Aga Kahn

This morning, after a bit of a lie in (due to an incredibly terrible night of sleep because of droning mosquitoes ARGH!!) and a quick trip to the grocery store (so we could prepare for the MAF BBQ this weekend - Banzai Burgers here we come!) Josh managed to drive us - on the right side of the car and the left side of the road - across Nairobi to the Aga Kahn hospital where i had an appointment with a doctor. We made it in good time despite getting off track once :-) The Aga Kahn is a BEAUTiful hospital with FREE parking, great doctors (mostly Indian, obviously), and efficient procedures (at least for me it was!). I got in and out of the doctor's office and in and out of radiology within an hour, and remember we have to pay at each stop as we go (we aint in Canada anymore... and boy have we learned that we save money in Canada with regard to health care!!) I was undeniably impressed with the care i received and the cleanliness and seemingly orderliness of the hospital. Unfortunately, as always, there was no conclusive diagnosis for my problem other than the fact that i need to drink more water (!) Have you ever heard of the book, "You're not Sick, You're just Thirsty"? Well, i've come to the realization that that's the common cure-all here. :-) Alas. Anyway, although it makes me nervous not to have a concrete explanations, it does make me somewhat relieved to be told that everything looks fine. God knows and, whatever happens, God is.

We've also just been signed up for a marriage seminar for 7 weeks. We'll see if we can manage such a feat with Judah staying at home with a sitter... Apart from that challenge though i'm looking forward to an opportunity to get out of the house on a regular basis once a week. Although Judah and i continue to have a slow and regular routine at home it's a lot slower than our routine in Madagascar (no truck to take us to the shop any time we need/want or to the hangar to visit, no school 3 mornings a week to help Judah engage with kids in a controlled environment). I've been doing a bit of school work with Judah some days just to give him some kind of order other than "playing" with the kids in our compound.

The kids in our compound continue to be a source of challenge for me and Judah. Perhaps he doesnt mind being treated so badly by the kids, but it drives me bananas and it takes a lot of will power to keep out of things when i overhear Judah being treated unfairly. Alas. I guess that's what parenting is all about? Determining when to keep out of it and when to step in? He's also showing a lot more... disobedient tendencies recently, undoubtedly due to the upheaval we've been experiencing and the lack of a solid structure at home these days. We're both missing pre-school i reckon.

While we've been stuck at home I've been doing a LOT of reading. Just finished "The Atonement Child" by Francine Rivers, which i read after i finished "Trojan Odyssey" by Clive Cussler and "Freedom's Landing" by Anne McCaffrey. Now i'm starting "The Appeal" by John Grisham. We have yet to visit an English bookstore, can you imagine!

I REALLY miss our church in Tana and the people there. It's bizarre to bump into Madagascar Missionaries here in Nairobi, but it makes me homesick for "our" own country. Sure, the burgers are still good here, the city is fascinating and we've still got a long list of parks and places to see (the giraffe park and elephant orphanage, the Masai Mara park, etc), i'm definitely enjoying the upgrade in health care and the English speaking country, but i do miss my own house and my own bed. Judah surely misses his own toys and his own routine with people he knows and loves. I'm missing the freedom to hop in the truck and drive to Shoprite whenever i want or walk up to the veggie lane to buy some bananas or avocados. I do hope that Madagascar calms down and sorts itself out so we're back in time for Mandarin orange season.

Easter is just around the corner, as you all know, but we're in need of constant reminder since we're in a new foreign place with new cues and new traditions. I'm not used to relying on my calendar to let me know when big Christian holy days are. It makes me feel as though i'm in a strange land (which we are, of course. strangers in a strange land) and it causes the homesickness to be that much more potent. However. Perhaps it's a reminder, again, that we ARE strangers in a strange land, yearning for the Land to which we have been promised. I reckon staying in one place all one's life doesnt give the same feeling of being on foreign soil. (hey, there's got to be SOME "perks" for those of us living abroad without the stability that comes from living in the same place for generations! :-) ). Whatever the case, i'll be yearning all the more for the human traditions of my birth culture as i celebrate the Divine event of the crucifixion and the resurrection: the songs of Easter, the Paske buns, the ham (oh...), the beginning of spring, "He is Risen!", "He is risen indeed!". Do you think we'll ever make it back to Canada, to Southern Manitoba, for Easter Season? It seems like ages since i've been immersed in these human traditions that are so much a part of how we celebrate the Risen Lord!