Double Take
So this month, month 8 on my race was supposed to look very different that it looks right now. We were supposed to be in Uganda, being with a team of women from E squad [one of our sister squads, we had training camp and launched together, but have not seen each other since January]. But Uganda had to go and have an outbreak of Ebola, so we had a strange interim period where we stayed in Kenya for a week while the AIM office tried to figure out what to do with us. They decided…
That we get to stay in Kenya for month 8!!
Not only that, but we get to stay with our contacts from last month in Nakuru!! I am so excited about this. It is kind of strange and it is totally different, even though we are in the same location and still doing a lot of the same ministry. There is another team staying here with us and I am on a different team. The men from Intimate Grace are gone and there are now 14 women, plus our family of 5 living in this three bedroom house. It is kind of chaotic all the time. We go through lots of water and do lots of dishes. There is almost nowhere to go to be alone, ever. It is loud. It is like an extended family reunion. There are few places that I honestly was not ready to leave on the race and this was one of them. I am so glad that they chose to keep us here.
Some people were not very happy with the decision because it is only 10 countries in 11 months instead of 11 countries. But we are still getting to do ministry for 11 months. Some people didn’t enjoy their ministry in Kenya so this month is like a month for redeeming Kenya. I know that Africa is not really where my heart is, but if I had to pick a place where I would be required to stay longer instead of moving on, it would be this month in Kenya.
But… the countdown to Asia is on… and I cannot pretend that I am not excited for that.
This final stretch of the Race is weird. The Race itself has gone both faster and slower at the same time. I don’t even know how to explain it. As a racer when you are applying and going through the time between training camp and launch you never think you will get to month 8. It seems so very far away. Now that I am in month 8, it feels like we just launched. I never thought I would get here. It is ridiculous! Now we are about to enter our final continent. But I think that is for another blog. I am just going to enjoy some more Kenyan tea and getting to know my new team.
Hakuna Matata
Much love,
-A
