Traveling, Reunion, Nyeri

Mpeli, Yusta, and I left early Tuesday morning for Dar Es Salaam. We left with chapati and banana bread. The road was filled with people especially early in the morning. As we passed noon, those of the side of road were reduced a little until we reached Dar. Mpeli and I dropped off Yusta and obtained my plane ticket to Nairobi. I am always amazed at how things go at the Dar airport. Mpeli waited for me to go inside and left. I discovered my flight was delayed until 8:30 PM. Actually, my flight number said I was leaving on the 8:30 PM flight but my time to leave was 6 PM. The 6 PM flight was full (without my name). The 8:30 PM with my name was not. I was able to rebook on the 7:30 flight. In the end it all worked out. I checked my luggage and waited. One young lady was extremely helpful in the whole process. She made the inconvenience and delay bearable. I arrived early in Nairobi at 8:45. An important lesson was learned to always get your visa ahead of time. This was my first time to obtain a visa at the visa counter in Nairobi—the previous 10 or so trips I had always obtained my visa from the Kenya Embassy in Washington DC. I waited for an hour to get the visa. The immigration official was excellent but just had a lot of people to process—who apparently had not listened or read the visa application information. Bernard Mwangi and Robert met me at the airport. It was a great to see them. The Kentmere staff was waiting on me. Already had my key for me and took me straight to my room. The rooms had been painted and some extra touches. Home Sweet Kenya Home.

This morning, I met Adrian, Joseph, and Anne for breakfast. I was glad to see them and hear about their experiences. Bernard and Robert came and we packed up and headed for Nyeri.

On the way, we stopped to see the falls at Thika, grab a samosa and juice, and hit the road again. We stopped at a road side market to purchase bananas. Boy were they good We dropped by the Nyeri Baptist Church where the conference will be held. A group of children quickly gathered to greet us. After getting a feel for where we would be and meeting some friends, John of Nyeri, Pastor John, Margaret, Nancy, and others, we left to get settled in the hotel. We are staying at the Green Hills Hotel. They have done a great deal of renovation on the property. In fact, my first room was still under renovation so they moved me. My second room had just finished the major renovations but still had some touch up. They kindly did a little extra cleaning and mopping so I sat on the bed and it broke. I could not help but laugh. So, I moved to my third room which is a very nice room—really!

Tomorrow the FOBOCK Conference starts around 8 AM. Adrian, Joseph, Anne, and I will be teaching. I cannot wait to see my FOBOCK Friends. Please pray for all of us (includes our Kenyan brothers and sisters in all of us). Can’t wait for lunch tomorrow—great cabbage, beans and corn—this is one of my favorite meals.