So much has happened since we arrived in Nairobi on December 30 and I only have a short time to update things now before we leave for Tanzania at 5.30am tomorrow. So I'll do my best!
After a 5+ hour flight from Munich (minus 2 degrees) to Dubai (30+ degrees); a 4 hour stop over in that metropolis of an airport; and then another 5+ hour flight to Nairobi (25 degrees), we arrived weary but excited. Along with the throng of other passengers we were ferried to the arrivals 'lounge' by bus as the airport is a bit of a mess after burning down a few months ago.
We were welcomed in true Kenyan style thanks to the 'SUCKER' sign that was apparently plastered to my forehead! A lovely lady with an official ID tag answered some questions I had about visas and then promptly took all the unfinished paper work and rushed to the front of the queue. She kindly informed me of the correct cost of the visas in euros, gave some instructions to the man behind the counter and then even received 'a little something' for her help. Trouble was she told me the cost was 50 euros per person instead of 40 and then got a tip to boot! Oh well, I guess it must have looked like we paid our way through immigration and to the front of the line!
All that was quickly forgotten when we were greeted by our friend, Pastor James May who was patiently waiting for us despite the tiny car park being over run by Red Cross tents that were set up in response to the conflict in South Sudan. After a typical drive through the Nairobi chaos, errrr, I mean, traffic and spotting a giraffe off in the distance, we arrived at the May household and met our wonderful hosts. James' delightful wife Tiina has welcomed us with open arms and wonderful hospitality and their six children have been a real joy to be around and get to know.
We spent a couple of days in nairobi which included celebrating New Year's Eve in front of a fire and making fun of each other's 'incorrect' pronunciation - imagine that, an American telling us we articulate poorly! ;-) We were also privileged to visit a giraffe sanctuary close by where all except Darcee got a kiss from these long necked beauties!
After a 5+ hour flight from Munich (minus 2 degrees) to Dubai (30+ degrees); a 4 hour stop over in that metropolis of an airport; and then another 5+ hour flight to Nairobi (25 degrees), we arrived weary but excited. Along with the throng of other passengers we were ferried to the arrivals 'lounge' by bus as the airport is a bit of a mess after burning down a few months ago.
We were welcomed in true Kenyan style thanks to the 'SUCKER' sign that was apparently plastered to my forehead! A lovely lady with an official ID tag answered some questions I had about visas and then promptly took all the unfinished paper work and rushed to the front of the queue. She kindly informed me of the correct cost of the visas in euros, gave some instructions to the man behind the counter and then even received 'a little something' for her help. Trouble was she told me the cost was 50 euros per person instead of 40 and then got a tip to boot! Oh well, I guess it must have looked like we paid our way through immigration and to the front of the line!
All that was quickly forgotten when we were greeted by our friend, Pastor James May who was patiently waiting for us despite the tiny car park being over run by Red Cross tents that were set up in response to the conflict in South Sudan. After a typical drive through the Nairobi chaos, errrr, I mean, traffic and spotting a giraffe off in the distance, we arrived at the May household and met our wonderful hosts. James' delightful wife Tiina has welcomed us with open arms and wonderful hospitality and their six children have been a real joy to be around and get to know.
We spent a couple of days in nairobi which included celebrating New Year's Eve in front of a fire and making fun of each other's 'incorrect' pronunciation - imagine that, an American telling us we articulate poorly! ;-) We were also privileged to visit a giraffe sanctuary close by where all except Darcee got a kiss from these long necked beauties!
It wasn't really that bad Laryssa!
Georgia with Sophie and Jonas
No time to find the copy where Georgia had her eyes open, but you get the picture!
After enjoying a couple of days at the May's home - which also doubles as the Mission Centre for Lutherans in Africa - we joined the family on the Kenyan coast for their only week of leave for the year!
We travelled via the Nairobi-Mombasa Road which is really not for the faint hearted. Trucks travel as slow as 20 km/h and others up to 130 km/h. To survive you have to dodge and dart around vehicles, overtake at every opportunity and keep your eyes open for what everyone else is up to. What an experience! Where else would you get to dodge crazy buses, stop for giraffes to cross a major highway and see baboons, zebras and ostriches on the way?
Our first stop was two nights at the Voi Wildlife Lodge - about 5 hours from Nairobi. Lots of stories for another time but it's enough to know that it was a great stop and our 3 hour safari at the neighbouring national park gave us a chance to see just about all the animals we could hope to see.
I think he's been taking lessons from Miley Cyrus in how to pose for a photo!
We were very fortunate to see a lioness after only about 15 minutes in the park. She was clearly on the look out for some food and relatively unbothered by the traffic jam she was causing only 50 metres away!
I've got loads of other photos I was hoping to share for the rest of this post, but thanks to some hiccup with Blogger and Google Drive, I can't access them at the moment. I've been trying for the past hour or two and so I think I'm going to call it a night and simply say...to be continued!
We fly out for Tanzania tomorrow morning where I'll be preaching in a town called Shinyanga on Sunday morning and then assisting Pastor James May in leading a seminar with local pastors and evangelist through to Thursday. As with all things African, there's always a bit of fluidity about the details and so the seminar topics have changed a little - the first day will be introducing the Formula of Concord and then the next days will be exploring the Small Catechism. Lutherans in Africa will supply both books to the pastors and we're told they are all desperately wanting to receive more training so they can better serve their flocks.
So until I can get the hiccups sorted....you'll have to wait for me to finish this instalment (more photos, a delightful time on the coast and an adventurous trip home) and then start on the next!
Until then, God bless!
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