March. This month held many wonderful things! To start, my birthday was at beginning of the month. As someone who loves an excuse to celebrate, I always enjoy when my birthday falls on a weekday, so that I can celebrate with my students! I enjoyed celebrating another year of life with my sweet class and felt loved on by my coworkers. My teacher partner and friend, Rachel, and I actually share the same birthday! How fun is that? So, the two of us, booked a cozy little acreage home on Airbnb for the night and it was a lovely way to enjoy the day.
The month of March is Reading Month at our school, with every week being a different theme for our students. It was so fun to participate in the fun dress up days! The students have been working so hard to read a lot and it continues to be such a delight to teach them. I have enjoyed this group of students SO much. I am sad to think that I only have two more months with them. Praise God that they are progressing along well and that the final parent-teacher conferences went so well. They were encouraging for me to hear such positive feedback about my teaching. I praise God for his gifting. I am filled with gratitude as I think of how much I love teaching these kiddos.
This month also marked a momentous event for my family back in Canada. My brother and his wife, welcomed their second boy, Theo, into the world on March 15 (my brother’s birthday!). It is crazy to think that when I left Canada, their oldest, Elliot was only a week old and when I return this summer, he will be well over a year and Theo will be 3 months old already. I am really looking forward to spending time with them this summer.
In the third week of the month, our school had Spring Break (a treasured time for teachers). My friend, Rachel, and I put our savings together and found a good deal on a flight to London, so we decided to venture into international travel and we truly couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Praise the Lord that it all went so smoothly, we stayed healthy and enjoyed exploring the beautiful, historic streets of London. It honestly, felt so strange being in a first-world country again. I have become so used to my life here in Nairobi, that I’ll admit, it was a nice change of pace. I felt a lot more safe and was able to enjoy some simple luxuries again like affordable common-known-to-me foods and McDonald’s French fries. I thank God for this wonderful experience.
After returning from a week away, it was nice to come home to Nairobi, this city that has been my home for almost two years now. As much as I am looking forward to visiting Canada again this summer, there are so many parts of my home here that I really love as well. It is a strange feeling, feeling caught in two places at once. But, I am grateful nonetheless. For things like getting roast maize on the side of the road on my commute home or the friendly, familiar faces at the market. Kenya is home to me too. I have been reminded lately, that no matter where I go, there is SUCH comfort in knowing that Jesus always comes with me. There’s not a day I have spent without Him. That is the truest form of home I believe I will ever know.
Prayer Items:
-Flying back to Canada this summer! To coordinate schedules to see everyone.
-Continued prayer for my studies (currently have 3.5 courses left to go!)
-Finishing these last two months of the school year well. Opportunities to share deep truths with my students that they will carry with them into their summers.
-Praise God for a break to rest, travel, and reset!
-Praise God for birthdays and new life!
Love,
J.
jocelyn's adventures in kenya. 