Hi all, Just thought I'd add an update with some pictures from a recent hike to Spence Field and Rocky Top. The weather here is finally getting a bit more liveable: in the upper 70's to low 80's with humidity finally getting a bit lower. The hike was beautiful, hope you like the pictures. Starla [View Full Entry]

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Hello from Lake Junaluska, North Carolina! We had an awesome day today at the Holston Annual Conference. Tony was commissioned along with 19 others. His mom and Tom drove in from Knoxville, and my folks came in last night so they could be here this morning. We are all very proud of Tony! We are excited to get settled into our parsonage next Wednesday. I am also still looking for a job, and am looking forward to the many opportunities for nurses in the Knoxville area. So, most likely, this is my last post for awhile (at least until we go [View Full Entry]

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Hello from Amsterdam! Tony and I have been enjoying our time here. We have gotten to visit several museums so far, thanks to the IAmsterdam Pass, which gets us into many museums for free and onto the public transportation system as well. So far we have been to the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum (yahoo!!), and the Amsterdam Historich Museum. All of these have been very interesting, and we have also walked around quite a bit of the city and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. All of the canals of Amsterdam make it quite the picturesque area. Also, because the city is so [View Full Entry]

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Tonight is our last night in Africa. We have enjoyed a wonderful few days on safari, it was so amazing! I am posting from the Methodist Guest House in Nairobi, and it is so nice to once again enjoy high-speed internet! I wanted to post some of our favorite pics from the safari. The Masai Mara is so very amazing, I wish everyone could enjoy a few days there. Tomorrow we head out super-early in the morning for our flight to Amsterdam. We will stay there for 3 nights, then it’s back home to TN. We’re really looking forward to getting [View Full Entry]

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I am writing the blog again because Starla is currently getting a well deserved pedicure at the spa here at the Sarova Mara. We left Maua to head to the Masai Mara on Wednesday. It was very sad to say bye to everyone, and we hope that we get another chance to come again. All the Kenyans said that they won’t say goodbye because they know that we’ll be back. I’ve even had an invitation to teach at Kenya Methodist University in Meru. I felt very honored! They said that Starla and I have been a huge blessing to them and [View Full Entry]

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Hello, for the last time, from Maua! It is Sunday afternoon, and the internet café is closed, so I will be posting this blog tomorrow during my lunch break. We have had a wonderful last weekend here. Thursday we had Rev. Muriki over with his lovely family. His two children are 2 and 5, and they were so cute and energetic! Tony was very sad to say goodbye to him. Friday night we went to a potluck at the Savuto’s house. After the potluck, we all sat on the floor and played the card game “Nine’s”. We are truly going to [View Full Entry]

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Today I, Tony, am writing the blog because Starla is busy in the OPD and I wanted to write about our trip to visit Dorcas. This last week of ours is going by so fast. Yesterday, we walked with Andrew from the AIDS orphans program up past Kiegoi to the home that the team from St. Peter’s built for Dorcas in 2005. Andrew is doing an internship for his diploma at the hospital, and he is in charge of the overseeing the building of the homes. He also does semi-annual check-ups on the children who live in the homes. We did [View Full Entry]

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What an eventful weekend we had! Tony and I enjoyed a visit to two churches on Saturday with Rev. Hosea who is the pastor of the circuit (which includes these two churches along with 9 others). Rev. Hosea and his wife had us over for tea before the services, and while we were at their house, we learned how Kenyans prepare food and what kind of stoves they use. We also learned about the 2 week process to make charcoal out of wood. It was a good time, and we had discussions about Kenyan marriage and the fact that arranged marriages [View Full Entry]

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Today I don’t have too many new pictures to add, because we have been sticking around the hospital this week and not travelling about. So, the pics aren’t too exciting… but I hope you still enjoy them! We have had fun figuring out what all we can cook with the supplies around here. We can get most groceries in town, but there are many things which you have to travel quite a distance to find (no takeout food, it even takes one hour to drive to the nearest store which sells cheese!). I included a picture of Tony making chapatti, the [View Full Entry]

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Well, our time seems to really be winding down here! At the annual Synod meeting, Rev. James told Tony that he is already beginning to miss him. They seem to really have enjoyed working together, and I know they both have a great amount of respect for one another. Tony did a great job preaching on Friday and Saturday for the annual meeting! The theme of the conference was, “Service to God is Service to Humanity”, and Tony said his main goal was to encourage the pastors to continue doing their work. We got to meet the Presiding Bishop of Kenya, [View Full Entry]

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