Weeee're Heeeerrrreee! We arrived in Nairobi airport at about 9:30 last night, easily made it through customs (new visa fee is only $25 --used to be $50) with only three of our 26 bags being examined. All 26 bags made it through. Gloria -- that whole thing about numbering the bags...GENIUS! We immediately identified what we had and what we needed. It looks like several were opened by TSA and one duffel had a busted zipper, but everything was still in there--in tact! Praise God! So far, we've only found one leaky item..some suntan lotion, but it was contained in the Ziplock. Great job packing everyone who packed for us!!!
We were greeted at the airport by our director, Dwight, our accountant, Bernard, and by "Charlie" (as most of you know him from our story about the Chief who came to Christ), and his children, Josie and Josh - who we had met at our orientation 2 years ago. Josie and Josh are Ashley's age and enveloped her completely! By the time we made it to the compound, it was about 11:00.
We were taken home, and treated to homemade rhubarb and pumpkin pie made by my good friend, Susan, and ...get this... ice cream! :) Someone had gone grocery shopping for us to supply us with at least a little bit of food until we can get out, and the temporary housing folk made sure that we had beds and mattresses on which to sleep. We also had little presents on our beds and a great big welcome sign in our living room -- hand made by Josie who took it around the compound for everyone to sign. (There is no child quite like this little angel.)
God also greeted us with a "blue" moon. This is when two full moons happen in one month. Apparently, it only occurs every 19 years or so. Since we live close to city centre, we saw the new year's fireworks go off right from our front door! Wow! What a welcome to a new chapter in our lives. Starting 2010 in Africa!!
People were saying how chilly it was here,(70 degrees F), and yet we pouring sweat! We did manage to unpack a bit, in our sweaty state, and are really wishing we would have left some clothes home and taken more hangers! :) That's probably not the last "I wish we would have" we'll have, but at least we're here!!
This morning we met our house guest..a three inch gecko. Since I hate lizard poop a whole lot less than I hate spiders, we decided to let it stay and named it "George" I may recant that decision in a few days/weeks/months, but for now, George is welcome.
I feel pretty adjusted to the time, having slept well last night and got up at a "normal" time for here. Ashley did as well. Jeff, on the other hand, slept a lot on the plane, but not much here last night due to a nosy, biting mosquito in the room, so he's still asleep at 10am.
I've met one of our neighbors, the Crowders, this morning. They have two small children, boys, aged 3 and a year and a half. The Crowders are the directors of SIM Sudan. Now, I'm off to have coffee with our director, then get Jeff up in time for lunch with our friends, "Charlie" and Susan. BTW -- "Charlie" isn't Charlie's real name. His ministry is still pretty sensitive, so we're going to keep him at Charlie for the time being.
I'll post pictures later. I promised Ashley a walk around the compound.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
London
It's coooold here! And yes...a wet cold is definitely colder than a Colorado cold! It's not even freezing here, but I couldn't stay warm for anything.
Although we arrived at 10am, by the time we got out of the airport, to the hotel and checked into our rooms, it was 1:30. We all opted to take a short nap, then do some sightseeing with the remaining daylight. Unfortunately, we slept for 2 hours. After that and a shower for Jeff and Ashley, no daylight remained.
So, we decided to take the underground (subway) to Picadilly Circus and grab a bite. If time allowed, we thought we'd take in the play Grease. We didn't realize just how far it was from Heathrow Terminal 5 to Picadilly Circus or we mightn't have opted for this particular form of entertainment! It took us and hour and 15 minutes to get to town. Then, we walked around in the drizzle looking for an affordable place to eat...a tougher task than you might imagine considering we were in the theatre district. We did find a place with relatively no atmosphere, but really good fish and chips for an affordable price! Ashley thought the "mushy" peas were baby food. :)
After dinner we braved the windy, cold drizzle and huge crowds to walk around a few block and look at the Christmas decorations on Ripley's Believe it or Not building and some of the surrounding architecture. Our excursion didn't last long, though. It's hard to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings when you are hunched over and hiding behind an umbrella. One of the highlights, though, came in the form of a little yellow ball with glitter and a flashing light.
You see, shortly after Ashley hugged her friend, Emma, goodbye at DIA, her big yellow ball with glitter and a flashing light was confiscated by TSA for having too much water in it. Ashley, already tired and sad, melted down. I wanted to throw the ball on the floor and show the agent how the lights were triggered, but she would have none of that! So, when we found an identical ball, but smaller (less than 4 oz of water in it) at a trinket shop, Ashley was ecstatic! Please pray that this one doesn't also get confiscated!!
We got back to the hotel by a little after 9pm, but missed the shuttle by a few minutes and had to wait another 1/2 hour for the next. Jeff took a Percoset and crashed as soon as we entered the room. His knee is really hurting. He was an awesome trooper to walk around in London, but drew the line when I wanted to stop at Harrods! :) Probably a good thing.
We catch the plane for Nairobi tomorrow at 10am and would appreciate your prayers for an uneventful trip. The director won't likely meet us as he had originally planned as he'll be preparing egg rolls for the "annual New Year's Eve Egg Roll Party." Food and a party. I think I'm going to like it there! :)
Although we arrived at 10am, by the time we got out of the airport, to the hotel and checked into our rooms, it was 1:30. We all opted to take a short nap, then do some sightseeing with the remaining daylight. Unfortunately, we slept for 2 hours. After that and a shower for Jeff and Ashley, no daylight remained.
So, we decided to take the underground (subway) to Picadilly Circus and grab a bite. If time allowed, we thought we'd take in the play Grease. We didn't realize just how far it was from Heathrow Terminal 5 to Picadilly Circus or we mightn't have opted for this particular form of entertainment! It took us and hour and 15 minutes to get to town. Then, we walked around in the drizzle looking for an affordable place to eat...a tougher task than you might imagine considering we were in the theatre district. We did find a place with relatively no atmosphere, but really good fish and chips for an affordable price! Ashley thought the "mushy" peas were baby food. :)
After dinner we braved the windy, cold drizzle and huge crowds to walk around a few block and look at the Christmas decorations on Ripley's Believe it or Not building and some of the surrounding architecture. Our excursion didn't last long, though. It's hard to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings when you are hunched over and hiding behind an umbrella. One of the highlights, though, came in the form of a little yellow ball with glitter and a flashing light.
You see, shortly after Ashley hugged her friend, Emma, goodbye at DIA, her big yellow ball with glitter and a flashing light was confiscated by TSA for having too much water in it. Ashley, already tired and sad, melted down. I wanted to throw the ball on the floor and show the agent how the lights were triggered, but she would have none of that! So, when we found an identical ball, but smaller (less than 4 oz of water in it) at a trinket shop, Ashley was ecstatic! Please pray that this one doesn't also get confiscated!!
We got back to the hotel by a little after 9pm, but missed the shuttle by a few minutes and had to wait another 1/2 hour for the next. Jeff took a Percoset and crashed as soon as we entered the room. His knee is really hurting. He was an awesome trooper to walk around in London, but drew the line when I wanted to stop at Harrods! :) Probably a good thing.
We catch the plane for Nairobi tomorrow at 10am and would appreciate your prayers for an uneventful trip. The director won't likely meet us as he had originally planned as he'll be preparing egg rolls for the "annual New Year's Eve Egg Roll Party." Food and a party. I think I'm going to like it there! :)
Unexpected Blessings
Abundant unexpected blessings:
Blessing #1: Friends who are willing to work their fingers to the bone, until late at night, and drop everything to come back and help when we're in the 11th hour before leaving and still not done.
Blessing #2: Carpet cleaners who gifted us a free cleaning as we're moving on out.
Blessing #3. No one in line at the ticket counter at check in and a super nice ticket agent who comp'd us a bit on the baggage charges (ended up with 26 checked bags...didn't take the kitchen sink, tho..)
Blessing #4: A missed connection -- yes, this is a blessing! We missed the connection before we even left Denver, so..no stress in an unfamiliar airport. We flew into Heathrow as planned, and are spending a day here (and a night) and flying out on the same flight to Nairobi tomorrow. Plus...we get to sightsee in London!
Blessing #5: A nice lunch at the airport with friends and a close friend of Ashley's to see her off, too!
Blessing #6: A great night's sleep on the airplane for Julie..not so great for Jeff who couldn't sleep (but he's sleeping now! :) ). Ashley was in-between and got some sleep.
Blessing #7: Met a man at Heathrow who gave us his cell # and said to call with any troubles and he'd come to help out.
We're in God's hands..still..and still feeling loved and blessed beyond measure. Things didn't turn out as we'd planned or expected. Instead, God's plan has unfolded and we are enjoying his abundant blessings in the midst of life's unexpected twists. Can't wait to see what's coming next!
Blessing #1: Friends who are willing to work their fingers to the bone, until late at night, and drop everything to come back and help when we're in the 11th hour before leaving and still not done.
Blessing #2: Carpet cleaners who gifted us a free cleaning as we're moving on out.
Blessing #3. No one in line at the ticket counter at check in and a super nice ticket agent who comp'd us a bit on the baggage charges (ended up with 26 checked bags...didn't take the kitchen sink, tho..)
Blessing #4: A missed connection -- yes, this is a blessing! We missed the connection before we even left Denver, so..no stress in an unfamiliar airport. We flew into Heathrow as planned, and are spending a day here (and a night) and flying out on the same flight to Nairobi tomorrow. Plus...we get to sightsee in London!
Blessing #5: A nice lunch at the airport with friends and a close friend of Ashley's to see her off, too!
Blessing #6: A great night's sleep on the airplane for Julie..not so great for Jeff who couldn't sleep (but he's sleeping now! :) ). Ashley was in-between and got some sleep.
Blessing #7: Met a man at Heathrow who gave us his cell # and said to call with any troubles and he'd come to help out.
We're in God's hands..still..and still feeling loved and blessed beyond measure. Things didn't turn out as we'd planned or expected. Instead, God's plan has unfolded and we are enjoying his abundant blessings in the midst of life's unexpected twists. Can't wait to see what's coming next!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
God's Timing
I'm going to take the easy road on this and simply link to a blog about us, rather than by us. Thanks to my friend, Nikki, for her heart and her view on God at work.
http://starrchasers.wordpress.com/2009/12/27/gods-timing/
http://starrchasers.wordpress.com/2009/12/27/gods-timing/