Daily Life at HEART

I have had a few request to describe my daily life; this is for you Uncle Tom! I spend most of my time in Nairobi, I am staying at the HEART lodge. HEART is a charity group but it runs a lodge to generate income. The HEART lodge is a compound, there are offices for the staff, rooms for some of the Kenyan staff who have to stay late at night, a condo for Vickie, a house for the interns and permanent guests, a dining room, and a number of guest rooms. The lodge can sleep up to twenty five, not including the staff rooms or the intern's house. We live very comfortably. We have hot showers, comfortable beds, and good food. Breakfast is served every morning at 8 and dinner is served at 6:45. Bacon, cereal, toast, and fruit are mainstays at breakfast (I have become absolutely addicted to mangoes) . In addition we have chapati pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, or porridge. Dinner is almost always western food, we rarely eat Kenyan food at the lodge. There is always a meat, at least one starch, a vegetable, and dessert.
Many missionary groups stay at HEART, it is a God centered place. There is a constant stream of new people coming through HEART. Right now there is a team from Southern California, and a mission group from Seattle just left. We have devotions every morning at 7:45, the staff, guests, and interns take turns leading devotions.
My days vary considerably. We frequently travel around to different schools to do health education and distribute sanitary towels, we go to different WEEP centers, we travel around with missionary teams, we have meetings with HEART supporters or potential supporters, and we go to different community events (Rotary meetings, teas held by NGOs etc. ). We spend a considerable amount of time in the car, Nairobi traffic can be brutal! It is not uncommon to spend an hour and a half driving someplace, and then of course you have to come back. We have many long days, frequently we are gone for ten hours traveling around, meeting people, teaching, or attending an event.
There are also opportunities to relax. Nairobi is a modern city, there are malls and western restaurants. The other night we went out to pizza and then bowling (I bowled a 99, so sad I didn't break 100). We go to the Village Market a few times a week (mostly to go to the Nakumatt, the large Safeway like grocery store). The Village Market is not a village market, it has jewelry stores, a movie theater, a pool hall, a Woolworths, a grocery store, and a number of restaurants.
My days are challenging, busy, stimulating, and fun, although I do look forward to coming home. Tomorrow is another busy day and we are getting ready to go upcountry on Thursday. I will keep you posted,
Margaret