We celebrated the New Year on our flight in route to Kenya…and what an incredible place to start 2026!
We were in Kenya for 3 weeks and each week was very different. We were met at the airport by our good friend Rori. He had traveled to join a group of us that would be traveling together.
We had a few days to chill in Nairobi before meeting up with everyone so we took Rori (his first visit to Kenya) to a coffee farm, of course. It also gave us a chance to connect with a good friend of Jim’s from his coffee days who took us to his farm.
It was the best way to start our return to Kenya. The next day we met up with other good friends from Seattle to head out on a safari to Samburu, which is about 6 hours northeast of Nairobi.
Samburu was fantastic. Kenya safaris are known for the “Big 5” (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, buffalo) But Samburu is unique for the “Samburu special 5” and we saw all of them.
We also saw some amazing birds, a lion pride, and so much more. My favorite this visit were the elephants… with babies!
The scenery was also stunning especially at sunset.
From Samburu we headed back to Nairobi and then to Patrick and Heather’s family farm in Eldoret. Jim and I had visited in 2019 and stayed with Patrick’s aunt and uncle so we were looking forward to returning. The farm is so quiet and peaceful compared to the busyness of Nairobi. We loved walking through the farm, visiting Patrick’s relatives and we even got to plant some fruit trees.
We spent a couple hours visiting the school that I had volunteered at in 2019. It is lead by our friends, Patrick’s Aunt and Uncle. They have developed from pre k -3rd grade all the way to 8th grade. It was great to see the expansion and growth in the school and to visit with them.
This school is run on faith. Faith that there will be enough of everything needed for all the kids and for all the staff to provide a healthy, beautiful future for these kids. It was so great and inspiring to go back and visit.
From Eldoret we flew back to Nairobi to meet up with our good friend Mark (who also married us) and a group from the church he pastors in Redmond WA. We were all going to visit some schools where a program called ICCM helps sponsor students who need support for school fees. We had no idea the gift of hospitality we would receive.
We started the week slowly since most of the group was getting over jet lag. This gave Jim and I some time to do planning for going to India (which we really needed). It also gave us a chance to get to know the group. Mark rented us a matatu one day to take us out. These are privately owned, decorated minibuses with music, and screens, and they operate as the main form of public transport in the city.
Thursday was our first full day! We supported a local team of dentists providing a dental clinic in Kibera (a community in Nairobi) at an elementary school. The pictures can’t express the joy and sweetness of the day. The kids greeted us and sang for us. There were so many smiles and lots of laughter. It was such an honor to go and experience the beauty of this school community for the day!
It was amazing to see this classroom space turned into a makeshift clinic. There were 5 trained dentists and 15-20 volunteers. We saw 300 kids, staff and a few brave parents in about 6 hours. What an unforgettable day!
The next few days we visited 2 other schools one in Nairobi and the other in Kericho. We were able to talk with teachers and visit classrooms. I love getting to see the passion of teachers around the world. They understand that education is a crucial opportunity that can change the future for a child, particularly those growing up in the poorest communities in Kenya and around the world. And ICCM is partnering to help make that happen for some of the most vulnerable kids around the world. (That was my personal plug…look them up if you want to learn more at https://www.childcareministries.org/)
If there is one phrase to describe Kenya it would be the HOME OF HOSPITALITY! I mention that a lot in the places we have traveled because it always stands out when you are the visitor. And it’s a big reason Kenya draws us back again and again. We experienced the most gracious hospitality on this trip in so many ways. One that stands out was our visit to Kericho, which is where Anne grew up. We were treated to lunch by a friend of Mark and Anne’s on our way there (We were a big group to feed). When we arrived we were divided up and taken in by families from Anne’s home church and fed and given a place to sleep for two nights while we visited. And then they held a banquet for us and gave us gifts and thanked us for visiting! We were told we were now part of the family and it was sincere. We arrived as strangers and left as family! What a beautiful example.
It was hard to leave but the elephants and giraffes were calling. On to the Maasai Mara, the most visited National Park in Kenya. We got into land rovers and headed south toward the border of Tanzania. It was a different safari experience. The landscape was a wide open grassy savannah as it is part of the rift valley. There were some different animals to see as well, including hippos and a cheetah.
What an incredible way to end our time in Kenya. It’s hard to sum it all up. For Jim and I it was such a gift to be with friends we love and meet new friends we will connect with back home again. To be able to witness and learn about some meaningful work happening in Kenya was inspiring as well. And the warmth and hospitality we received we will carry with us.
Thank you to all who worked hard to plan and make this an incredible journey possible. Blessings to you!
Our Travels Abroad 