We (well, mostly Carolyn) will continue to maintain this blog; however, the content may not be as interesting to many of you because we don’t live anywhere very exciting any more. I’m not completely sure what I’ll write about, but I often find writing quite cathartic. I will probably write some about our re-entry process (as “they” call it among missionaries) and what it feels like to return to our normal life. We also have about a zillion photos we need to post which will be much easier to accomplish now that we have access to high speed internet. A friend at RVA once compared our bandwidth issues in Kijabe with trying to send Niagara Falls through a garden hose; thus, uploading even just a couple of photos might take all day long.

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Forgive me for my three weeks of silence. The Konings have been back on American soil since Friday, July 25, and we hit the ground running. We’ve had all sorts of computer problems recently which explains (to some extent) my inability to post.

Lily and Silas returned to school on Monday, July 28. Both were eager to return to their routines and to see their friends.

We were welcomed home by major water damage to our bathroom and the ensuing demolition and renovation. Fortunately, we’ve been able to spend this week at Camp Seafarer Family Camp, away from our house. Lily and Silas went to school for two weeks, and we pulled them out for camp. We’ve had so much fun reuniting with old friends and playing together as a family.

I’m the most blessed woman in the world. How is it possible to feel so “at home” in two completely different places, on two different continents, in two remarkably different cultures? How can I have so many genuine, amazing friends around the world?

While I was crying for weeks about leaving Kenya, I told Paul that I knew I would be fine once I was in North Carolina, and that has been the case. I do miss RVA and all the people there, but we have had sweet reunions with family and friends.

Thank you, Lord, for your abundant blessings. ~ cck

Leaving has been emotional. While we’re so looking forward to seeing friends and family in America, we are sad to leave the special people and places in Kenya. About a week ago, I literally cried all day long. Every friend I ran into would unleash another wave of uncontrolable sentimentality. A couple days before my day of mourning, Lily banished Silas and said she wanted to talk. She sobbed that she would miss Theo (our cat) and her tree house and Abby’s house (Abby has been one of her best friends here; she ate dinner with Abby’s family as often or more than she ate with ours) and all her friends and her classroom and Titchie Swot and Mombasa and the animals and the dorm girls and everything. I feel the same way.

I don’t remember leaving being this hard in 1994. Perhaps the difference is the fact that we had a dorm this time, have been so involved in the girls’ lives, and love them as if they were our own. Perhaps it’s having our own children and seeing what an amazingly positive experience this has been for them. Perhaps, in 1994,  I was so blinded by love and preoccupied by the fact that I was going to America to get married, I was oblivious to all that I would miss about Kenya. Whatever it is, I don’t remember being this sad; I don’t remember crying every time I laid eyes on a special friend; I don’t remember weeping over simple, kind gestures like someone bringing us lunch because we were out of food; I don’t remember tearing up as I gazed across the Rift Valley at Mount Longonot.

I haven’t written much about the leaving process because we were all so shocked at the death of Ben Entwistle. We didn’t know Ben personally, but we love and admire his parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, and uncles a great deal. Grieving and celebrating the life of this precious 20-year-old boy further complicated our already ragged emotions. The memorial service was quite remarkable. Ben’s dad and aunt, among others, spoke with surprising steadiness. We sang hymns of praise, such as Blessed be the name of the Lord and It is well with my soul. The slide show presentation was what undid me: photos of Ben with all his RVA friends during special RVA traditions - Banquet, Senior Safari at the coast, rugby, and soccer; sweet family snaps with all the kids and his parents; photos taken two weeks ago during alumni weekend with his friends and siblings. The concluding slides were of Ben, sick in the hospital and then on the Medivac plane.

After a week of packing, moving furniture, giving things away, and more weeping, now we’re at the Africa Inland Mission guest house in Nairobi waiting for our shuttle to the airport. Our flight leaves later tonight. We’re looking forward to three days of sight-seeing and visiting with dear friends in London. We land at the Raleigh-Durham airport on Friday. What happens then? Do we pick up right where we left off? I don’t really know. ~ cck

The following is from Roy and Judy Entwistle, Ben’s grandparents, sent on Tuesday.

We just had a call from Dan in South Africa. He reported that Ben did really well for the first 3 1/2 hours of the flight. Then, his heart developed problems. The team on the plane did everything possible to revive Ben, but the pulse stopped and nothing could be done. The plane had been on the ground about 20 minutes when Dan called. He was still at the plane and trying to determine what to do. He really has no one in South Africa to turn to for help… Judy found this wonderful verse in Psalm 54:4, ”Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one that sustains me.” We are praying this for Dan and Lynda and for the dear children. We are also claiming it for our entire family.

At times like this it is so wonderful to have Jesus, whose eye is on the sparrow. We know He is grieving with us. He has not failed. Once again life has triumphed over death. We have total confidence that Ben is 100% well and we will see him again. God is good all the time and even Ben’s passing comes through His loving hand.

If any reading this message do not know the Lord or has wandered from Him, we plead with you to come to Him. At such times in life, there is nothing like knowing that one’s sins are forgiven and that Jesus is able to present us faultless before the Throne of Grace. That is what He has done for Ben. He has done it because He loves Ben, not because Ben deserved it. Oh what comfort we have despite the tears.

Our family wants to thank all of you who have prayed us through this time of pain. Your messages have brought solace and encouragement. We have felt the love of literally thousands and have thanked God over and over again that we are part of the family of God.

And from Ben’s father Dan, sent on Wednesday.

Today is Wednesday, and I am home now with my family here in Kijabe, Kenya, and OH has it been good to be reunited again! It hardly seems possible that six days ago we knew nothing of the storm that was looming and sweeping down on us. Yet it has blown by, wreaking havoc in our hearts, and here we are…and as always God is faithful. We have each sensed His presence and moments of calm, then moments of intense grief. 

Yesterday morning I took off with Ben in the Netscape jet for Johannesburg, and all seemed so controlled. So quickly it changed. The commencement address at Jesse’s graduation last Saturday seemed like it was scripted for us in these days. Dr. Harry Kraus, a surgeon and great friend, made two points. Number one: We are very small. How small I felt as I worked alongside the doctor doing CPR on Ben as the nurse frantically drew up medications to try and reverse what the CPR monitor was telling us! We had all the equipment imaginable, but we were very, very small. And, of course, our desperate efforts for about 20-25 minutes did nothing. Alone in the plane with Ben once we were on the ground, holding him and sobbing, I felt so very, very small again…and yet an indescribable love for God at the same time. He gives, and He takes away. And He knows exactly what He is about!

That was point number two: Jesus is very, very, very big. This did not take Him by surprise in the least. I know it was planned and orchestrated according to His unfathomable design for good in our lives and in the lives of those touched by Ben’s 20 years on earth and ultimately for the kingdom of the King. How great to KNOW the truth of that! We cannot imagine going through this without a firm faith in God’s absolute sovereignty. And we are finding as we lean on Him, He is sustaining us.

But there are moments my faith fails too. I look back and just ache, thinking what if I had only borrowed a stethoscope and listened to his heart a few days earlier. And then I have to be reminded that there are no what if’s. We cannot go back, and of course God is more than strong enough to cover any failings on our part. But I suspect it is something I will have to work through for some time to come…

Anyway, dear friends, thank you, thank you for your prayers for Ben and for us during the storm. They mean more than you can possibly know. We are undergirded big time, and in the midst of the pain full of great joy for our Ben-man who at this moment is indescribably ecstatic, as REAL life has really just begun for that great “son of our right hand”!!

With great joy in our GREAT God!!   

Dan for Lynda, Ben (you’ll never not be a part of us, buddy!), Jesse, Lucy, Seth, and Michael

Tomorrow morning we will attend Ben’s memorial service here in Kijabe. Ben’s funeral will be next week in North Carolina, before we arrive in the States on Friday, 25 July. Thank you for your continued prayers on behalf of this precious family.

Ben and his father Dan left Nairobi this morning on a medivac flight, headed for Johannesburg, South Africa. An evacuation to the U.S. was deemed too long (20+ hours) considering his fragile condition. Ben will have heart surgery when he arrives in J’burg; the damaged heart valve will probably be replaced. 

Thank you for your continued prayers on behalf of Ben and his family. If you would like to follow his progress, a blog has been created to serve as a central location for all information relating to Ben, his condition, and his family: http://www.BenEntwistle.com/.

Meadowview Presbyterian Church in Lexington, NC is raising money for Ben’s medical expenses. 100% of the money sent to Meadowview will be wired to the Entwistles to help cover treatment and surgery, the cost of the medivac, and once Ben is better, flights for the whole family to the U.S. You may send a check, made payable to Meadowview Presbyterian Church, with a note indicating For Ben Entwistle.
Meadowview Presbyterian Church
1 Graceway Drive
Lexington, NC 27295

Please keep praying for this wonderful young man and his amazing family.

Exactly one week until we fly out. We’re all experiencing a huge range of emotions.

We lost the Prescott final on a rainy, lightning-streaked afternoon, 3-6 in sudden death overtime. A tough, well-played match despite the weather. What made it so heart breaking was that we missed a makeable penalty with 20 seconds left in regulation by inches, and then the opponent’s long overtime penalty cleared the bar by inches.

The rugby match was immediately followed by Alumni Weekend. Paul made three appearances in the various alumni games. He played in the girls field hockey game (a few guys played as numbers were short). Then he played the whole volleyball match. No one on the court was within 15 years of Paul’s age, but various witnesses assured him that he represented the eighties with dignity. Lastly, he got a few minutes in the soccer game, the last event, and alumni’s only win, 3-2.

Saturday was graduation. Harry Kraus, a general surgeon at Kijabe Medical Center, published author, and father of one of the graduates, was the speaker. He and the other speakers were excellent; the music was beautiful.

So now, all our dorm girls are gone, and campus is mostly empty once again. Carolyn, Lily, and Silas have cried buckets saying good-bye to so many dear friends.

In the midst of all this activity and emotion, the entire Kijabe community is praying for the miraculous healing of one of her beloved sons. Ben Entwistle, a 2006 graduate of RVA, came back to Kenya for his brother Jesse’s graduation and for alumni weekend. Ben became very ill last week and was urgently admitted to the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi on Friday afternoon after an apparent stroke. Everyone is in shock as Ben looked fine over alumni weekend, playing rugby and even scoring the winning goal in the 3-2 alumni triumph in soccer. The most recent news is far from encouraging: The bacterial growth on the heart is so severe that it has spread elsewhere and might cause another stroke any time. Ben is in urgent need of heart surgery. He is in no condition to be transported, and while it’s one of the best hospitals in Africa, Aga Khan may not be equipped to provide the treatment he needs. Pray that, through God’s interfering, with or without antibiotics, Ben would recover at least well enough to get to where he can receive the needed surgery. Please pray for God to heal Ben completely.

I came to RVA in 1992 because of Ben’s grandmother, Judy Entwistle. At the time, Ben’s grandfather Roy was the superintendent of RVA, and Judy taught French. In December of 1990, I went to a missions conference in Urbana, Illinois, in search of God’s will, knowing that God was, indeed, calling me to missions of some sort. Hundreds of mission organizations participate in the conference to recruit new missionaries; tables line humongous exhibit halls, and mission representatives distribute literature and talk with prospective missionaries like me. By the time I arrived at the Africa Inland Mission table, on the verge of tears, I was completely overwhelmed from talking with what felt like a trillion people hoping to persuade me to teach English in every destination from China to Chile. Judy Entwistle immediately identified my distress and simply said, “Let’s go over here and pray for a minute.” She led me to a nearby private corner and prayed that God would give me wisdom and clarity . She prayed that I would hear God’s voice alone above all the others that seemed so confusing at the time. She never prayed that I would come to RVA. She never prayed for God to lead me to Africa. She trusted God to provide the staffing RVA needed and the missionaries AIM needed throughout the continent. She genuinely wanted me to follow God’s will, not hers. She wanted me to go wherever God wanted me to go. God spoke to me in a mighty way through this slight, unassuming, elderly woman, through her sweet spirit, through her faith in her big God, through her sincere concern for me personally. I came to RVA in 1992 to teach English. Paul and I met then, dated in the strangest fish bowl environment ever, and here we are again with our two children who have had the best experience of their lives. All four of Roy and Judy’s children have served as missionaries in Africa. Thank you, Judy, for the impact you’ve had on my life and the lives of so many. Thank you for your faithful prayers on behalf of Paul and me, as well as all AIM missionaries. And now, we’re all praying for Ben.

While I still don’t completely understand all the rules of rugby, I LOVE IT! I love rugby 100 times more than I’ve ever loved American football. I realize this may be blasphemy coming from a girl who grew up along North Carolina’s famous Tobacco Road, but I might even love rugby more than I do basketball. Rugby is fascinating, exciting, fast, and crazy. It’s brutal. The nurses in student health complain daily about the number of injuries the game produces. I caught rugby fever in 1993 when I saw my first rugby match. RVA won Kenya’s prestigious Prescott Cup when we were here in 1994. They went to the Prescott finals in 1995, but did not win the Cup. This Friday, RVA will compete in the final match of the Prescott Cup for the first time since 1995. Perhaps Paul and I are the lucky charms!

Click here for an article one of Paul’s students wrote about RVA’s quest for the 2008 Prescott Cup. ~ cck

We fly home in less than a month. RVA graduation is Saturday, 12 July. We fly out of Nairobi on 21 July. We will spend three days in London and arrive in Raleigh on Friday, 25 July at 4:41 p.m. 

I hear it’s blazing hot at home these days. I’m freezing in Africa. The temperature is currently in the 50s. The rainy season’s general cloudiness and drizzle make it feel much colder to this very southern girl. I wear sweaters everyday, and we keep a fire burning in the fireplace from morning to night. While your children are covered in sunblock, splashing around at the neighborhood pool, I sent Lily and Silas to school today in long-sleeve t-shirts, sweaters, fleece jackets, rain coats, rag-wool socks, and rain boots (and jeans, of course).

A recent conversation I had with Silas who is in the second grade:
Silas: Will RVA be here forever?
Mom: It’s been around for 100 years. It will probably be around for another 100. Do you want to come back sometime?
Silas: Yes.
Mom: What grade do you want to come back for?
Silas: Third.

One of my recent guidance related tasks has been to enter all the preregistration information for the 08-09 school year into the student database. As I was going through student forms, I stumbled upon the following note, scrawled on the back of a prereg form, probably written during a class:

I am going down to some widow’s house on Sat to build a cow pen with Mr. Murphy at like 9-12. Wana come?

To which the other student responded,

I would be up 4 it except I got rugby.

I love this place. I want my kids to have friends who build cow pens for widows on Saturdays with their English teachers. I want my kids to build cow pens for widows. I want my kids to play rugby. I’m going to miss this place. ~ cck

… that I didn’t necessarily want to learn.

• “Vault” is not at all like Gatorade. It has caffeine. Lots of it, I do believe.
• Never let a 7-year-old boy drink Vault when you want him to sleep on a 9-hour international flight.
• Vault counteracts the intended effects of Dramamine.
• Tired 7-year-old boys are not very much fun in London.
• You can press the green button on the outside of a London train, and the doors will open.
• One should always clearly explain to 7-year-old boys the importance of NOT jumping onto trains in foreign countries unless the rest of the family is with them.
• Everything in London costs a lot. A whole lot.
• Mind the gap.

The good news is that we’re back in Kijabe. We’re exhausted, and Lily says she feels “woozy.” But we’re here. And even when you’re not in London, mind the gap! ~ cck