Ninaondoka Nairobi - Leaving Nairobi

Greetings from Nairobi for one last time! Tomorrow morning I will begin another transition and travel to Mombasa.

This past week has been full of many great moments, but also with a bit of sadness as it is time to move on. I passed the Beginner's Exam for Swahili, but the true test begins tomorrow as I try to use my language skills in Mombasa, where Swahili is much more prevalent than in Nairobi.

I thought today I would post a few faces that I will remember fondly from the past 3 months.

First, my Swahili class:
And the Maryknoll community

And some other creatures ... who could not love this face?
On a fun note, John, Cindy & I celebrated finishing classes by visiting an elephant orphanage on Saturday. It was delightful! They allow visitors one hour each day for the mid-day feeding (with bottles!).
I was surprised how playful the elephants were.
And even more surprised that one walked by me & gave me a kiss ... if elephants kiss with their trunks?
Another highlight this weekend was meeting my new housemate & co-missioner, Susan Nagele.

Faces I will miss ...
Benedict - long known as "the mango guy," Ben works across the street from our hostel and was extremely generous since we "didn't have our own farm". As you can see, his smile can light up a room and a rainy day.
Josephat was one of my patient Swahili tutors, while he selling handcrafts to visitors at our hostel. He wouldn't accept the title of teacher in Swahili and suggested that he be called assistant.
Moses! Moses is the day guard at our hostel, a constant friendly face, source of wisdom, honest advice and kindness.
Fr Leonard is a Tanzanian priest who has stayed at the hostel almost as long as we have, but for treatment of his ankle. He is the one I would take my Swahili questions - as one who speaks Kiswahili sanifu ... pure Swahili.

And Charles and Damianas, the night guards who always provided a bit of entertainment for us as we called it a night. My heart broke a little tonight for Damianas' family. Yesterday they buried his 22-year-old brother, who was killed in a car accident. He was in the last year of university, and a great hope for his family. May their faith sustain them as they grieve.

And finally, the faces I will miss the most are the two who have been my dear friends and companions for the last 3 months. We now head in opposite directions as we begin our work.

It's go time!