ANOTHER delivery!

OK, before I get to the delivery, I will cover the weekend. It's been so fun! The time is flying fast now, I can't believe my time is running out already. On Saturday, we drove to Kerio View and celebrated birthdays admiring the Rift Valley. We stood at the ledge of a breath-taking cliff looking down into a huge valley, then just beyond that stretch was another ledge/cliff with another drop off! I've never seen anything like it. We took tons of pictures. I was so happy to explore some more of Kenya and to see such a beautiful place! Our meal was amazing too.

Later that night, I got to drive our kenyan ambulence/safari jeep! It was awesome. I drove stick shift lefty style and it was a fun experience. Later that night (I was not driving) we got into another little fender bender! This has been such a wild adventure. Also, we went to the Childrens Home and tone of my girls, Maureen, made me a necklace out of seeds and shells and i love it! It was such a nice gift and I've worn it everyday.

On Sunday, we started Somey's birthday with a good ol 3 hour church service! It is so different from American church. People randomly stand up and start a song, or come up to say a sermon, and groups of people are invited to come up and sing a song or do a dance or share something. It's so fun and interesting, but hard to follow when it is in Swahili. Then we went to the Childrens Home and hiked to a bridge with the kids. Som and I carried little baby Brian on our backs tied with an African blanket and it was tiring, but fun. These African women are tough, strong ladies! The kids stopped along the way to climb guava trees and eat the small, hard, bitter, unripe guavas. I ate a few just for fun... when in Kenya! We then had to sprint back to our hut to beat the rain clouds... the ominous storm was following like 100 yards behind us! We then held eachother during the craziest storm of our life! The thunder was ear-piercing and sounded like a bomb crashing outside our door. Then, the power went out, and it has been pretty much stayed out until right now (Tuesday night). It was terrifying and amazing! We had dinner that night with some ELI staff and ate chapati.. mm! hopefully this weekend we will learn how to make it.

Monday, we did more home visits with the social workers which was very similar to last week. Lots of walking and listening and praying. I really like seeing how people live in the village. In the first hut, the size of a small bathroom where this single woman and her 3 children sleep, the woman was roasting corn on a burner and the smoke was so thick I could barely breathe or keep my eyes open, but they cannot roast outside because of the rain. I met 3 wonderful women and their children. On friday, I am going to the town of Turbo with some nurses and social workers to take the HIV patients for treatment. I am looking forward to learning more about it. Also on our visits, we stumbled upon Pride Rock! From the Lion King! Haha, not exactly, but it looked kinda like it and when we reached the top and I wanted to hold up baby Simba and when I looked down I expected to see the gazelles, zebras, and elephants.

Today, we had another delivery! We got the call JUST as the storm was beginning, and we sprinted through the pouring rain and cow poop rivers. We were soaked when we got to the clinic. It seriously looked like we jumped in a pool! So we had to wring out our skirts and sweatshirts but were still dripping wet. Only in Kenya, would I then enter a clinic and deliver a baby! We gloved up, and 30 minutes later, the head appeared, and two silent pushes later, the baby was OUT! It was beautiful and easy and just like the textbook... what a miracle. It was a boy (the first boy I've ever delivered) and he peed on the table to introduce himself into the world. Somey and I cleaned him and dried him and swaddled him while the nurse took care of mom. We joked about how the American nurses would be barking at us "APGARS! TEMPERATURE!....." The mom named him Kipto, which means "born with visitors" haha! So then we ran back to our hut in the rain, and the electricity was still out, so we took a cold shower to clean ourselves and now we are at Michelle's for our last "American Night". The end is so bittersweet. I am so much looking forward to home, the fall, and being back at APU, but it will be so hard to say goodbye to these children and beautiful land. It's been such an adventure and I am so grateful. Like I mentioned, I am so bad at goodbyes, so please pray for me! Also, please pray for my travels home. The airlines have had some strikes, and I don't really want to be stranded in Nairobi like I was on the way here. Thanks for all the love and prayers! I miss you all so much and can't wait to see you again!