Lots of Changes!

I realize that it has been a long time since my last post and I apologize for that.  This is partly due to that fact that the past several weeks have been quite busy.  It is also due to the fact that I just haven’t felt up to writing about anything.  I’m not 100% sure that I do now either but I also feel that it is important to keep all of our supporters updated on what is going on with our lives.  I have actually started several blog posts over the past several weeks that I have never completed, including some interesting medical cases.  Hopefully I will be able to complete them at some point but not today. As the title of this post mentions, life for the Kelleys is quite different now than it has been since we arrived in Kenya.  Many of you already know this but for those who don’t, we are currently at language school in Limuru (outside of Nairobi).  While not a requirement for our term with Samaritan’s Purse, it will be a requirement when we return with WGM.  There were three other WGM families attending at this time so this seemed like a perfect opportunity for us to go as well. I’m sure Steph will update her blog in her typical awesome way soon so I’ll just give you a brief glimpse of life here now. Large parts of the day are spent in class which is not very exciting plus I don’t have pictures.  Just picture a bunch of wazungu (white people) sitting in class and that about sums it up.  We are all actually learning quite a bit for only being here 1 1/2 weeks.  I still don’t think we will pass for Kenyans any time soon.   It’s cold here.  Granted living in Kenya for these past 1 1/2 years has made us wimps but a cold wet 50 degree day feels frigid now.  Thankfully our apartment has a fireplace which we have been putting to good use. Bugs here are a bit different (and seemingly more numerous).  Our first night here we had about a dozen of these little fellas come under the door.  They would fly around buzzing our heads and then fall to the ground.  Thankfully that mini-plague hasn’t been a daily occurrence.  Levi has been enjoying all the extra bugs.  He catches them and then declares very proudly, “Dis is my pet!!”  Normally they fall to the ground crawl on him causing him to strip rather quickly.  Boys are awesome! In Kenya, when a light switch seems to be missing, check behind the door.  In 99% of cases that it where it is safely tucked away. This was a first for us since living in Kenya.  We finally have two bathrooms!  Steph especially appreciates this with all the boys here.  The one just off our bedroom seems to be a type of efficiency design. The dining table is a bit small so the boys claim that and Steph and I just sit on chairs on the other side of the room.  On a bright note, we rarely have dirty/sticky hands touching us at meals now. As I mentioned on our Facebook page, we went to Nairobi so Steph could get some shopping done.  I took the boys to a toy store to look around and keep them from terrorizing the other people trying to shop for groceries.  (Looking around is usually all we can do as toys are priced 2-4 times more than they cost in the states.)  Levi was sure he needed a motorized vehicle of some type.  He went to each one checking out the various features.  After what seemed like an hour he finally decided that this one was his favorite.  He soon figured out how to make it go forward at which point he plowed through the vehicles that were in front of him (just after I took this picture).  Our browsing session quickly came to a halt! We’ve been going through an Adventures in Odyssey summer curriculum in which the boys are given clues each day to figure out who different Bible characters are.  It has been a blast watching them do the activities and figure out the mystery characters.  So far they’ve learned about Deborah, Barnabas, John, Joshua and Lot’s wife.  (It really bothers Noah that Lot’s wife isn’t named.) Steph and I feel that it is important to get the boys doing chores again (having house help has made that more of a challenge at Tenwek as Joyce rarely will leave a mess for them to clean up).  Since we’ve been here, they have helped sweep, wash dishes and even cook.  Levi’s favorite thing to do is rinse dishes.  He sings, dances and carries on conversations with forks. Living in temporary housing allows for decorations that would never make it in the house otherwise.  Noah picked out this floor mat which currently greets all of our guests.  I’m not sure about his pose. Of course we brought Legos to keep the boys entertained.  They have come up with some pretty inventive creations.  Noah is now planning his first original Lego movie.  Should be interesting.  As you can see, Levi enjoys photobombing his brothers.

Overall things are pretty good.  The boys, Steph and I are all doing our best to learn Kiswahili.  The boys are getting used to responding to their Kiswahili names.  Noah still sounds the same but is spelled Noa.  Jacob is Yakobo and Levi sounds like levy.  That’s it for the quick update.  We’ll try to do better about posting.  Extended use of the internet is tough here due to poor/non-existent signals.  Mostly we end up using my phone as a hotspot which quickly drains my data/battery (you have to pre-purchase minutes and data here).  Thank you again for your ongoing support!!

Praises/Prayer Requests

-We had been struggling to get the funding necessary to get a young lady here to help watch the kids while we are in class.  Thanks to answered prayers and many generous people, we met our goal in less than 24 hours!!  Now we would ask that you pray as she will likely be flying out early on Friday and arriving here Saturday.

-Pray that we (and the other families) would continue to progress in language school.  Classes continue at an intense pace and we all have families that we are managing as well.  Pray also that by learning Kiswahili that we would all be better equipped to minister to patients, families, and others whom we come in contact with.

-Pray for the two new families who have joined us in Kenya.  One family will be joining us at Tenwek while the other will serve at another hospital here in Kenya.  Pray that their ministries and time here would be fruitful.

-Continue to pray for hurting hearts.  A couple days ago, I was talking with Jacob about Hannah and how we know she is in Heaven.  As he was processing that Levi came over and hid his head in my shoulder.  When I finally got him to talk all he would say is how he misses sissy.  We all do…so so much.  Almost 1 1/2 years later and it still hurts badly.

-Pray for peace in this country.  There has been a lot more terrorist activity of late with numerous incidents.  Most have occurred in Nairobi or along the coast and have not been close to Tenwek but the unrest still has an effect on all of us.

-Continue to pray for Steph’s pregnancy.  We are blessed to have an OB here as one of the new WGM missionaries so she is in good hands.  At this point we are coming up with a game plan to prevent her from delivering too early.  (Of the four kids, she was early with all but Levi.  And he only hit full term by a day.)

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Aaron Kelley

Latest posts by Aaron Kelley (see all)

• Changing Seasons - September 4, 2016
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• Looking Back….Looking Ahead - March 14, 2016