The Tartan Trio

Julia didn't come alone.
She brought her own personal security detail.
In the shape of her daughter Rebecca, a dental nurse.
And Rebecca's boyfriend Neil, an IT desktop engineer.
Rebecca made the perfect First Aid "dummy". No offence!
And Neil did a fantastic job of tidying up New Life's mailing list.
A job that he took back to Scotland to complete.
That's dedication for you!
Guy

The Tartan Trainer

My mum & dad were with us for 10 weeks.
But while they were here, we had another visitor.
Julia Fraser. A good friend from City Church Aberdeen.
Here she is. Outside the doors of All Saints' Cathedral.
About to join us for the morning worship service.
As a nurse, Julia was a fantastic help to us & our Nairobi team.
She joined forces with our own in-house trainer Jaqui Mwango.
And in just 2 days they trained all our Nairobi staff in First Aid.
Including me!
Guy

Gotcha!

It wasn't all work for mum & dad. Almost. But not quite.
Between jobs, they'd warm their aching muscles in African sun.
And would even set up the occasional back garden card school.
In this instance, they both look suitably intent on winning.
But if anyone knows anything about my mum and games,
then the phrase that must come to mind for my poor dad is ...

"lamb to the slaughter"!

Guy

Roll Over!

There were 15 in the pool and the oldest one said:
Roll over, roll over!
So they all rolled over and ... Gran stepped IN!
There were 16 in the pool and the oldest one said:
Roll over, roll over!
So they all rolled over and ... Gran sat DOWN!
You should have seen the Kenyan staff's faces!
You should have seen MY face?!
Guy

Ear, Eye, Nose, You

Just say what you see.
Ear. Eye. Nose. You. (Here, I knows you!)
Baby Angus thinks my dad is very funny. He's not alone!
My mum & dad are here for 10 weeks just now.
But only a little over 2 weeks still left to go.
They've worked SO hard. No surprises there, eh?
But still found time to hang out with the kids.
We'll all miss them SO much when they go.
But maybe this'll be an annual migration?
We're hoping so!
Guy

Kits To Kenya

Two very happy boys from our Ark family home here in Nairobi.
Wearing two Ellon Thistle Football Club shirts - from Scotland.
Bet they never looked better on anyone else before.
Hey, I wonder if Terion Taxis have taken any calls from Nairobi?
Requesting a lift home!
Guy

Catch That Cake

This is 5 days after Christmas - Gerro's 9th birthday.

Did you know he's an extraordinarily good goalkeeper?

How good? Well, I had a phone call just over a week ago.

It was his soccer coach pleading with me. What for?

To let Gerro play in a weekend tournament for 300 kids.

He said they had no hope without Gerro between the posts.

He was spot on, as it turned out, because ...

The only goal scored against him in open play was an own goal.

And their last game came down to a penalty shoot-out.

Gymnast Gerro saved no less than 3 of the 6 penalty shots!

So it was pretty easy deciding what his birthday cake should be.

His brand new goalie gloves "catching" a ball-shaped cake!

Decorated with stars, of course, for our superstar son!

This is the same cake, after dark, a few hours later.

With the candles blazing - lighting up Gerro's face.

It's a magical shot of a magical boy!

Guy

Shake Me Up

Many of mine & Susanna's evenings are spent at home.

To while away the hours, we often watch BBC historical dramas.

Which we then pass on to Clive & Mary, who love them too.

The BBC can't keep up with our combined rate of consumption!

We really enjoyed the BBC's recent adaptation of Bleak House.

It includes a bath-chair-ridden character called Mr. Smallweed.

Who forever barks at his grand-daughter: 'Shake me up, Judy!'

Clive & Mary, Susanna & me, all picked up on this.

And it's now become something of a New Life catchphrase.

Hence, this bar of soap from Susanna in my Christmas stocking.

Look closely!

Guy

An African Advent

Another magical idea from Susanna for our Kenyan Christmas.

More firelight. But this time from our five Advent candles.

Standing in a wreath, which Susanna made herself.

But not from holly and ivy. They are a little scarce here!

But from some of our local plants. Good, isn't it? Exotic even!

What a wonderful way my wife has of making memories.

Guy

The Fascination Of Fire

Here are those same two boys, a little later on Christmas Day.

Toasting marshmallows in our newly-acquired clay chiminea.

If you look carefully, you can just about pick out their outlines.

This was one of Susanna's ways of adding a touch of magic.

Quite hard to do when you're celebrating Christmas in summer.

But firelight after dark was a big hit. Especially with our boys.

Who would have happily stayed up all night. Burning things.

And making themselves sick with sweet & sticky marshmallows.

The simple pleasures, eh?

Guy

We And Our Shadows

Susanna and I weren't the only two around on Christmas Day.

There were those two other chaps.

Who always seem to follow us everywhere these days.

I'm talking about the one pictured above.

With what's known locally as a Mombasa-to-Kampala smile.

And his ever-present sidekick pictured below.

Who looks a little more pensive on this occasion.

Probably wondering which gift to open first?

Guy

What Is She Up To?

We've just had our quietest Christmas Day ever.
Just the 4 of us. No visiting friends or family from overseas.
Maybe that's why Susanna decided to decorate herself?
With one of the tags from the Christmas presents.
She is definitely God's gift to ME!
Guy

Death's Door

It's not just people that are dying in the drought-stricken areas.
But their livestock - which is also their livelihood - too.
Esther came across so many rotting carcasses as she travelled.
This was just one of them.

Thank God death is daily left outside the door.
For those children who cross the threshold into our centres.
This girl is one of them.
Guy

Food For Free

This is one of the photos taken by Esther, our roving reporter.
It is a big 'sufaria' (Kenyan for cooking pot) full of rice & beans.
New Life currently feeds about 2,000 children each weekday.
Nearly all of them in the drought-stricken regions of Kenya.
Often these meals are the only food these children have.
And we provide it at no cost to the children or their families.
Thanks to partners all across Kenya. And around the world.

Here is some of that same rice and beans a few minutes later.
Enough to keep this wee fella going for one more day!
Guy

Roving Reporter

Recognise this? It's a honeymoon suite.
If you happen to live in Tana River County, Kenya.
This one was snapped by Esther, our newest PR team member.
She's serving New Life as something of a roving reporter.
Collecting stories from our many locations across Kenya.
And specialising in our more far-flung ones.

Here's the young lady herself.
At the entrance to the same suite.
Just minus one groom at the moment!
Any offers?
Guy

Daily Bread

We have a French artisanal bakery on our doorstep.
It is called Alexandre. And you MUST visit it, when you visit us.
Anyway, I was buying a baguette from there a few weeks ago.
And chatting about New Life Home at the same time.
The manager immediately came up with a wonderful idea.
That we should receive ALL their leftover bread each day.
Since then, we've collected bin liner bags full of bread every day.
It really is some of the finest bread available in this city.
Need proof?

Just look at the smile it's putting on this toddler's face!
Guy

Come Back, Jamie

It was great to have a team of 10 from City Church Aberdeen.
Between them they visited 7 of our homes/centres in 2 weeks.
Phew!
Jamie (above) had to leave a few days before the others.
But she had all the office staff here begging her to stay.
Everyone wanted more of her one-to-one coaching on MS Office.
She did finally get permission from the staff to leave.
But only on the strict understanding that she must come back.
Soon and very soon.
Guy

Good Job!

Someone taught our toddlers to stick up their thumbs and say:

GOOD JOB!

It has rapidly caught on among all of us here.

Has one of the staff done something a little bit extra or special?

Then up go their team members' thumbs and their shouts of:

GOOD JOB!

Last Saturday my wee niece Leanne became Roland's wee wife.

So the four of us here stuck up our thumbs and shouted:

GOOD JOB!

And hoped that she & Roland would hear it 5,000 miles away!

Guy

WednesDay Is YaYaDay

We have a posh shopping centre near here called YaYa Centre.
And every Wednesday afternoon we get out all our pushchairs.
Load them up with all our crawlers and toddlers.
Recruit a small army of volunteers.
And then head off to the centre.
The kids love it.
If I ever forget it's Wednesday, I'm quickly reminded.
By toddlers screaming "YaYa" upon first sight of the buggies!
Guy

Where's Mine?

I was still in Scotland when my 53rd birthday rolled round.
But that didn't stop my buddies in Nairobi celebrating anyway.
Susanna & the boys were already back in Kenya.
So my darling wife knocked up a cake for all the 'lads'.
And they happily cracked on with celebrating in my absence.
Although someone drastically underestimated the candles!

Here's Edward (his hand anyway) feeding Gerro a super slice.
While Levi looks like he already has a face full.
And our Senior Accountant George stands grinning behind them.
No doubt anticipating his turn.
Needless to say, not one crumb was left by the time I returned!
Guy

Neesee Leaves Home

Lucas wasn't the only one to start school that day.
A few miles away, Neesee was also packing her bags.
She seems to be explaining to her sister Harry:
'Don't worry, darling, I'll be back later.'

Neesee herself doesn't seem too worried.
What a smile!
Guy

Lucas Lifts Off

I was lucky enough to be in the UK for Lucas' first day at school.

Here's the young scholar himself in his immaculate new "kit".

Pretending his rucksack's a jet pack & he's going to fly to school.

Now that would have been a dramatic entrance.

Clearly his mother's son!

Unfortunately though, the jets failed to fire.

And our would-be Rocket Man ended up walking instead.

With Kris & I acting as his personal "heavies".

Mum was there too, of course.

Proudly snapping the historic occasion!

Guy

Highland Homecoming

This time tomorrow, we will be flying home.

A week in England, then 4 weeks in Scotland.

These Highland red deer seem to have got wind of it.

And are scanning the skies for a sign of our vapour trail.

See you soon!

Guy

Glam Gran

With 2 eyes ...

or with 4 ...

she's still the glammest gran of them all!

Guy

Sassenach In Skirt

A skirt? A skirt?!

My Kenyan colleagues were incredulous.

When they realised I'd be wearing a "skirt" to Arran's wedding.

But what about the Maasai warriors' "dresses", I pleaded.

Not the same apparently!

Guy

You Are Not Alone

Susanna & I went away to celebrate her birthday.

We found this devout "dudu" (insect) sharing our bathroom.

We need all the prayer we can get!

Guy

Kids & Camels

Levi, Gerro & Lucas were playing happily on this sculpture.

When suddenly they were face to face with 2 camels.  Literally.

Can you see the 3 of them huddled up together for protection?

They're just behind the biggest camel's tail in top right corner.

The 2 courageous uncles on either side of their nephew.

You'll be relieved to hear all 3 survived the encounter!

Guy

Kung Fu @ Kitengela

Boys in glass shops.

Almost as scary as bulls in china shops.

Here's Uncle Levi with Nephew Lucas at Kitengela Glass.

Not the best place for Lucas to be impersonating Karate Kid.

Watch where you ... ?!

Guy

Liquid Lunch

It's a tad warmer here than in Scotland.

So carrying water in the car at all times is critical.

Here's Levi keeping himself hydrated on one recent journey.

I like his style!

Guy (aka Baba Levi)

Eight Years Later

And 8 years after Lauren's first visit?

Here is that same 3 month old baby.

Now looking like Kenya's answer to Indiana Jones.

Ride 'em, cowboy!

Guy

The Three L's

Lauren & Lucas stopped off in Kenya for 2 weeks.

On their way back from Arran & Kate's South African wedding.

We saw a lot of the 3 L's - Lauren, Lucas, and a Little'un!

Lauren first came here 8 years ago, to volunteer for 3 months.

That's when she met a certain 3 month old baby.

That baby's name was Gerro.

And the rest (as they say) is history.

Guy

And What About Us?

And now (after all those babies & young 'uns) ...

for something completely different.

Two wonderful people at the other end of the age spectrum.

Mum & Dad, you don't look over a day over 100.

Keep taking the Complan!

Guy

Hey, What About Me?

Say "hello" to Harry, Neesee's little sister.

She thinks her big sister has had quite enough attention.

And that maybe it's her turn on centre stage now.

I'm not prepared to argue with her!

Guy

Cook of Cakes

Here is the Queen of Cakes again.

But this time looking like she can bake them as well as eat them.

Or maybe not?

Looks like she could do with some help.

No problem.  Bibi to the rescue.

The Princess of Pastries herself!

Guy

Queen of Cakes

So what exactly does a girl goalie eat to keep herself match fit?

Chocolate cake & cream, of course!

Neesee looks temporarily confused about what to do next.

But then quickly remembers ...

Anyone else just a tad envious?

Guy