I HAVE MADE IT!!!

JAMBO EVERYONE!!!  This is how you greet someone in Swahili!  One of the many words/phrases I am trying to learn for my time in Kenya.  I want to start by saying thank you so much to everyone who has supported me since I decided to go on this journey.  And thank you again to everyone who has continued to pray and worry about my well being since I have left America.  I also apologized that it has taken me a few days to get a post up!  But I am happy to tell you that I am doing great!!!

I will start from day 1 of my travels and try to get you up to date with where I am now.  After leaving Mom, Dad, and Ashley at the airport I flew to Chicago, where I saw the last of beautiful America and headed to my layover in Europe.  I was only at Heathrow a couple hrs and then boarded another 8 hour flight to Nairobi, Kenya.  When I landed in Nairobi a lovely lady named Eva (who is a good friend of Sara Beth's)  and her husband were waiting outside the airport with a sign that had my name on it!  The took me to their home where they had dinner waiting, a place I could take a shower (a real one with running water!), and a bed for me to sleep in for the night.  The amount of hostpitality I was shown was unbelievable, and a wonderful start to this trip.  We woke up early the next morning and I flew to Kisumu, which is in the western part of Kenya.  The plane was very small, but a very smooth ride!  Much better than a small plane in the U.S.!  The airport in Kisumu- well the runway and area that you pick your bags up off of a wagon would be a better way to describe it- was great!

Once again someone was waiting with a sign for me.  This time it was Hesbon who works and lives at Tumaini where I will be staying.  We drove about 2 hours to Malava, Kenya (which is where Tumaini is) to reach the final destination.  Let me explain- Tumaini Miles of Smiles is the name of the school and orphanage, and it is located on the outskirts of the town called Malava.  The closest "city" would be Kakamega.  So in Kentucky terms:  Kakamega would be Lexington, Malava would be Lawrenceburg, and Tumaini is way out 62!  Haha, but that is the best way I know how to describe it!  When we pulled up to the school in the car the children were pointing and smiling while yelling "Monzugu!!!" (not sure about that spelling), which means white man!  Hesbon said I would here this a lot, and oh boy was he right!  We carried my bags in and walked over to the school because the children had prepared a song for me.  This actually ended up being several songs welcoming me to Tumaini, and it was the sweetest gesture they could have made!  I was immediately in love :)  I then walked to each classroom (there are 8 total; preschool through 7th grade) and met the teachers and introduced myself to the classes.  The teachers were just like everyone else I have met in Kenya, very friendly and welcoming! 

I want to continue on and tell you about daily life and my experiences with the children so far, but unfortunately my time is cut short because I need to charge my computer, and that is a little more difficult here!  But I will post again soon and tell you about the children and all the wonderful things that are going on here!  I hope you will continue to read and fall in love with these children like I have!  I love and miss everyone :) 

Oh and please tell Harry's ppl aka Wilsons, Joe, Luther, Curries, Brian/Paul, etc that everything is great!  Thanks!