six weeks. . .

Six weeks from today we'll be heading to Nairobi with our suitcases and all our worldly possessions (hoping that they meet weight requirements for BA) to begin yet another adventure.  Yesterday Dexter and I were talking about how we've been in Kijabe about a year a half, and when we came, we really didn't know what to expect.  I guess this is par for the course for us, because we certainly don't know what to expect in Newark.  Aside from the fact that Dexter will be in a rigorous program, we can't even begin to predict what life will be like.  At the moment, we have no place to live, no furniture, no friends, no church, etc.  To say this feels daunting is a big understatment.

But.

In 2005, I moved to Kenya site unseen, with no friends, no idea what I would be doing, to start a job that previously hadn't existed. And look how well that worked out for me. So, hard as this is -- and it is painfully hard to begin yet another round of goodbyes -- I know that, as we go with God, He will take care of us and provide for us what we need (and even want) just when we need it.

There's a lot -- a LOT -- to do in the next six weeks.  We're going away the next two weekends (yay!...I'll recap later), my parents and two of their friends come for about 10 days at the end of February to do Gentle Bells things, oh, and we need to pack up, sort through our stuff, sell things, and actually move on out.  And most importantly, we need to be spending time with friends and family before we go.  Maybe we just won't sleep.

Now, who wants to come help us pack?  I'll make you chai!

One of the many things I'll miss about Kijabe is views like this:

The sun setting over Mt. Longonot

(photos taken May 2010)

I love these photos because of their beauty, but also because it feels like God is reaching down to touch us.  For me this is a good reminder that He is with us.  It may not feel like it always, I may forget, but He is.  For that, I am grateful.

Should you think of it, if you could pray that we find a decent (two-bedroom?) apartment somewhere close enough to school so that Dexter doesn't have a huge commute, and one that has a reasonable rent rate, we'd be grateful.  It will be so different living in the US with BILLS.  Here in Kenya we're living in a three bedroom house on a pretty decent piece of land, and the "rent" we pay (taken out of Dexter's salary) is about $150/month.  What can we get for $150 in the US? :)  We have lots of adjustments ahead.