David & LaReita Berky

Ammon:

We went to the airport and got to the small airport lounge. I found out that airport lounges sometimes have showers! (Didn’t use it.) Then got on our prop plane flight. Then we landed, and took a taxi to Becky’s house. Met the one-week old puppies (German Shepherds). Dad did work, and mom met people, so just screen day for me. 🙂

Pictures from Saturday

LaReita:

Yes, it was a screen afternoon for Ammon. I take consolation that it was Saturday, and at home Ammon would be playing on the computer anyway.

Getting to Kumasi from Accra options:

Option 1 (most economical): The VIP bus = 5 hours on crowded roads.Five hours does not include getting to the station and sitting/waiting on the hot bus. Once on the road, you get the adrenaline bonus experiencing the bus driver driving at kamikaze, break-neck speeds on partially unpaved or pot-holed roads. Then once you reach the station, getting to your final destination.

Option 2 (fastest method): Passion Airways (propeller-jet plane) = 30-40 minutes domestic flight. We can use our Priority Pass benefit to sit in an air conditioned lounge with a buffet, drinks, and strong wifi.

We chose Option 2. The fastest, but also more expensive. The flights to Kumasi used to be $120 round-trip. Pretty Then in January, a Chinese company bought the airline. It now is $250 round-trip. Sigh. The flights were still full (mostly Ghanaians), so apparently people are able and willing to pay. What was most frustrating to me is I tried to buy the tickets a month ago at cheaper prices, but since I was on an African website, using my USA Visa card, it kept being rejected as fraud. Ugh. So I relented and bought the tickets at their window when we landed in Ghana a few days ago. I probably could have called Visa to let the purchase go through, but…. I didn’t. Can’t win them all I suppose. We supported the Chinese businessmen and the locals they employ.

At Becky’s house I trained three of our managers on the new website Dave built for us to manage people, hours, courses, classes and attendance – FMFed.org. Also training them on the regular website for blogging and requisition forms. I’m learning how to delegate better and give others technology skills that will make them more employable. After-all, mentoring is in our name.

I wanted to train them all at the same time to be efficient with my time. However, they all arrived according to African Standard Time. My planned 2 hour training became 6 hours. Akwaaba (ah-kwa-bah) Ghana (translation: “Welcome to Ghana.”)

Dave happily connected to Becky’s Starlink and made some good progress on his real work project (Medicare data code-sets).

Ammon:

at 10AM we went to the beach and me and Donne caught 3 crabs and a snake fish. Near the end of our beach time the waves near the shore was MASSIVE, and I had a lot of fun. Got to ride a horse too. The horse was sorta a slow horse and I did try to get it up to a trot. The tack (saddle, bridle) was makeshift and the stirrups were rope with a thin piece of metal at the bottom. Did get roasted because we didn’t reapply sunscreen. Had a nice screen time playing a Minecraft clone.

Pictures & Videos from Sept 19

LaReita:

It’s been 2 weeks since we have been able to talk to Sam because of the 8 hour time difference while we were in Kenya. Now that we are only 5 hours ahead, we were able to work it out that he called today 4am his time, 9am our time. He says AIT (Adavanced Individual Training) is easier than Basic Training. The hardest part is staying on track with nutrition. He does have a buddy who was in Fat Camp with him, and Basic Training, so they are keeping each other accountable. We got the details for his graduation day and family day, so we’ll be doing another trip in November (just 5 days max though!)

After our phone call, we packed a small backpack of snacks, towels, and took a taxi to a private beach. I hobbled down the boardwalk and towards bamboo bench in the sand. Propped up my foot, and watched Ammon, Dave, and Donne play in the water. Before Dave and Donne joined Ammon, I could see Ammon go further and further out and I was just seeing his head above the waves. He knows how to swim, but the undertow that can happen he doesn’t know about. A local lady in a swimsuit started heading out to Ammon, and Dave also started moving towards him to bring him back to safer depths. They played in the water for about 2 hours. I enjoyed my fresh coconut water and tried to be in the present moment and not on the phone answering messages. (Though I did have to call and talk with our Treasurer about a bank issue.) I alternated my foot being in the sand, and being propped. By the time we left, I could actually put some pressure on it. Hooray! (I’m taking the tincture every 2 hours.)

The best part of the beach experience was when a Ghanaian young man led a horse up to us and asked if anyone wanted to ride. This was a great teaching moment for Ammon. He rode a horse in Dubai. After the the Mara Game Drive he said, “I wish I had a portable horse that I could ride wherever I go.”

Well. Here in Ghana, a horse was delivered to him. On the beach! He spoke what he wanted. The power of intention. LifeStory.

I enjoyed seeing the makeshift saddle, bridle and stirrups – everything Ghana-style. Just make-do with what you have. The young man was impressed that Ammon knew how to ride. Though once again, Ammon got a tourist horse and it wouldn’t respond to his commands to trot!

As we were driving back from the beach another teaching moment about how to speak in the present-tense to create what you want to happen. “The water is flowing freely through the pipes at Becky’s house where we are currently staying.” A few hours later, water was flowing! (After much work by Donne to track down who/how to get it connect to the house.)

Dave and I spent the rest of the day back at the house doing finances, and Ammon happily alternated using dad’s phone and laptop.  

Ammon:

there was a lot of security, and when we got there we went to Gate A and not Gate D. so we got a nice 2 minute walk. Then had a nice Lounge experience and got onboard and mom sprained her foot. I watched The Lego Movie 2 times then landed in Ghana, and got home and watched TV.

Pictures & Videos from Sept 18

LaReita:

Kenyans are serious about their security. Before we even entered the airport, our shuttle driver pulled over and pointed to a 10 foot building on the side of the road, “you have to be screened first”. We get out (just our persons, not our stuff), and walk through a metal detector.

We get back in the car and we get to the terminal. We enter the doors of the terminal, and there is an X-ray scanner and a metal detector. Go through that.

Check-in at the counter.

Go through passport control. Go upstairs.

There are more x-ray scanners and metal detectors like at the front doors. I think, ‘maybe those are extras for training.’ They are blocked off with the ropes. Ok. I walk around them to the elevator, thinking our gate is up another level. Nope. We get chased down by a security worker. We DO have to go through these machines.

Three security screenings.

We find the lounge that accepts Priority Pass (one of our credit card benefits), and we are the only ones there. Good breakfast, strong wifi, comfy seats. There for about 1.5 hours before we go to our gate.

As we start walking down the hallway to the gangway, I type a text that I’ll miss our weekly board meeting call since I’ll be flying. I’m walking down an unfamiliar hallway not paying attention. Being a “screen-ager”. Dave is muttering something, and by the time I register what he is saying, the floor drops out from under me. I land hard on my left foot and collapse. He was saying “stairs, stairs, stairs”. I’m grateful it was my left that took the brunt of the fall since my right knee has osteo-arthritis, it could have been a much worse situation.

I stand up and admit, “that’s what happens when I’m on the phone and not paying attention.” Plane ride was full, but when I get up to use the toilet, the left foot was not happy. Six hours later we land in Ghana. As I get off the plane, I am walking very slow.

A few more stops, and by the time we get to Becky’s house in Accra I’m wondering if I broke something. I can barely make it 10 feet from the car to the couch. I recall Ben’s football sprained ankle that wasn’t healing after 3 weeks. When I finally took him to the doctor, Ben actually had a fracture. I now know your pain Ben.

Before we left Spanish Fork, I had the clear prompting to take my herbal tincture liquid “Healing Syrup” aka Complete Tissue Repair. I thought it would be for my frozen shoulder that was giving me problems at the time. (Shoulder is good now.) I think it was actually meant for this event.

Becky’s new Accra house rental is nice. Electricity is working. Good A/C in the bedroom. But no water. Apparently it’s been a month. Akwaaba Ghana. (Welcome to Ghana.) Donne (the house caretaker) did get 2 buckets of water from the neighbor so we can at least flush. I use one of the buckets and do a bucket bath. You stand in the bathtub and with a washcloth, splash and clean as best you can.

It wouldn’t be an African trip unless you had a bucket-bath.

Ammon:

woke up and packed then I went outside, and fed some of our donuts to the ants. Then we put our luggage on the cafe porch. Then our guy he showed us around, and after he finished I found a ant highway (yes that is possible just only for a massive colony) and… lets just say im a little scared of ants now. Also, the night before I had my entire body besides my head outside the mosquito net. Even though I would be considered venomous, its actually not to scratchy. I bet the mosquitos were thinking “Man, get a load of this guy! Hes so sugary and doesn’t need barbacue sauce!” then we had a 3 minute walk to the village, and when we got there they did a dance, then showed us around. Mom gave $171 to the village because she bought a lot. Then we started the drive, which was just me on dads phone pretty much the whole time. Then we got stuck in traffic and got back to our CySuites hotel. Said goodbye to our polish friends and went to bed.

Pictures & Videos from Sept 17

LaReita:

Next to our accommodations was a traditional Maasai village. The Maasai people are the ones who can jump really high, wear the red plaid, the men walk with sticks since they are the shepherds, they have massive hanging ear-lobes, and wear lots of beads and metal jewelry. The Maasai are polygamous and is very common for a man to start another family without the 1^st wife’s knowledge. The women take care of everything else: build the cow-dung-mud house, wash clothes, children, milk the cows, butcher the meat, cook, earn the money to pay the school fees, gather the wood and water, etc, etc

Edith told us about her life as a polygamous wife to a Maasai man. It is not a happy relationship for her. In telling her tale and the common theme of most Maasai men it is that of dominance instead of respect. Considering for generations how the tribe has lived among wild animals, it makes sense that an attitude of dominant/subdominant or predator/prey would be modeled in the tribe. But that’s just my theory from only observing this environment for a few days.

We bought some souveniers from the women’s ‘gift shop’. There were about 40 stalls. Dave’s propensity to ‘be fair’ to everyone would not be possible here. It was interesting to watch as Edith negotiated the price with the men. She is a strong-willed woman. She has to be. We learned that the sale is divided evenly among all the women. This is how they survive in the wild, by living communally. Dave was pleased that it would ‘be fair.’

We began our drive back to Nairobi. Edith and her daughter joined us since Edith has a Doctor’s appointment in Nairobi. We stopped in Narok and Dave wanted to treat them all to KFC. KFC is quite popular in Ghana, and interesting to see it also in Kenya. They have been to KFC before, but I think it is not a usual event.

Got back to our hotel in Nairobi and our Polish friends were sitting poolside with their luggage. They would be leaving in an hour for the airport. We greeted each other like old friends, chatted, swapped Safari stories, and pictures of our home activities, including our dogs. The little girl Leah was so happy to see Ammon she hugged him multiple times! It was darling. She’s an only child, and in a way Ammon is an only child because of the age difference between him and Jacob. Ammon commented that by the time Anthony & Gracey’s baby girl is his age, he’d be 22. I exchanged phone numbers with the mom, Alice, on WhatsApp. Who knows, maybe in our future travels we’ll pass through Poland! (The airport is named after the pianist-composer, Chopin.)

We stayed in a different room that had a washer. It was a washer AND dryer single machine. Didn’t quite dry all the way. I always bring paracord on my Africa trips. So I just tied it between the handles of the kitchen cabinets and hung them to finish drying. Worked out well. This was a great apartment hotel. If we come back to Nairobi, definitely will stay at this place.

Ammon:

Got up at 5AM and got through the gate which cost $500! We saw lions, cheetahs, water buffalos, big birds, impalas (not the car), gazelles, zebras, crocodiles, hippos, ostriches, giraffes, elephants, warthogs. Ate breakfast and lunch under a big tree, then went back to the “hotel”.

Pictures & video clips from our Game Drive (Safari)

LaReita:

It is migration season. The law of Supply and Demand in this case states that since there is a higher supply of animals to see, it demands a higher entrance fee. That’s fine, since it goes towards preservation efforts and anti-poaching teams.

“The Big Five” animals to see for a one day “Game Drive” are: Lion, Elephant, (water) Buffalo, Rhinoceros, Leopard. The term Safari is reserved for a multi-day journey. We saw 3 of the 5. Lion, Elephant, (water) buffalo. 

The Maasai Mara is in the south-west border of Kenya next to Tanzania. The Mara game preserve continues into Tanzania, which is known as the Serengeti. We actually did get to walk 2 feet into Tanzania. More Rhinoceros live in the Serengeti and don’t often venture north into the Mara. So we didn’t see any Rhinos.

It was pitch-black when we drove in. As the dawn began to break, our driver pointed and said, “Look at the ostrich.” What ostrich? I thought it was a tree in the distance! The sunrise on the Mara was beautiful, complete with balloons lifting into the air.

We saw a cheetah chase and miss an impala, but then turned around sulked back to its original spot, regrouping its strength. It was walking right between some Land Rovers, oblivious to the 50+ metal machines there to watch. We watched for another 5 minutes as it prowled towards a small group of gazelles, and targeted a gazelle straying away from the group. See the far-shot video in the link! We learned later that even though a cheetah’s top speed is 60mph, but can only sustain it for 15 seconds. That is why it missed the impala. Our guides said it is very rare to witness a hunt and a kill so this was a unique experience!

This gave a real-world example to teach Ammon about the fight, flight, freeze response in the animal kingdom (including humans). Also the brain’s capability to release a hormone to dissociate so the victim can’t (hopefully) feel the extreme pain.

Another incredible moment was having an elephant herd walk 1-2 feet in front of our Land Rover. The lead elephant paused to regard us, and then continued on. Our guides whispered anxiously, “stay still, stay still”, but Ammon couldn’t hear the quiet instructions with an African accent, and he was moving from one side to another talking at normal volume. I think we were protected by our travel angels!

Seeing valleys FULL of zebras was mesmerizing. I wondered if any have ever been tamed to be riden like a horse? We were able to pull right up to herds of gazelles, impalas, a young water buffalo, and the Rongai Pride. The Rongai pride had about 9 lioness’ (and 2 younger males). We sat and observed them interact/play with 2 of the growing cubs practicing their crouching and pouncing. A hyena started to approach, but the largest lioness began approaching the hyena, who then changed course.

We went to a nearby location where we saw 2 lioness’s sleeping while 5 very young cubs nursed or played. We were only 10 feet away, safe in our metal Land Rover cage.

Other notable scenes:

• an ostrich pair preparing to mate
  
• Impala young males stay separate from the herd that is overseen by the head male. At some point one of the young males will feels ready to challenge the head male. (no challenge was taking place at the time.)
  
• baby kinbox (looked like a very small deer), in a ditch, panting. Nervous because it has lost its herd and is now a target for the circle of life
  
• Maasai River (flows into Tanzania) and saw hippos and crocodiles. A border guard (with a gun) walked us to the safe side of the river where they were. It was also the middle of the day, and the hippos and crocs don’t want to leave the cool water to attack humans, so we were safe.

Learned about current poaching penalties:

– if you are caught with a gun in hand, and a poached animal product(s), you are shot on site.

– if you are caught with no gun, but with poached animal products, 20 years in prison (and African prisons are punishing)

– if you are caught with implements intending to poach, 5 years in prison.

Our border guard guide has been doing this for 10 years and told us the guards rotate night & day shifts. The day shifts: 1) guides (and working for tips) at the Maasai River 2) anti-poaching day team (land, air and drones)  Night shift: awake for 14+ hours, complete with night vision, to protect the herds from poachers

Due to these efforts and penalties, poaching has decreased dramatically the past 20 years.

Our hired driver (Dan) and guide (Enoch) tried to find the Leopard for us, but by 4pm we said it was ok, and it was a great day. They commented that is why most people do a safari for 3 days. Three days! I love animals, but one 10-hour day was good for me.

We left the park and visited Edith’s clothing store. She is a local leader and employs about 4 people at her shop. She told me her tale of her husband taking a 2nd wife without her knowledge (let alone permission), and the repercussions it has had on their children. She also invited us to her house where she milked a cow, warmed up the milk, added a little cocoa powder and served us this “Maasai tea”. Ammon was going to milk the cow, but the cow was spooked by 2 unknown (white) people. Whenever we approached, it moved away! 

We went back to our accommodations, stopped at the ‘cafe/restaurant’ house, and waited for our pre-paid dinner, but it was quite late. So Dave went to bed. Ammon and I stayed to be on the WiFi and do some uploading and typing.  

A very long, but very fulfilling day!

Ammon:

started driving up a “mountain” (big hill) and stopped near the top for a bathroom break. There was also a snack shop so we got black cherry Fanta and Pringles. We saw Ketchup Pringles. How disgusting. Drove again then stopped at a near a grocery store for a bathroom break. But because we were walking by, I smelled some donuts. So after we did BTHBRK we got some donuts. Drove to a gas station and filled up. Found out that our safari vehicle has 2 tanks. Then we got to our hotel (which is just 2 small shacks. 1 is a restaurant and the other one is 2 room lodging).

Pictures from the 15th 

LaReita:

Our Maasai guide and driver (Enoch and Dan) came to pick us up in the traditional safari Land Rover, complete with a “National Geographic” logo in the back window. As a kid I loved watching National Geographic on PBS, and reading the magazines that Grandma Jeppesen subscribed to.

It was a 5 hour total drive from Nairobi to the Maasai Mara. I told our FMF friend and contact, Edith Njapit (a Maasai), that I wanted to support a Maasai business and not the Chinese camps. Our accommodations were definitely different than our nice Kenyan-run Nairobi hotel, but it was not a traditional Maasi bamboo frame and cow-dung-mud home. It was not a shack as Ammon described. But we did have to sleep with 2 layers of nets. You can see the pics if you want.

I learned more about the pervasiveness of the Chinese influence into the Kenyan infrastructures. Including the newly paved road they built from Narok (a half-way point from Nairobi) to the gate of the Maasai Mara. It previously took 5 hours from Narok to the gate, but now it is only 1 hour. (So before the road went in, it would be 9-10 hours from Nairobi to the Maasai Mara.)

The road is now paved, but is already experiencing potholes because there is only 1 inch of asphalt with no road-base. I’m not exaggerating. Dave would exaggerate it to 1/2 inch. But this really is an inch. 

 Sigh. I look forward to the day when more people will start treating each other with respect and concern. 

Ammon:

We drove to a church, and when we got there the seats were so cushy I could barely lie down or sit up!

Although, I still did get a nap in. Did primary and drove to another church, which was just a guy yelling in Swahili. During that time I just looked through moms pictures of the last 3 years, which kept me occupied. Then we went back home and I swam in the swimming pool (which I did the last 2 days) then went to bed.

Pictures from 14th

LaReita:

We went to the Upperhill Ward in Nairobi. First time I’ve entered a church parking lot with locked gate and 2 security guards. The Accra, Ghana temple has locked gate and security guards, but this was a church and institute building. It is in a nicer part of Nairobi where all entrances are similar to this.

The Bishop was of Indian descent, and both Dave & I wondered how accepting the Kenyan members are with him. There are quite a bit of Indians and Chinese in Nairobi, which does cause some tensions due to some of their business practices. We thought how would it have been if in 1980 USA a black Bishop was called, especially in the South. That would be an act of faith for a lot of people.

It was fast and testimony meeting because they had Stake Conference the week before. Such moving and powerful testimonies. An older Kenyan couple got up to bear their testimonies and have been called to be a senior missionary couple in Monrovia, Liberia! Where we are headed in about a week!

Our driver (Kenneth) and our FMF manager (George) came and sat with us for the 2 hours. Dave explained quite a bit about various aspects of this new experience of attending a “Latter-day Saint” church.

After our 2 hour church we drove an hour to a Pentecostal Church where we have an FMF women’s literacy group. The pastor spoke for an hour in Swahili with his preaching voice and microphone. It was different from what we just came from! The pastor asked me and Dave to share some words. We had a Swahili interpreter.

We had to leave as soon as we finished because we had a 2pm training scheduled at our hotel for 16 Kenya community leaders. It went until 6pm. I was exhausted. I’m really thankful I got a hotel with a pool so Ammon could be entertained while the adults talked and talked and talked. Ammon has become “big brother” to the 7 year old Polish girl, Leah. They had so much fun playing. 

Ammon:

Woke up and had to eat quickly cuz we had to leave to the Giraffe Centre. We got there, and they gave us a bowl and we got to feed the giraffes. Then we went to the elephant orphanage and on the way there we saw some baboons on the side of the road. I got to pet a baby elephant 2 times and then we left. We went to the bead factory and there were women hand-making beads. We left and went back to the hotel.

Pictures from the 13th 

LaReita:

That pretty much sums it up. While doing the brief tour prior to getting to feed the Giraffes, the guide allowed us to hold some bones, including the skull of a warthog. She pointed out the hole for the brain, about the size of a quarter. Warthogs are called “Pumba” in Swahili, just like in the Lion King movie. She then expounded how forgetful they are with their small brains. Pumba will start running from a predator, but after 5-10 seconds, will turn around and start running towards their predator!

Here’s the political joke she shared – Kenyans call their current President “Pumba” (along with other names), because he has forgotten all the promises he made to get elected. Whenever we got a new driver I mentioned this. The driver would loudly laugh because I knew something about the people’s dislike of their leader.

Sheldrick Trust Elephant Orphanage was a delight. They only open for 1 hour once a day, so you have to get there early to get a good viewing spot. To see God’s creatures so lovingly cared for was touching. The Elephant Orphanage was founded by a British-heritage, Kenyan-born husband/wife duo. I got the book Daphne Sheldrick wrote about her life living in colonial Kenya. I’m half-way through reading it and it is fascinating!

“Boda Strong” is a glass bead factory where glass beads are fired from the mud of Mt. Kenya. I especially loved seeing women being employed (instead of hawking on the street), including one woman with her Downs Syndrome son, both working on creating bead products. There is still the stigma that special needs children are ‘cursed’ and often will be abandoned on the streets (best case scenario). Worst case scenario is they will kill the child. Fortunately, the stigma is slowly changing.

In the photos for today, there is a short video of the Down’s Syndrome son dancing as the ladies are singing. So sweet, especially considering how his life could be drastically different.

Ammon:

Adults talk too much. Prove me wrong. Went to 4 meetings / places. B O R I N G. but the day went fast. Weird how it can be boring and fast. Had yummy FRESH hotel food.

Pictures from the 12th  – today

LaReita:

(Yes, the hotel restaurant is quite good! Pleasantly surprised.)

George scheduled for us to meet many FMF locations, and other CBO’s (Community Based Organizations) that we have, or might, partner with.

1^st stop – a husband/wife duo with the Beautifier Cyber Cafe (with 2 computers) who open it up on Saturdays for children to come take turns learning how to type. It’s in a slum area of Dandora and kids getting addicted to drugs is a big issue. They are wanting to create a soccer team so the boys have something productive to do.

We passed by the G I A N T trash heap on the way to our next destination. Yes, people were on it, scavenging for things they can possibly sell to buy food for the day.

2^nd stop – Happy Destiny School in the slums of Dandora. The principal of the school has 52 kids who all come for free, and the teachers volunteer so the kids have a chance at life. Also met other community leaders (physical therapist, husband/wife pastor duo, 2 women’s empowerment coaches, and an acting coach), all who have been called to the work of lifting where they stand. It really is quite inspiring how in the most desperate of circumstances there are still people who strive to do good and help others.

3^rd stop – Pighevco (Pig, horticulture, vegetable cooperative) a CBO for the past 10 years doing sustainable farming practices. They also partner with churches to teach/mentor others in farming/gardening. Everything they grow, they sell in the local markets. Farm to table! Kenya government granted them 10 acres in the Nairobi quarry, and they are farming 6 acres thus far. The challenge is water supply/source. The quarry has plenty of rainwater at the bottom, but getting a portable pump to the other 4 acres is their next step.

While we were talking, a trash-devil came through. Ya know, dust-devils? This was a plastic bag trash-devil. Crazy. Dave wished we had videoed it, but was worried they might be offended. I don’t think they would have. It’s just a fact of life for them. 

4^th stop – Met with a group/co-op of 16 pastors in another slum area. They have an extraordinary vision of how to transform their respective communities with sustainable development. I provided them some training on LifeStory (how to create your vision, and use complete faith and trust it will come to pass).

We were to meet with someone else, but once it is 5pm, it is wise to start heading back to the safety of the hotel. The current Kenyan leadership is doing things that is causing the people to demonstrate, and there have been some unfortunate events the past 2 years. The current president is called Pumba (the Wart-hog from Lion King movie. You’ll learn more about this when you read Day 3 below.

Went back to the hotel. Met a couple from Poland with their 6-7 year old daughter. Ammon had fun playing in the pool for 4 hours after a long day of meetings.

Ammon:

We had to get up at 3AM to get to the airport for early check in for our 7AM flight to Kenya. The flight was VERY warm and packed. We were picked up by Fred and George (last name not Weasley) and they took us’ to see one of moms friends who runs Days For Girls for Kenya. Then went to the local mall to get groceries and came to our hotel (that had a kitchenette). Went to the hotel pool and the water was warm.

LaReita:

I was annoyed with the Kenya Airways counter agent (and myself) regarding the baggage. Lesson learned: if flying internationally, with multiple airlines, check ALL their rules regarding checked and carry-on luggage. Our carry-ons were weighed at the gate, and they told us they were too heavy to be carried on, so we were charged. The counter agent (when we first checked-in) did weigh our carry-ons and said, “don’t add anything else to them.” Vague. Ok. Now we found out why. I suppose airlines are more concerned with making money than customer service.

When we arrived in Kenya, I put on my momma bear voice and haggled with the border customs agent about the 2 suitcases of books we brought for our Literacy Centers. They wanted me to pay a tax on them, but they finally let me pass through without paying the tax. Dave said he enjoyed the show.

We went outside the airport and it felt … not humid! I had no idea it would be pleasant weather like this! George Ouma, our Literacy Director for Africa (&Kenya) met us and took us to our first stop. We drove about an hour in Nairobi to meet with Christine, who has been running Kenya’s Days For Girls (menstruation education and providing reusable pads). She and I met in 2017 when Becky Rogers (and family) moved to Ghana. Christine had come in 2017 to provide Becky support. Christine has an incredible story, has changed many people’s lives, and continues to do so again back in her home village.

We drove towards our hotel. Stopped at a mall in Westlands, Nairobi (more upscale-ish) at a grocery store. Got groceries for the 4 days we would be at our CySuites Apartment Hotel (with kitchenette).

Rooms were great for an African-based business! Reviews online were mixed, but I think it was because Europeans and Americans don’t quite understand what to expect when in Africa. 🙂  

Pictures from Sept 11