Home Sweet Home

It's 9:30 on Monday evening and We're home!!

Praise The Lord!!

We got home to food on the counter and soups and sandwiches in the fridge....

Thank you Katy, Twila, Kendra and Katrina...

You know how to warm a heart!!!

Email that's jerking the tears...we miss you already!!

The house feels so clean, and so big, and so rich, and so strange,

And yet it feels strangely like HOME...

Oh, and it's Christmas! Strange. We left and it was autumn, walk in and it's Christmas.?

And I can't think of a SINGLE thing that I need, or even want....

Except, of course, a number of things that can't be bought or made or forced to happen....

Things for which I will need to continue to wait on Jesus....

Thank you all for your support!

Thank you for all for lifting us to Jesus!

Flight to USA

We say good-bye. 

Tears fall. More than any of us expected. 

We wave thru glass. 

We smile. We remember. 

God is so good. Thank you Jesus!

Sitting  in Nairobi waiting for flight to Zurich. 

We are exhausted. So many emotions. 

Gritty eyes. Too much crying. 

Some of you are wondering itinerary for flight watch. 

Nairobi to Zurich 

We will reach Switzerland 6:25am, Lord Willing. 

Flight number LX293

       Layover in Zurich

At 11:45am we will board for Dulles, arriving 3:25pm(EST!!!)

Flight number UA937

We are grateful for your prayers. 

If all goes as planned from time we reached Kisumu at 6:00 tonight till we fly into Dulles will be 29 hrs. Feels long. 

See you soon!!! 

(except you, dear Weavers) as we lifted off the ground in kisumu,

I saw Natalie's lip quiver and tears began to roll followed by sobs. "I kinda miss Emmy and Levi and the Weavers" :')

Today is the day....

Today we say good bye to Kenya.

We wave one last time at the people we have come to love.

We will hold our close friends close one more time and then release them to live their lives here in this land.

We will do it with tears.

And we will board our plane and fly over the deserts and over the mountains and over the waters and we will come back to America..to clean, pure water..to bathrooms with seats and toilet paper..to food prepared under USDA..to showers that do more than pittle..to electricity that is dependable...

We will come back to you...

And we will do it with joy...knowing that the God who allowed us the privilege to not only see, but to also enjoy Kenya, will show us how to integrate back into America...with peace AND joy...

And we will hold you close and we will share our story...if you like...

I ask myself why?

Why do I love this land so much??

There is so much need,

so many protuding bellies, 

so many ratty shirts,

worn out shoes...

Life is hard, with

so much hard, hard work...

so little conveniences...

so much imminent danger...more than danger of lions,(i just liked this pic:) is danger on highways....whew!! and danger of volitile mobs...

I don't know all the reasons I like this land, but I do know a few...

The children, the eyes...

The smiles...shy, maybe, but always.

Nearly always.

I said yesterday that I think I could count on 1 hand, maaaybe it would take 2, the times that I have waved and smiled at someone and they haven't broken into a smile and reciprocated the wave...I will miss that!!

There is so much dirt and trash here...but one thing it makes me appreciate the beauty when it's there...

Papyrus along Lake Victoria..

sunrises here at the compound..(not without me having to clammer to the roof rack of the Land Rover to see over these walls...)

a monkey friend at Jennifer's Garden....

Of course, fellowship and laughter over lunch doesn't make you hate a place...

(I only wish Marlin's head would have been captured in the same perspective. He was sitting opposite Brent. Then the caption would have read..."the two heads with their families" or something like that!:)

I love watching my family throw themselves into experiencing this culture...

with sheer joy...

with love and compassion...

with love for learning...Alison spent two days helping native mamas prepare for orphan dinners..and LOVED it..

with helpful attitudes...:)   I wish I had pictures of the day that Cody had a great time helping to deliver SAW packages.(support a widow)

with uncomfortable okay-ness, at times...

with guys that go deep...

As we leave, there is one word that comes to my mind to describe our month here:

RICH

And our praise goes to Father God who planned it all to each minute detail....

PS I asked each of my family for a word and this is what they came up with:

Brent- "humbling"

Tara- "awakening" "awareness"

Cody-  "dusty" "exciting"

Alison- "amazing experience"

Amber- "exciting and amazing"

Natalie- "rain" "headaches" (both of those are in the last 12 hours, so I'm not sure if that's completely fair. But, since she is four AND the baby, we will let her go:)

And we will board our plane and fly away from Kenya. Away from hot. To America. To cold. To you...

Until then...God be with you...

Out on Lake Victoria

This morning, brigh and early, we went on a boat ride out on Lake Victoria...!!! It was a beautiful clear cool morning!!!!!

The Frozenberrys are now boarding their private tour boat!!! Not...! The man at the helm is Titus the boat man!! And for your info the boat we went on was a glorified fishing boat. 

One of the many beautiful hippos... Or not so much...!! Did you know that the hippo is the worlds most dangerous animal and its not even a meat-eater?! It's a herbivore, although a hippo will only attack if it feels threatened. It has the ability to snap one of the fishing boats (and the people inside it) in half! So if you are in the water and you get between the hippo and land, boy oh boy, you better buggy out of there!!! Seriously though, a while back, a man was snapped clean in half by a hippo... 

Cleaning their nets after a night of fishing! It was amazing all the Biblical comparisons that are over here... The African people relate a lot to the Bible times!

The fisherman race to see who can dock first!! :) Watching them row is beautiful!!! Brown arms straining, bulging and pulling in perfect time sending the boat flying!!! 

Most of the fisherman around here use the basic method of fishing, these fellows, not so much... What these guys did, they pitched their net out like everyone else, but then instead of pulling it in, one man will dive in and man-handle the fish out of the water and into the boat. Here, he can feel the weight and bignesss of the fish while still in the water. It saves them the energy of pulling the net in and then sorting through all the fish. Though it is quite a bit more dangerous!!! Notice the gaping hole on the side... Not good when they are on the water during a storm...!!! :/      -tara

Market...

Today was market day...

First we went to Kibuyue Market.

Lots of noise, people, smells, noise and things...

Some of the things we saw...

Peep coop

The beginngs of a couch. See the foam in the background? One thing I realized rather quickly was that here, I can't flop onto the couch!! Well, I could, but its not the worlds softest landing...!! :)

The wonderful sandals made out of used piki-piki tires!! Honest, sandals, flip-flops and lots of other stuff... Imagine how long they last!!! :)

These beautiful 'bowls' (I forget the name for them...) are made out of old oil drums. 

Stacks of future 'bowls', storage trunckes and chapati pans.

First the men beat the drums apart... NOISE!!!!! So loud, hard, metallic and beautiful!! 

Then the metal is cut into strips and beat into shape...!! Want to talk about hard work!? Check out his arms!!! That thing he is swinging weighs about 25 lbs. and he swings that thing all day... Seriously...!!!!

Next comes the handles...!! 

Sawa-sawa!!!! Bowls or...

Storage trunks... The woman like these trunks cause they keep the rats out of their food...!!! 

And then the food....!!! :) YAY!!!! 

Or not so much... There were piles and piles and piles of these tiny minnow-like thingys... And they smelled awful!!! Old dried fish and a hot Africa morning does not make the best odor combo, then to top the smell off... Most of the people here do not wear deoderant... yeah, make a wild guess....  

Literal hills of cabbage!!! The cabbage here is the BEST!!!! So sweet and flavorful, add a touch of salt...!!! Come to Tada!!! -the african can't say 'r' so my name is Tada!! :)-

Bags and bags of beans, maize, rice and cornmeal!!!! Very attractive looking!! :)

One of the many many 'butcheries' that flaunt the sidewalks!!! Yep, raw meat just hanging there in all its smelly, red, fly-heaven glory!!! Notice the hide hanging there as well...!! :) When we first got here and i saw the meat hanging there i was like,'what.in.the.world?!!!!' :)

And sugarcane!!! I like to eat it just the way it is there... Strip the stalk and chew and suck and spit away!! :) The juice is sweet, but not too sweet, and sticky and delicious!!! I am hooked!! :) Once you suck all the juice out and the fibers are dry, spit it out the window. Just try not to hit the bursting-at-the-seams mautotu that is driving past!!! :) It's amazing over here...

Then we went to Hangover Hotel. 

There are hotels everywhere... Hotel is a 'resturant' of some sort!! :) and you will find a hotel in the middle of nowhere!!!!

The beef i had for lunch!! I bet it's fresher than what you get in Red Robin!!! :) 

And it's all eaten with your hands!! That is to help with the economy..??! :) Less dishwater at least!! 

See the cool glass soda bottle!?? ALL the pop is in glass!! Then it gets sent back to the plant, washed and reused!! :) Very simple!!!  

Someone asked me today what I am going to do when i get home and i said i was gonna cry... I have become unbelievably attached to this country and these people... and I can't think about leaving them... They love, share and live freely. They are lazy, stubborn and crude. They are nice, nasty and wonderful all in one big(or little) package...!!! It's hard to explain or put into words... The best I can do is just, I love them!!!   -tada