Returning to winter

We will be leaving here tomorrow afternoon. We spent months preparing for this trip. In truth, we have arranged our entire lives around the work here to an incredible degree. It is a strange thing to have sacrificed so deeply and poured so much of ourselves into something and then leave it without any concrete plans to return.

Coming here requires a lot of time and money, both of which are scarce these days. People have been asking us when we will return and it is difficult to know how to answer. This is our fifth time here. Each time we have left without knowing the future, and each time we have found ourselves back here. I have to imagine that it will be the same way again, but without knowing the details of timing, funding, or the practicalities of our own lives, it is difficult to answer that question with any measure of confidence. "I'm sure we'll be back before long. We always come back to Kenya" is the way that I have been replying.

This month here has been busy and we have worked very hard, but it has also been exactly what our little family needed in a lot of ways. It was time that we could spend together, away from the stress and busyness that has been so present for the past several months. Sure there were stressful and confusing elements, but there was also a tremendous amount of laughter, and a great sense of accomplishment. Most importantly, it was all experienced together. It was a time to focus on a common goal. It was a time to live in the present. It was a time to talk about what we need to see in our lives when we are back at home.

So tomorrow we'll be leaving the summer time and we'll be heading back to the icy cold winter. We'll be leaving the life of being together 24/7 and we'll go back to work, school, business and the other countless things that take us in separate directions. However, we will be returning with a fresh sense of identity as a family and, hopefully, a refreshed sense of ability to tackle the challenges before us and not only survive them, but complete them with excellence.

We'll also be returning to family and friends and we know that those reunions will be filled with joy.

As far as the research and the projects here are concerned, like I said, we always come back to Kenya.

We are leaving the already established projects in the very capable hands of our partner and project manager, Terry Awendo. We will maintain consistent communication and we will be heavily involved in the facilitation of these dreams from afar. These projects are ever evolving and we look forward to that happening even while we are on a different continent. I think we'll always have one foot in both places.

In terms of the new HIV/AIDS research, we are also very excited about that. Time and funding both hold a voting seat on the board of that future, but we are confident that all of this work will not be in vain. We are optimistic that we will have a role in a brighter, healthier future for this place that we love so dearly.