Returning To Kuria

The last few days have been so filled with stories, I'm not sure where I should begin. It has been a while since I have carved out time for blogging, and as much as I have desired to write more since starting this journey, I have not done it until now.

Friday morning Jamie and I awoke early, and began final preparations for this journey. Our goal in traveling to Kenya is to gain direct updates on Nuru's programs and to directly see the level of impact Nuru is having in Kuria and to then be able to share what we have seen with others, and Brett inform people back home in the US about this work.

After we woke, we traveled to Pittsburgh early Friday morning with my dad and another long time friend who has Made the Pittsburgh airport trip with me many times. We then proceeded from Pittsburgh to Detroit to Amsterdam where we waited for our final flight to Nairobi. We arrived in Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 8:30 local time Saturday night. At the airport, we had a reunion with A very dear friend I made on my last trip to Kuria, Julius Nyamahonga. Julius grabbed a cab, and eventually we went to a hostel to sleep for the night before an early morning bus ride to Kuria.

Along the bus route, we passed through many towns, and also saw this amazing view of the Great Rift Valley. This land and it's people are beautiful. We have been greeted warmly by all we have encountered, and on the bus trip I met some amazing people who have committed their lives to the service of others. For the most part, the bus was quiet aside from the din of a radio playing local music, but at one point, I heard a young man behind me begin to sing hymns.

Later in the trip, I descovered that he was as chemist (like me) and that he was traveling to a nearby community called Migori from Nairobi to serve others. His name was Herbert, and he was an incredibly passionate and energetic man. We had a long conversation about faith, God, our world, and life in general, and then after he got off the bus, he handed me two books through the window of the bus as the bus pulled away. I will look forward to reading these gifts when I return to the States.

Our bus had a few delays along the way, but everybody arrived safe and sound in Isibania late Sunday afternoon. During the final two hours of th bus trip, we were greeted by Nuru team members Scott and Claire Rumpsa who had travelled to Kisii to visit a doctor and get antibiotics for an infected wound in Claire's leg.

Together we journeyed on and when we arrived in Isibania, we were able to all take a taxi together to the Nuru staff house and we arrived at about 430pm local time. In three days we have been on three continents. I hope to share even more updates in the near future about all that we are experiencing. We have seen so much in these last few days, I am still trying to process it all.

One last thought. This is truly a beautiful world in which we live, but also a world with deep needs, suffering, and hurting. When we can help and serve others, we inject more beauty into this world. Wherever you may find yourself today, look for an opportunity to serve.

Bus ride from Nairobi to Kuria, Kenya

I've been here in Kuria, Kenya for two days now and my mind has been a flutter with trying to determine where to start in telling stories. So I'm thinking I will start at the beginning with my arrival and trip to Kuria. (btw I wrote this post once and the app I'm using totally crashed.).

I arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi at around 830 Saturday night local time. After making my way through the passport and visa line, I proceeded to baggage claim, but it was a quick stop because I didn't need to check bags. It appears that in all of my travels over the last few years I've learned how to pack light.

I proceeded out of baggage claim and came into a large area where there were dozens of people holding signs and looking for people who were arriving. And then I saw a Nuru International sign being held by a young Kenyan man named Julius Nyamohanga. Julius works for Nuru Kenya and has an amazing story (which I will probably share in a future post. We hung out together for about an hour while we waited for the rest the team from the US to arrive.

They got in around 1015pm and together we drove to a nearby apartment for a late meal and attempted to sleep. I think I finally fell asleep around 2am, but woke up at 415am to travel to a bus staging area in efforts to get a seat on the bus heading to Kuria. The bus we traveled on said Kenyan Airways on the outside (this one was obviously re-commisioned from an airport bus to be our source of travel but it was an incredibly appropriate name. We FLEW to Kuria. A trip that usually takes 6-8 hours only took us about five. And we hit a few bumps along the way that sent us airborne. Every time we hit a bump and the bus (and we) went into the air, Julius and I would look at each other, laugh, and say Kenyan Airways.

As I mentioned, we did make it to Kuria in pretty amazing time, but the whole experience has been pretty surreal. I hope to share more stories tomorrow-the work that is happening here is utterly amazing. I believed in what Nuru was doing before, but I have to tell you that everything I have seen and heard has utterly exceeded my already high expectations.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to share more soon!