Off to Kenya Thursday June 11

There were lots of hindrances and distractions but the day finally arrived to be off to the airport and head for Kenya. The group met at GSP to fly to Atlanta and then head to Paris before departing for our final destination.

Little did we know as we sat in the waiting area that we would be delayed even more along the way. Our original direct flight had been canceled so we were rescheduled with a stop in Paris. When we got to Atlanta, they called our flight to board for a 4:35 PM departure. Once we were on board we sat until 7:30. It seems this was a new flight scheduled to accommodate the 70 or so 410 Bridge people from NewSpring, North Point and a church in Iowa. In addition another 40 had been sold tickets. The reason we sat around so long was the airline kept selling tickets but no one informed the catering service. When they brought the 110 meals to the plane, they were told they need another 35 or 40 so we had to wait while the meals were prepared.

Instead of the 110 we expected on the plane - with lots of room for us to sleep on the overnight to Paris - the plane was rapidly filling up. But finally we were able to take off and arrived safely in Paris to have lost all our "down" time. So we scurried through the airport, boarded our next plane and took off for Kenya.

When we arrived on Friday evening, we were met by Josephine, our 410 Bridge Kenyan leader, and 2 buses and drivers named Richard and Kennedy. The trip to the hotel in Nairobi was uneventful and we prepared for sleep.

Josephine is a young woman, very attractive and personable. She served as trouble shooter, translator and question answerer. One of the first things I think most of the women noticed was that she had on jeans. We had been told not to wear jeans except in the hotel and on the plane and never in the communities. Later in the week I learned that she also serves as a climbing guide for trips up 17,000 foot Mt Kenya.

Our hotel was adequate but the beds and pillows were hard. But sleep does come to the weary! Just remember - don't use the tap water for anything except hand washing.