The Adventures of Mt. Suswa

On Saturday we had the opportuniy to head out to the Rift Valley with some of Kim’s friends to hike Mt. Suswa. As we drove North from Nairobi we were greated with some spectacular views from the road as the whole valley opened up before us.

The rest of the drive to the “trailhead” was pretty intense as we had to off road in a mini van through some wild back roads. It was a little bumpy and we had to employ two Masai women to help us find the right track through the bush. It felt like we were riding a bull at times but our driver Scott did a great job getting us to where we needed to go. In the end, the condition of the roads were so bad that we had to stop well short of where we needed, but we decided to give it a go anyway.

The rest of the day we spent hiking through the bush enjoying some wonderful scenary, the company of new friends, the occasional exotic animal (at least for us Oregonians) and several Masai who thought the wazungu (white people) were a little crazy and needed a guide. Overall it was a great experience even though we were well short of the summit of Mt. Suswa. It gave us the opportunity to be out, enjoy the country side and as Kim called it, have a truly Kenyan experience.

JAMBO!

We arrived in Nairobi on Wednesday morning and have now been in Kenya for 3 days. Highlights so far: men with machetes on the side of the road (just weed whacking if you will), traffic with intense matatu drivers, visiting a halfway house (called The Nest) that is a home for orphaned infants and also women who are being reintroduced into society from prison, having our car checked for bombs (security at an upscale mall), homemade Kenyan chai tea (ala Kim) and bartering at Masai market for different goods (Kim did most of the work).

We are staying with our friend Kim who works at a missionary school outside of Nairobi called Rosslyn Academy. It has been great to see some of her world in Kenya. She has been a wonderful hostess and has been helping us plan our time here. We are very grateful!

We are going outside of Nairobi tomorrow for a hike with some friends of Kim’s. Keith and I are very excited to see some more of this beautiful country. After that we are going to church on Sunday in one of the slums around Nairobi.

It’s been challenging to see the dichotomy between the rich and poor here. There is a lot of need and we got to see this first hand at The Nest. Our hearts went out to the many kids we met there… but it was awesome to see them smile and play with one another.

On our way!

We are finally on our way... almost. We are currently waiting in the PDX airport for our flight to board. This may not sound like much progress to some, but after the last several busy month of planning and the last week of packing it feels like a holiday already just sitting here at the gate.

However, we still have something like 30 hours before we touch down in Nairobi, Kenya on the morning of May 27th.

Thanks so much to friends and family who have given us advice, let us borrow numerous travel items and who have been willing to help us out while we are away. We couldn't be here without ya all!

Six days to take off

Whew, six days to pack our bags and put our house in order before we board the plane for who knows what kind of adventure. We're both a little nervous at this point. Nervous about the unknown and how this crazy adventure will all work out. Thinking about traveling for 2 months is a little daunting at this point. Sure, we have friends who have traveled for 8 months and had a blast, but it's a little more personal when you think about kissing goodbye the familiar for the unexpected. It's letting go of control, and as hard as it may be, it's exactly what we need right now.
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Enter stage right Keith and Laura. We're pretty average and have grown pretty comfortable in the last couple of years. We like our adventures and love the outdoors when we can get out. Life has gotten busy for us in the last couple years and taken us away from some of these pursuits. This is why we've decided to blast off for the unknown on May 25th for a 2 month adventure to refocus, revision and pursue a deeper life. Deeper with one another, deeper with Christ and hopefully deeper with others to help us refocus our perspective on life.

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We'll be heading to Kenya and Greece to connect with friends and family as well as doing some exploring along the way. Stay tuned...