanging out on the beach...

2008-01-04T19:59:00.001+03:00

Back in Nairobi

2008-01-04T19:50:00.000+03:00

The flight from Dar Salaam to Nairobi went well today. Besides a flat tire in the taxi on the way to the air port things went well. I must say that a 1 1/2 hour flight was A LOT better than the 16 hours on the bus! MUCH EASIER!!! The taxi ride from the air port to home went really well and the roads were calm. Definitely a heavy presence of police along the ride, but things were fine. Thank you all for prayers. At this point we are just going to lay low at home for awhile and hope that things will pass. Rumors are that rallies could pop up at any time and possible road blocks at any point. NO THANK YOU! I will keep in touch as I can.

Our vacation was really fun and relaxing. Unfortunately it didn't really end the way we had hoped for and now we are need a vacation from our vacation. Between staying three extra nights and having to fly instead things ended up a little crazy, but now we are home and tan! :) Zanzibar is beautiful!

Still unsettled...

2008-01-03T10:22:00.000+03:00

Just a quick update. Currently we are still in Stone Town of Zanzibar. This afternoon we will take the ferry to the mainland and stay there for the evening. We hope to catch a flight in Nairobi some time tomorrow. Our original plan was to take the bus, however the bus is not running at this point and not sure when they will start up again. Our holiday finances are getting low and our skin has had enough sun. It is hard to know what the best thing to do is. We will stock up on food while we are in TZ to bring back with us. We plan to just stay in the airport in Nairobi until things are clear enough to go home. Please keep us all in your prayers! I know that some schools have already delayed their starting date, unsure of what our school will do. We are supposed to resume on the 15th (I think). At this point it is hard to think about things like that. It is hard to think that when we go "home" things will not be normal. TIA...is all we can say! If you don't know what that means then you need to take a trip to Africa...you will understand quickly! God bless and thanks for the continued prayers!

SAFE...but please pray!

2008-01-01T15:59:00.000+03:00

Not sure if you have seen on the news or not but Kenya is having a lot of political unrest at this time. Currently Craig and I and three of our friends (other teachers) are in Tanzania. The situation has not affected us, but we would like to get home at some point :) Please be praying for the safety of our co workers and students in Nairobi. A lot of them have not been able to leave their houses for about a week now. I will keep you up to date as we learn more. We plan on arriving back in Nairobi on the 4th. please keep us in your prayers!

WE ARE ENGAGED!!!

2007-12-25T09:18:00.000+03:00

Here we are just after it happened. As you can tell I am still a bit in shock! What a perfect Christmas Eve!!!

This is where it happened...what a beautiful place for a special moment!

OH WOW OH WOW OH WOW...this is MY RING that I get to wear for the rest of my life!!! :)

Dagoretti Children's Home

2007-12-13T17:24:00.001+03:00

CELEBRATING JAMHURI (Independence Day)

2007-12-13T16:53:00.000+03:00

Just being silly...but the bamboo was cool!

This is the first monkey that Craig saw in Kenya. Nice and close! I think he likes having his picture taken!

Together AT LAST!!!

HE MADE IT!!!

2007-12-08T17:36:00.001+03:00

Thank you for all your prayers and excitement.
Craig made it to Nairobi and the plane was only 10 minutes late!!!

Pray for Craig

2007-12-06T11:43:00.001+03:00

Please keep Craig in your prayers as he is flying to Kenya. He leaves Boise Thursday morning and will arrive in Nairobi Friday night (morning/afternoon in the US). Please pray that he will make all his connecting flights and not have any issues! Needless to say I am so excited to see him! Wish you were all coming to visit!!! Just remember, when will you ever be able to say you have a free place to stay in Africa!!!! Don't worry I will let you all know when he gets here!!! :)

my little friend at school today...

2007-12-03T17:46:00.000+03:00

...weird...gross...fun..interesting...scary...surprising....huge...

Twin Day...Teacher Life :)

2007-11-30T22:37:00.000+03:00

Daylan and I both teach MS students and Jen and Amy teach Elementary so we all told our students to see if they could find our twins. They were all really excited when they figured it out. They were quite impressed by our ability to dress the same! Oh the life of being a teacher!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2007-11-25T18:05:00.001+03:00

Less than four weeks...but who is counting :)

2007-11-20T18:59:00.001+03:00

Just a glimpse at part of my ministry...

2007-11-19T19:28:00.001+03:00

The girls from the basketball team came over to our house on Friday night for their end of season PARTY!!! It was pretty crazy. I have seriously never seen 5 pizzas disappear so fast. It was like there were 10 boys and not 10 girls. But then as the night went on and we watched Pride and Prejudice, and talked about boys...it was definitely girls! GOOD TIMES!!!

Soccer started today and we had 18 girls. A few forgot so we should have even more tomorrow. I am really excited and see a lot of potential with the girls. They are excited about the season and ready to work hard. Just pray that I will be patient with them! :)

This is Steven's way of throwing a party!!!
I think he was a bit overwhelmed by the house full of girls.

These two girls are sisters...such a great family!!!

Daylan with the crazy 7th grade girls!

TOO CUTE...LOVE THESE GIRLS!!!!

SO PROUD....

2007-11-10T17:39:00.000+03:00

I am so proud of our teams!!! On Thursday I received and email from the International School League . Not only does the league give awards and trophies for the most winning teams but also for sportsmanship and character. Our teams (ALL OF THEM) were awarded the sportsmanship and character awards. Now it is important to mention that these awards are chosen by the other teams (15). I have been so proud of our teams all years to work really hard. They did not win very many games and yet they really kept their heads up and worked well together. It was so great to see that not only did I notice this but the teams we played against also did. I was talking to another AD and he was saying how it was interesting that all of the sportsmanship and character awards are almost always given to Christian schools. All I could think is, it should be that way! It is about so much more than winning!
Can anyone help?!?
Our bus broke down and we need to go and pick up our trophies at the award ceremony!!!

You can see the broken down bus in the background...HELP!!! Thankfully we only had to walk about 15 minutes and then another bus picked us up.

Here I am standing with the captains for the teams,
representing boys' soccer, girls' basketball and co-ed tennis.
I am holding the trophy for Over-all!!!
YEA YEA YEA

I could barely hold them all :)

All set up waiting to be put into our trophy case!!!!

WNS BAZAAR

2007-11-05T18:22:00.000+03:00

This weekend was the WNS bazaar. The best way to describe it is a big yard sale for lots of missionary families. There are some small business that also rent a booth to promote their stuff..but really it is just a big junk swap! I am sure you know what I mean. We were having a hard time getting people to come, especially families, so Amy (the other PE teacher) and I organized a family kickball game.

This is the area that was mostly dedicated to selling food. As part of my responsibilities at the school I am also the 8th grade class adviser. For the bazaar the 8th grade class was in charge of selling all drinks. It was crazy trying to keep track of everything but the kids were a big help. I was glad that they were excited to do it, because it was a big job. Our booth is on the other side of the big tree, you can't see it very well. But you can see how beautiful our school is right now!

Here are some of the kids at the beginning of the game. We ended up having about twice this many on each team...MADNESS!!! But oh so fun!!

Once the game got going Amy and I decided that we deserved to sit and supervise.

Some of the teachers...waiting for their turn to kick. The kids were pretty eager to go first!
That's me standing off to the side (first base coach yea that's right Dad)
Rough place to go to work everyday huh?!?

Season 1 winds down...

2007-11-01T16:36:00.000+03:00

The boys had their last home game yesterday. They ended up losing but it was a really close game and fun to watch!

After a week of antibiotics I think my body is finally starting to respond. I am still tired but I feel like I am getting stronger. My appetite seems to be coming back slowly, which should bring more energy with it. I continue to rest when I can and go to bed early. :) Thanks again for all the prayers!!!

Health Update...

2007-10-29T20:09:00.000+03:00

I just wanted to say thank you so much for the kind words and prayers. I had a lot of time to rest this weekend which was really good and I also stayed home from school today. I really didn't want to stay home all day and tried to go in at lunch time but my Principal called and told me that he had all my classes covered so that I was not allowed to come in. It was good to just rest but I definitely got bored. I do not like sitting at home alone doing nothing. I feel much better tonight. I feel like maybe I am getting stronger. I know I know Mom don't push it too much now that I am feeling better! :) Thanks again!

Sankofa...Amani Ya Juu Fashion Show

2007-10-28T18:48:00.000+03:00

Remember my friends I talked about in my last update letter. Well, as part of their job they have been organizing a fashion show to introduce a new line of clothing that the women are designing...it was a huge project that they have been working on for about a year. It was so great to see it all come together. I definitely had to rest all day to have enough energy to make the evening but I was so glad that I was able to go! Thanks again for all your prayers!

All dressed up and ready for the fashion show!!!

This was my favorite model. She was just so excited for this opportunity!

Some of the models-this is a mix of professional Kenyan models and women from Amani Ya Juu

Me and the roomies all dressed up. My mom made my dress! :)

This is the group of friends that I spent most of my time with outside of teaching. Most of them work for various NGOs within Nairobi, Sudan, and Rwanda.

Typhoid

2007-10-26T17:42:00.000+03:00

I must say that I never expected to write a post labeled TYPHOID. I feel like it is one of those things that you only hear about when you have to go and get your vaccinations before you go to some foreign country. Well, at least that was the last time I heard about it.
I went to the Dr. on Tuesday because I had been feeling poorly for about 1 1/2 weeks and decided it was not going to just go away. I figured I probably had some little critter living inside of me and that i would just have to take some three day dosage of something and get rid of it. So, I did some tests and they all came back negative. The Dr. said that she wanted to do further tests to check for ulcers and typhoid. TYPHOID I thought...no way! I almost didn't even do the blood test to check because I didn't think it was an option. So, I went back to school and told all the teachers I figured I had an ulcer caused by a bacteria-I even emailed my family and told them. Then I went back to the Dr. yesterday and she told me that I had definitely tested positive for Typhoid. I was definitely a bit stunned. I had to have her explain everything to me twice because I was like WAIT....WHAT?!? She probably thought I was so clueless or something. She wrote me a prescription and dazed I walked out. I walked down stairs to my friend Amy who had gone with me and told her and her mouth just dropped...she was as confused as I was. We went to the chemist who of course tried to rip us off-initially charging me about $70 and I got the medicine for $8-what a punk! So now I am taking the medicine and hoping that it will kick in soon. I definitely still feel poorly but still able to function. Please just pray that this weekend will be restful and the medicine will do its job SOON! Thanks so much!

Kitengela Glass Factory

2007-10-18T17:32:00.000+03:00

On Sunday after church I went with some of my friends to visit a glass blowing factory. It was so crazy to watch them work. Such a complicated process, but totally worth it at the end. Their stuff was so amazing! It was so cool to watch it star as this small ball of glass and then....

turn into this awesome glass tray!

So many cool vases, I wanted them all!

More cool stuff that they can make

These are the girls that I went with. We just crossed the little narrow bridge behind us. I was scared to death. Not that, that surprises anways!

AFRICA

Random car that we took a funny picture in.

Seriously some amazing glass stuff! It was such a random but cool place to visit. The whole time I kept thinking how it should be on the travel channel or something like that.

Paradise Lost

2007-10-18T17:12:00.001+03:00

Crazy times in Kenya...

2007-10-14T22:43:00.000+03:00

One of the most random weekends ever in Nairobi...but I got to ride on a camel. It was such a great and relaxing long weekend, as we had Friday off of school. I will add more pictures soon!

Just for you Trish...pictures of "life"

2007-10-11T17:33:00.001+03:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAYLAN

2007-10-04T16:48:00.000+03:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAYLAN....BIG 25!!!

I LOVE YOU AND HOPE YOU HAVE AN AWESOME DAY!!!!

The Car...

2007-10-04T16:39:00.000+03:00

Day and I being ADD in the car as we were stuck in traffic on the way to the internet place.

Still waiting...

So, I was trying to think of something I could add to update my blog and I realized I haven't put on a picture of my car. Last year I shared a car with three other teachers and this year I share this one with Daylan. It is nice just sharing it between the two of us. It is small but that just means it is easier to dodge pot holes, busses, bikes, and whatever else comes our way!

My Pre Algebra Class...

2007-09-27T17:15:00.000+03:00

Welcome to my crazy math class. I have 17 7th graders for my Pre-Algebra class.

Home work board...just because...

Passing back homework at the beginning of class.

Hard at work (they knew I was taking pictures...they are good at pretending!)

Teaching about patterns in math

Partner working...good job girls!

And there you have it. The other side of my job. Where I actually get to be in the classroom and use all that valuable information I learned in college about classroom management and things like that! I do love teaching this math class so much. It is a lot easier for me the second year around and they are a great bunch of kids!

Making dinner with Mom's help...

2007-09-22T17:05:00.001+03:00

I got a package in the mail from my mom this week. Inside was a packaged mix for making beef and broccoli stir fry. Daylan and I felt domestic and decided to make it for dinner last night. We even sat down at the table so we had to take pictures. It was my first time making rice-and I didn't burn it and it wasn't too crunchy either!

Ready to eat!

YUM YUM YUM

no broccoli but the other vegetables were good

Daylan enjoying our delicious meal!

My Basketball Teams' First Game

2007-09-19T17:23:00.000+03:00

Yea- coach! Don't ask what I was saying, because I probably didn't even know what I was saying at the time. GOOD JOB GIRLS! PLAY HARD! :)

See that good defense PAPA! Offense wins games but defense wins championships! :)

My team, notice how dirty my pants are at the bottom-HA! Life in Kenya!

YEA WE WON!!!

MADNESS...NO OTHER WORD DESCRIBES THIS

2007-09-15T17:15:00.000+03:00

Pouring rain makes it hard to see the people and pot holes-and whatever else is in the way.

Driving in Kenya has proved to have its own set of difficulties. In my last prayer update I asked for prayer as I learn to drive our (Daylan and My) manual car. Well, I want to thank you so much! I have been driving a little bit at a time and today I drove all by myself. I know that may not seem like a big feat-but believe me it is! Maybe some of these pictures will help to make it make more sense....

This is where the madness begins. The gray car on the right was towing the car behind it through this busy intersection during high traffic time.
They were fine, until the rope broke
leaving the broken down car in the middle of the intersection.

The broken down car tried to reconnect the rope but it kept breaking.
So the gray car kept going.

Of course no one wanted to wait. So they all just went through and around the car.
This is supposed to be two lanes of traffic.
And the best part is that we are in one of the lanes.

Dirty bus with lots of diesel..YUCK!

More pictures

2007-09-08T17:46:00.000+03:00

On the edge of the mountain side.
The ride up on the bus was really long. So, we decided to ride in the back of a truck down the mountain. This was during the hail storm. It was CRAZY-but brought back PNG memories.

Walking through the plains looking for the giraffe-so sad we didn't see them.

More retreat pictures

2007-09-07T23:20:00.000+03:00

Just so cool...(yep, this is basically my back yard)

Heather and I at the top of the mountain before the hail really started coming down.

Beautiful sunset

Staff Retreat

2007-09-07T23:00:00.000+03:00

This weekend we had our staff retreat at Lukenya Getaway. It was fun to get out of the city with all the staff. It is always good to get to know each other better, outside of the school/teacher context. We had fun playing volleyball until the ball landed in the acacia tree and a thorn popped it, we had fun chasing the animals until we got attacked my ticks and African biting ants, and we were really enjoying the beautiful view from a nearby mountain that we drove up until it started to hail. All in all-it was still a good and restful weekend!

Not much else to say except...THIS IS AFRICA!

Just hanging out by the pool before dinner.

More picture to come soon.....

Daylan, Heather and I

2007-09-04T17:50:00.000+03:00

Weekend Away

2007-09-04T17:20:00.000+03:00

It was so good to get out of the city for the weekend. We took a trip about a hour up country to Mayor's Ranch. Heather (one of my house mates) brother is working as a manager of the ranch. Mayor's Ranch is originally owned my John and Jane Mayor. They have developed the land for various reasons such as cattle, planting roses, and various other endevours. Most recently they have been producing fresh spring water and botteling it. The Mayors are currently in the process of selling the ranch to be used for a children's home for Kenyan children with disabilities. It is going to be awesome when it all gets going. Until then-it is our personal retreat center!
I was able to spend the weekend with some very good friends that I have made here in Nairobi. Hannah is a friend of mine that works for Amani. Amani is a place for refuge women in Kenya. The teach them a trade, like sewing or cooking or bead work, and then offer them a place to live and a job. It is an awesome out reach. Some of the other people in the pictures or teachers from Rosslyn Academy, another MK school here in Nairobi. Kelly is a girl who has been living with us for the last month. She grew up in Kenya and attended Rift Valley Academy with Bryan and Heather. She just left last night and we were sad to see her go!
All in all the weekend was sunny and beautiful. It was an awesome chance to get to enjoy the beauty and creativity of God's creation. On Sunday afternoon we had a picnic in the back yard on a blanket. After we got done eating Heather, Hannah and I stayed out on the blanket to take a nap in the sun. Unfortuanely we could not get much sleep as monkey's started surrounding us. There were probably about 15 of them in all. They started getting really daring so we had to move to the porch. So many good stories and fun times. If you come visit me I promise I will bring you to Mayor's Ranch-just a little motivation!!!

My visit to the "Garden of Eden"

2007-09-04T17:17:00.001+03:00

Sports

2007-08-30T16:46:00.000+03:00

Sports at WNS have started up again. We are getting bigger and bigger each year and with that comes more teams. We have added tennis this year. I was super nervous about it at first but I think it is going to be really good. We also have a High school and Middle School girls' basketball team. And a HS and MS boys' soccer team. Needless to say the busses are constantly running and as soon as games start we have about two a week. CRAZINESS! Our first games are September 10-coming too soon already

Dora showing off her skills. Dora just came to our school this year. She is in my math and PE class and also on the basketball team. BUSY GIRL!
Just thought it was a cool picture.

I was so worried about not having enough kids for a Tennis team. I needed 8 and we ended up having to have try outs. The kids are really excited about it.

Little bit more of my house...

2007-08-30T16:29:00.000+03:00

Pantry with lots of baking good from Heather's mom. She is the head cook at Rift Valley Acadmey but they are on furlough this year. So she left it in our care! :)

Kitchen-yes, those are dirty dishes.

This is what you see as you walk in the entrance.

Sorry I know it is blurry. The other side of the living room. The only thing that belongs to me and Daylan is the table cloth. And we share that! :) Heather's dad took the pictures on the wall. They are of African cats. SO AWESOME!!!

Comfy living room-all the furniture belongs to Heather or her parents who are also missionaries here. Heather's family has been in Africa for 4 generations now.

Entrance way from the other side.

Home Sweet Home for Year #2

2007-08-15T17:06:00.001+03:00

Here we go again...

2007-08-15T16:39:00.000+03:00

Daylan and I were very excited about the first day of school and we wanted to share that with you. We have our back packs and everything. No wonder people always think we are students. But seriously it was such a good first two days. I love these kids SO much! So precious!

Some of you may remember that we took a picture like this last year too.

But it wasn't quite as freezing.

I MISS THE SUNSHINE!!!

Still very excited about our first day of school! Just like the good old days.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY FAMILY

2007-08-14T11:09:00.000+03:00

YEA THAT IS RIGHT....ALL THREE OF YOU! Wish I could be there to celebrate with you Keiser, Trish and Papa! I miss you all already and wish you could come and visit Kenya. Maybe when it is warm! I tried to put on some new pictures but the internet is too slow (TIA). I will update soon with new pictures I promise!

Today was the first day of school and so far so good. It was so good to see all the kids again and meet the new ones. Not quite as many names to learn this year which will be a huge blessing. As of right now my schedule consists of PE for grads 6-10, 7th grade math, and of course my AD responsibilities and coaching. I am excited for the school year ahead! Thanks for your prayers!

2007-07-09T02:03:00.000+03:00

The beautiful bride (Alison Gilley now Isaacs)

Craig (my boyfriend) and I at his little sister's wedding.

The Bride and Groom saying their vows.

Southaven Mississippi-Pre Field Orientation

2007-07-03T00:21:00.000+03:00

Here we are at a Memphis Redbirds baseball game.

Amanda and Becca in the middle will be teaching with me in Kenya.

Right now I am in Southaven Mississippi at the Network of International Christian Schools: Pre Field Orientation. I know that seems a bit confusing as I have already been on the field for a year-but ya! Because I was hired so late last year I was unable to attend the orientation before I went over. Although I must admit that I did not have the best attitude about having to come to this, I really feel like God has been teaching me some stuff. I can really look back on my first year or teaching and living in Kenya and understand things a bit better. I think I am really able to walk away with some useful ideas and information because I already kind of know what to expect. Please keep me in your prayers as God has really been teaching me a lot and stretching me in new ways.

Happy Father's Day...Early :)

2007-06-16T06:59:00.001+03:00

Learning how to "make" the corn as Brandon would say.

Enjoying some dinnerHappy Father's Day Papa Ron!!

Me and my daddy

Brooklyn eating a popsicle...she liked it!

Mama and Halle-look at those beautiful blue eyes.

The boys were teaching Papa how to open presents

Me and my little girl!

I made it!!!

2007-06-05T20:16:00.000+03:00

I arrived safely into Detroit half a hour early yesterday morning. Needless to say I was QUITE ready to be home. I had a hard time sleeping on the flights because I was so excited to get back. Mom, Dad, Aje and the whole Troyer family were all there at the airport to meet me. Brandon and Gavin ran at me and tackled me...cutest ever! And as you can see from their shirts they still remember me! It was hard to stay awake last night but I stayed up until 10 and then slept for a solid 12 hours. I am feeling better today but I know it is probably going to hit again soon! Thanks for the prayers! I am going to Grand Rapids tomorrow to visit Matt in the hospital I will update you all when I get back.

Please Pray

2007-06-03T14:30:00.000+03:00

Please pray for my friend Matt Westcott. He was invovled in a feak accident where a tree fell on him. He suffered multiple injuries including : 2 main fractures of the lower spine, his left lung has collapsed, he has a large gash out of the calf muscle on his left leg, cut the back of
his head, and the majority of his back has had the skin grazed off, He will have to stay in the Hospital for the next 3 nights. If any of you remember me telling you before Matt was involved in a really bad motorcycle accident just after we graduated from high school in PNG. Matt just graduated from Messiah a few weeks ago and was out in MI visitng some of our friends from PNG.
Please keep Matt in your prayers. I will give an update as soon as I get back to the states. My flight leaves in 8 hours! You can pray for that too! See you all soon!

Farewell dinner for some of the teachers

2007-05-28T10:41:00.000+03:00

Daylan, Megan, Me and Steve at dinner. I am really going to miss Megan so so so much. But I am excited for her new opportunities. She has lived in Kenya for 3 years and I know she is going to miss it a lot. LOVE YOU KELLY MEGAN! :)

She is too cute!!

Angela will be moving back to N. Carolina after teaching at WNS for two years.
We are going to miss her.

Steven was having a good time! He got to eat all of our left overs!

My new house mates for next year! Heather(left) and Daylan(right).

Rugby...don't ask me what is going on!!!

2007-05-24T16:44:00.000+03:00

Big tough rugby boys...we have a very small team...but they work so hard!
The benefit of playing other MK schools....God is central!!!

Apparantly they were about to score and we stopped them and ran it to the other end!

It just looks so vicious to me! (We are in maroon and gray and RVA is red and black)

Here is their true side coming out!

The end of Volleyball Season

2007-05-24T16:33:00.000+03:00

Here is proof that I really do a little bit of coaching and not just sneaking in all the pictures!
Yesterday was our second and final game for the volleyball season. It was a big "learning" season for the girls. But they did so awesome and I am so proud of them. I must admit I was a little worried at the beginning of the season but they really improved SO much!!

Our sweet volleyball skills!

Few pictures from this weekend...

2007-05-22T19:16:00.001+03:00

My busy weekend with the 8th grade...sorry this is so long!

2007-05-22T19:00:00.000+03:00

This weekend I was invited to go on the 8th grade trip to Tauna river. 16 kids and three teachers(including myself) loaded the bus at 8:30 on Friday(18th) morning. We weren't totally sure what all we were going to be doing but we knew it would include a lot of things outside and white water rafting! It was so fun to spend some time with the kids outside of school. The 8th grade class is known for being the "good" class so they really were so much fun to spend the weekend with. It was about a two hour drive. Once we got up to the Savage Wilderness camp they divided the kids into groups by writing on their foreheads with permanent markers, only at camp can you do something like this without the kids freaking out!

Once they were divided into their teams, which they self titled “The Flame” and “Yo Mama”. You can tell which team had a lot of personality on it! They played lots of team building games. Charades, team paper-rock-scissors, trust fall, and other things like that, which I have no idea what to call them.

After lots of fun games all afternoon it was time to eat. The food was really good all weekend except for one thing…lots of onions! Aje, you would not have liked it AT ALL!

Our first night at the camp we did “Night Line”. Basically what they had done was connect a bunch of long ropes along the outside of the camp. The ropes followed ABSOLUTELY no path and you just had to hold onto the rope and walk around in the pitch dark. The path took us under bushes and sometimes through them, into pricker patches, through the stream, and up little water falls. It was really fun, except some kids got really freaked out because they were afraid hyenas were going to eat them (only in Africa).

The next morning we all woke up with the sun, as it shone right in our eyes. We ate breakfast and headed out for a little hike in the surrounding hills. It was such a beautiful day.

As we walked we were able to get close to the river that we would raft down the next day. As we stood and looked at the water fall all I could think was “NO WAY!” But they told us that there were easier parts then over the water fall and that at the hard parts the kid would get out and walk round, notice I say the kids!

We got back and camp and the kids split into their teams again. One group went repelling off of the bungee jumping tour at the camp and the other group learned to kayak in the pool. There were lots of tears at the repelling tour as the kids were super scared. They all made it though, we were quite proud of them. As usual I maintained my position as the photographer and kept both feet firmly planted on the ground! J

After an afternoon of fun adventures I went back to the cabin and took a little nap. The kids played some more games and had no problem having lots of energy! That night after dinner the kids made bottle rockets and shot them off. One of them flew so high that we totally lost it.

We tried to get to bed early on Saturday night as we knew we would need a lot of energy for the rafting on Sunday. We finally all were able to fall asleep at about 11:30. I was sleeping soundly after the long day when at about 3:15 I heard a horrible scream and then a thud. One of the girls had, had a bad dream and ended up falling off the top bunk. If you know me it takes me awhile to wake up, so I was quite out of it. I tried to get up as fast as I could and find a flash light. I got the light and headed toward the girl on the floor. When I shone the light on the floor all I saw was a pool of blood under her head. Of course, I freaked out, I don’t know what to do with things like that. I told the girls to keep talking to her and ran out to go and get the other teachers and the head of the camp. Well, to make a long story short thankfully it was not her head, but she had taken a big chunk out of her lip. It took us all awhile to get it all cleaned up and head back to bed. Needless to say, we didn’t not get the good nights sleep that we were hoping for. The girl had to have a few stitches, but seems to be doing ok now.

Sunday morning was the big raft trip. The kids were really nervous, ok so maybe I was too. But we had a beautiful day and everything went very smoothly. Thankfully there were no run ins with Hippos or any other animals for that matter. No boats flipped but there were a lot of kids in the water as the guides kept joking around with them and dumping them in. We got good at pulling each other back into the boat. It was a very memorable experience and all the kids really loved it. I don’t have any pictures yet from the actual rafting trip (it is hard to keep cameras dry while you are rafting) but another woman took some so hopefully I will get them from her soon. Thank you for all of you who prayed for our trip. It really was so much fun and I hope I get to do it again next year. Maybe next year I will try repelling, yea probably not!!!

FUN FUN FUN

2007-05-16T08:11:00.000+03:00

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WATER FIELD DAY...CRAZINESS!!

2007-05-16T07:53:00.000+03:00

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Yesterday was Water Field Day at WNS. Every year we have some sort of a FUN day where the whole school is outside playing together. I thought this year we would do something a little different and we had a water play day. With 200 kids and over 3,000 water balloons, slip in slide, and lots of relays you can imgine the craziness of it all. You could definately hear shreaks of laughter coming from the field all day long. We have been having really "cool" weather and rain the last few weeks but God blessed us with a wonderful sunshine day! I was so thankful. We only had one injury for the day, poor little 6th grade boy broke his nose :( The day really was a lot of fun for everyone, but I must say I am VERY excited to be able to check that off the list. Only 11 more days of school!!!!! I will be home in less than 20 days now!! See you all soon!

My BIRTHDAY!!!

2007-05-03T09:45:00.000+03:00

Thank you to everyone who called and wrote me emails and such on my birthday. It was a very special day for me. I was sad to be away from "home" but my friends and students really made me feel loved. My day started with a phone call from a very special someone and as the day went on I continued to get gifts and phone calls. One of my roommates gave me flowers and brought me breakfast. Some students gave me earings and one made me garlic bread (not sure why but it was thoughtful!). The second grade class attacked me with stickers and the 6th grade class sang to me as loud as they could (27 6tgh graders=VERY LOUD!!!) When I got home we made delicious chicken fajitas and my sister called :) Some other friends joined us for dinner and cake. One friend gave me a "patch" of grass. She said she couldn't resist...it made her think of me. Not sure what that means! After dinner my mom called and I also got to talk to my brother a bit. Overall the day was very special and thank you for being a part of it from across the miles! One month from today and I will be back in the states! OH WOW! Thanks again...miss you all! See you soon!

My awesome roommies making my yummy dinner!

filling time...waiting for the cake to get done

Beautiful flowers from Tracey Hagman, an awesome mom from school!

So...we didn't really have candles. Tea lights work quite well though!

...thanks for the cake Jen and Alison!

Heather was kind enough to give me a lovely patch of fake grass...oh the random things you find in the stores in Kenya. I was very excited about my elephant mug!!

End of the year bazaar...

2007-04-30T14:03:00.000+03:00

Saturday was our end of the year bazaar. We like to call it the HUGE missionary yard sale. Besides the craziness of over priced "treasures" there was also lots of yummy food and some carnival games. The games were a fund raiser for the 8th grade class for the trip we will be taking May 18th-20th (rafting). Some of the teachers had to sign up to take their turn in the sponge throwing booth. Kids paid about $1 to get three sponges to throw at their teacher. I sat there for 30 minutes as one kind after another threw spongs at my face. Thankfully not all of them hit me but some got me really good. I kept telling them that I knew they were doing it because they loved me so much! :)

Fund raising for our class trip

2007-04-30T14:01:00.000+03:00

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Playing with the kids!

2007-04-27T07:50:00.000+03:00

Yesterday I joined the 8th grade class at Dagoretti Children's Home. I have visited there before so it was fun to go back and visit some of the kids again. We made instant pudding with the toddlers and they loved it. I think it was definately the first time for many of them to eat pudding so they were so cute! But then again...I always think they are so cute. I was sad to say good bye to them...the little girl I was playing with cried...break my heart!

so so cute...this is one boy that I played with last time so it was really fun to see him again!

Once I picked up this little one she would not let go. I can't remember her name because it was really hard to pronounce. She was so cute though!

Newman had a lot of fun with the kids. I took a picture of him feeding this little boy and they both had their mouths wide open. So cute! After I took the picture he said, "No Miss Carraway now everyone will see that I have a soft side!"...look at those beautiful smiles...they were both saying, "WHAT'S UP YO?!?"

This little boy kept licking my arm, I think he wanted to see if I tasted differently. He would lick me and then look up at me and smile. So cute!

Kenyan Luau

2007-04-23T14:02:00.000+03:00

Party time!!!

This week all the girls in my house are spread out. We are staying with various families to help take care of their kids while they are away at a conference up country. Yesterday was our first day and we had a big party in the afternoon with the kids. We ate lots of amazing fruit and played some silly games. I think the kids had lots of fun...and of course we did too!

Hawiian mummy...yes that is green TP (in Kenya anything goes)

they were having a lot of fun

making beautiful flowers with the girls

MT. KENYA...16,000 ft...I DID IT!!!

2007-04-14T17:27:00.000+03:00

We left on Monday, April 9th at about 7 am. There were six of us on the trip. Bill and Jan Bevins are a married couple who organized the whole trip. Daylan one of my very close friends that I live with and we were also joined by a couple other friends, Simon and Megan. We loaded all our things into the Bevins’ Land Cruiser and headed for the town of Chagoria. The drive was gorgeous, and this picture is of some of the tea fields we saw along the way.

Once we got to the town we had to transfer all of our stuff from the Bevins’ Land Cruiser into a REALLY REALLY old Land Cruiser. We had to stop about four times during our three hour drive up the mountain because the vehicle kept over heating. Here is a picture of us while we were waiting for it to cool off.

Ok so I know you can hardly see anything at all but this was my first sighting of an elephant in the wild. There were actually two of them out in the field. It was really cool to see them.

Although we never got any closer to them, that we knew of, they left their tracks and traces all over our campsites. We saw big holes the dug and HUGE piles of “dung”.

The first night we stayed in the Bandas, which are these buildings that we are standing in front of. They had beds, toilets, a kitchen area, and a fireplace. It was quite nice. After eating dinner, Daylan, Megan, Simon, and I played speed Scrabble and then headed to bed. The next morning we packed up our things and began our journey up Mt. Kenya. This picture is me, Daylan, and Megan just before we began to hike. Notice how dry and happy we look!

The hike on the first day (Tuesday) was only 3 or 4 hours long and fairly gradual. It began to pour down rain part way through, and this trend continued throughout the day. When we made it to our camp, we frantically pitched our tents in the rain. Three girls trying to get dry in a 2-man tent is not as easy as it may sound. I needed some fresh air so I put on my poncho and sat out in the pouring rain drinking my chai.

After a few hours of rain and a small hike to the most amazing waterfalls and caves I have ever seen God blessed us with a few hours of beautiful warm sun shine. Our guides quickly made a fire and went searching for any possible dry wood. They helped us dry out our clothes by making stick clothes lines for us around the fire. They even held our clothes around the fire to help them dry faster. The dry weather lasted just long enough to get warm again and then we ran back to our cozy tent to hide from the rain.

The second day of our trip was also my best friend Monique Sondag’s 23rd birthday. Mo, I am so sorry that I missed your birthday and couldn’t even call you. But I wanted to make sure that you knew I was thinking about you so I made this sign for you! LOVE YOU!

We woke the next morning (Wednesday) in a damp fog and no one had really slept much at all. We ate an awesome breakfast that our wonderful cook Manaka (young man) had made for us. The hike was so beautiful. It was about 9 km but we went up about 4,000 ft in elevation, which added difficulty. Here is a picture of Daylan, Simon and I at a brief stopping point, still smiling!

This picture of Jan and Bill is also from the same day looking out onto an amazing valley and waterfall off in the distance.

After stopping for a lunch we continued our hike and it soon began to rain. It was raining pretty hard which was bad enough, when the hail started. Then after hailing for awhile the snow started. Needless to say we were quite wet, freezing and over all just miserable.
We hiked for a while in these conditions and then came to the place we would camp, called Minto’s. The only sort of building here was what Lonely Planet calls “a nasty hut”. This hut is for the guides, porters, and cooks to cook and sleep in. We were soaking wet. And cold. We stood in the hut probably for 30 minutes in our wet, cold misery, trying to figure out what we should do. There were probably about 20 people crammed in this tiny building, and eventually Daylan, Megan and I decided we would try to change into dry clothes. We created a sort of changing room, surrounded by 20 men in a dark, damp room. It wasn’t exactly the high point of the trip. Eventually it stopped snowing, and we went out and pitched our tent.
For the second day in a row God gave us a few hours of warn sunshine to dry out some of our wet clothes. We were not able to make a fire because there were no trees at this high of elevation, but we were thankful for the break in the rain. This is Simon, Daylan, Megan and I standing on a little cliff behind the lovely shack at Mintos.

That night we didn’t sleep at all. We went to bed while it was still light out because it was raining and we had nothing else to do, and also we knew we had to get up at 2:30 am to start hiking. I remember just laying in bed, feeling horrible, thinking is it time to get up yet please. And if you know me, that is a very rare thought! We began our journey at about 3:15 am because we wanted to make it to the summit right at sunrise. We started off singing Lion King songs as we walked along in our warmest possible clothes by the lights of our head lamps. The beginning wasn’t bad, but as we got higher, many of us began to feel nauseous. When our guide said we still had 2 hours left to hike, it was only will power that kept me going. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done! This picture is super blurry but it is the only one I have of our final hike to just give you a taste of the conditions we were hiking in, notice the inches of snow on the ground. I had to keep reminding myself that I was in Africa.

After three hours of one foot in front of the other we all finally made it to the top(16,000 ft)! Here is Daylan and I at the top. The peak behind us is about 1,000 feet higher but can only be done by rock climbing (no thanks)! The smiles are completely fake because we were sick, freezing cold, and completely miserable. But it was totally worth it – the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I forgot to mention what as we hiked, we watched the sunrise above the clouds. The cool part was that we were above the clouds already, so we got to see the sun rise to meet us. I have never seen such rich shades of pink and orange, and the reflection off the snow on the mountain was indescribable.

After soaking in the beauty for about five minutes and drinking some chai, which the guide had carried all the way up for us, we were ready to start descending. When we got to level ground and turned around to see the peak we had just summitted, we couldn’t believe how far away it was! I’m so glad we were hiking in the dark and had no idea how far we needed to go. The peak in the center of this picture is the peak we summitted, called Point Lenana.

The rest of this day was spent hiking all the way back to the Bandas where we started from. It was a loooonnnnggg day. We spent probably 10 or 11 hours hiking, and though it was incredibly beautiful once again, we couldn’t wait to be done. Pounding feet downhill is a lot hard on the joints after a while. Here is the four of us again just after we ate another delicious lunch.

There was elephant and buffalo poop everywhere at the Bandas, and this sign explains why. Apparently on our first night (Monday), a guy got chased by an elephant. We saw both elephants and buffalo, but we were fortunate to see them from a distance. When we finished hiking, we were able to take hot showers and sit by the fireplace in the Bandas. It was so nice to hear the rain outside and know that we would be completely dry and completely warm.

The next morning (Friday), we ate breakfast and headed for home. Here is a picture of just a few of the guides and porters that helped us make it to the top! They were really fun to have on our trip, and I learned a few new Kswahili words Twende- lets go! We fit 13 people inside this land rover on the way down the mountain! Pretty amazing. The hike was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done, but as I look back on it, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I hope you all get the opportunity to do something like this one day.
I have so many more pictures that I can’t wait to show you all in just a few weeks! See you soon!