A Deep Breath - Part 1

God is SO good. Last summer, after we submitted our proposed budget, already approved by WFMC, to the FM World Missions VISA (Volunteers in Service Abroad) department, we were told to add the cost of a missionary retreat in the spring. In fact, it was just written alongside the budget worksheet as an addition and signed off. All the missionaries serving with FMWM in Africa were to attend – and it was to be in Kenya! Now, a safari (not a hunt) was on my personal list of things to do in my life, so I was very, very excited. We decided right away to add some extra days for a family vacation, and set aside our Christmas money! What I didn’t know was that God had the timing of the event structured perfectly for our family.

We are feeling SO good. We had just started to realize how tired we were. We had just made some strong commitments to adjust our “schedule” to try to make family time and down time a greater priority. We left on the 18th at about 2, and drove to near the Abuja airport, and stayed at the same hotel with a 4-person bed where we slept our first night in Africa. It was wonderful to experience being seasoned! I was all set with my computer to write you and do some paperwork on the three hour drive, but an extra person came and suddenly it was too crowded, but “we adjust.” Devin drove. We didn’t have to explain or help with the boys’ bucket showers that night, and sharing two threadbare hand towels as the only towels was no problem. The light in the bathroom didn’t work, the generator (and therefore any power) wouldn’t come on for a few hours. It ran most of the night near our window and the exhaust didn’t make us feel sick-ish. We walked out the entrance and up the road and negotiated for some snacks with confidence. In fact, Jack got a good laugh from all the merchants as he responded in his thick pidgin accent regarding the purchase of a catfish – “I no fit buy it - you gimme for free and you cook it now now, right here?” All no problem. And the road between here and there is much improved!

The next morning we left at 5 a.m., flew to Lagos, took a cab to another airport in Lagos, and flew to Kenya. You know, nobody gets excited when your flight is two hours late. Nobody makes announcements, and they aren’t even around until it’s about time to board. And there are almost no children in this international airport which serves a city of 15 or 18 million.

When we arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, Mike, Vickie and Kyle Reynen were waving at us outside the doors! They traveled out to the airport with the airport pickup bus from our hotel. They didn’t have to -arrangements were made - but we were happy for their company and to meet the Africa Area Directors (and their son, born at home in Nigeria while they were serving down south about 17 years ago). They had thought of everything, including sim cards for our cell phone and a list of all the soon-to-arrive missionaries’ numbers, and an envelope of already exchanged currency. We stayed at a wonderful AIM missionary boarding house called Mayfield. There was a full bed AND bunk beds! And four SETS of towel/hand towel/washcloth! It was as if we had NEVER seen a room so clean. The baths were down the hall – in each block there was a nice CLEAN room for the toilet with a sink, a shower with sink and a BATHTUB. The power was uninterrupted and there was free wifi. The staff was fantastic, and we were served 3 wonderful meals a day, all for $20 each per day. Laundry service was about $3.50 per load (yes – a washing machine) with the caveat that an additional charge would be made if the weather did not permit outside drying. There was a playground with a merry-go-round. The grounds were beautiful, with drainage systems we had to photograph which included beautiful flower beds and the biggest avocado tree (loaded with ripe fruit) we have ever seen. There was a kiddie room with every kid VHS tape you can imagine, and downstairs another big room with a TV. Also a stocked library room, crafts for sale, cheap snacks and pop for sale on the honor system, and drivers and a bus for hire at very reasonable prices. We stayed there a total of 5 nights. A large youth group from Grant’s Pass was there, along with others doing interesting things around Africa.

More later… it gets even better!