It is almost 1am in the morning here in Kenya as I write this having arrived safely in Kijabe. We landed in Nairobi and had to wait for quite a while to secure an entry visa but once that was taken care of we were able to retrieve our bags quickly. Six huge hockey bags (between Dr. Stewart and myself) were a lot to manage, but knowing they are filled with all the generous contributions of school supplies from our community for Bethany made it so worthwhile. I look forward to sharing everything with them this week.
We didn't know if we would travel to Kijabe or not this evening as it was entirely dependent on who picked us up. A good friend of Dr. Stewart, a missionary here in Kenya, met us at the airport which meant we would be traveling to Kijabe. Not everyone is comfortable navigating the roads here at the best of times, let alone at night. We piled into the van with our bags and headed into the mountains toward Kijabe. There are frightening moments on the road - especially driving through Nairobi - but I'm happy to report that we made it here safe and sound.
We picked up a friend in Nairobi who is visiting. He was born to missionary parents and though he is American, he has spent much of his life here in Africa having been born in the Congo, evacuated in 1997 during the war and ending up here in Kijabe at the Rift Valley Academy, and now works for Samaritan's Purse in the Sudan. It is amazing to meet so many people who have committed themselves to serving others. As many of you know, Samaritan's Purse is the organization we work with at St. Vincent every Christmas season (and again this Christmas) with our shoebox project. They do so much relief work around the globe and it was interesting to spend the hour drive to Kijabe (when I wasn't covering my eyes on the road!) speaking with him about his work in Sudan. There is an upcoming referendum in Sudan in January to see if Southern Sudan should become independent from the north so instability will inevitably return to the area unfortunately. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers, especially in the new year.
There are so many people doing great things here it is inspiring. I look forward to sharing more stories so you can know how many people are working here in support of others.
Have a great day at school everyone. I look forward to posting again tomorrow. Hopefully with some photos!
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3 comments:
Dear Mr. Browne,
We really enjoyed reading your blog after announcements this morning.We hope you are enjoying Africa. We were very happy to hear you had a safe journey and look forward to reading more about your visits with the children. We hope to see many pictures of your visit. We miss you. Have a great day!
The grade 4/5 students in Mrs. Becker's class
Thanks so much for your note everyone! That made my day. I'm glad you enjoyed the last post. I've just put something else up and will work on one more now...
it looks like it was hot there. do know how hot it got while you were there?
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