We left Schiphol a little late due to a very full flight and
how long it took to get everyone boarded.
A 747 holds a LOT of people. The
Captain assured us he would make up any lost time if he could. It looks like our choice for lunch will be
between some kind of chicken dish and a vegetarian pasta and rice. I’m sure either will be good. Our only other hurdle that I can foresee
right now is getting Kevin into Kenya based on his receipt from the online
system. We’re hoping the worst scenario
is that he gets stuck for cash for an entry visa as we go through immigration. Our plan right now is for him to go through
first, so I’ll know what his status is before I get out to the baggage claim
area. If he has problems, I’ll get his
baggage claim tickets in the unlikely event one of the footlockers he checked
doesn’t make it today.
Once lunch is over, I have a strong hunch I’ll get a little more
shuteye. It will be good to get to
whatever lodging we have tonight and be able to lay down on a bed. Sleeping sitting up on a plane is not the
most restful slumber you’ll ever get, but it does help some.
I was right, I got a little more rest and have now had a cup
of black coffee and really need to stay awake from here on in if I am going to
stand a chance of sleeping tonight in Kenya.
We’re about 4 hours from touchdown in Nairobi. I’ve gotten to the point that I can usually
get acclimated to the 9 hour time difference by about the 2nd or 3rd
night of a trip, with all of the craziness this time, it might be Monday or
Tuesday night before I settle in to the new routine. I’ve always found it easier to battle jet lag
when you are going on vacation or a mission trip because you have to do what
you came to do. When you go back to your
everyday life, it’s a little harder to find the motivation to do whatever it
takes. I guess it’s just human nature.
It’s finally beginning to sink in that we’re really going to
get to our destination and see our old friends once again, working side by side
as we provide eye care to the community around the Lutheran Church in the slum
of Kawangware. We’ve always been able to
give blessings by what we do and the blessings we receive each time are pretty
amazing. I know there will be some great
moments for each of us, the anticipation of just what they might be this time
is always fun. We’ll be surprised, that’s
for sure.
With about 3 hours to go, the crew served us real Belgian
ice cream and it rivaled Blue Bell. Very
good, a swirl of vanilla with chocolate sauce marbled right into it. And it was very hard. Of course, with an outside air temperature of
-56 F they probably have a super duper freezer somewhere on our 747! With about 2 hours to go, we had our final
meal of pizza, a side with alternative slices of tomato and some kind of white,
soft cheese and tiramisu. Eat your heart
out British Air! It’s getting near the
time I need to put the laptop up, plus I’m down to only about 15% of a battery
charge. There’s only one thing carriers
with newer fleets have that KLM doesn’t yet, and that’s power taps under the
seats and USB in the seats to keep laptops, phones and tablets charged up. Oh, and no wifi on these flights this
time. No big deal, I write the blog in
Word and copy and paste into the blog online as I can. Anyway, given the choice, I’ll go for the
better food! More to follow in the days
ahead. Stay tuned…
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