I am here!

After 3 flights, 3 continents, 4 airports, and approximately 20 hours of travel time, I arrived safely in Nairobi, Kenya on June 1 with two girls I had met at orientation, one of whom I will be working with in Kapsowar whose name is Allison.  We were all blessed to have all of our luggage arrive with us and getting our visas was a smooth process.  We were picked up at the airport by an AIM employee who drove us to AIM's guesthouse here in Nairobi.  There, we met the Short Term Coordinator for the Eastern Region PJ, his wife Emily, and their two adorable kids, along with another short-termer from the UK who had arrived the day before.  The three of us who had arrived from the States got settled into our rooms, emailed our families to let them know we had arrived and were safe, and went to sleep.

The next day was Sunday, and the four of us girls from the US and UK, along with PJ and his family, attended church together.  There we meet a couple of other short-term missionaries as well as a couple who was full-termers.  The church was amazing, and everyone spoke English, so we were able to understand the sermon! After church, all of the short and long-termers that we had met went to coffee with us, and it was fun to get to know each other better and simply relaxing.  After that, us four girls went to PJ and Emily's house for about an hour, spending time with them and the kids.  We then went to an Ethiopian restaurant for lunch, which was exciting and yummy! There, we met a couple of other short-termers as well as celebrated one of them that would be leaving Kenya in less than a week.  We were then dropped off at the guesthouse where we had dinner, blogged, and went to bed.  All in all, it was a wonderful first day in Kenya!

It was such a blessing to get to know other missionaries here, especially PJ and Emily! They are such a sweet couple and the love they have for the Lord is quite evident.  It was sad to say goodbye to Emily today because we will not see her again because Allison and I leave for Kapsowar on Tuesday, and when we come back to Nairobi just before we leave for the States, PJ, Emily, and the kids will already be in the US on home assignment.  It was so wonderful to spend the day with her and the kids and hear how the Lord has been at work in her life. PJ will travel with us to Kapsowar on Tuesday, so we did not have to say goodbye to him just yet.

One thing in case you want to know: Kenya is 10 hours ahead of Pacific time, meaning it is 7 hours ahead of Eastern time. Just thought I'd let you know in case you were curious! Also, we saw two camels in Nairobi yesterday! They were just walking along with their owner, although one looked like it was running away. Emily told us that camels are not very common in the capital, so it was exciting to see them on our first day!

That is about all of the news for now! Today (Monday), we will have ABO (Africa Based Orientation) and then on Tuesday, Allison and I will fly to Kapsowar, which is where we will be for the next two months. I have heard it is beautiful there, so I am excited to get to our final destination!