Leavin' on a jet plane...

Wednesday

8:00 AM. Wake up in Pearl River, NY. Our last day in the U.S. It is surreal to think about...it is a day full of "lasts." Last time I'd have a Diet Dr. Pepper for a long time. Last time I'd use an American toilet. (Trust me, there IS a difference.) Last time I'd be able to brush my teeth in the sink without worrying about the quality of water. We had several hours in the morning blocked off for prayer time, but the four of us spent most of it running around from office to office trying to get everything done last minute. Will my ATM card work? Can I have more information about my health insurance plan? Questions, questions, questions...

11:30 AM. All of the short-termers at training week come together and pray. It was good - there was a peace in the room that transcended above all else. We were leaving today for Africa. That statement still had no meaning to me simply because it didn't seem real.

1:30 PM. Leave for the airport. As we are unloading all of our suitcases from the van we find 4 luggage carts...one for each of us. The first time of many that day it was evident the Lord was ahead of us preparing a path to Africa. Luggage carts cost $5 each and we found the exact number we needed waiting for us right outside our parked van. At the ticket counter a kind British Airways employee named Patricia discovers we are all missionaries and bumps us up to business class as a special treat.

7:30 PM. Our plane takes off an hour late because our pilot assures us that he could make the seven hour flight in "five hours fifty minutes." (He does.) Plenty of tearful phone calls are made before they asked us to turn our phones off. Alicia, Danielle, Julie, and I are all tucked in our row in business class...except Julie and I don't have working televisions. The flight attendant's response? "Well, I could move you two ladies up to First Class if you'd like..." Heck. Yes. First Class is where the seats recline 180 degrees. Julie and I manage to get over 2 hours' solid rest before landing in London.

Thursday

7:00 AM. We land in London and it's morning. Our bodies tell us it's most definitely not. Exhausted, we sit around in Terminal 5 taking turns watching the luggage and going to the bathroom to wash our faces and brush our teeth. Last time to make use of a speedy internet connection.

8:30 AM. Alicia and I say our goodbyes to Danielle and Julie (they fly together to Uganda later that evening) and head to our gate. We grab sandwiches and drinks at a Boots in the airport - and quickly realize that British food has no flavor whatsoever. So much for a tasty "last meal..."

10:30 AM. We take off from the exact same gate we landed at four hours earlier. Sleep on and off the entire flight. Sitting next to a guy named Dan who was from Chicago and headed to Kenya for a 12 day safari. We banter about immunizations...Dan couldn't get the yellow fever shot because of some medication he was taking. Instead, the doctor gave him a note. "What am I supposed to do with this?" he jokes with us. "I'm gonna hold it up to all the mosquitoes and say 'Look. I've got a note from my doctor here that says all you mosquitoes with yellow fever can't bite me. Malaria mosquitoes...go right ahead.'"

9:00 PM. Land at the Nairobi airport. It's dark out. Somewhere in route we gained two more hours. Our bodies are now thoroughly confused as to what time zone we are standing in. We exit the aircraft to find a surprisingly robust airport. (To everyone who's been to Zambia: this was no Lusaka airport. More on that later...) Everyone rushes to the Port Health desk where we turn in our swine flu surveys. "Check the 'yes' box if you've had a fever, sore throat, or cough in the past two weeks." Who's actually going to check yes?

9:30 PM. Luggage time. Luggage carts are free here. Miraculously all 6 of our overweight bags made it to Nairobi. Thank you, Jesus. The two of us along with several students from RVA (Rift Valley Academy - the school for missionary kids) are picked up by Samuel, a quiet man who works at Mayfield Guest House. NO idea how all of our luggage is going to fit in the van, but it does. (Probably because we tied about 16 suitcases to the top of the van with bungee cords.) We all climb into the van, exhausted. Samuel starts the engine. Celine Dion is playing on the radio...somehow, I feel this is fitting. The 20 minute drive to Mayfield brings back a flood of memories from Zambia. Kenya and Zambia have so many similarities, but are so very different...

10:00 PM. Arrive at Mayfield Guest House. Alicia and I show up to our room to find schedules lying on the bed. We'll be in Nairobi until next Friday? Completely unexpected, although I'm sure it's the first of many plans that will be altered or changed. Tiny room+2 girls+6 overweight suitcases=a lot of climbing and tripping. Two words: shower time.

1:00 AM. Still completely unsure what time our bodies think it is. We both fall into bed anyway. We're in Kenya. We're in Kenya. Those words still don't register with me...not tonight anyway. Tomorrow is another day, and maybe tomorrow I won't feel like I'm moving through water. Either way...

We're in Kenya.