Missing my family...

Yesterday (Sunday 4th) was a day full of mixed emotions. I received the worst news a family member can here on the other side of the world. I also received possibly the best news I have had on this trip so far.

I called my parents on Sunday morning (Sun night in Aust) to say hi when they told me that not 10 min before, they received the news that my brother, Daniel, had been in a serious motor bike accident. They sounded awful and my heart fell through the floor. He was on a dirt bike in the country and had been airlifted to Royal Adelaide hospital.

I have since found out that he cracked 3 vertebrae and damaged his face pretty badly chipping all his front teeth but is in a stable condition. He was extremely lucky to escape damage to his spinal cord. I spoke to him this morning and he is in good spirits. They are confident he will make a full recovery. I have never been so close to jumping on the first plane back home. We can breathe again.

It was such an unusual day. I also received wonderful word from Dr Maggie in Saikeri (Kenya) that she now has a roof on her new home and building progress is going extremely well. This was made possible by the generous $500 donation a lady in Australia made (who wishes not to be named). I have never met her but she made contact with me after reading the blogs I posted last year and then this year when I stayed with Maggie and shared word that she was building her own home.

After so many years of selfless dedication to others, she had finally been able to save enough money to get a bank loan (hard and rare in Kenya unless you are white, already own a home or have a government job) to build a house. I was sooooo excited for Maggie. She has such an amazing story, most of which I only learnt this year – recent tragedies in her family.

Maggie is the only member of her family who has a stable paying job so she takes it upon herself to support her entire extended family, including her brother who had to have extremely expensive emergency surgery after getting hit my a matatu. She is not one to share her life woes – you would honestly never know, but I asked. The money she had for her home went to her brothers surgery. I didn’t think it was possible, but I love her even more. She is one amazing lady. Honest and pure, again rare in Kenya.

Tonight I am getting an overnight bus to wonderful wine city of Mendoza in central west of Argentina. It is also close to the Andes (mountain region) – hoping I have the opportunity to do some hiking!

Missing my family more than ever.