16 of our team members all gathered at Redeemer starting around 9am, loaded luggage and clinic supplies in our charter bus and left on time at 10am sharp for Bush International Airport in Houston. Our other 3 team members joined us there for checking in, going through security, food and some fellowship. Our 20th person, Alison is already in Nairobi. More on that later. We saw many of our old friends from Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball arriving as we did. After some happy greetings, they prepared to get a group picture. I couldn't help myself. I stood in the back row and photobombed them. I was right next to one of their leaders and my good friend Kevin Pieper. He realized what I had dond after the fact. We had a great laugh.
Only Travis and his mom Julie had issues in security. Travis' carry on got thoroughly inspected for who knows what. Julie's Bible set off alarms. It is a very dangerous book after all! I know it's made a radical change in my life, that's for sure. We boarded our British Airways 777 without incident and took off for London on time. I shut my eyes for about 45 minutes before drinks and snacks were served. A while later, dinner service began. Our choices in the back of the plane were either chicken curry or chicken curry. They had already run out of vegetarian pasta due to a large number Indian people and others on the plane that had made that choice. So, I ordered chicken curry with a smile. It came with a small salad with balsamic vinegrette, a roll, rice, crackers and cheddar cheese and a chocolate and caramel shortbread confection. I'm glad I had a burger at the airport! Airplane food can fill you up but it's still a TV dinner.
We always instruct our teams to try to sleep after dinner on the way to London, since it helps with the 8 hour time difference in Nairobi. We also stress staying awake from London to Nairobi, since we arrive around 9pm and are usually at our rooms by midnight. If you're tired upon arrival, you can usually at least get some fitful sleep before an early Saturday morning safari or other attraction. With lots to do on Sunday, from worship to lunch to getting ready for our clinics, we are nearly acclimated to local time by Monday night. Sometimes, I've actually slept well as early as Saturday night.
Now for Alison's story. She has come on mission trips with both Redeemer and Salem Lutheran Church in the past. She befriended a local pastor in the Mombasa area on one of those trips. When his wife gave birth to a little girl, they named her Alison. So naturally, she just had to come a few days early to meet her namesake. What a blessing!
I've been sleeping on and off using an eyeshade. It's only about 8pm now in Austin, but that translates to 4am Nairobi time. I really should keep at least resting my eyes, but 8 hours is a big chunk to bite off all at once. It's why it always takes a day or two or three to adjust. The 777 we're flying is an older plane with no USB for charging phones and tablets or underwear power outlets or a decent entertainment system. Many newer planes have all of this and individual DVR type control over what you watch. I always come prepared and have movies, books and music loaded on my phone. Maybe we'll have a better plane from Heathrow to Kenya.
I was just awakened about an hour and a half from London by my tray table falling in my lap. I was surprised to see a "special meal" marked Hindu in front of me. I guess I've been out in the sun too much doing my bird photos! I took it back to the galley and had a good laugh with the flight attendants. My actual breakfast consisted of a cream cheese filled pretzel, at least that's what the label said and a honey and maple granola bar. I would have called it a bagel and cream cheese.
It looks like we'll be a few minutes early into London after a relatively smooth flight. The Fasten Seat Belt light only came on as we ventured out over the Atlantic from the east coast of the U.S. and one more time mid-Atlantic. It's pretty usual to experience sometimes dramatic bouncing around as you leave our continent.
I managed to follow the advice I give our teams and drank about a liter and a half of water in addition to the coffee and juices that came along with meals. It's easy to get dehydrated on long flights plus we serve in Nairobi at altitude as well. I had a large kidney stone removed in December as a caution. I didn't want any issues halfway around the world. My urologist told me I could eat anything I wanted if I drank 3 liters of water a day. A tall order, but I'm trying to keep up with that pace.
We arrived on time at Heathrow, walked down some steps to the tarmac, took a series of buses and went through security in Terminal 3 and are waiting for gate info to be posted at the last minute. This is standard procedure here, maybe to foil bad guys. More to follow from Nairobi as I am able.
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