Nairobi-Yei Day 0
(Same as this one...was waiting on Hunter. Thanks Hunter!!)
Pitch black and freezing cold, I was laying awake in my room at 4am, thanking the Lord for my peaceful sleep, and praying away the demons that would try to discourage us today. We loaded the bus for the airport at 5:30, and I had such an awesome vision (awesome as in awe-inspiring, not necessarily super spectacular). Nine of us were about to embark on a trip of a lifetime. This was it - no going back. If it wasn't for Bill's flashlight, I wouldn't have been able to see my own hand in front of my face, yet there were people walking along the roads already. The ride was bumpy and the air was still - no one was saying a word. Each one of us sat in silence as we considered the days that were ahead.Sudan. A war-torn, impoverished country with thousands of widows, orphans, and fearful individuals. It was almost like I was on the outside of the bus looking in and partaking of the thoughts and considerations on the minds of our team members. The air was still and extremely quiet, with only the consistent and repetitive sound of the rather unstable engine. But what a ride it was.We arrived at Nairobi Wilson airport (different than Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) early and drove through the tiny entrance, where a woman was holding the broken yet effective gate welcoming our entrance. Emily (from ALARM) greeted us and we stepped in line to check in, armed with more baggage than all the other passengers combined. This is where I truly began to feel like a materialistic and pretentious American. But everyone was very helpful, and our bags slighted their way under the weight limit.Walking through security was quite the experience - how they do it I will never understand. But comparing this to the way it's done in America reminds me of the selfish and dishonest society that we live in. The small 12x12 room for "Departures" only had enough space for our team, so I took a few steps out the door and stood on the tarmac in the warm sun. Speaking of sun, let me get back to the weather in Nairobi. It's 6000 feet above sea level, and the entire time we were there, it did not get above 70 degrees. No one told me that it was going to be this cold. I have been wearing a jacket since we arrived! However, I am confident that Sudan will be just a tad bit different.Back to the tarmac - standing out in the sun, I am about 30 feet away from the nearest plane. It is full of Cessna Caravans and other comparable tiny planes, and people are just milling around outside waiting for their turn to get on the right plane. We lost the camera bag and had to go searching - thank you Lord that we found it in the undercarriage of the small burgundy Cessna next to our plane. A little mix-up...no worries. Next adventure was Kathleen's missing bag - all of ours were sitting outside the door between the Departure room (which doubled as security) and the tarmac, minus her bag. Hunter piped up and noticed that we saw it out front sitting with some boxes, so we sent the baggage guy to go grab it and all was well.Note to future travelers: count bags.When the plane closest to us started to fire up, Sarah leaned over and said "You know, if that propeller comes off, we're in for it." She was right - we were maybe 10 yards from the plane and they had fired up both engines and propellers were running fast. Soon after she said that, a nice man walked over andk kindly guided us off the tarmac onto the sidewalk where we would be safe.Also...small world. I was talking to a man from Michigan who is headed to Rumbek (north of Yei) to help with building a medical clinic. Much discussion led me to discover that he works with IMB and ships containers! So to any of you who know what work we're doing to send the container, this is a God-ordained conversation. He is very familiar with the logistics and costs of preparing it, so we exchanged info and are going to chat again when we return to the states. Praise the Lord!I'm writing this from the plane as we are flying over the beautiful land of Kenya. When we got up in the air, I looked down at the houses and started to realize that this place looks a lot like America. It's not really that different from up here - now, there's no pools in the backyards like when you're flying over Grapevine and Southlake, but these people have homes and yards just like us. what a beautiful picture of the way God sees us from His seat in heaven! To Him, we are all just alike. There are no countries and divisions - no race or color. But yet He made us so uniquely, and the divisions in our world are merely consequences of our sinful behavior. Individuality is created by the Almighty Lord - race and ethinicity is created by man and his sin. If we look at other cultures ina condescending manner, it's not completely that we are criticizing God's creation, but fueling the fire of man's sin and giving credit to a belief system not ordained by the Father Himself.We are all unique and very individual, but everywhere we go, whether it's to the suburbs or halfway across the world, people are all the same. What a lesson I've learned and hope to retain for the rest of my life, because I have not done very well thus far. And like I said before, it's so amazing to be here and experience Africa again. The people are amazing, and I can't wait to join the Lord wherever He is working today.
Pitch black and freezing cold, I was laying awake in my room at 4am, thanking the Lord for my peaceful sleep, and praying away the demons that would try to discourage us today. We loaded the bus for the airport at 5:30, and I had such an awesome vision (awesome as in awe-inspiring, not necessarily super spectacular). Nine of us were about to embark on a trip of a lifetime. This was it - no going back. If it wasn't for Bill's flashlight, I wouldn't have been able to see my own hand in front of my face, yet there were people walking along the roads already. The ride was bumpy and the air was still - no one was saying a word. Each one of us sat in silence as we considered the days that were ahead.Sudan. A war-torn, impoverished country with thousands of widows, orphans, and fearful individuals. It was almost like I was on the outside of the bus looking in and partaking of the thoughts and considerations on the minds of our team members. The air was still and extremely quiet, with only the consistent and repetitive sound of the rather unstable engine. But what a ride it was.We arrived at Nairobi Wilson airport (different than Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) early and drove through the tiny entrance, where a woman was holding the broken yet effective gate welcoming our entrance. Emily (from ALARM) greeted us and we stepped in line to check in, armed with more baggage than all the other passengers combined. This is where I truly began to feel like a materialistic and pretentious American. But everyone was very helpful, and our bags slighted their way under the weight limit.Walking through security was quite the experience - how they do it I will never understand. But comparing this to the way it's done in America reminds me of the selfish and dishonest society that we live in. The small 12x12 room for "Departures" only had enough space for our team, so I took a few steps out the door and stood on the tarmac in the warm sun. Speaking of sun, let me get back to the weather in Nairobi. It's 6000 feet above sea level, and the entire time we were there, it did not get above 70 degrees. No one told me that it was going to be this cold. I have been wearing a jacket since we arrived! However, I am confident that Sudan will be just a tad bit different.Back to the tarmac - standing out in the sun, I am about 30 feet away from the nearest plane. It is full of Cessna Caravans and other comparable tiny planes, and people are just milling around outside waiting for their turn to get on the right plane. We lost the camera bag and had to go searching - thank you Lord that we found it in the undercarriage of the small burgundy Cessna next to our plane. A little mix-up...no worries. Next adventure was Kathleen's missing bag - all of ours were sitting outside the door between the Departure room (which doubled as security) and the tarmac, minus her bag. Hunter piped up and noticed that we saw it out front sitting with some boxes, so we sent the baggage guy to go grab it and all was well.Note to future travelers: count bags.When the plane closest to us started to fire up, Sarah leaned over and said "You know, if that propeller comes off, we're in for it." She was right - we were maybe 10 yards from the plane and they had fired up both engines and propellers were running fast. Soon after she said that, a nice man walked over andk kindly guided us off the tarmac onto the sidewalk where we would be safe.Also...small world. I was talking to a man from Michigan who is headed to Rumbek (north of Yei) to help with building a medical clinic. Much discussion led me to discover that he works with IMB and ships containers! So to any of you who know what work we're doing to send the container, this is a God-ordained conversation. He is very familiar with the logistics and costs of preparing it, so we exchanged info and are going to chat again when we return to the states. Praise the Lord!I'm writing this from the plane as we are flying over the beautiful land of Kenya. When we got up in the air, I looked down at the houses and started to realize that this place looks a lot like America. It's not really that different from up here - now, there's no pools in the backyards like when you're flying over Grapevine and Southlake, but these people have homes and yards just like us. what a beautiful picture of the way God sees us from His seat in heaven! To Him, we are all just alike. There are no countries and divisions - no race or color. But yet He made us so uniquely, and the divisions in our world are merely consequences of our sinful behavior. Individuality is created by the Almighty Lord - race and ethinicity is created by man and his sin. If we look at other cultures ina condescending manner, it's not completely that we are criticizing God's creation, but fueling the fire of man's sin and giving credit to a belief system not ordained by the Father Himself.We are all unique and very individual, but everywhere we go, whether it's to the suburbs or halfway across the world, people are all the same. What a lesson I've learned and hope to retain for the rest of my life, because I have not done very well thus far. And like I said before, it's so amazing to be here and experience Africa again. The people are amazing, and I can't wait to join the Lord wherever He is working today.
posted by amy at 6/20/2006 08:46:00 PM
2 Comments:
(I kinda have to say it- that was really good writing)
Amy! You ROCK~~ My prayers are with you and your team--you should really write a book~ KEEP PRAYING~~
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