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There is a saying, “there is no hurry in Africa.” That saying pretty much sums up my experience yesterday.
Upon arriving in Eldoret yesterday, Juli and I learned that our ride had a broken down car in Turbo, which is about 10 minutes away from Kipkarren (our destination) and an hour away from Eldoret. The Kipkarren network was soon at work though, and another man, Ezekial, who happened to be in town that day, agreed to pick us up and take us into town so that we could wait there for our original ride. Having made it into town, Juli and I went to lunch and learned that our ride was still stuck in Turbo. We then walked around Eldoret for a while where I learned two very valuable lessons 1) Pedestrians never have the right-of-way, and 2) you have to have no fear in order to drive in Eldoret. There are no traffic lights, no real rules or regulations, and absolutely no parking strictures. The cars stop wherever they have the opportunity and the drivers make their way into the shops where they have business. Combine that with people setting up mobile stores along the street (they are mobile because they are illegal and they must quickly pick up their goods with the authorities come) and it definitely is an experience that most Western drivers are not used to. For sake of comparison, its similar to the poor areas of Mexico except even more chaotic.
In the midst of this chaos though, there are throngs of people; people who live in the moment and do not worry about keeping to a schedule or routine. After walking for a while, we learned that our original car still hadn’t been prepared, and so Ezekial kindly agreed to let us ride back with him to town. We spent some time in ELI’s office, ran “a few” errands with Ezekial (which probably took about an hour and a half) and finally made it to David’s house. I originally planned to be in Kipkarren around noon. We arrived around 6:00.
It was a good day though. I enjoyed the spontaneity of the moment although Juli would have preferred a quicker route home. The day ended with dinner at David’s house consisting of some other American visitors, and various members of his immediate and extended family. Before everyone left, we closed the evening with prayer, watched Allison open an early Christmas gift (she was so excited about the CD, Josh and Jodie) and so ended by first day in Kipkarren.
Postscript

A few other things that I already appreciate about Kenya:
– There is always music. Whether we are hanging out, cooking dinner, or having some type of meeting, there is always music. Spontaneous outbreak of songs are totally acceptable.
– You greet everyone. Regardless of whether you know the person, or you are just walking by them on a path, you stop and shake hands with nearly everyone you pass by. On the rare occasion you don’t shake hands, you wave and say “hello.”
– People want you to feel a part of the community. When I meet someone, they often invite me to make this like home or they say “you are part of us now.” There is an amazing amount of inclusion.

I arrived safely in Nairobi. My flight was late and I was later still meeting Juli as I waited for my luggage to come down the conveyor belt. As I stood there, I realized how ill-prepared I was if anything were to go wrong. I prayed that both my suitcase would arrive and that Juli would be there to meet me. I also prayed that if either of these things didn’t happen, that my attitude and actions would glorify God. I’m so grateful that He didn’t test my faithfulness to that prayer. Both of my concerns were quickly resolved and I was grateful not to have to figure out how to use the Nairobian public phone system or how to file a claim for lost luggage.

We stayed in a guesthouse the first night here. It’s somewhat like a bed and breakfast for missionaries who are travelling through Nairobi. The first thing that struck me was the sturdiness of the gate outside of the house. In California, gates are for privacy. Here, you could tell that the gate was for security. I can’t have recalled ever seeing such a thick gate, atop of which barb wire was strategically placed. We waited until the gate’s sensors admitted us and we were immediately greeted by two of the staff. After a good night sleep underneath a mosquito net, we had breakfast with the other guests. I met an American girl of eleven who had lived in Africa (both Tanzania and Kenya) for the better part of her life. Also in the room were several other missionary families and their guests. Its amazing how the body of Christ has immediate commonality across national borders and language barriers. I know that God will bring these individuals to mind in days ahead and I consider it a privilege to be able to pray for them by name.

Next on the itinerary will be a one-hour flight to Eldoret and then an approximate one-hour drive to Kipkarren where I will be spending the majority of my time here. In the week before I arrived, there was a wedding in the community that was attended by one thousand people. Juli’s house is being used by some guests, so we will be staying at David’s house the first night. David runs the orphanage for ELI and it was his nephew that was married. David has actually adopted this nephew as a son which happens in a culture built upon community. I had the privilege of meeting David this past spring when he came to a visit to the States. He knew me as the girl who calls Juli at dinner time. (Apparently, I’m the only one of Juli’s correspondence who gets up early enough to interrupt her dinner.) David is a man whose heart is bent towards God, a humble man filled with wisdom. I look forward to seeing him again and to experience the place that Juli calls home.