Faith beamed as she received her walker, balancing on her bare feet in the grass while holding onto her new treasure. Her smile was infectious, and the excitement of the students gathered around her could not be missed. Solomon, head of the special needs clinic at Tenwek, knelt proudly next to her, ready to show her how the new walking frame worked. Just moments later, we would witness Faith take her very first steps.
Amani means peace in Swahili. Five years ago, while driving to the hospital when I was in labor with Sam, we chose to give our baby boy the middle name Amani. We hadn’t yet met him, but in the past five years, we have seen this name have true meaning in his life and character. Samuel Thomas Amani Olsen. Our little Amani.
Just ten days after arriving in Kenya, our Ella celebrated her eighth birthday. She had been talking for the entire year before about having her birthday here, so we were incredibly happy that it happened! We marked the occasion with a little party on our porch. She invited three other girls whose parents also work at the hospital. They began by indulging in the first batch of cupcakes I’ve made since arriving in country. Just after that, I handed my phone over to the birthday girl who chose a mix of Taylor Swift and the Trolls soundtrack for a very exuberant dance party. I stood in the kitchen doorway, playing the part of a fly on the wall, and laughed over their shrieks and girly outbursts. My Ella really is her own spunky, energetic, witty, super theatrical girl! Once the girls slowed down a bit after their first round of dancing, they sat on the floor and let me paint their nails. Then I was back on the sidelines. It amazes me that we’ve reached this point. Ella wants to do everything on her own, with her friends, often without me. Eight years old. What a year this is going to be!
Two weeks ago, we arrived in Kenya. A few days later, we made our way out to our new home at Tenwek Hospital. We were assigned a house in one of the compound areas right next to the hospital. Friends, it is beautiful! We never imagined we would be living in a three-bedroom home complete with a large, screened-in porch (perfect for Sam and for chatting with new friends). The house is right in the middle of a group of houses and apartments, pleasing our social personalities. The kids are both able to run out the front door and join our neighbors in games of tag and soccer any time of the day.
We have internet! Thunderous applause! Let the posts from Kenya commence!
Following my last post, we made our transition out to our new home in Bomet County, four hours from Nairobi. We’ve had 3G on our phones, so you may have caught a few updates and photos on Facebook or Instagram. But now that we have wifi, I’m able to actually write. I’ve had so many thoughts run through my mind each day we’ve been here, thinking I need to share this or that with all of you. I’ll do my best to fill you in on our first full week in our new country. What I miss, I’ll share later. If you’re on Instagram, you can see short videos with moments from each day. Those videos only stay up for 24 hours, so take a peek if you’re an Insta user!
We left off at the end of the last post with a day of rest with Sam and shopping for Pete and Ella. I’m glad to say Sam was feeling much better later that day. Since he was up for it, the four of us ventured off to visit the elephant orphanage just outside the city on Saturday morning.
We made it to Kenya! It was a looong journey, but we arrived in Nairobi yesterday afternoon. Our bodies, however, had no idea what time it was. But we’re here! And all our bags arrived right along with us. Praise the Lord!
Pete and Kelly got the truck all loaded up on Tuesday morning for the drive to the Tampa airport. These guys are rockstars. Seriously. It was pouring as they finished packing and they somehow managed to get everything into the one vehicle. I wasn’t sure that would happen.
