The Trip

I hope to describe our trip in the next few entries starting with our trip to get there. Most had been involved for more than a year, now we were ready to go. Needless to say, most were at the church a lot earlier than the posted timed to meet. We loaded the church bus and had a good number see us off. We had a circle of prayer with our pastor, Bob Webb, leading us. It was an excited group, even though the Lewis' were getting over illnesses and Shelly Dykes was not feeling too well. Our driver, John Dye, did a good job of getting us there. As we went up to the counter to check in, Laura Dye, who had come with her father, offered up a prayer that our flight go smoothly. Early on, our prayers were answered as we expected to have to pay for an overweight bag containing medicine, but learned at the counter that since we were going to be connecting with British Airways in Chicago, the limit was to be 70 pounds for checked in bags instead of 50 pounds.
Our trips to Chicago, London, and Nairobi went smoothly, but were long. We met Julie, our mission coodinator, at the gate in London. Customs at Nairobi was a lengthy process, but finally we were out and we met a Kenya Buckner staff member, Tom. Tom was to be with us practically the whole trip. More about him in a later entry. We got a first lesson in being flexible, as we found out we were staying at the Grace Guest House instead of the Methodist Guest House. Once we got to the Grace Guest House, we learned that our luggage, with the exception of what we were going to carry onto the small plane the next morning, needed to be loaded and start heading to Kitale by land. So the picture in this entry is of us rearranging our suitcases in the parking lot of the Grace Guest House.

Nairobi airport

We are at the Nairobi airport waiting for our flight out to London. We had a great time since we last wrote. Our group and the interns went out to eat at the Carnivoire (not sure of the spelling). It's an experience to say the least. Today we went shopping at the Village Market. We all bargained for what we bought and that was different for those who had never done that. Needless to say we helped the Kenyan economy. Afterwards, we went to the New Hope Baby Home. They take abanded babies that have HIV and take care of them until they can be adopted, have foster care, or reach the age of 3. Then they would go to an orphanage. It takes a while to navigate your way around the city, but our driver, Martin, was the best. We are looking forwarded to being home. We've had a couple of spills, as Naomi fell on her tail bone and it's sore, and Linn fell at the Grace Guest House and skinned her chin and neck and hands. Hopefully the flights will not be too uncomfortable for them. Keep them in your prayers.

Back in Nairobi

I can't post any picutures from here, but will give a short narrative. We are staying in the Methodist Guest House and will take off early to the Masi Mara Reserve. We're excited about our safari, but even more excited about the work that was done. This is a trip where we learned to be flexible. Sometimes we had to make changes on the fly, but we all knew that this more than just a possibility, but a probability. Each of us have a different perspective and have some many stories to tell from the VBS team and the medical team. We just heard a story from Phil, a Buckner employee, during our devotional time that just knowing that God was with us. We will try and relay that story as soon as I can. Thanks to all who supported us with your money and prayers. As soon as we have pictures posted, we will let you know.