The Arrival

So, I arrived in Kenya safely and somewhat soundly. The flight to Nairobi was divided into 3 different sections, the 1st- a short jaunt to Texas, the latter two- to Amsterdam then Nairobi were brutal. The flight to Amsterdam was largely nice, but long, because we each had a tv scren that played movies and music- the flight to Nairobi, however, was extremely cramped and largely consisted of me zoning out while eating terrible food.

I digress, upon arriving to Kenya (circa 7pm), Dave and I struggled incessently to fill out our Visa forms just to find out that they didn't even read many of our forms- woo. We met some fantastic bunch of young Christians who shared some laughs and frustrations-ps, cheese in Amsterdam is expensive!! We waited at the airport for about 3 or so hours for our ride to come, during which time we learned swahilli, e.g. jambo-hello, mimi nakara maji- I want water, and Miji, mbilli, tatu- 1, 2,3, and Asante Sana: thank you very much. We were driven on "the magic road" which was an optimistic sobriquet to say the least- as the magic road woad littered with huge pot holes and other surprises. Upon arriving at our host familie's house we discovered that there was no electricity and that when the electricity went out the plumbing soon followed. So our first night in Kenya consisted of struggling through the darkness and falling asleep in a exhausted stupor.

Sleeping in Kenya is very difficult. There happens to be a symphony that takes place every morning, starting at about 3 am outside of our house. The opening score is conducted and performed by a very confused rooster who starts cawing every 10-14 seconds at 3 am very some reason- I thought roosters welcomed the sun??? I spent the whole night thinking of names for the rooster- as it was impossible to sleep. Here are some of my ideas : Jim-Jack "the shotgun" mcmillon, Ernesto Jim ibn abdullah, El chupacabra, and "the jackhammer." Soon after the rooster begins, a very distressed dog begins yelping at the top of his canine lungs and the rooster matches tones. At about 5 am a local Muslim Mosque begins their prayers: I have the odd impression that the rooster is calling the faithful to their prayers. Around 5 am several more dogs/roosters join in the cacophony and the world is alive with the sound of Nairobi music.

Upon "waking" Dave and I walked to the local hang out area, ate some delicious food and watched Angels and Demons at a surprisingly nice theater- yes, the true African experience. Nairobi reminds me a lot of Belize, the streets are littered with cars and tiny shops, much poverty and a great deal of tropical efflorescence. The people that I have met so far are very nice, they are especially friendly when I mention mr Obama or try to speak Swahilli. There is much poverty here, but it doesn't feel hopeless, or abject, there is definite pride and courage in this area. The weather is very rainy and less hot than Utah-it is almost Winter here.

I am enjoying my time greatly, depsite the lack of sleep- they have chai so it's ok.

I hope that I can use this time away to better connect with some of the people that I fight for back home and to soak in the extraorindary joy of service.

I will update you all soon, hope all is well.

From Kenya with love and an evergrowing beard,
Cameron