Surprise!

I am back in Tonj now... one day early. We were supposed to leave on Friday, but MAF called us on Tuesday to tell us there was something wrong with the plane we were scheduled to use, the PC-12. It was supposed to take us to Tonj and take our ex-pat staff back to Nairobi for their Christmas break in one day. It's a fast plane so it only takes 4 hours one way which allows time for a round trip. Since the PC-12 was down, we had to take a caravan. It's a slower, cargo plane that takes 6 hours to go one way. For that reason, the plane has to overnight here. Although it meant we lost a day in Nairobi, we were thrilled to go back early since that would give us a proper good bye with the staff. Originally we were only going to say hi and bye on the airstrip.

Suzy thought it would be fun to surprise everyone with our early arrival so the only person that knew about it was Sabet. It was fun to come back and see their shocked faces. Kenya is great, but it's nice to be back in Tonj. Everyone is so welcoming and excited to see us. It's like they are surprised we came back. Mary came running over to me and was especially happy to see me. That kind of welcome helps make Tonj feel like home.

Please keep our staff in your prayers. They work very hard and are far from their families. Pray they have a sweet reunion with family and friends and come back in January rested and refreshed. We will miss them.