Posting 14: Update since June

We know it’s been a long time since we’ve posted a new blog, primarily because our day-to-day lives are pretty much routine (plus, we’ve been lazy.)  This posting will share a few of highlights of the past few months.

We attended two very interesting lectures: Richard Leakey, a paleoanthropologist, famous for discovering "Turkana Boy," and one of the leading conservationists in the world; and Jane Goodall, considered the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees. 

In July, we were thrilled to have company from home. Diane, Pat, Lois and Michael spent two weeks in Kenya; one week on safari, the second week with us. During their stay, we tried to give them a taste of Nairobi— the Elephant Orphanage, the Giraffe Center, a tea plantation, various restaurants, and, of course, lots of shopping.  Towards the end of the visit, the six of us went on another safari in Laikipia, Kenya.  It was fun showing them around our second home, and they loved Kenya.  

Our work has involved lots of travel throughout Kenya.  Areas we wrote about earlier in the year that seemed so extreme became commonplace.  Don spent a few days in West Pokot, helping to launch a new initiative that would help young girls (ages 12-19) own goats.  Girls in that region own nothing and have no means of livelihood.  In preparation, Don became a “goat expert,” learning about various kinds of goats, livestock markets, purchase and sales prices, and the animal health network.  He will be traveling to Turkana, an even poorer area, later this month to help expand the program there.

During our stay here, we’ve also experienced certain “life-events” (good and bad) with our Kenyan friends.  One sad incident will always stay with me.  One Monday, I had interviewed a 25 year old young man as the possible subject for a video we were working on.  He was the owner of two successful businesses (not an easy accomplishment for a youth in Kenya), engaged to be married, and as nice as could be.  That evening he and his fiance were killed in a car accident (all too common here.)  I attended his funeral with some co-workers.  

Shortly after, we experienced the “good life-event.” We attended a co-worker’s wedding.  We enjoyed the joyful singing and dancing, but, again, we couldn’t understand much of the ceremony as the minister spoke Kikuyu (the local tribal language), which was then translated into Kiswahili.(the national language.)  Then, he switched to English, and the translator repeated it in English! During the sermon, the minister preached that the Bible sanctions marriage between one man and one woman, not one man and another man -- nor one man and two women (a common practice in Kenya.) 

In August, we again flew home for a very special occasion – our daughter Jenna and her fiance Dustin’s wedding in Nashville, TN. We got to share this important event with so many friends and family. It was a fun weekend and a beautiful affair.  We couldn’t be happier.

As soon as we returned to Kenya, I had the fun opportunity to work with professional photographers from our US office and Kenyan co-workers to film footage in Central and Western Kenya for a video on our main program.  I learned a lot about the prep, interview and filming process.