Kenya 2013 - Day 6

In order to tell you my favorite part about day 6 and our travels to Turkana, I need to back up to day 4 and share an awesome story with you. 

Originally we thought we were only going to be able to spend 3 days with our Missions of Hope International friends before flying north to Lodwar, but God had two great surprises for us. First, on our last day with MOHI's Nairobi Centers we were able to meet the founders and directors, Mary and Wallace. They had a very busy schedule on the days we were there but we happen to arrive at the Pagani Center just as they were in between meetings. These two are incredible. Our team fell in love with them after just a few shore minutes of visiting with them.

While we were chatting with Mary and Wallace, we shared with them that we were flying to Turkana the next day and planning to visit MOHI's first school in that area. We half-jokingly asked if they wanted to come with us. I loved Mary's response. "Don't tempt me! That is one temptation I won't be able to resist." So we left a little sad they wouldn't come. We were only gone about ten minutes before we got a call from one of the MOHI staff members asking if we were serious about our invitation. Of course we were!!! Because so many of you gave generously, we were able to take extra funds with us to use wherever it was needed. So our second great surprise was the opportunity to bless Mary and Wallace we a free plane ride to Turkana, which allowed them to visit their school, encourage their staff and do more research in preparation for starting new centers in the rural areas. To say we were excited when Bill shared the news is an understatement!!!!!

So on day 6 we packed our bags and started our journey to the Turkana desert. The day welcomed us with some big culture shock moments. security was much easier than the USA. We boarded our plane and learned no one sits in their assigned seats. We arrived in Lodwar to find an airport that is very different than any major US airport. This is the airport!

Our fearless leader, Bill

Our base while we were in Lodwar was St. Teresa's Pastoral Center, a Catholic retreat center. We arrived with enough time to get settled in a grab some dinner. When we went to wash our hands before the meal we were greeted by this silly monkey.

Our time in Turkana was the part of the trip I was looking forward to the most. It did not disappoint! Tomorrow I'll share more about our visit to MOHI's school and a few other adventures.