Thank you

A big Thank you to the Fleury's for the wonderful gift bags that they put together for kids in Kenya. They will be thrilled with them I'm sure!
As you can see, we are in the midst of a packing mess! Surely we haven't left a thing behind! I can't imagine much that we will have forgotten to take along. We even packed 95 candy necklaces to give away. I can see the sticky necks already! Two more sleeps to go - it seems a long time in the making. Gary picked up some donated soccer balls tonight. I can't wait to see their faces when they receive them.
Lori

Mom and Dad home

It sure was great to see that big truck and camper sitting outside our driveway this afternoon when we came home. Had a quick supper and off to Brett's last hockey game tonight. Mom and Dad decided to head home tonight after all so it was a very short visit. They came loaded with gifts for everyone. And then off they went for home. Hope they can get into their driveway at the farm!
Lori

7 Bags Full

Yes, 7 bags full so far. Are we done packing? Not quite. There are still a couple of items that I need to go and buy yet, but I started to put clothes out for the kids to wear on Friday. Then we have all packed an extra set of clothes in our carry on in the likely event that some bags are stolen or lost...... When I look at what the kids have packed to entertain themselves during the many hours on board the plane, I am thinking it is not nearly enough. Am not sure I have anything up my sleeve for 3 bored children. It somehow seemed easier when they were small. Marshmallows and raisins kept them busy for hours. And new books or toys were always on hand to bring out when that failed. Well I did throw in some raisins, fruit and veggie bars and granola bars this time too. You never know if you will get fed on flights now adays or not!!!!

Mom and Dad arrive tomorrow - home from Arizona. The kids are anxious to see them. We haven't seen alot of them since last May!!! We will have the Johnsons over for supper too.

Brett's violin recital on Sunday night went very well. I would describe his attire as "classical /skateboarding style". That boy never ceases to amaze and astonish me! Carly was the official photographer and managed to film him at every possible angle. A bit distracting to the performer I would say, but nonetheless, it is all on film! We enjoyed a play put on by the Ongs, Johnsons and Morris' after the recital - Snow White and the 6 Dwarves - I think it was. It seems to have become a tradition after each Book Recital that we also are blessed with a quickly rehearsed and performed play of their choosing. They are already scheming as to what they will perform next.

Today, the kids were filming music videos in the basement!! Brett and Adam enjoyed going out in the beautiful, sunny weather and digging pathways through the slush so the water could drain in the front yard. Then they trudged to the barn to dig out their bikes, skateboards and ramps as the road is now dry in front of our place. Carly went to spend a couple of hours with Brandi as they won't see each other now until May.

Visit to SCS

A big Hi! to all of our new and old (Madison and Dan) friends at Saskatoon Christian School. Thank you again Grade 5 for having us in to your classroom. We enjoyed meeting all of you and are so thrilled that you will write to us in Kenya. The day we receive mail from home I'm sure will be an exciting one for us. I was so impressed with your great questions. It appeared you all had a very good sense of what missions in Africa would be like. I hope I didn't bore you by talking too much!! We will try to post some pictures on the blog once we get there so you can see where we are staying and working.

We've had a great weekend of getting together with friends and family. We feel covered in prayer as we go and can't tell you all how much it means to us that you are lending your support in that way. It has given me a real sense of peace and assurance as we head into our last few days before we go. We are truly blessed with amazing friends and family. Mom and Dad, Mark and Tami, Kim, Anne and girls,Tom and MIsh, Dennis and Melissa, Bob and Val, Warren and Marlene, Brian and Patti, Vern and Jackie, Jim and Joy, John and Shirley, and on and on. We love and appreciate each one of you!

This morning in church, we were presented with beautiful leather bound, ultra thin Bibles, signed by Franklin Graham and the World Medical Mission staff, along with a very touching letter of support. We appreciate our church family so much as they came up to pray with us and commission us to go.

Gary is at work today and he works every day right up until we leave, so I hope he finds time to pack the last few things into his suitcase without feeling stressed and rushed before Friday.

An evening with friends

We were treated to an exceptional evening of Indian food, great conversation and were blessed as Dennis and Melissa, Tom and Michelle encouraged us then prayed over us and our family as we enter the final week of preparations. Even the owner of the restaurant had indicated that he had been born in Nairobi and offered advice on personal safety while traveling in the city.


The excitement continues to build...

... will we somehow find time to actually pack all this "stuff" ??


Tomorrow I am workiing my last "on-call" shift, while the rest of the family will participate in a "commissioning" service at the church.

Gary

Countdown

10 days to go! We had our last rabies shot today. We are on track with packing etc. but all these other little things keep popping up to do before we go. Brett has two more hockey games left. The windup for Jackrabbits Cross Country Skiing is tomorrow night. Then we can put away our skis til next year. I told Gary that we should park the ski doos in the barn soon cuz they will be on green grass when we get home.
There are haircuts to be had and a recital for violin to fit in. A Birthday overnighter at the Sheraton. All the regular music lessons. Supper out and visits from friends. A Norwegian dance performance at a Senior's home. Work, meals, laundry etc etc. Ten days should fly by!
Lori

Two weeks to go

Well the basement bedroom is piling up with suitcases, raincoats, shoes, books etc. Jenna was over today and we went over all the little details for her as she housesits here. No small undertaking to look after the horses, dog, cats, house and acreage.

I cleaned out the deep freeze and am trying to buy only what's necessary to eat in the next two week. It's amazing all the little details that need to be done before you go away for awhile. I was chuckling to myself a little as I was going over the list of things they said to bring from home. Pot holders, paring knife, can opener and candles?????

Sounds like we will be staying in a 3 bedroom house. We arrive in Nairobi on a Sat. night and will stay at the AIM guesthouse I believe overnight. We are going to go to church there the next morning and meet with Dr. Ken and Shirley Birch for supper. The Birch's were at Elim years ago and have been living in Nairobi for awhile, but are in the process of moving back to Canada soon.
We will probably stay over in Nairobi until Monday am when we will be driven out to Kijabe. We reminded them that we will probably need a big vehicle to take all 5 of us and our luggage to KIjabe.

Mom and Dad will be coming home from Arizona next week so that we can see them before we leave. There is still so much snow here. Thankfully the stores have got their spring things out, because Brett had outgrown his sandals and practicallly everything Adam tried on from last summer was way too small!!!! I can't believe how much he has grown. Only Brett's feet seem to have grown - nothing else!!!!

We have gone through our videos and cassettes and are planning to take some along to leave with the kids there. They haven't quite gone the CD-DVD route yet that North America is in.

Gary has been busy making DVD's of our time in Kenya in 1990. He has made copies to give to our friends there in Kenya that we spent time with in 1990. It hardly seems possible that it was 16 years ago!!! But then again when I look at the clothes, the glasses and my hair style not to mention how terribly skinny we were..........it must have been a long time ago!!!

Our neighbors lent us the video, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" so we laughed through both parts of those videos.
Our last rabies shot is this week. Adam seemed very relieved to hear that it was the last one!!

We have sensed that we have already been under attack spiritually as we prepare to leave and we know that it will continue all throughout our time there for sure. So we would really appreciate your prayers in a number of ways:

1. that we woud pack wisely, bringing items and tools that will be beneficial to the people there medically and spiritually.
2. that we woud be open and obedient to what God is asking us to do and his plans for us while we are there.
3. that we will be a blessing in every way, to the missionaries, the patients, the staff and the rest of the community.
4. that we would be protected from illness, insects, SNAKES etc etc Mom does NOT like snakes especially, but God knows all about that already
5. that our kids would really gain a heart for missions. That they will grow spiriitually and open their ears and hearts to God's calling on their lives.

I can't tell you how much we desire your prayers for us and how very, very important it is for us to have that prayer support as we go. We really should not dare to even attempt going without it.
Thank you so much to those who have already agreed to pray and have mentioned that to us. We will be relying on it and are thankful for those of you who are sensitive to the Spirit's leading you in that area. So be prepared, you may be woken up at night!!! We will be about 9 hours ahead of you!

Biathlon.

This weekend we went to the provincials for biathlon at Blue mountain. The first day it snowed alot and was very windy. Today it was kinda windy at the start, but it got better as the day wore on. I got 2nd and 3rd,and brett got 2nd and 3rd.

mailing address

In case anyone is interested in mailing us a letter in Kenya, you may send it to:

Dr. Gary Morris, Visiting Clinician
P.O. Box 20
Kijabe Hospital
Kijabe 00220
Kenya, East Africa

We will likely check our email everyday. If sending a letter by mail, it would pretty well have to be sent by April 14th in order to get to us before we leave.

phone call from Aunt Anna

Well tonight my Great Aunt Anna called from Caronport. I hadn't seen or spoken to her for a very long time, so it was great to hear from her. She spent many years at Kijabe teaching English and Religious Education at both RVA and the Girls Intermediate School there. In fact she was there the first year that the Girls school opened. I think she said that she went to Kijabe in 1949! She was last there in 1978 when she got married and moved to Caronport. I was attending Caronport at that time and could look out my dorm window and see my Great Uncle and Aunt's house across the lawn!
She remembers one of the Dr.'s that are still there when they first arrived in Kijabe as a young physician. Much has changed since she lived there, but I told her that I wished we could take her along with us. She was really happy to hear that the kids are going along too.

The kids were trying on their rain coats and sandals to make sure that everything still fits from last summer! Had to get a new bathing suit for Carly though and Adam's sun hat is way too small! We have added sunscreen, bug repellent, an umbrella, flashlights and some food packets to the growing pile in the basement.

Tonight I got together all of the copies of passports, flight itinerary, Kijabe phone numbers and addresses and Mombassa address and phone numbers to leave at home with family and Jenna the housesitter.

It's difficult to pack summer clothes and sunscreen into a bag when we keep getting snow and more snow. Today we drove out to Blue Mountain for the Biathlon Provincials (Carly and Brett were competing). The highway was very icy. Saw 3 or 4 vehicles in the ditch and the gravel road heading north was very heavy with snow. We had to stay in the rut or else.....I was glad that Gary was driving. I kept my head down and knit up a storm. It would have been too nerve wracking to watch!!!!

Lost blog

Last week, I made an entry and I don't know where on earth it went but not onto our blog!!
Last MOnday, Adam was happy to keep up with the rest of us and got his Menamune and Yellow fever immunization. The kids have been really good. Not a word of complaint about all the needles pokes recently.
On Tues. we went to RUH and got our first intradermal rabies. We have the second one this week and then the third one either at 21 or 28 days. The bills for the malarai pills and immunizations for 5 of us has been staggering. But it is worth it to try and remain healthy and free from as many of those diseases as possible.
The boys and I also went to the dollar store last week to load up on pencils, notepads, balls, stickers, toys, balloons, baby items, crayons etc. to take over for the kids in Kenya. We have started to gather things and put them in the spare bedroom in the basement for the final hours when it comes down to the packing crunch. Hoping that our bags won't be overweight.
Have been making lists and lists of questions to ask , things to do before we go, things to bring and things to show the housesitter. Thankfully our neighbor who used to babysit the kids alot has offered to housesit for us. That is a load off our mind that the house and pets are taken care of while we are away.
I can't say that I look forward to returning to stacks of mail.......but hopefully we can keep up with at least our email!!!

I've been praying about what it is that God would like the kids and I to do while we are there. They had sent us a list of maybe 3 pages of possibilities of things we could do.

We've been laughing and crying through some of the YWAM books about Jim Elliot and Nate Saint. They really are very well written and we look forward to our time each day that we sit and read a couple of chapters. Just last week Gary went to a MAF meeting and brought home a DVD to watch. It has all been very timely.

Gary has been in contact with some of our friends there in Kenya to see what we can bring them and to meet up with them once we are there. The last week in Kenya, we will be staying at a resort near Mombassa. It looks very nice from the pictures and virtual tour on their website.

Gary said he thought it was RVA's 100th Anniversary this year! I think there are about 500 MK's that attend there. They follow a 3 semester system I think with a month off in between terms, which is the reason that school is out for the month of April while we are there.

Three and a half weeks before we leave and the time will fly by. Our calender for March is full!! Spring should be in full swing when we arrive home again!

Lori