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July 23, 2008
Bouchard's Bits & Bites
Dear friends,
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity and a rollercoaster of emotions. We are now back on the west side of the "pond, "and are in the process of making the transition into the American culture. There are things we are looking forward to, being on this side of the world, and at the same time there are things we will miss about our lives in Kenya. We live with a foot in two different worlds and it is often difficult to reconcile with ourselves how we "fit in" in each context. We may take on the chameleon-like characteristics of adapting our skin color on the surface, but underneath we wrestle with our place in each culture. Our transition into this different lifestyle takes time, and we will be working through it over the next few months.
The RVA school year came to an official close last week with the graduation of the class of 2008. It was an emotional time as we said good-bye to "our kids" and sent them on their way to various parts of the world. This year was especially poignant as we were so very close to this years seniors, and Brian was such an integral part of this class. Brian was chosen by his class to give the student commencement address and was also honored as the class valedictorian. God has blessed this young man beyond our understanding and we are excited about what the Lord will do in his life and in the lives of all of the graduates from the RVA class of 2008. This year's graduation was also a difficult time due to the tragic illness of the son of a long time RVA family. Ben (RVA class 06) returned to Kijabe at the beginning of July for his younger brother's graduation, and to celebrate with his entire family. During his time in Kenya Ben became very ill with an infection that settled into his heart, and within days the infection caused a stroke and complications that ended with Ben's very unexpected and untimely death on Tuesday July 15th. As you can imagine the family is in the grips of grief, but their strength and faith in the sovereignty of God has been remarkable and inspirational. Please pray for the Entwistle family as they walk through this valley.
As we begin our Stateside trek over the next month we will be traveling by car through Colorado, Wyoming, Michigan, Ohio, and North Carolina. If possible we'd like to touch base with as many of you as possible. We now have our cells phones so if you would like to get in touch with us our numbers are Alan 307 431 9830 and Sara 307 431 9814. Our tentative schedule at this time is to be in Wyoming from the 26th of July until the 3rd-4th of August when we will head out to Ohio to see Sara's mom and then on to North Carolina to get Brian started in school, then we will return to Wyoming via Colorado.
Blessings,
Alan for all
Posted by Jennifer Herrmann at July 23, 2008 12:01 PM