Hello all! Yesterday I returned from a vacation to Malindi, a little Italian town on the coast of Kenya. It was an amazing vacation!

A week and a half ago, on Sunday, we took a shuttle to Nairobi. It took about 8 hours, but it was a decent trip…except for the awful music the driver had playing on the radio. Anyway, we got dinner in Nairobi and stayed for a few hours because we were taking the night bus to Malindi, which didn’t leave until 10:30 p.m. We ended up leaving Nairobi around 11 (very good time for Kenya), and we pulled into Mombasa (another coastal, touristy town) at 5:30 in the morning. The night bus was pretty comfortable, but a lot of us still didn’t get sleep, so that was…interesting. Once we got to Mombasa, we took a matatu (a van) to Malindi, which was about another hour and a half away. So, after leaving Kitale Sunday morning, we arrived in Malindi on Monday morning. It felt like a lot of traveling, but it was so worth it!

Malindi is very hot and humid, but so, so beautiful. The resort had a bunch of small houses on the compound, two swimming pools, a restaurant, and it was just a short walk to the beach and to town.

The first day we went to the beach and to town, just to get to know where everything was. As we were walking along the beach, there was a man herding cows across it. There were really a whole bunch of cows on the beach. It was one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen, even for being in Africa. I have no idea what he was doing! Anyway, by the time we got into town we were all sweating a gross amount, so we got some groceries and took a tuk tuk back to the resort. A tuk tuk is a little thing with 3 wheels, it has plastic for the sides and roof, and a very uncomfortable seat that fits about three people. And it doesn’t have a steering wheel; it has a handle bar type of thing and the gas and breaks are controlled from there. But it’s pretty cheap to get around in those, so that or walking was how we got around the town.

I think we spent that first day mostly at the resort by the pool. The next day we went to the beach to swim, which was nice, but the water felt a bit like bath water. Just like the pool had. It actually wasn’t very refreshing, but it was amazing to be at the beach in November!
Most days we alternated between staying at the pool and going to the beach, but the best day, by far, was when we went snorkeling! The beach near the resort was pretty normal; nothing spectacular. But the beach we went to for snorkeling was so beautiful with blue water, white sand, and so many fish to see! It was the perfect weather for snorkeling because it was warm out, but really comfortable on the boat on the water, and the water wasn’t too cold. I’m usually scared to snorkel, but it was really fun this time. I have no idea what kind of fish I saw, but there were tons in certain areas, and they didn’t care when you swam with them. Some were so pretty, with so many bright colors all over! Thankfully I did not see sharks or get eaten by one. I think that is usually why I’m scared to snorkel.

Another day we went shopping. They had a market area with amazing African crafts everywhere. While that was really fun, I just have to mention how much we were all sweating at this point. I know it’s hard to picture hot humid weather in December, when you may be looking at snow out your window right now. But a few of us, me included, were talking about how we had never, ever sweat that much in all our lives before. I didn’t even know my neck could sweat until that day. So, while it was fun to shop, it was really hot out. But we found some really neat things to take home to friends and family! And we all learned how to barter a little better. Some of those shop people are very tough! But usually, you can get the price you want.

We also went to a couple of very nice Italian restaurants where the food was amazing. And one night we took a walk on the beach, looked at the stars, and watched a very orange moon rise over the Indian Ocean :)

Most nights we spent on one of the porches, staying up way too late, talking about all different kinds of things. I think snorkeling and spending time together at night were my two favorite parts. It was a really neat way to spend the last week with the TI interns. We all knew each other well by this point, and conversations got better and better as time went on; talking about God, and who He is, and things He’s taught us. It was really sweet to be in a beautiful place like that with beautiful people.

We left early Monday morning and took a bus back to Nairobi. It took most of the day, but the scenery was really beautiful along the way. We had a couple days in Nairobi before the interns flew back home, so we stayed at a hotel, saw a movie, ate some really good food, and just spent more time together. The interns flew out on Wednesday night, but those of us who came back to Kitale left on a bus from Nairobi Wednesday morning and got back to the compound around 3 (it’s good to not be on a bus, and back in my Kitale home!). It is very quiet here with so few people around, but it’s really restful too. When we ate dinner, we could actually sit around the dinner table last night! We’re usually in the living room on the floor :)

One of the TI interns, Chrisy, extended her trip by a week. So she came back to the compound with us, and I’m really looking forward to spending the next few days with her. She’s a sweetheart, and she really seeks the Lord very intensely, especially for someone so young. She really has a heart after Him.

I’m looking forward to my next few days here, a chance to say bye to people, and then heading home for a little while :) I only have to get back on a bus once more in the next week!

Thank you Mom and Dad for that vacation!