Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at last! May 31, 2025

 We arrived in Nairobi just a little early and we went through the same procedure that was used in Doha. Curtains closed between the cattle car and the pricier seat sections, down the stairs to the tarmac and into a waiting bus.  Deborah was sitting near me in the front part of Economy and Elizabeth was back about 20 rows from us. So this time, it was Deborah and I going through the passport check together and Elizabeth bringing up the rear. We got both of their luggage in record time and mine didn't come and didn't come,but there was still hope while more bags were dribbling out onto the conveyor. Eventually, it was obvious mine wasn't there. Qatar Air had a rep there with a laptop and he was able to determine that my bag was still in London, as were some bags from other teams that had been traveling since Chicago with us. This was the shortest and easiest lost baggage claims process ever. It's usually an hour or more, this was a couple of minutes. I give kudos to Qatar Air for their efficiency in helping with short connections, with the luggage, the food on the planes was great with real silverware and the crews were very nice. I am hoping they will deliver my bag to our lodging tomorrow. I somehow lost my flannel shirt on the last flight and it's cool here in the mornings and evenings, so I'll have to get a sweatshirt tomorrow if my bag doesn't make it Sunday. I've got another jacket in my suitcase. In the meantime, last year's travel fiasco taught me to have an extra shirt, underwear and socks. I was able to shower when we finally got to Little Daughters of St.Joesph around 10:30am. Start to finish, from my doorstep to our rooms was about 45 hours without the benefit of staying in a hotel like last year. This ranks it as my second all-time worst travel experience for one of these mission trips. But we're all smiling and the rest of the team will be here late tonight. Thank you, Jesus!

 We went to lunch at 11:30 at the nearby Java House, a restaurant chain with very good coffee. Think Starbucks with decent food.  We all got about an hour nap after lunch and are refreshed. I took Deborah around the grounds of the convent with my wildlife camera in hand. Lots of beautiful flowers and an exotic bird or two were seen, as well as a monkee climbing high above in one of the trees. So now Phase 1, travel, is in the books. We will worship tomorrow with our host church in Ongata Rongai near where our clinic will be held. Stay tuned, we're just getting started!

Doha happenings - May 31st

Even though Qatar Air Flight 110 departed London 49 minutes late we were only about 12 minutes overdue touching down at Doha. At first glance this doesn’t sound bad until you realize that we only had an hour between flights to begin with.  They closed the curtains between the higher classed sections of the plane and brought steps out on the tarmac.  A small bus labeled “Business Class” pulled up and seemed like an eternity before people from the front of the plane were flowing down the stairs. I was near the front of Economy when folks ahead of me took it upon themselves to pull the curtains back and charge forward. It turns out many were trying to also make the seemingly impossible connection to Flight 1335 going to Nairobi. It was all the flight crew could do to calm things down.  A couple of men had to be physically pushed back. The bus pulled away, but was replaced shortly by a full-sized bus. We began to fill the bus and I spotted Elizabeth. Deborah ended up on a second bus. It took about 10 minutes to navigate to a terminal on the other side of the airport.  I figured all hope was lost at this point.

We disembarked rapidly stampede style, entered the terminal and were in a security screening area. Just when I had resigned myself to missing yet another flight, a Qatar Air employee shouted out”Nairobi!” and the crowd shouted back “Nairobi!” He yelled to head upstairs quickly to Gate C24. I was hurrying along and noticed Aisha, a Kenyan woman I met in line in Chicago. She was hurrying home for her son’s high school graduation. Deborah showed up in the next group.  We were assured our luggage would be transferred, we boarded the plane, flew overnight and are now about to land in Nairobi. I’m praying for a smooth immigration and customs experience and that our luggage is all here.

Doha Bound!

Doha bound!

Did I think I would ever be in Qatar? Nope. But Deborah,  Elizabeth and I just boarded a Qatar Air Airbus 350 in London heading that way. British Air couldn’t accommodate us, so here we are. We’ve all been through lots of changes so far. Friendships are built on shared experiences and we have had quite a few before we have even get to Kenya.

We are now airborne after taking off 40 minutes late. We only have a 1 hour layover in Doha and we were assured that was plenty, as our next gate is very close. I guess we will see. I don’t have a lot of confidence our luggage will make it even if we do! The drama never seems to end.

I love the fact that so many of you have found it in your hearts to support us both in the vision clinic portion of our mission but also in helping us to get our partnership with the Kongasis School off the ground. We are all honored to be the Lord’s hands and feet in both of these efforts and we’re glad you are along for the ride. I can’t tell you how many people compliment us for our courage when it takes everyone pulling together with prayers, encouragement and financial support. We are blessed to be called to be on the tip of the spear. I always liken it to an Air Force fighter pilot. It takes 99 people on the ground doing their jobs perfectly and with enthusiasm for the mission to succeed. There are roles for everyone. Some of us just have larger than life comfort zones!

One of those roles that has become a tradition is Miss Angela having her young kids send us into the mission field with hand-made greetings. We always wait until we are traveling to open them up. Here are a few:

Isn’t that great?  More to follow as there is more to report. Blessings!

More May 29 travel fun!

Our team is still here at 6.30pm. Our flight to London is delayed from 5.40pm until at least 8pm. American Airlines is claiming mechanical problems. No way do we make our connection in London even if we get there. Not sure if we’ll get out yet tonight.

Things took a turn for the better when it was announced that a new plane was ready and we all needed to make our way from Gate K13 to K16. Elizabeth helped us all figure out our next steps when we all got new boarding passes on our phone apps. All of us except Ken were heading to London where Ken would meet Liz and they would make the trip to Nairobi on British Air 24 hours later than planned.  The other 4 of us are on another adventure. As I  write this, we are an hour from London and breakfast was just served. Greek yogurt, coconut granola and a Fig Newton. This is an American Airlines flight. Even British Air does better. I’m not a big yogurt fan am am mildly allergic to coconut, so my breakfast was a scrumptious Fig Newton! I’m glad dinner was chicken, rice, cheese, a roll and a fudge brownie. It was filling.

Back to our new adventure.  The rest of us are going to Nairobi by way of Qatar! We have to see if we can get our luggage transferred to Qatar Air and then fly to Doha. We only have a one hour layover there. What could possibly go wrong? If it works out, we get to Nairobi around 7am Saturday morning  local time. Poor Catherine,  we have been scattered to the four winds again! This year it looks like Arron and Sarah get the easier trip and will be there already.

We’re all still joyful and none of these travel difficulties will impede the work we are coming to do.  I thank the Lord that none of us will be traveling alone, except for Amanda who had planned to be in Nairobi early and made it with her bags already. Pastor Kevin always says our key word on the journeys is flexibility. I think we’re all triple-jointed by now!

More to follow from London where it is already Friday morning around 11am. Blessings everybody!

 

May 29, 2025. The Adventure begins.

Last night, we had intense storms in the Austin area with high winds, flash floods and even baseball sized Hail. Elizabeth lost power and Sarah's apartment had leakage. 6 of us were at the Austin Airport at 6am for a 9am first leg to Chicago. Ken had issues with his itinerary and may be spending one night in London. Our flight to Chicago is full and I was the last passenger to board before they began checking carry-ons. Deborah voluntarily checked hers and won’t see it again until Nairobi.  On top of all that, Amanda lost a day in London having missed her connection by 20 minutes.  What a start! Shades of last year’s trip. I’m guessing Arron and Sarah will lose at least a day as well.

The best way to view these hiccups as a believer is to understand that Satan has noticed us and knows that we’re about to hurt  him real badly. We just need to put our heads down and strive twice as hard.  After all, we’re doing the Lord’s work.  Why would we not expect to be in the midst of spiritual warfare?

This year,  we will be conducting a vision clinic in a neighborhood near the airport called Ongata Rongai. I’ll have 5 of us getting the clinic running Monday, while Amanda,  Sarah,  Arron and Elizabeth will be scoping out how we can start seriously partnering with Catherine’s school in Kongasis.

We made it to Chicago on time and got food at several shops and ate different things. Some of us got $8 Chicago hot dogs, others had sandwiches,  etc. We have about a 5 hour layover now. We got news that Amanda made it to Nairobi with her luggage. And Sarah and Arron made it to Washington DC for their connection.  We need prayers that our group can make the very tight connection we have in London. It’s been very iffy for several years. More to follow as I  am able and have Internet  Thanks for following us!

The Kenya 2025 Mission Team was commissioned this morning!

This morning, our 2025 Kenya mission team was commissioned at all three church services. With the holiday weekend and travel, attendance in person was a little light, but we have a lot of people that stream our services even when they are on the road. This will be my 23rd trip to Kenya and I am as excited as I was in the beginning. We will be conducting a vision clinic at a location in Nairobi called Ongata Rongai in partnership with an ELCK Lutheran church there. Our children's minister, Amanda, will be working with a school in a remote area about 3 hours from town. We visited there last year and our people have a heart for helping them get up to speed with a new national curriculum which requires distance learning. They have no electricity at the school, so we are donating a solar power generator with battery backup, two computers and a printer, since they are required to download and print worksheets and lesson plans for the children. My friends Sara and Dick Rathgeber made a generous donation of $10,000 this week to help take this school to the next level. I will be writing more on Facebook and as usual, here on my blog, once we get underway this Thursday, so stay tuned and thanks in advance for your support and prayers. Here is a video of our commissioning that I took from our Youtube channel at Redeemer.net. I made this link to start at this point in the service so click it if you want to see Pastor Kevin explaining our mission and praying over us.

Kenya 2025 Team Commissioning