days 2 - 4

we did it. whew. the jouney here was longgg. after the start/stop of thursday, it started for real for real 😳. dragging the 200 lbs. again, we make flight #1 indy to newark. plenty of connection time, so we had lunch and played many rounds of rummy. flight #2 was to brussels, belgium. we sat boarded for two hours due to lightning strikes in area. nothing like adding time onto a 7.5 hour flight. barely make connection, but we did! flight #3 was belgium to kilimanjaro. what, huh? yip. the flight goes past nairobi to kilimanjaro. 9 more hours. stay boarded and flight #4 leaves for final destination with only 30 more minutes of flying!!!!

as we were waiting onboard for final flight, esther is hungry and finds large bag of someone's leftover beef jerky. even for me, i was like no thanks. kinda weird. she starts chowing it. and starts choking. i am like why have we had so much craziness to get here? you'd have to know esther to understand this, but the drama that ensued was hilarious. she wasn't for real choking, but she's convinced it is stuck in her nose, ears, and throat. i can't make this up. now she swears off beef jerky for the rest of eternity. 

we arrive about 11:30 p.m. thank you, Father!!!

stephen! so great to hug my kenyan son 🥹 he is so considerate and kind to me. steadfast stephen is what he is. deb was also steadfast. one of the very last things i said to her before she died unexpectedly was, "you are one of the most steadfast people i have ever known." i am up and down and all around, and i have always noticed and appreciated that trait. it isn't a common one. 

we get to the same room where lydia and i stay, and read the Word and thank Jesus for His traveling mercies. even though the travel took three days total, i remind myself, He is always on time. we fall asleep around 1:30 a.m. and sleep until noon!!!!!! oh, Heaven on earth!!!! i don't have to sneeze, cough or blow my nose a thousand times for ten hours!!!! my sinuses are still a wreck, but improving. i think. had three days of antibiotics thankfully. 

we have outdoor brunch under banyan tree. it is all so familiar. we are content. enjoy longgg brunch... power smoothie, white coffee, fresh fruit, oatmeal, hard boiled eggs. uh-maz-ing. 

i convince esther to come to the steam room with me 😆 again, you'd have to know her, but she is uber modest. me, not hardly at all. i told her there'd be many naked african women in it with us. she said, "well, i am leaving my clothes on!" but she did it! not naked, but she came in and stayed even with naked ladies all around her 😜. she experienced something new!!! i encourage her often to try new things, it is good for us to do different things!!! my lungs were so grateful to breath lavender infused steam!!! it was the deepest i have been able to breathe without coughing for weeks 🥹

and now we rest the remainder of this Sabbath. no words for how grateful we are to be here; tomorrow we start the work we came to do ❤️.