Top 5 Questions that I have been asked since being home

If I did a poll over the last two weeks, these would be the top 5 questions that people have asked me. I am blessed that I have so many people in my life and amazed that most of them really do care about me. Here they are: 

1. Q: Wow, you must be so tired and jet lagged from that journey. How long is it anyways? 

    A: As a matter of fact, I am exhausted but the jet lag ain't so bad. It took a full two days for me to get here. The journey was long (and pure torture for me who is a very nervous flyer). It was really expensive to fly through Europe so I had to connect in Qatar and then fly to Montreal which was a 12 hour flight. My flights home are even longer.

2. Q: Hmm, where exactly is Qatar?

(It has surprised me how many people don't know where Qatar is)

  

    A: It's a small country that looks like a little wart that pokes out of Saudi Arabia. Doha, the capital city is one of the coolest cities I have ever been there. Because I had a 10 hour layover, Qatar Airways actually paid for a hotel in the city for me to spend the night. It was all expenses paid for. Super cool! I almost wish I had more time there to explore. 

3. Q: So, how is married life? 

   A: It's wonderful. I really enjoy it. 

 (I want to expand a bit more on my married life but I don't think so many people are interested in all the details. There is SO much to married life and 'wonderful' doesn't quite sum it up)

4. Q: Do you miss Kelvin? 

    A: Terribly! I was ready to go back 3 days after I arrived......(then I get the unimpressed look from my parents.)

5. Q: How is it over there?

   This question has been hard to answer. What exactly is 'it'? Life, ministry, work, marriage, security, politics, what?? Really, I could talk to you for hours about all the 'its'. 

   A: It's not always easy, but I do love it. 

I only have a few more days here in Canada. Honestly, I am ready to get back. It has been harder than I though being away from Kelvin. I am not so sure I will come back again without him. 

Anyways, here are some crazy pics of my parents and I checkin' out the sculpture walk in Castlegar.

Anybody home?

 Let's ponder

 Wouldn't want to mess with this guy

This one was my favourite. If you look closely, you can see all the neat things the artist used. 

I didn't even know Castlegar had one of these crazy head things!

Surprise!!!! Ha, just kidding. I must have done a good job sticking out my gut because we had a friend drive by and ask how far a long I was.

What is man that You are mindful of him?

I sat down to read my daily devotions. Before I left Kenya, I arranged a bible reading schedule for all my girls in hopes that they will actually get into the Word themselves and it would unite us. Yesterday we were to read Psalm 8 and I did. The middle section really stuck out for me: 

"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, 

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 

What is man that You are mindful of him, 

And the son of man that You visit him? 

For You have made him a little lower than the angels, 

And You have crowned him with glory and honour."

Psalm 8:3-5

It's the beginning of summer and being outside is simply delicious. The small town I grew up in is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The snow-capped mountains are full of evergreens and the convergence of two major rivers divides and conquers our town. It's truly majestic here. And it's ALL God's glorious creation! He did it all, He made it all, He thought and planned all of it, He maintains it all. So naturally I am in absolute awe as to why He is mindful of little ol' me? Tiny, frail, sinful, funny looking me. How majestic His creation yet He has made ME a little lower than angels and has crowned ME with glory and honour. He has even put all this stuff under my feet. Crazy, I know. 

Anyways, right after I finished reading this passage my brother asked if I wanted to take a walk. I said yes and off we went. 

 

My family kept telling me how high the river has gotten. It's the highest we have ever seen it. This fast flowing river used to be a small dirt road that attached the mainland to a small island. 

If you look closely, you can see that the water is almost overtaking the small bridge. Usually the water is at least 7-8 feet below the bridge. 

 Mark found a nice bench to sit on. 

 And then he decided to walk over the bridge. 

 For those who don't know, our house is actually located right on the river. Fortunately, there is a pretty large bank that separates us so there is no chance of flooding for us. Today, Mom and I decided to go veg in the sun on the new swanky deck/stairs my parents have built down to the river. This was my view.

Momma was on the next little landing.

I have not enjoyed the many creepy crawlers that come out this time of year. Its worse than the bugs in Mombasa. 

Here's me, just below the angels, bestowed with honour and glory - me!

Surprise!

A few months back, my dad emailed me and asked if I would be interested in surprising my mom for her 50th birthday. At first, I didn't really want to. I dreaded the thought of making the 2 day trip to Canada alone again and well, I am still newly married and have a hard time leaving my husband for more than a day or two. However, after some convincing from Kelvin and some prayer, I said yes. I booked my ticket and kept it a close secret for two months. 

Dad was the only one who knew plus a handful of friends. I kept hearing that Mom was telling everyone how she wished I could be there. I played it off as if I was still in Kenya, sending her emails of what was happening in our lives and so on. The last email I sent her, I was sitting in the Calgary airport about to board a plane to Castlegar. I was writing to tell her how Kelvin and I got back to Mombasa safe and wishing her a good party. Little did she know that I was just a short plane ride away. 

So I snuck onto the property and went and sat on a bench in the back yard. Some friends, who were in on it, had taken her down to the deck. As she came up, she was told to look over my way and, well, the pictures will tell the rest of the story.

The ugly cry came out in full force. It was a great moment. Now that I am here, I am glad I came. I will be around for about two and a half weeks then I must jetback to my hubby. Meanwhile, I will enjoy my family!

"You don't live here anymore"

Last week my mom told me that I need to pack up my room before I go back to Kenya. 

"But why mom? Most of my stuff is organized in boxes. There are a few books on my shelves and pictures and some other things but my room is pretty organized." 

"Nikole, you don't live here anymore. Take your stuff to Kenya."

I wish. 

I have some good stuff. I have some awesome books. I have great kitchen supplies that I had when I was in college. I have awesome clothes. All this stuff I could use in Kenya. 

It's just getting it all there that is the problem. 

I have become pretty inventive with the way I pack so I manage to sneak a lot of little items in. However, with weight restrictions and a 2 bag limit, getting all my stuff to Kenya is a bit difficult. 

That is why I am so glad that I have 4 family members coming over for the wedding in a couple months. Each of them get 2 suitcases. My mom will need both her suitcases for her stuff. My dad and brother could probably fit all their stuff in one suitcase combined. My Baba may need her 2 as well but I am going to try convince her to give me her extra suitcase. And then they each get a carry on which they can stuff with my clothes, towels, and other non threatening items. 

So today I am packing up my room. My mom just informed me that she doesn't necessarily need me to get rid of my stuff since 'I still am their daughter' but just to organize it. I need to make piles of stuff that I want them to bring and put it in order of priority so that, if they don't have enough room, at least I will get the most important things. 

I don't know where I will put all this stuff in my house in Mombasa. Poor Kelvin will be swimming in my Canadian junk. 

Pass Creek, Wedding Dress Shopping, and Old Friends

Today has been the coldest day since I got home to Castlegar. The clouds rolled in early this morning covering the blue sky and making way for some cool breezes. It's the perfect day to stay inside, enjoy some coffee, and work on the computer. With such beautiful sun, you almost feel guilty staying inside. Now, I have a great excuse to continue plugging away on my computer. 

A couple days ago, a few friends and I went to Pass Creek Falls, a place we used to go all the time when we were growing up. It's the best summer, friends, rope-swing, secret in the forest. It looks like it should be in a movie. I am just so amazed that I got to grow up in a place like this. 

The water fall is a bit dangerous but the pool at the bottom is pretty harmless. Doesn't that rope swing just scream 'Come try me!'. 

My childhood friend, Nikki, trying to be playful like we used to be.

On Monday I got to go wedding dress shopping!! It's one of those days that you always dream about and then when it gets here, it's just not as wonderful as you think it is. Ok, maybe that's just my opinion. 

The whole process was a lot more exhausting, emotional, and tiring than I thought it would be. It was definitely FUN! I don't want to sounds proud but, to be completely honest, almost every dress I tried on looked awesome on me. I was the perfect wedding dress size and shape. The ladies I worked with thought I was one of the easiest brides to dress. I kept getting dresses thrown at me to try on because they all looked good on me (with the exception of a couple). The only problem was that now I had so many to chose from. I didn't try one on and go, "yes that's the one!"I had to really think and decide between so many beautiful dresses. One of the biggest things to consider was lightness and movability. It will be crazy hot in December in Kenya so I didn't want anything I was going to die in. Also, I really want to dance up a storm so I have to be able to move (and pee) in it. In the end, I think we did find the perfect dress for my Kenyan wedding.

Mom and I exhausted after a long day of trying on dresses. 

Nikki and I have been best friends since Gr. 2. Mom dug up this photo of us at a school ski day. I think we were in gr. 4 or 5 in this picture. 13 years later and we are still best friends!

Picking up a Stranger

I used to work across town during the summers. Every morning I would drive to work secretly hoping that I would get a chance to pick up a hitch hiker. For some reason, I had this heart to pick some person up and give them a lift while pouring out some love on to them in my car. I wasn't going to pick up just anyone. It had to be a girl and I preferred if she was alone. I wasn't willing to drive them past where I worked so I would have had to drop them off there and then they would have had to find a ride further.

After two summers, I didn't get the chance to pick up any one.

After my failed mission, I was driving up to Pemberton, on the coast of British Columbia, with a friend of mine when I started telling her my desire to one day pick up a hitch hiker. She laughed at me and promised that if we saw one along the way, we would pick her up.

To our surprise, we turned the corner and there was a cute girl with high heel shoes and a classy pea coat sticking her thumb out at us. We burst into laughter at the sheer absurdity of the situation and pulled over to let her in. She definitely wasn't the grungy, torn jeans, dreaded hair, smoke in one hand kind of girl I had imagined picking up. Instead she had a suitcase with wheels and a short mini skirt with J.Lo style sunglasses holding back her hair. We gave her a ride till Whistler (we learned she was a professional snowboarder) and then continued our journey.

However, yesterday I got the chance that I had been waiting for for two summers.

I was driving home last night and passed two ladies on the other side of the road of me. They were trying to get a ride to the direction I was just coming from. As I looked in my rear view mirror, I recognized the girl's face. She was a girl that I went to elementary school with and who I hadn't seen in probably 10 years.

Then my stomach dropped realizing that this was my chance. And now I actually have to do it. I kept driving trying to convince myself that it was not a good idea but God kept nagging at my spirit. I put on my blinker and turned around.

I drove passed her and parked in a near by parking lot. I called out her name and she looked at me puzzled. She came closer and said, "Oh my God! Nikole MacGregor?!!" We gave each other a big hug and started chatting about life. I asked where they were headed. It was a town about 20km away (and where I had just come from). I hesitated again not really wanting to drive all the way back (and I had a massive headache and just wanted to get home to some painkillers) but God kept nudging me to take them home.

So that's what I did.

And it was delightful.

They were so grateful for the ride and I was so grateful to catch up with this precious girl. I drove back home (still with a gigantic headache) happy that I obeyed God's nudging, stepped out of my comfort zone, and helped a sister out.

A childhood friend comes to visit

I have had the most wonderful week! My long time friend, Katie, came to stay 5 whole days with me in Mombasa. She is doing a research project for her degree in Dar Es Salaam (about 600km south of Mombasa) and took a week off to come spend time with me. I was so blessed! 

Katie and I grew up together. We started dancing and playing soccer together when in middle school and our friendship became stronger in our last years of high school. Since high school, we have been either going to school or travelling or working in different parts of the world so we only get a short period of time during holidays to catch up. This week was wonderful having so many  hours of just catching up with all that we have done and who we have become over the past 5 years. 

I put her back on the bus  yesterday morning on the verge of tears. It was sad to see her go. I spent the rest of the day feeling a little homesick. 

Having Katie around gave me the chance to really enjoy all that Mombasa has to offer. I guess when you live in a place, you forget to really enjoy it. People always say that if they lived as close to the beach as I do, they would go swimming everyday. I don't know why but I just don't go. However, Katie gave me an excuse to do all these fun things that I never do. 

I forgot how refreshing it is to go swimming the ocean. We bobbled in the waves as we chatted about life. She was in awe of the beautiful beaches.

 I gave her a tour of Old Town Mombasa (my old neighbourhood) where we admired the beautiful structures and enjoyed the local food.

There is a sweet coffee house in Old Town that serves traditional Swahili coffee (coffee with spices such as cinnamon, ginger, pepper, lemongrass and others). You take off your shoes and cozy up with cushions on the floor. 

A walk along the ocean. 

We even went out dancing! It was a hoot although I am not so sure that I would do it again but I am glad I experienced it. 

It was my nieces birthday party on Sunday. Michelle turned 8 years old. 

All the kids who came for yummy Pilau and cake!

Kelvin was asked to preach at a small concert at a church so Katie and I tagged along. We totally enjoyed the hyper atmosphere and watching all the kids dance. 

Our final night we decided to take a 2 hour sunset boat cruise on the Mtwapa creek. Kelvin and I had been wanting to do it but wanted to find some people to go with. It was just gorgeous! After the sun set, we just sailed on the still, quiet waters under the stars and candle light cracking jokes and laughing while the frogs croaked in the distance. Amazing! 

So thankful for a good friend from home. It is just what my heart needed!

Sunday Stroll

It's a beautiful Sunday today. Well it looks like it from inside. Clear blue skies, bright sun, snow is melting however, the second you step outside, you are chilled to the bone. I definitely enjoy summer better. Anyways, my parents and I took a stroll along the river. Beautiful but cold. Beautifully cold. 

Mom and I were picking on Dad since he has a robotic leg (well its just a cast). This is his angry face.

My parents are sweet.

I was laughing so hard cause it was so cold.

my momma

I was in my room today when I heard someone shoveling my driveway. I knew that my brother was still sleeping and my father has an injury so neither of them would be doing it. I peeped out of my window only to find my momma out there. My momma is a pretty handy woman so it's not surprising that she was out there but I thought she had gone to the gym.

She had already gone to the gym and decided to shovel the drive way...in her gym clothes.

one of the many reasons why I adore my mother...

Crispy cool

I think the question I have been asked the most since I got back is, "How are you adjusting to the cold snow?" To be honest, I have adjusted just fine. It was quite cold right when I left Kenya so maybe that prepared me a little bit but I haven't really suffered more than everyone else. I definitely don't enjoy the cold or the snow. There have been a few days that I stayed inside all day which I am quite happy with. 

However, over the past few days, the sun (and my dog) have dragged me out of the house for a few walks.

This is the view from my brother's driveway in Kelowna. The mountains are absolutely gorgeous.

I really love living next to a large river. I think I take it for granted too much. It is truly incredible.

This is my dog Lucy. SHe is getting old and doesn't get out much so she takes every opportunity she gets to sniff everything. She is often the one who forces me out of the house for a walk. She just looks at you and this wave of guilt overcomes you and you just have to do it. 

She is adorable. 

I have  seen a lot of beautiful places all around the world but there is a world of beauty in my back yard. I am blessed to live here, thats for sure!