Today we had the privilege of hiking to the rim of Mt. Longonot, a dormant volcano in the Rift Valley, which is a relatively smooth one hour ride west of Nairobi. We (my dad, Kevin, Noah and I) had intentions to walk the rim of the crater as well, which would of added only another 3 hours onto our trip. Those dreams were changed pretty much as soon as we reached the rim and realized the altitude at 2150 m above sea level actually affected us more than we thought it would. Hiking when three of the four people have dull headaches isn't so fun. We did stay at the top for a while and gawked at the magnificent view of the valley and Lake Naivasha. Luckily, the cape buffalo we saw from the top didn't encounter us on the way back.

We only have two days left here and we are enjoying relaxing on the guest house property. Our kids have found a gaggle of kids also staying here which keeps them occupied most of the day. The neighbors have some chickens, geese and rabbits, and the gardener has also helped entertain the kids when he butchers these animals. Mollie takes it surprisingly well... a farmer in the making?

I hope this week has been as peaceful for you as it has been for us.

OK...Lets say that someone was going to take a safari and got lost in the process. Then, when he gets to the safari it looks like all the animals hate him a lot. An example of their hatred would be being charged by a very large bull elephant, two leopards looking at you like your some kind of tasty morsel, and a female lion who looks like she works out every day giving you the stare down, while dragging a 200 lbs water buck away to her den. That "someone" was me. I was also flashed by a baboon. Let me tell you, not a pretty sight.

Don't forget, I will be signing autographs when I get home!

Noahy

P.S. Weird name!

Sister Louise's voice cracked then broke, her eighty year old eyes brimmed and spilt with the same vitality as the orphaned babies regularly given her by overwhelmed neighbours or nameless policemen. In a room with crucifixes, icons and pictures of the pope and numerous children she has raised, all hung with the same reverence from permanently yellowed walls, she told us the story of a 6 year old girl. It is a story of a boy who, having received love, felt compelled to share it with a girl who's only home had been the local market. It is a story of moving from abandonment and homelessness to the stability and shelter of the Dominican Sister's orphanage for children who lost their family by disease, war and poverty.

Sister Louise spoke through laughter and tears, telling us about 'one of her boys', an 8 year old now attending a local primary school, who's learned compassion sparked the saving of this little girl. It all began when he met her while she was seeking the charity of children, begging bits of lunch on the school grounds she would frequent if the market did not prove fruitful. After realizing his meagre contributions and failed attempts of encouraging his classmates to contribute to her well being could not sustain her, he brought her to the place he had come to call home. A home where he also had found consistent food, shelter, and above all, love.

It was his willingness to share what he had received that another 'waif in the market' has begun the long road of healing her physical, emotional and spiritual wounds. Struggling to tame the catch in my throa,t I reeled at the profound, life altering work of Sister Louise and the women alongside her who, by giving of their lives, had given life to so many over so many years.

Currently Emmanuel Centre is home to 148 children, who now have a place to belong and to contribute, all learning to receive and give love and life. They live in small homes with 12-13 other children and a 'house mama' where they are given opportunity to grow up as kids, with stability, relationships and education. Much of the food required to feed this large family is raised on the surrounding acres, with drip irrigated market gardens, cows, goats, ducks, turkeys and chickens along with an 'in house bakery', all tended by local people hired by the Sisters. It is this place and these people that will receive the gifts of money that friends at home sent along with us. It is this place and these people that remind me that light always overwhelms the shadows.

We already went on a safari and an elephant charged us. It was so creepy. I don’t know if an elephant is my favourite animal in Kenya anymore. We didn’t see any lions yet. We saw giraffes and more elephants. The babies are adorable. And then we saw hyenas and we saw a baby hyena and one that was playing dead. It was just weird. We saw dik diks, zebras, baboons, a couple of hippos, impalas, and guinea fowls who kept on annoying us because they wouldn’t get of the road. And the last…the Agama lizard.

Mollie

It is Saturday evening and we have safely arrived back in Nairobi. On our way home from the coast, we spent two nights in Tsavo West National Park on a safari and had the privilege of having our lodge right beside a watering hole which was lit up at night. I will let the kids give you all the details.
On this trip, I have had a few experiences that, due to my anxiety, I am sure have taken a few weeks if not months off my life. The latest was a lovely case of malaria Mollie must have picked up while we were on vacation. She has been on anti-malarial meds to prevent this, but those didn't quite do the trick. On our late afternoon safari yesterday she was suddenly lying with her head on my lap (while looking at lions!) and I could feel heat radiating off her body. Needless to say, I was in quite a state (a calm one I must say) trying to figure out what I was going to do about this out there in the boonies. I don't have much experience with malaria. What a blessing it was to find out the lodge had a nurse who said that in his opinion, she was presenting with malarial symptoms and he would recommend treating her for it. He had the medications she needed and told us that she should be feeling somewhat better in the morning. A rough night and a few fever induced hallucinations later, the fever broke and though she has been feeling tired and weak today (along with quite a few trips to the bathroom) she has the twinkle back in her eyes. I am so thankful it all happened when and where it did and that we can afford the meds she needs. I know there are many children and elderly who die from malaria because they can't.

Mollie's Blog.

I'm having so much fun. I like the pool best. It's so much fun. The first time we slept at this kind of mansion thing, my bed wasn't too comfortable. There are these fishers that catch fish for us every other day. We all watch them in our new binoculars that my mom and dad gave to us. There's these dogs. They are both girls, one named Sally and the other one Elisabeth. They are both adorable.

As you have heard from Noah and Anna, we have spent the last week on the coastal shore of Kenya, about 45 minutes north of Mombasa. My Dad had visited this house before and knew it would be a great fit for the seven of us. My parents work long, hard hours almost all of the time and truly deserved a week of rest and relaxation. That is exactly what this place has given us. Within steps of the Indian ocean, this house very comfortably sleeps all of us, employs a cook (we have to come up with the meals and buy the groceries, but the rest is looked after) Ishmael, a housekeeper Asha, and a gardener Swaleh. All three are lovely Kenyans we have enjoyed getting to know. There is an open porch on the second floor with two hammocks in which Anna spends most of her time. The first floor has five sets of double doors that open up the view to the ocean and provide an amazing breeze throughout the day. The four adults spend most of the day reading in the cozy couches placed everywhere, and Noah and Mollie get waterlogged in the pool. We are all content and at peace with life and for that I am grateful. It is a blessing to spend this week before Christmas in this state of mind.