March 11-12, 2016
We departed Seattle at 9am and flew literally halfway around
the globe in 14.5 hours to Dubai, had a few hours to enjoy the airport and city
from a distance, and boarded our five hour flight to Nairobi, landing at 8pm Nairobi
time (9am Seattle time)…exactly 24 hours after we left the day before.
Gracie slept two hours on the first long flight and the
entire second flight; all in all, she did great!!
When we landed in Nairobi, needless to say, she was finished
with waiting and lines and crowds and congested surroundings, and she quickly caught
the eye of a custom official. He came up
to me and told me to get my family and come with him. He walked us to the front of the long line
where we quickly got our passports stamped and went to pick up our eight large
pieces of luggage. When an airport
official saw me with the baby and carry-on luggage, he told me to tell him
which pieces were ours and put them all on the carts for us. Then, when we were walking to clear customs
for our luggage, we walked right through without any of our items being
examined. Amazing, since we had 50
soccer balls, a hundred cones, jerseys, poles, seeds, and other items for the
tournament, schools and Living Room. And
then, we had a happy, familiar face of Kigen waiting to greet us! It felt so good to be back, almost as if we’d
never left. Thank the Lord for smooth
travels, no delays, three exhausted but wonderful children and little blessings
along the way.
Day 2: Arriving in Kipkaren
March 13, 2016
After a brief night’s sleep and a baby that was a little out
of whack, we flew to Eldoret and was greeted by old friends. The children were glued to the windows as
they took in the sights, smells and sounds of everything around them. As we pulled into Kipkaren, the bumps on the
road were familiar and the sounds of “Chamge” and “Habari yako?” came through
our window by little voices outside the vehicle. We arrived at Living Room where the beautiful
sound of Kalenjin songs filled the air and our friends’ faces were there to
greet us. Living Room is an amazing
hospice (the only one for hundred miles around) where those who are gravely ill
come and are filled with dignity, hope and love as they are given the care they
desperately need. We were warmly greeted
and planted a tree outside the facilities; what an honor. By dinner, we were delirious and Gracie
hadn’t napped, but it was so good to reconnect with the Tarus and Boit
families.
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