On Longevity
Arianna and I passed our ten year mark in Kenya in September. Time has flown, our girls have grown, many friends have come an gone – and we are still here!
There is something to longevity. Patterns become familiar – work permit applications and renewals, arrival of new interns, gorgeous Jacarandas blooming in October, planning seasons, budget seasons, the holiday rush of communication and connecting with hospital donors.
Longevity means we can dream big and see dreams actually come true. It is super-encouraging to look back and see what has been accomplished!
Looking forward, the hospital has many big plans, both for buildings and people. Arianna is super-involved in planning for education and housing – she’s constantly writing grants, meeting with partners, and managing team leaders. I tend to have one or two major projects going at a time, then a big list of students and patients stories to compile and share. Thankfully I have several people on my team who can do a lot of the day to day work and I can be more involved in high-level planning and storytelling.
Longevity means that, in most of what we do, we are helping team members to do the actual work. I have no idea how manage a construction project, but I’m getting familiar with reports, cycles, approvals, and planning meetings. Each project finished means the lessons learned make the next one a little easier to execute. Now, if funds arrive, we can complete a major project in less than a year. Pretty amazing!
The new Cancer Center, which many of you contributed toward, is set to open tomorrow – 12 months from when we started fundraising. That’s amazing!
Longevity also means seasons of loneliness. We have had so many hospital and mission teammates come and go. Relationships in Kijabe are more than just work – friends, family, healthcare, and ministry are rolled up into one. Many Kijabe alumni keep in touch, some come back to visit, and others even return for long seasons, but each goodbye is painful. We send lots of messages and Marco Polos, but definitely long for the people we have long-known and long-loved.
ari addendum:
This 10 year land mark has been one of incredible reflection – we look and see what God has done while we have been here. We look at how our family has grown and changed. We look at the incredible network of friendships that spans a globe. We continue day to day, month to month, praying for an ocean that feels a bit smaller, and for more time to see with such clarity that God is at work in this beautiful world and to be part of what He is doing.