Matatu & Memory Building
Ways we are learning the truth that God’s timing is always best…
- 1. The Matatu ride Monday would have been even more uncomfortable and challenging had I been in either my first trimester (throwing up out the window) or in my third trimester (don’t know if I would have fit in the small seat).
- The Matatu ride would probably have been non-existent if our baby was already born, due to the tiny amount of space allotted for each person
- The flexibility (physically and mentally) that all of this travelling requires, would be much harder if I was any further along in my pregnancy, or if we had a newborn or toddler at this point
- Many of the interactions we are having with people and each other have been clearly God-orchestrated
- Due to my shrinking brain size from pregnancy (I learned from my counselor that this is a documented fact), I can’t think of any more right now… :)
Family and Friends,
Please don’t freak out from the first two statements above – we are all three safe and sound from our first long ride in a Matatu (small, cheap, bus-of-sorts that is the main source of public transportation for the nationals here in Kenya). We decided to try it out for our trip to Bomet because the road is good, it’s only about a four hour drive, and it is sooooo much less expensive than a taxi, or even a bus. (around $175 for a taxi, and around $12 for the Matatu ride for both of us). Anyway, all went well once we got going. The hardest part was first finding the right Matatu (there are thousands in Nairobi). The second major challenge was the mind-over-matter situation that I had to face as I was feeling pretty lousy Monday morning and thought I was going to be sick as soon as we got in our seats. When Jason asked me how I was and I told him that I felt like I was going to be sick, and that the baby felt like he or she was kicking my bladder (which was not helping matters), Jason started shaking his head and saying “I am an awful husband, I am an awful husband...” I assured him that he is a great husband, and had just caught me at a bad moment. :) Thankfully I started feeling better really soon – baby repositioned, the wind on my face when the vehicle started moving helped the nausea, and re-hydrating myself with water helped settle my stomach. :)
We are now settled in at Tenwek in Bomet. We are staying at the guest house here and are in a little “efficiency apartment” above the main kitchen. We originally planned to stay until Friday, but we were able to find and enter all of the charts already, so we are trying to decide now how to use the rest of this week. We may head up to Eldoret again because they found a few more charts that need entered. Tenwek is so beautiful though, and we both still love and appreciate the fresh air and amount of green around us here. Also, it’s fun to meet the people coming through at the guesthouse.
In other news, just to keep you all updated, we had another ultrasound Monday morning and the baby looks healthy and normal! We are so thankful that all is well. I am measuring just under 26 weeks, and the ultrasound today estimated my due date to be July 5th (official due date is July 2nd), so all seems to be checking out right. The system at the hospital here is so interesting. You just walk in, pay in cash for the ultrasound, and then within 10 minutes after it is done, you have a typed report handed to you. Not quite what we were expecting, but we were delightfully surprised that it went so smoothly. One of the main doctors at Nairobi Women’s Hopsital is a friend of ours, which helped matters immensely I am sure. By the way, we managed to make it through another ultrasound with the baby’s gender still a secret to us – sorry everyone… :)
This past weekend was spent in Nairobi - catching up on laundry, doing a little cooking, enjoying some time and meals with people, getting work and emails done, taking a Sunday afternoon nap after church, and having a wonderfully long talk with my sister in France! Trying to skype has been quite the challenge between the time differences and internet issues. We’ve decided that maybe it is just better to call. If you are family and are reading this, just let me know when a good time to call is, and I will just call you from the cell phone. The prices here aren’t bad right now, and I miss talking with you all!
A few quick prayer requests...
- Jason and I have both been feeling a little under the weather the past couple of days - Jason with a cold and me with some stomach issues. We'd appreciate continued prayer for good health and that we will hold up well to all of the traveling.
- We need wisdom to decide how to best use the rest of this week and weekend.
- We just found out today that our research assistant in Eldoret, Joyce, has typhoid. :( Please pray for a quick recovery for her!
Thank you all so much for your prayers, love, and encouragement. We are praying for so many of you as well. I'm hoping my next post will be a picture update if I can steal Jason's computer for a little while (he has all the recent pics on his computer).
Love,
Meridith
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