Kenya believe it's year 2?!

Hi everyone!

We arrived back to school just over a week ago and here's a taster of what we've been up to...
We arrived into Nairobi at 3.45am on Thursday last week and after having dealt with immigration etc we set off for Turi in a taxi at around 4.30am. It was a beautiful drive and we felt so happy to be back in this beautiful country (though Rach was unconscious for much of it...) It was fun though having a Christian radio station playing for the whole 3 and a half hour journey - occasionally Rach woke up to a beautiful Rift Valley view and the of 'In Christ Alone' -what a lovely way to be welcomed back into this wonderful place.

We unpacked and set up our new house that day and on the Friday, whilst also meeting the new staff and trying to help people feel welcomed and not too daunted. We've met some wonderful people over the last week and are really looking forward to working with and spending time with the new staff. We have a fantastic new music teacher in our department and are looking forward to really pushing on the department and making music more of a thing in the school.

The main thing that's taken up all our time since being back, however, is Junior Girls - the boarding house we're taking over. We've spent many days sorting all the admin work to prepare for the girls' arrival on Sunday and are pleased that it now looks good and like a fun place to stay! We've renamed the rooms after ice cream flavours and the colours of the walls match up with the dorm name.

Whilst it doesn't sound like a huge amount of work... many things have slowed down the work. Broken printers, ICT problems and changes at the last minute of who's joining the dorm and where exactly they should sleep have all meant that the work has been done, scrapped, redone and then scrapped and redone again... BUT we think we've got there now and are excited not just to be doing admin anymore but actually meeting all the kids on Sunday and acting out our roles as houseparents. (Please pray for us... this is all very new!)

We did managed to get away for Rachel's birthday on Monday temporarily though, which was something to look forward to. After tasty birthday breakfast with friends we went to Sunbird Lodge, which is on a lake just over an hour's drive from the school - http://www.sunbirdkenya.com/pages/index.html - we had a great time swimming in the tiny, freezing cold pool, eating tasty food, enjoying watching a storm over the lake and then going on a guided walk once the weather had cleared up. We had such a fun day and loved getting off the school site to have some refreshment and rest time.

We've now just got a day until the kids arrive. Please pray it all goes smoothly. Pray for the new staff to settle quickly - to get over culture shock and to love every minute of life here. Pray for the pupils and parents too - 3 pupils have pulled out at the last minute and won't reapply until after the elections in March 2013 (last elections were very bloody and led to many Kenyan deaths as well as pupils and staff leaving the school / country). We have no idea how much the elections will impact the school but we have developed a real love for this country and would love you to pray for protection over the next 12 months.

Right, I think that's enough for now but keep in touch and know we miss you and love you,

D & R
xxx

Hi all,

Just wanted to give you an update on what we've been up to lately...

We made it through the first year! After a very busy end of term with ABRSM exams, a little illness (exhaustion mostly and colds due to the rainy season) and packing up and moving our house, we headed off to Egypt for a couple of days seeing pyramids, climbing mount Sinai, quad biking and snorkelling in the Red Sea. We had an amazing time and would love to return there one day as the country, though it's reputation isn't great at the mo, is beautiful with so much history and so much to see and do.

We then arrived in the UK and since then have enjoyed time in Nottingham, Manchester, London, Aylesbury and Edinburgh. We've been trying to catch up with as many people as possible whilst also catching some of the Olympics matches - some volleyball at Earl's Court and the football semifinal at Old Trafford. We're so sorry if we haven't managed to fit you in much time or at all, but we will be back again soon - bringing 20 children to London at the beginning of December... so if you'd like to see us we're more than happy for you to help out with the trip!!!

We return to Kenya on 22nd August and have a lot to do before term starts again - sorting out the boarding house, our house and the Music Department so that they're all up and running before the kids arrive. Please pray that we won't already be exhausted by the time school restarts... It's a long term and jam packed with new things so we need a lot of enthusiasm right through to the end of the school trip on December 16th...

We'll update this again once we're back at school but we hope you enjoy the rest of the good summery weather and hope to hear from you soon,

Love Rach and Dan

xxx