JULY 29, 2011
Friday started bright and early at 4am. Despite the disco music, I slept well. We woke up and had a nice breakfast at the hotel before heading back to the airport. We arrived there prepared for a fight. We had special tickets on British Airways that allowed us to check three bags each. As a partner, Kenya Airways should also honor that special allowance. But in Kenya, rules are never set in stone. Last year, we were only allowed one bag and the rest of our bags made a 6 hour roadtrip to Kisumu.
But Friday morning, we had zero problems! They took our 19 bags – roughly 900 pounds of stuff – without batting an eye. We made it quickly to the gate and boarded less than 30 minutes later.
It is a short 35 minute flight to Kisumu. By 7am, we had landed and were walking across the open runway to the people waiting at the “terminal”. Allison was there to greet us, as well as our drivers for the week – Joshua, Sammy, and Steve. They got everything loaded and we were off!
It felt strange to be back. Surreal as I disembarked the plane and knew where to go, where things were, how things were done here. How different than last year!
We got to St Anna’s and enjoyed another breakfast and then got checked into our rooms to settle for an hour or two.
By 10:30, we had regrouped and were ready to trek to Obunga, the part of town where we work. It was so wonderful to be back!! As I walked the roads to the church, it was amazing to note so many new structures that have been built since last year. And the kids have all gotten so big! Fun to see familiar faces and catch up with old friends.
The kids were all so shy at first. My girls from last year had to be coaxed to come see me. They just wore silly smiles and covered their faces with their hands, but when asked they knew my name. It was not quite the response I was expecting, but it was cute.
As the mzungus in the neighborhood, we got invited to some big ribbon cutting ceremony. We made an appearance, watched the local elementary school perform a dance and then headed off for lunch.
By then, it was 4pm and we had already been up 12 hours. So we came back to the hotel to rest and relax. We met briefly for dinner and then back to our rooms for an early night.
It’s good to be back.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
In transit...
JULY 28, 2011
In transit
Thursday was a bit of a blur. The majority of it was spent in the air, in transit.
We landed in London at 9am with a short 1.5 hour layover. We were making good time as we arrived at security to proceed to the next area for our second flight. There were maybe 20 people in front of us. We relaxed; we were doing okay. An hour and a half later, we were still standing in the slowest security line I have ever experienced. We had 3 minutes until our flight left and we were starting to sweat.
Karen and I were the first in line, so the group told us to run to the gate and hold the plane. We went as fast as we could weighed down with all sorts of camera equipment and carry on gear. We turned the corner and came to a tram. Great. We were not as close as we thought we were. We got on the tram – and 15 seconds later ended up at the next terminal. We ran through that terminal too … to the gate at the farthest end of the terminal and arrived winded and ready to convince them to stop the plane.
Luckily, our convincing was not needed. We met with super nice British Airway employees who checked us in and let us wait at the top of the stairs for the rest of our team. We met a woman who is the leader of a medical mission team going to Nairobi. She and her team had been on our flight from Dallas; she was waiting for the rest of her team to arrive as well. Apparently, the plane was waiting on at least 30 other people to make it through security – so we were good.
About 10 minutes later, the rest of our team rounded the corner into view. It was like a scene from a movie. People rounding the corner, running, bags flying every which way. We knew they were fine; but they still didn’t know that yet. But they got to us, checked in, and we all went to board the plane. One 8.5 hour flight down; one more to go.
That flight passed uneventfully as well, and we landed in Nairobi about 9:30pm. We headed to customs and then managed to pick the slowest line ever. Seriously. You always feel like this, but this time it was true. 2 hours later, we finally ended up moving to the line next to us. The woman in front of us from the first line was literally THE LAST PERSON to clear customs. But we met with a very nice gentleman who passed us through customs easily and kindly. And we headed downstairs to find our 19 bags. 20 minutes later, we had 19 bags piled up and we were following Shadrack, our driver, through the parking lot.
We got to the Paris Hotel about midnight. Lovely little place that we stayed last year. The people there are super friendly. We checked in and headed to our rooms to catch a few hours of sleep. After 24 hours of travel, we were ready to rewind and recharge.
One new change since last year – a disco has moved in next door. So we were had the privilege of experiencing a Kenyan disco – complete with blaring music, including BonJovi, and a very energetic DJ until about 2am. This bothered many on the team, but I was tired. I fell asleep within minutes.
We were up again at 4am for breakfast before heading back to the airport for the final flight to Kisumu. And that’s where the story really begins…
In transit
Thursday was a bit of a blur. The majority of it was spent in the air, in transit.
We landed in London at 9am with a short 1.5 hour layover. We were making good time as we arrived at security to proceed to the next area for our second flight. There were maybe 20 people in front of us. We relaxed; we were doing okay. An hour and a half later, we were still standing in the slowest security line I have ever experienced. We had 3 minutes until our flight left and we were starting to sweat.
Karen and I were the first in line, so the group told us to run to the gate and hold the plane. We went as fast as we could weighed down with all sorts of camera equipment and carry on gear. We turned the corner and came to a tram. Great. We were not as close as we thought we were. We got on the tram – and 15 seconds later ended up at the next terminal. We ran through that terminal too … to the gate at the farthest end of the terminal and arrived winded and ready to convince them to stop the plane.
Luckily, our convincing was not needed. We met with super nice British Airway employees who checked us in and let us wait at the top of the stairs for the rest of our team. We met a woman who is the leader of a medical mission team going to Nairobi. She and her team had been on our flight from Dallas; she was waiting for the rest of her team to arrive as well. Apparently, the plane was waiting on at least 30 other people to make it through security – so we were good.
About 10 minutes later, the rest of our team rounded the corner into view. It was like a scene from a movie. People rounding the corner, running, bags flying every which way. We knew they were fine; but they still didn’t know that yet. But they got to us, checked in, and we all went to board the plane. One 8.5 hour flight down; one more to go.
That flight passed uneventfully as well, and we landed in Nairobi about 9:30pm. We headed to customs and then managed to pick the slowest line ever. Seriously. You always feel like this, but this time it was true. 2 hours later, we finally ended up moving to the line next to us. The woman in front of us from the first line was literally THE LAST PERSON to clear customs. But we met with a very nice gentleman who passed us through customs easily and kindly. And we headed downstairs to find our 19 bags. 20 minutes later, we had 19 bags piled up and we were following Shadrack, our driver, through the parking lot.
We got to the Paris Hotel about midnight. Lovely little place that we stayed last year. The people there are super friendly. We checked in and headed to our rooms to catch a few hours of sleep. After 24 hours of travel, we were ready to rewind and recharge.
One new change since last year – a disco has moved in next door. So we were had the privilege of experiencing a Kenyan disco – complete with blaring music, including BonJovi, and a very energetic DJ until about 2am. This bothered many on the team, but I was tired. I fell asleep within minutes.
We were up again at 4am for breakfast before heading back to the airport for the final flight to Kisumu. And that’s where the story really begins…
Friday, July 29, 2011
"All you need is your ticket and your passport. Everything else is negotiable."
JULY 27, 2011
This is what my sister, Becca, told me Tuesday night as I was packing furiously and more than a bit stressed about the number of things I had to do to get ready and the dwindling number of minutes I had to do them in.
And she was right. This trip is about me GOING TO AFRICA. And the only truly necessity for the trip is...ME. (And God, of course, but He's everywhere.)
Wednesday was a crazy day. I woke up not feeling very well - but hit the ground running. So many errands to complete before our flight left at 6pm.
Over the course of the morning, I ran the following errands:
1) Breakfast with Pastor Preece where I picked up a generous check from Zion's members to further the work of the Kingdom here in Kisumu AND received a wonderful prayer and blessing (and song about spreading the Gospel around the world) from my Pastor.
2) Last minute arts and craft run for the last minute items needed.
3) Stop by my friend Jenny's dermatology office to pick up some medicine to help a little boy over here with a pretty severe skin condition.
4) Pick up printed prayer cards for family & friends to put on their fridges and remember to pray for us in the days we are gone. While there, I spoke with Lori (the owner) who asked what she could pray for during my trip. I told her that I was feeling a bit under the weather and worried that I was coming down with the stomach bug that had been going around Dallas. She prayed for me right then and there over the counter of the UPS store.
Turn after turn, I felt busy but peaceful. I felt surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses that hold me up and spur me on. My stomach calmed, I stopped worrying about the little details.
2:30 came and so did our ride. My friend, Rashmi, was generous enough to come pick us up and take us to the airport...in her Civic. Fitting 300# of luggage and 3 people in a Civic proved to be quite the feat, but we did it.
As we drove to the airport, Rashmi asked about plans. As I mentioned the medical clinic I'd be doing, I suddenly realized that it never dawned on me to pack my stethoscope! We were closer to the airport than home with little time. As we debated what to do, Karen used her quick thinking to help us find a DME store not far from us. A few wrong turns later, we had the stethoscope in hand and were back in route to DFW.
We got in, got checked in, and got through security quickly. That's when I realized, I had forgotten my camera as well. Despite the fact that Becca made a special trip to bring me the battery charger, I managed to leave the camera, new camera bag, and everything on my bedroom dresser. A quick wander around DFW, and I was back in the photography game. I'd found a reasonably priced camera and we were good to go!
This is what my sister, Becca, told me Tuesday night as I was packing furiously and more than a bit stressed about the number of things I had to do to get ready and the dwindling number of minutes I had to do them in.
And she was right. This trip is about me GOING TO AFRICA. And the only truly necessity for the trip is...ME. (And God, of course, but He's everywhere.)
Wednesday was a crazy day. I woke up not feeling very well - but hit the ground running. So many errands to complete before our flight left at 6pm.
Over the course of the morning, I ran the following errands:
1) Breakfast with Pastor Preece where I picked up a generous check from Zion's members to further the work of the Kingdom here in Kisumu AND received a wonderful prayer and blessing (and song about spreading the Gospel around the world) from my Pastor.
2) Last minute arts and craft run for the last minute items needed.
3) Stop by my friend Jenny's dermatology office to pick up some medicine to help a little boy over here with a pretty severe skin condition.
4) Pick up printed prayer cards for family & friends to put on their fridges and remember to pray for us in the days we are gone. While there, I spoke with Lori (the owner) who asked what she could pray for during my trip. I told her that I was feeling a bit under the weather and worried that I was coming down with the stomach bug that had been going around Dallas. She prayed for me right then and there over the counter of the UPS store.
Turn after turn, I felt busy but peaceful. I felt surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses that hold me up and spur me on. My stomach calmed, I stopped worrying about the little details.
2:30 came and so did our ride. My friend, Rashmi, was generous enough to come pick us up and take us to the airport...in her Civic. Fitting 300# of luggage and 3 people in a Civic proved to be quite the feat, but we did it.
As we drove to the airport, Rashmi asked about plans. As I mentioned the medical clinic I'd be doing, I suddenly realized that it never dawned on me to pack my stethoscope! We were closer to the airport than home with little time. As we debated what to do, Karen used her quick thinking to help us find a DME store not far from us. A few wrong turns later, we had the stethoscope in hand and were back in route to DFW.
We got in, got checked in, and got through security quickly. That's when I realized, I had forgotten my camera as well. Despite the fact that Becca made a special trip to bring me the battery charger, I managed to leave the camera, new camera bag, and everything on my bedroom dresser. A quick wander around DFW, and I was back in the photography game. I'd found a reasonably priced camera and we were good to go!
Proud of my prompt camera purchase, I headed back to the gate and sat down. I reorganized my backpack to find room for the camera. And that’s when I realized that I forgot my journal and my Luo dictionary as well. So much for learning Luo in the air! At least you can find journals everywhere…and I’d have to learn Luo in person. I tried to relax.
I pulled out my ticket and passport as I waited in line to board. Smiling to myself, I thought of Becca’s wise words the day before. Apparently, stethoscopes and cameras and journals and Luo dictionaries are all negotiable.
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