4 Final Kenya Pictures

I had intended to make the post about our final amazing day in Michura the last thoughts about Kenya but then I found these final photos over the weekend.

I don't think anything can capture the beauty of this country better than a sunrise over the savannah.

maybe the beautiful smiles of children with hearts open, chasing our bus down the road.

or being surrounded by kids watching a soccer game under a giant tree

or this picture of the day Siprin and I were talking in her classroom.  I had no idea this picture was ever taken, but it's one to treasure.

Over the weekend I finished up thank you letters to friends who helped me financially make this trip possible.  I included the following thought.

The Michuran people are poor in material goods but wealthier than most in their relationships.  After spending five days among their families, their want for the best possible education for their children as a ticket to a successful future is not much different from my own for my sons. While our lifestyles are different, our hearts are the same.  I have returned to my family and friends with a purpose to be more intentional in all of my relationships. 

As a new school year starts back tomorrow in teacher workdays, as the boys are back into the groove of school in the next days, as our lives return to a full, packed schedule I pause on that last idea about being more intentional in all my relationships.  

The last eight weeks of summer vacation from teaching have been magical. Of course not every minute perfect or not without trying moments, but simply wonderful days filled with time with my family, with friends from years ago or those I get to see often.  I've read more, slept more, and simply been lazy in a way I can't remember ever doing. 

Life unfolds as a series of chances to say yes.  What can you say yes to in your life?  Even taking the smallest chance out of the comfortable, the normal can lead to amazing places.