It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged but since we’re in MIQ (Managed Isolation and Quarantine) for 2 week in NZ (New Zealand), it’s a good opportunity to get writing again.

Each year we try to get to New Zealand, Aussie and/or the US on a speaking tour. We try to mix it in with conference and family events (like grand baby arrivals). In 2020 we got stuck in NZ for 10 months which was great because we got to hang out with our 3 grandkids but it was about 6 months longer than intended.

We headed back to Nairobi in January and had to take a good guess on when we should come back to NZ. The decision was made for us when Hannah, our youngest announce that she was pregnant with their fourth child, another girl, due in August. We know we couldn’t be in NZ for Christmas but needed enough time to speak to schools, community groups and churches about our work to raise more funds, to do more projects.

With the effects of Covid still happening there’s a lot of uncertainty of where and when we could travel. We knew that flying with Emirates was a sure deal because of the meat exports between NZ and the UAE. What we’re not sure is if we can get to Aussie and not be locked in, and the same with the US. Even though we are still fighting with Oman Air to give us credit back on our flight with them from last year, we used some of our house investment money to get back to our other home (NZ).

We’re really fortunate because we have a very small apartment, office and car in Nairobi. We also have a great team there that can keep things going while we’re away. We also have a little granny flat area at Hannah and Lukes place in Auckland, plus Bessie, our faithful old car. A lot of people who got stuck with not being able to get back were not in such a good place.

To get into NZ though we have to spend two weeks in a hotel room. Even as we got on the bus at the airport, we didn’t know where we were going to end up. As the navy officer in charge told us all ‘this is not a hotel, it’s a quarantine facility’. You can’t go out of your room. The meals are delivered to your door (half cold) and you have to get permission to go out to the exercise yard at a certain time. You get your temperature checked every day and three Covid tests during your stay.

I’ll be sharing about some of the unique adventures here and post some videos as well. Happy reading!