Paul and Rebecca Mosley in Kenya: A densely packed Christmas season

2024 Gingerbread skyscraper

We have passed through another Christmas season, crossed into the New Year, and are now ready to finally take a week of holiday. But before we get on the plane to Malindi, it’s time to do some reflecting on the past weeks.

The big event of the third week of December was Oren’s arrival to Kenya. Fortunately, his exams finished early, and he was able to fly out by December 15^th. It was very exciting to pick him up at the airport and bring him back to our new home in a new city.

We were still working that week, so we left Oren to catch up on sleep most of those mornings. But we enjoyed a few events with him after work hours, when David got home from school. On our first evening, we went to the local mall and played a round of glow in the dark mini golf. It’s a pretty funny place, but it was nice to play together and then enjoy a good Thai dinner.

Mini golf

We started on some cookie baking that week as well during times we were at home. On Wednesday, we all went to David’s school for the final project of his Intro to Theater class. The class had worked together for about a month, preparing a 30-minute drama all themselves. The 12 of them took roles in the play: almost everyone had 2 roles, as an actor and as one of the support roles (set, props, make up, stage hands, etc.) Only the person on tech (sound and lights) didn’t have to divide their attention. It turned out to be a very funny, surrealistic performance of “Places in Five!” We’ve continued to be grateful for how David has found opportunities to grow in his capacity beyond academics. It was also great that we could show Oren his school a little bit.

Rosslyn Final Chapel / Christmas Project

David had exams the last week of school, so he was able to come home early. He gave some time to working on another clay sculpture, this time of a medieval warrior. We had a nice evening sharing dinner and playing games with one of our service workers before he left for his Christmas vacation. On the last day of school, I ran over to see the final assembly. The school had chosen several local charities to support, and kids had been raising money all month in numerous creative ways, from bake sales to “Pay to play” volleyball tournaments, PJ days, etc. It was a very festive occasion of student-led worship and then a big reveal of the amount of funds raised – about $18,000!

Carolling party

In the evening, we joined our small group for a missionary gathering at a neighboring compound. We hadn’t met most of the families but recognized some of them – we are still working on building community, and it seems like most of these parents have been heavily involved in the PTA, something we haven’t had time to do yet. It was a lovely afternoon to get to know a few more folks, and then sing Christmas carols together.

Sugar cookie making

In between the fun stuff, we were trying to pull together several big work projects – budgeting for the next fiscal year, fixing up our National staff policy manual, finishing some work on proposals, preparing a new lease for our service worker Charles to move to a new flat and getting it signed. And there was also prep work for the big Renew conference after Christmas. It didn’t all get done, but we were working during the cracks of time in between. On the weekend before Christmas David, Paul and I helped lead the worship team, so there was a certain amount of private prep time for that also. We had a small group get together at the movies on Sunday afternoon – the adrenaline seekers viewed Gladiator 2, while those in a more mellow mood went to Mufasa – we’d not been to a theater in Nairobi, but it was remarkably nice, even with recliner seats!

Cinnamon roll making

On Christmas Eve, we stopped all the work, and took time for our big family tradition bake project: cinnamon rolls. It takes all of us to mix the dough, knead it several times, and then roll out the trays of pastry. Paul was also working hard on preparing his annual Gingerbread house; this year, Oren challenged him to make the tallest possible structure, which ended up looking more like the empire state building. It was pretty fun to see it come together, and it was too tall to even fit on the kitchen counter!

All Saints cathedral before it filled up

Our own church did not have any services for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so we decided to join our small group families for a Lessons and Carols service at the big Anglican All Saints Cathedral in downtown Nairobi. We arrived early, and that was prudent because the service ended up being completely packed, mostly with local congregants. It was such an impressive structure inside, very old-school British, and so was the service, starting out with a treble soloist singing “Once in Royal David’s City,” just like at Cambridge Cathedral. The choir sang a remarkable number of special choral numbers, in between congregational carols and the traditional 9 scripture readings. It felt both very sacred and very communal to be there together with so many Kenyans welcoming Christmas. Afterwards, we went home and enjoyed appetizers for dinner and our annual screening of “the Polar Express,” before going to bed.

David let us sleep in past 7 am this year 😉 – and then we started getting up to open stockings and gifts. Our extended family was extremely generous, sending all kinds of fun Lego, puzzles, games and some new clothes for the men. There was even a very advanced meat thermometer from my brother, which helped us cook to perfection our Christmas ham for lunch! Paul got David a set of tools for clay sculpture, which was a hit. We enjoyed some quiet time working on Lego, decorating the gingerbread house, and then playing a cool game Oren brought for the family, Everdell. It was a very lovely and quiet Christmas with our family, and we were all glad for the down time.

On Boxing Day, Paul and I took a good long swim at the school pool and then decided it was high time to pick up a little charcoal grill, to help us in our hosting activities at home. We welcomed two of the “Burundi families” who have now moved to Nairobi for new jobs. I was so glad for Oren to have a chance to reconnect with the Carlson’s kids, Miles and Neo.

Burundi families gathering in our back yard

The kids played a lot of cross net and spike ball, while the adults had so much to share about the stress and learning curve of moving to a new city. School situations for our kids are a big, shared concern, but it seems like everyone has landed well at this point. Paul was able to grill a bunch of sausages, and the afternoon was so beautiful and pleasant, just to enjoy good company. At the end of the evening, our guests helped us demolish and consume the gingerbread house, a good way to share around all that sugar!

Gingerbread tower decorating

Friday was my big day to complete our monthly financial report and then get everything ready for the Renew conference the next day. It seemed like I had to pack just about half the house into our cars on Saturday, between musical instruments, supplies for the kids’ ministry teams, a visual focus for the conference room, sporting goods, games, and our own suitcases. It was quite a whirlwind that day, getting to the conference venue early to help register everyone and get all the spaces set up.

Renew Conference is something we stumbled into through our good friends based in Tanzania, the Taylors. They have been involved for many years – it’s a gathering for Christian workers in East Africa and was designed to meet the need for Christian fellowship and solid Bible teaching, along with time for rest and reflection – especially among Christians in secular work, or not with a mission agency. We really enjoyed it in 2019 and came back in 2022 after COVID. At that point, we had moved to Ethiopia, but it seemed great to join the committee and commit to the New Years’ conference as a way to stay connected with old friends from Tanzania and even Burundi, along with new friends we’d met along with way.

Mosley and Taylor boys reunited

For the 2024 conference, a number of long-serving committee members really needed a rest from the work of coordination, but unfortunately, there weren’t that many people able to join to fill out the numbers. In addition, it turned out that we had a lot of extra work this year to find an alternate venue – another mission booked the entire venue (which Renew had used for 30 years) for 3 years in advance, and so there wasn’t enough space for us. In the middle of the year, we moved to Kenya, and suddenly there was a lot of work that needed to be done by someone, and no one else was really available, so a lot of the general organization landed on my plate. It’s also become very difficult to find volunteers ready to serve the Renew Conference – in the past, groups from the UK or Australia or other places would come and run a VBS style kids camp – but people don’t have the openness and money for that now. So we ended up having to interview local Kenyan youth workers and then hiring two couples. I was a bit exhausted by it all even before the conference started.

Youth Trivia Night

Anyway, there were many lovely moments of togetherness. Our new venue worked out pretty well overall, with some excellent playing fields and nice service. We had a big group all-ages huge game of Capture the flag, which was hysterical, pitting 5-year-olds against 18- and 62-year-olds. There was a great informal game of Ultimate frisbee with the Taylors and a few others – my body didn’t recover for several days, but it was great fun. Our ice breaker games leader did a marvelous job of creative games we could all enjoy, that even included sculpturing national monuments with foil and straws. We had a good folk dance one evening, and then the youth planned a great trivia night contest another night. The afternoons were relatively relaxed with time to nap and play games.

Youth present to the adult session

The meat of the Renew conference was served up by Andy Harker, a Christian disciple-maker, who used to work in Kenya but has moved back to the UK. He really understood our context and our community well and gave some very deep and rich bible teaching from the book of Zephaniah in the mornings. In the evenings, we reflected on Psalm 23 from several different perspectives. I was grateful for Katie Taylor and her family, who coordinated basically all the music this year, because I was too busy to be available. Her kids and mine joined in some way almost every session.

New Years Eve Dinner

We ended the year with a packed day: a football match in the late afternoon, leading to an open-air dinner of nyama choma (barbeque), and then 7 pm New Years in Perth celebration, with sparklers for the little kids. We had an evening session of biblical reflection, an annual general meeting where we elected new committee members, and then the annual DIY (Talent) Show, of acts brought by our attendees. David, Paul and I sang a sea shanty, a few other kids and adults shared some interesting acts, and then Joe Medley got everyone involved in a large group drama based around the 10 Talents. We ended the evening with a final reflective service, leading to a bonfire to welcome the new year.

David's Great Chocolate: DIY show

New Years’ Day was a blur because we were all pretty tired! But we closed the Conference, said our farewells, and then most people headed off for home. I was able to finally leave the venue around 4:30, having settled the final bill. And I was super tired at that point! We mostly just needed some quiet introverted time to chilled out at home that evening.

On January 2, we welcomed our nephew, Fletcher! He traveled solo over to Kenya from Nashville and did very well keeping things together. It was super exciting to see him, but he was pretty tired that afternoon. We also had invited the Taylors over for games and dinner, and so it was another great occasion to use the cross net and the little grill for hosting. Except for Katie, they hadn’t yet been to our new place, and so we were thrilled to show them around. We even got to play a round of The Name Game with them, something we used to do each Christmas.

The Renew Conference team of 2024

The golf team

On Friday, we had a quiet morning and let the young men sleep in. Midday, we headed out to a local golf course – Paul, Mike, Sam and David all were keen to play 18 holes that day. The rest of us watched them for a bit, and then headed over to Brackenhurst, our old Renew Conference venue. We really wanted to see it again and enjoy the lovely green ambiance. Unfortunately, we found out that it was completely, 100% closed to the public by the other mission group that had hired it. So sad! We still found a place to park the car and go for a walk in the tea fields, but it was disappointing for everyone not to be based at Brackenhurst. And then we tried to think of a Plan B for dinner, but everywhere was closed!

Young men walking in the tea field:
Fletcher, Oren and Harry

It seemed all restaurants had done their work over the Christmas week, and then staff went on holiday. So, we settled for hanging out back at the Limuru country club for games and snacks and some spike ball. It was busy, but we finally found a quiet corner table in the garden. (Amazing, the next morning, we got news that there was a fire at the Club House, and it burned down to the foundations, right after we had spent hours there the previous day.). When the golfers were back, we returned closer to town for dinner at a funny South African American-inspired chain restaurant in a mall. It wasn’t Brackenhurst, but it was still a good time to visit with our friends. And it seemed like Fletcher was able to get along pretty well with these new people he was meeting. Oren was really glad to connect with his good friend Harry for those days of the conference and afterwards – both have now left home and are in different stages of life.

LVC Prison Ministry visit

We had a busy Saturday as well. Our first activity was more culturally challenging. Paul is part of a prison ministry through our church, and they join the prison church every first Saturday of the month. So he took me, Oren and Fletcher along with him this past weekend. It’s a relatively short visit, just 90 minutes, having time with the inmates during their normal worship service. The men on the inside do a great job of leading the praise and worship and sharing scripture. Paul gave a homily based around Joel 2, the Lord restoring the years eaten by the locusts. He shared the story of a man he knew in prison ministry, who experienced a complete transformation of his life when he met Jesus in prison. It resonated well with the inmates. In the afternoon, we met up with the Taylors once more and then shared dinner with our next-door neighbors.

Fletcher and a giraffe

On Sunday, we took time after church to visit the giraffe center. It was fun to feed them up close and feel their long grey snaky tongues. Fletcher is curious about everything he is seeing, and I’m so grateful for his positive attitude and willingness to experience and learn.

And now we are at the beach, set for a week of relaxation and water sports! And looking back on the past month, I would say that there has just been too much. We need to consider how to narrow down and focus in on what is most important. Personally, I also feel that I still haven't fully processed the emotional cost of making the move from Addis to Nairobi. It will be good to have this in-between time. to stare at the ocean, or breath deep while snorkeling, and to just be, and rest and consider how to make 2025 a year where we are fully present where we are.

Bonus photos: