Catching Up

Well, what can we say? We haven't been the best at updating our blog for the last...2 years.

So, here are some life updates:

  1. In case for some reason you haven't heard, we have decided to stay at Rosslyn for the next two years. 
  2. I (R) have been teaching 4th grade for the past two years, and John continues to teach kindergarten.
  3. We will be visiting Indiana this summer for the first time in two (wow!) years. We are excited to see family and friends. Pray that we are able to enjoy quality time with each of our families, which has become more difficult to balance as my parents have separated. 
  4. I've become quite the "birder" and am also enjoying getting back into drawing and painting. 
  5. John has become a pretty talented climber and has enjoyed mountain biking. He loves climbing outside at a beautiful place called Lukenya. We camp there often. John has also been reading more than I do! We joke that we are turning into each other. 
  6. Jarvis joined our family. 
  7. In our three years here, we have had the following visitors:
    • My parents
    • Zach (twice!)
    • Allyson
    • My grandparents (Rudy and Barb)
    • John's parents
    • Josh Harris will be coming to visit in March.
  8.  We have had to say many goodbyes in the last two years-it is a fairly regular part of life here at Rosslyn. We are getting ready to say quite a few more goodbyes. Many of our closest friends will be leaving Rosslyn after this year. We are heavy with this burden of sadness right now. Please pray for peace for our hearts. Also, pray for the transitions of each of our friends that are leaving Nairobi as they work to find jobs and homes in America. The community here has been one of the biggest blessings on our lives. We will be forever grateful for the family we have made here-and also the family we will continue to make here. 
    Photo by Jeff Kirkpatrick
  9.   In the past two years, we have done tons of traveling and camping. Here are some highlights:
  • South Africa- Fun. The one word for this trip. This was such an amazing trip. We traveled there during October of our second year (2016). We were able to travel there for an international school conference and then stay on for a few days to do some traveling. We visited Johannesburg and Cape Town. John got to check out a climbing gym in Jo-burg and we ate tons of good food. In Cape Town, we visited Table Mountain, the Cape of Good Hope, Boulder Beach, and enjoyed shopping and eating. John was very excited about an $11 filet.

  • Samburu National Reserve- Wild. This is definitely the one word for this crazy adventure. We traveled to Samburu during Spring Break of our second year (2017). On our first game drive, we saw a mother leopard and her cub. It was truly incredible with the evening light fading. We were ecstatic.We camped inside the reserve for two (almost three!) nights. The first night, we camped with a large group of friends and we had an armed guard. The second night, most of our friends had gone on to stay at a safari camp and our armed guard was mysteriously missing. So, there were only three of us camping this night. We were sitting around our campfire, cooking our food and talking. All of the sudden, I saw something scurry near my *bare* foot. It was a very large and clear scorpion! This was definitely not a welcome sight. Then, I went to get some more drinking water from the car. As I was walking back, I found myself looking into the eyes of an elephant. The elephant was just ten yards behind John and our friend, Karith. They had no idea it was there. I said, as calmly as I could, "There's an elephant. Walk quickly to the car." John and Karith quickly got up and we sat in our car laughing and also terrified until the elephant(s)-yes more than one-passed. The third night was just going to be John and I. I called the nearest game lodge and booked a room. ;)
    Photo by Jen Watson
    the scorpion
  • Aberdares- Relax- the word for these trips. We have been to the Aberdares National Park twice in the last two years (2016 and 2017). We travel there annually on our first long weekend of the school year with a large group of friends. It is very cold there-the first year there was even frost on our car in the mornings. While there, we snuggle up, read, hike to waterfalls, chase malachite sunbirds, talk, and play games. 
  • Ol Pejeta- Joy. This is the definite word for this trip. We traveled to Ol Pejeta in October of our third year (2017). This was one of our only solo adventures since we usually travel with friends. It was really fun to adventure just the two of us. We saw so many rhino- it was crazy. Those of you who know me well know that I struggle with anxiety. On this trip, I actually felt confident enough to drive most of the way back to Nairobi (driving in Kenya is not anything like driving in America). This was a big feat for me. 

  • Lamu, Kenya- Community. That is the one word I would use to describe this trip. We traveled with our closest friends to Lamu island this January (2018). We stayed on a beautiful, remote part of the island. We stayed in a gorgeous Swahili-style house complete with a pool and plumeria tree in the center, right on the beach. We jumped in the pool, walked on the beach, read for hours, and talked until we had nothing left to say. There were so many places to lounge and read. It was the picture of serenity. It was the most peaceful and relaxing trip I have ever been on. I am so thankful that we had this precious time with our friends who have become family. 



John and I have grown up so much in the past three years. We have learned so much about marriage, our faith, and our careers. We could not be more thankful for our home and our beautiful country of residence-Kenya. There are still so many corners of this country that we want to explore. The beauty of God's creation is truly unending. We continue to strive to "never be boring" and adventure together often.

    -R

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