Sunday, June 27, 2010

I'm back!


Sorry for the delay in updates. My travel went very smoothly. I found my way around each airport, and there were no delays! I sat by myself for the first flight, sat by a girl from Sri Lanka on the second, a US government worker on the 3rd, a German Theology professor on the 4th, and a French couple that live in Nairobi on the final leg of the trip. I had some great conversations, and some legs went so quickly! I got through customs with no hassles, and got a 10-hour night of sleep that night! The picture above is a view of the compound from my bedroom window :D

My week has been fairly busy. I went to the office for 3 days of orientation. I met with different people from all of the ministries and they told me more about what they do. I have met so many people, it's hard to keep them all straight sometimes. Many of them knew Christy when she was here a few years ago. Many of them say I look like her, and I am even called Christy at times :D
I have eaten dinner and spent an evening with most of the families on compound. They are all great!
When I got here on Monday night, the electricity had gone out. What a great 1st experience!!! At that time, I had 3 housemates. One girl left on Thursday. The second left on Saturday morning, and the 3rd will leave me on Tuesday! I will live by myself until August-when 2 German girls are supposed to come.

I visited Kibera *the slums I will be teaching in* on Friday. I will be observing the classes all of next week. I will be able to tell them which classes that I am most comfortable with, and get the curriculum to look over. Right now, it looks like I may be teaching Math and English.
Please pray that I will learn quickly, and have a good memory! I will try to learn all of their names as quickly as I can. I tend to learn names quicker if I learn a few at a time.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Orientation

Hey all...these last few days have been really busy! On Wednesday, I flew from Wichita to Houston, then on to North Carolina. All were uneventful trips, which was great! I had my first session on Wed night and was able to stay awake until 9:45 Eastern time. WOW...that's the earliest bed time that I can remember!

There are 9 of us going through orientation. I am the only one going to Kenya, but I have enjoyed getting to know the others as well. Three of the others are going to be teaching in Bolivia, so we have that teaching link. One girl, my roommate, is from Topeka, KS and went to K-State. We had found a friend in common within 5 minutes of meeting each other! Thurs. consisted of morning chapel with the SIM staff, 2 prayer sessions (their prayer day) and 4 sessions throughout the day. WE ate lunch with missionaries who had served in the countries. THe couple that I ate with were in Kenya while Christy was there. We had a great chat, and I learned quite a lot from them.
Tomorrow is the last day of orientation, but it will be a full day as well.
I promise to write more and add some interesting pictures when I am able....I can't wait! I will be leaving NC on Sunday. I am heading through O'Hare in Chicago, through London, and will be in Kenya on Monday. Please pray for safety as I travel. I have never been to O'Hare, especially not by myself. Dad printed off a map of the terminals, so hopefully it won't be too bad. :D

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

I'm leaving...on a jetplane....

....don't know when I'll be back again. Ok, so maybe I do know when I'll be back.
I have an itinerary for Kenya! YAY! I will be in North Carolina for orientation June 16th-18th and will leave from NC for Kenya on the 20th!

Since I am leaving mid-June, I will be able to bring the documents for my work visa with me and start it there. If it's needed, I can extend my tourist visa to cover for my work permit. God has worked out all of the details... :D Thanks for your prayers!

So, one more week in Kansas.....CAN'T WAIT!!