A Trip of Delays

"A Trip of Delays" knowing that God has orchestrated each one!

HUNTSVILLE TO CHICAGO (2hr flight)

4 ppl in our group could not get their tickets from Huntsville to Chicago.   It took 1.5 hrs before they were able to finally get it fixed. We thought they were going to have to drive to Chicago to make the next flight.

CHICAGO TO LONDON (7.5 hr flight)

 The flight was delayed one and a half hours due to a smoke detector in the bathroom  that was needing to be fixed.

LONDON TO NAIROBE (8.5 hr flight)

Arrived in London and was running to our gate and heard them announce that they were closing the gate to the Kenya flight.  BUT…. we made it! We did not have our boarding passes yet, so they had to print all of them out. They couldn't find Chrissy’s name on the list of the passengers, but they eventually let her go through anyways.

-The plane was delayed for one hour waiting on air traffic.

IN KENYA

We arrived in Kenya but our bags didn't ;) Waited for 3.5 hours while filling out paperwork to get our luggage the next day.

We were supposed to stay at the Grace House that night so we wouldn’t travel too far at night, as they say it can be dangerous.  Plans changed as the people who were in the Grace House never checked out so we didn’t have rooms.  We stayed at a little place about 20 min from  the airport.

Here has been my schedule (AND I will call it in Huntsville time… Kenya is 8 hours ahead of central time) …

Friday woke up at 4:50am  to get ready to leave for the airport....

During the flights I only slept about 2.5 hours.

So, after we got settled in where we were going to sleep for the night  it was Saturday after 5:30pm.  That night I got 3- 4 hrs sleep with a few wake ups. 

-Even through all of these delays, lack of sleep, and probably not enough water or food, our entire team  has remained so joyful and excited, knowing that none of this took God by surprise and that “God’s way is perfect”- Psalm 18:30

 For Church on Sunday morning , we went to a Baptist Church in Nairobi.  It was gated and had guards at the entrance to give pat downs and check bags.  (When I took a picture of the church, the guard came up to me and told me not to take any for security purposes.  THANK YOU, JESUS that we do not have to worry about this where we live!  Forgive me for taking this for granted!)   Their worship was unhindered, with people loudly and boldly praising the name of Jesus.  One of the songs that we sand and recognized was “Holy, Holy, are You Lord God Almighty.”   The Pastor  preached on adoption and talked about orphans.  They had someone who had adopted 2 children come up and give their testimony.  They had no idea we were going to be there, and the sermon was perfect!

Here are some of my bullet points:

·         In Kenya there are 2.1 million orphans

·         Only 200 adoptions happen every year (0.04%)

·         There are 720 orphan homes

·         The ratio in the Orphan homes is 1 person to 20-25 children!!!!!!  Think about that, they truly only have time to change them, bathe them, and feed them!  There would be no time to truly influence, care and nurture these PRECIOUS children!

·         We sit comfortably in our homes and think that it is a “right” (to sit comfortably in our homes).

After Church they came to us and wanted us to come down stairs to fellowship!  What a sweet time as they served us tea and coffee and got to chat!

Hearing the couple talk about their adoption was touching.  They talked about the “stigma” of adoption  in Kenya.  They talked about how you don’t have to be “rich” or have a big home to adopt.  Just being in Nairobi for one day and seeing the EXTREME poverty is humbling.  There was not really a “good” part of town, well atleast in the way we use that term in the United States.  Everything is gated- churches, businesses, large housing complexes.  And not just gated, but gated with atleast one armed guard. 

We drove by the biggest “slums” in Nairobi- tiny  mud huts where they have no water.

As we were driving I saw one really large cemetery and asked our driver, Simon, about it.  I learned that there is only one cemetery for all of Nairobi.  If you own your own land you are considered “rich” and are buried on your land.  If you are poor, you are buried in the cemetery.

We went to an African elephant orphanage that is just open one hour on Sundays.  I met "David"- a sergeant who helps protect in this area.

 

What a whirlwind of the last couple days!

We are now at the place we will be staying for the week, but they said we not be staying in the same room each night. We are rolling with the punches and being flexible and joyful, knowing that Gods plan is sovereign!   Blessed are the flexible for they shall never be bent out of shape ;)))

God is good.   My heart is already broken and we haven't even been to the orphanage yet. We leave tomorrow morning for the first day at the orphanage.

I pray that God will use us to radiate HIM through me and our entire team. Praying for our hearts to be broken and ready to be filled by God!

Filled with thankfulness tonight!  For hospitality and coffee with brothers and sisters in Christ, thankful for our driver who joyfully answers my hundreds of questions about Kenya and the people there, thankful for a wonderful team for such a time as this, thankful for a loving and supportive husband , mother, and  mother-in-law, who is spending his time loving on the kids while I am away, thankful for a warm meal, thankful for dried fruit, bottled water, clean water at home, bug spray, a blanket for cold nights, and my list could go on and on and never end because God has blessed me more than I deserve! 

More than any of these blessings, that will all fade, I am thankful for a God who loves me enough to let me be involved in His plan to give Him glory, for a God whom I find my identity in, for a God who is sovereign and even when I face a mountain, HE knows what is on the side.  A faithful, loving Father to whom I put my trust in!  I am one “rich” girl!

Written   (8/5/2012  5:15 pm central time, 8/6/2012  1:15am Kenya time)!