Arrival!

We and all our luggage have arrived! We are staying in a house that has wireless internet, and the connection works better than we dared to hope.

The layover in London was stressful, but we made it. Thank the Lord we had 7 hours between our flights, because it took us 5 hours to get everything done. We had to change terminals, which included taking a bus (that we had to load and unload all 19 pieces of luggage by ourselves) for 15 minutes. We figured out it was at least 700 lbs of weight. It was quite difficult just finding out how we were supposed to get to the other terminal with all the luggage and many of the boxes had been severely damaged. I bought some tape, which helped. We first tried getting everything on 2 trolleys and wearing the other pieces, but ended up needed 3 trolleys. The layover in Nairobi felt like we were arriving in subway station - really hot, crowded. We were so tired because we tried to advance to London/Kigali time as quickly as possible, which meant giving up a good night's sleep. I don't know if I would do it that way again, fyi. I couldn't make it through the London flight and slept 3 hours, but Levi stayed awake. We tried to sleep on the 8.5 hour trip from London to Kenya, but for some reason, they only turned off the cabin lights for about 3 hours, so that's all we got then. We had to take a nap this afternoon, but I don't think it will be any problem at all to sleep tonight. All in all, it was 22 hours of airplane time, 37 hours of total travel time leaving from Auburn at 12:30pm Wednesday and arriving what would have been 1:30am Friday. It took us about an hour to clear customs, but that was only because we had boxes for the school.

Thank you for all your prayers. Everything could have been much worse, and even though I got a little anxious on the flight, I was able to sleep and wake up feeling better. When we boarded the plane in Nairobi, they wouldn't let us take our 2 carryons on the plane, so they tagged them and sent them below. I was so concerned because I wasn't positive they were going to make it on the plane and they had our change of clothes, but most importantly, our new camera. But everything made it and we even could watch it being loaded on the plane. The last pieces, but at least on.

I'm feeling fine physically, other than being tired and my feet swollen. I was thinking from the airplane, but then someone mentioned it might be from the altitude. Levi has a sore throat, but I think it's just what I had last week which healed quickly.

Kigali definitely meets the nickname Land of a Thousand Hills. It's lovely and green everywhere. It was actually drizzling when we arrived, but it cleared up quickly. The houses dotting the landscape are very nice looking, even quite stunning in the wealthy areas. We both got showers as soon as we got in the house, which was fantastic. We got to see the school and our classrooms - they are right next to each other, which is great. The school buildings are really nice, and the classroom has neat wood desks. They don't have white boards, but put up a piece of laminate over a white area of the wall and that works.

Levi just came home with an avocado the size of a coconut which he bought for 40 cents. Our hostess served us salmon for dinner, which she said cost about $30 for a package of 4 fillets about palm size. So a random collection of prices. We had fantastic pineapple on the plane, so feel hopeful about that here.

We feel pretty good emotionally, Levi was pretty much glowing when we got in sight of Kenya. I think my bubbly excitement will come in a little later, like once we get a little more settled. We're staying with a family from the school now, moving to my brother-in-law's business partners the day after tomorrow, and then moving to my brother-in-law's house whenever we can after that. So lots of transition. I feel very peaceful now, which is more my personality anyway.

It's 9pm now and I definitely feel like I could go to bed. I have some dessert tucked away in a carryon bag, which I'll treat myself to before we go to sleep.

Prayer Requests

Just a few general thoughts here on the first day...

• Our health and safety, especially protection from malaria
• Team unity and cohesion
• Logistical details for the family
• Excellence in Teaching
  
• Wisdom and discernment in decision making, especially finances
  
• Balance between life/work/family/fun