Plan B (& C, D, and even E)

As we stepped out of the Nairobi airport I experienced once again this place I called “home” 9 years ago.  In keeping with the contradictions everything was at once familiar and yet it was all brand new.  We greeted Tracy’s Parents (Mama & Baba in the Luo language) with tears of joy in our eyes.  Joy because we haven’t seen them in years and joy that we won’t have to say goodbye again any time soon.  Mama & Baba came with their friend Andrew and his van to pick us up.  We filled the back of the van with our luggage and then we were off to the Rosa Mystica Retreat Center in Nairobi where we were to stay the night. 

Driving in Nairobi is a special experience that cannot be described.  Think of the scariest rollercoaster you’ve ever ridden, add blaring horns and then have cars coming straight at you only to swerve at the last second.  Disneyworld could add that ride to their list of attractions.  Fortunately it was late at night and traffic was lighter and Andrew is an excellent driver.

We made it to the Rosa Mystica with no worries, quickly checked in, found our rooms and fell asleep right away.  One difference you’ll notice right away in Kenya is that everyone sleeps under a mosquito net.  This is a big net made of soft material that hangs from the ceiling and covers the entire bed.  That way you keep the mosquitos from biting you in the night.  This is very important because mosquitos carry malaria, a disease that is one of the number 1 killers here in Kenya.  One of the most haunting memories I have from my last visit here was watching a father holding his 5 year old son who was sick with malaria.  The father was sitting on what would be the porch of his house holding the boy, rocking back and forth and praying.  I don’t know what became of that boy but I will never forget him or his father.

One of the best things about coming back to Kenya is the food.  At the retreat center all the guests ate at a central dining area.  In Kenya most people cook over a small propane, one burner stove called a jiko.  So in the dining there was a cook with a jiko set up on a table and could he ever cook.  We had fried goat meat, ugali (a corn meal paste) and a special type of soup.  I was so blessed to have this wonderful food once again. 

The next morning as we walked across the street to the shopping center I realized I was having a hard time breathing.  I had a suspicion as to what it was and one question to Baba confirmed it.  Nairobi is somewhere around 6500 ft above sea level.  I’m used to living at or below sea level.  I had altitude sickness. 

The shopping center was a lot like a center in America except for one thing.  When we get to the parking lot we have to go through a security check with a magnetic wand search and a pat down.  Then before we can get into the shopping area we had to go through a metal detector.   Needless to say the soldiers walking around with large rifles will attest to the fact that Kenyans take security very seriously. 

So were in the shopping center in order to purchase a new Kenyan SIM card for our American phones.  Andrew on top of being an excellent driver, is also a whiz at anything electronic.  In Kenya he is called a Fundi, which means someone who is skilled in a particular area.  For Andrew he is a cell phone and computer Fundi.  Well we were disappointed to find out that our phones that we thought were unlocked, were not.  The SIM card would not work and Andrew was going to have to take them to his shop and unlock them.  First lesson you learn in Kenya is things don’t always work out the way you thought they would so you to plan B (& sometimes C, D, and even E).  No worries we would have our phones in a few days. 

Next stop was Java House where we were to eat and say goodbye to some fellow missionaries who were going back home on furlough for a few months.  Java House is definitely a Mzungu (Swahili for European, or any white person) restaurant.  It’s a chain that can be found in the major cities in Kenya, where the tourists frequent.  It’s a cross between Starbucks and a TGIF Restaurant.  We all sat in the restaurant’s outside seating area because it was cool.  Kenya, being below the equator and having opposite seasons as America, is heading into the winter season.  As we were sitting there I watched all the activity going on in the city.  Nairobi is a very busy, metropolitan city.  There are thousands of people from every continent on the globe (except Antarctica I think but I could be wrong).  It is much like any big city in the world.   It is a wonderful, colorful city to visit but it is not the true heart of Kenya.  To find that you must journey out of the city into the small villages along the countryside.  This was a journey we were about to take.