90 Minutes

I wrote this post on Monday, but I have not been able to post it until now because of the lack of time and Wi-Fi. To clarify, I have been in South Sudan for three days…

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I can't believe I am saying this. I am in Nairobi, Kenya. I wonder how long I dreamed to be here and know what it is like. I must say it is not all that different from any big city in the U.S. Except the red dirt. Oh, how beautiful is the red dirt. I've only ever read about it, and now I can finally say I've walked on it with my own two Chacoed feet.   

We stayed for a couple nights at a guesthouse in the city. The first morning, I woke to the sound of different birds—birds that sounded like they might be calling for help. It made me realize I wasn't in Boone anymore. The day was such a blessing to relax and adjust to the 8-hour time difference. We sat on the patio, drank coffee and chai, and read our bibles for a quiet, fresh Sunday morning. The temperature here is amazing, and I tried to enjoy it to its fullest as we will soon be welcomed by heat and humidity in South Sudan. We also experienced a mall, an arboretum, and some struggles in communication and money, but it has been a fun experience to be in Nairobi. 

I'm traveling with two guys from my orientation group who will be working in the main office with me. It has been such a blessing to have travel partners who so kindly help push our giant carts of luggage and stand on both sides of me in a crowd of people. We have laughed so much since we first met. This trip has been quite comical so far! The guys and I have been struggling and sweating with our large amount of luggage all the way, but we made it with every piece, praise God! The two of us with camping backpacks have been called Amazing Racers. We experienced great food, chocolate, and tulips in the Amsterdam airport, but sadly no art museum. We had to say more goodbyes to another friend from orientation in Amsterdam. I didn't bargain for how difficult it would be to leave everyone after a week and a half of new friendships—there were many tears and smiles. In Nairobi, I interrogated the driver who picked us up from the airport to be sure he wasn't going to snatch us or our bags (security training precautions I learned last week). Our guesthouse ran out of water, we showered next door, and then the toilet turned black for some reason. In addition, the smell of body odor in general is becoming a norm, not only on others, but on us as well. We’ve taken it all in stride and I don’t think the three of us have stopped smiling yet. We were thankful for such a beautiful, relaxing stay with some delicious food and great company. This country is beautiful and I wish I had time to see so much more!

The comical travel adventures continued today. We had to get out of the car and be patted down upon entering the Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta airport. We then met our driver on the other side. We were left at the wrong terminal. We went through security twice and then almost missed our flight as we watched everyone walk across the Tarmac to a plane with a different name than the one on our tickets. Thankfully, in the middle of lunch one of the guys asked, and we ran out after everyone, stuffing our faces with Kenyan snacks.

So, this is my 6th flight now since my journey began: Fort Smith to Atlanta, Atlanta to Charlotte, then Charlotte to Atlanta, Atlanta to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Nairobi, then Nairobi to Juba. And we are currently on our 90 minute flight to Juba, South Sudan. I'm a little bit sad to leave Kenya, but I'm also so excited to find out what awaits us at our final destination.