-July 2, Thursday
In Air to Amsterdam, Holland-

We have almost arrived in Amsterdam. I slept for around three or four hours in total, but I still feel exhausted. I should be used to flying overseas by now, but I'm not. I am still tired. I am looking forward to that hotel room waiting for me in Nairobi.

I watched two movies while in the air- Finding Neverland and Chicken Little. I would watch a movie and then sleep a little, watch a movie and sleep a little. Each passenger has their own private television that is set into the back of the seat in front of them. We can watch movies, television shows, play games, whatever we like. It is nice.

We are going to land any minute now.

-In Air to Nairobi, Kenya-

This new airplane is not nearly as nice as the other one. The seats are not as roomy, and there are no special televisions for us to watch, but all in all, we have had a decent time. The lack of entertainment has provided us all an opportunity to sleep.

The moment the plane took off, I conked out. I woke once to eat lunch, but otherwise slept quite heavily- even missing out on ice cream- for the first six and a half hours of the flight. I was out.

We have now been flying for almost twenty hours. I don't know about everyone else, but I feel like I am running on empty. I am exhausted.

While I was in the air, on the way to Amsterdam, I sat next to a very interesting couple. They drank throughout the entire flight- bottles and bottles of wine and other kinds of alcohol. They even drank through breakfast, until the wife finally passed out.

I had a conversation with the man, and at one point, we were talking about the cholera epidemic that is running rampant in the slums of Kenya where I am headed. I said that I was not concerned because I knew that God would take care of me. You should have seen the look of shock and confusion that washed over the man's face. "Yeah... yeah. Yes. Okay. Yeah. That's right," he finally stammered, obviously unsure of how to respond to my bold statement.
 
I simply smiled at him.

We are almost in Africa. It seems surreal. I am finally going to Africa. I am finally here. I feel like time has just begun for me. I am finally doing what God wants me to do.

It is dusk outside, which feels strange, because in Texas time, it is 11:00 in the morning. Here, it is 7:00 in the evening, and it is already getting dark, because it is currently the middle of winter in Kenya.

The captain just announced- I think, because his accent is incredibly hard to understand- that we are beginning our descent into Nairobi. The silly male flight attendant is walking around with a trash can, calling out, "Rubbish, rubbish!" It makes me smile.

I opened the plane window, and I can see a gorgeous pastel sunset melting through the clouds.

God will take care of us.

-Nairobi, Kenya-

We finally arrived in Nairobi, completely exhausted. We went to buy our Visas right away. Barbie, Milton, Bekah, and I somehow managed to beat the manic crowd behind us, and we got straight through. It took everyone else up to two hours to get through immigration.

We went and got our luggage, taking anything that displayed an orange or yellow ribbon off of the conveyer belt. My guitar somehow managed to make it onto the platform in the center of the conveyor belt, so Larry jumped over the belt to get it. Milton, Barbie, Amy, Audie, and Micah each lost a suitcase.

Barbie and Bekah and I exchanged our currency into shillings, and then went to wait outside for a couple of hours while everyone else got their luggage and went through immigration. The air was shockingly cold. I had to put on my jacket as we shivered in the cool night air.

Looking around outside, it was definitely a huge culture shock. Everything looks different here. Even the moon looks very far away compared to ours. I suppose it is because it is the middle of winter here in Kenya. The clouds and trees also all look very different than ours.

We found our bus, or matatu, and finally were able to board and leave the airport around 10:00 at night. The matatu was very small and shouldn't have been able to hold all twenty-four of us, including the driver. Our luggage was tied down on the roof. Everything was very cramped and tight, but in a friendly sort of way. We all passed our cameras up to Larry, who sat in the passenger seat of the bus, and he took pictures of us all cramped together.

We rode the twenty minutes to our hotel, cringing at every sharp turn and loud blast of the horn. Traffic laws in Nairobi seem to be virtually nonexistent. The billboards flew by in blazes of bright colors. African billboards are three or four times the size of ours. They are massive.

We arrived at the Anglican hotel close to 10:20 or 10:25. Everyone is dead on our feet and dreading the prospect of leaving the hotel at 5:30 in the morning. We were given our keys- old fashioned skeleton keys that you might find in your great grandmother's house- with heavy, wooden blocks attached to the key rings. Nothing was registered electronically. We all signed into a thick, aged book that was filled with the names of guest after guest to the small hotel.

These rooms are adorable. Silky, mesh mosquito nets are draped over each of the two beds, and a table with coffee, water bottles, and a mirror sits against one wall.

I am definitely ready for a good night's rest. I only hope I can sleep well tonight to prepare myself for the many adventures ahead.

-July 1, Wednesday
In Air to Houston, Texas-

We finally are on our way... to Houston, but that is better than nothing. Saying goodbye to everyone at home was difficult. I cried like a baby. I still feel emotional, but I am handling myself well enough. This is almost too good to be true. Everything I've talked about, dreamed about, for the past few years, is finally becoming a reality.

I am going to Africa. I'm fulfilling God's calling.

I feel a great sense of both peace and terror at the same time, if that is possible. I know that God will take care of me. I am safe in the shadow of His wings. The terror I feel is not for my well-being. I am leaving that all up to the Lord. I'm scared about my reaction to this trip. During these next two weeks, I want to do all that God wants me to do in Kenya. I don't want to let Him down. I don't want to be less than who He has called me to be. The thought terrifies me.

Psalm 91 was read on Air1 today while I was on my way to the airport. Psalm 91 is a scripture that God has given to me for this trip in a way. When I heard this chapter that I have studied so hard being read over the radio right before I embarked on this journey, a huge wave of emotion nearly overwhelmed me.

I truly feel that right now, I am where God wants me to be.

-Houston Airport-

We are currently enduring a three hour layover. We have about an hour and a half left to go. The flight was uneventful. Everyone is slowly bonding, and at this point, we are all casual friends. There are only a few who really know what to expect; the rest of us can only visualize possibilities of what Kenya will be like. We all keep telling each other, "I'm going to Africa." It is almost unbelievable.

Our next flight is to Amsterdam, and we're going to arrive at 8:30 in the morning. Yuck. An all night flight. I dread it.

For lunch, I had a cup of yogurt and granola from Starbucks and a slice of cheese pizza from Caffe Famiglia. It was very good, but the entire meal cost me eleven dollars! Ridiculous. At Luke's football party last week, they served pizza, and I sadly declared that it was my last slice until I returned home from Kenya. Thank goodness, I was able to have one last slice to remember while I'm left to eat monkey heads and grasshoppers and who knows what else while I'm in Africa? It is a little disturbing to think about.

I'm not emotional anymore, hardly at all. My frantic waves of homesickness have all but disappeared, and as always, I'll continue to get better until I don't even want to go home. I feel very peaceful and tranquil. I know that with God, everything is going to be okay.