Loosing Everything, Gaining Joy

Flight Two and beyond:

The flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi was uneventful.  I had a window seat and the seat next to mine was empty—such an oddity, but certainly welcome!  I was able to view the sights of the Swiss Alps, the Mediterranean Sea and Greece, and the deserts of northern Africa.  Every new sight stole my breath away as I have only seen such things in movies, and these sights kindle a desire to see them up close and not just from the air (well, maybe not the deserts in northern Africa…).  Unfortunately, I didn’t think to take any pictures, and you could google better pictures if you want to see them.

When we arrived in Nairobi at 8pm, we picked up our luggage (10 tubs of stuff to take to the children’s home) and found our ride to the place we would stay the night until our flight the next morning.  Rebecca (one of the gals on our team) has a great niece that runs a ministry in Nairobi with her husband and kids, and they offered us a free place to sleep.  We slept for about four hours and then had to head back to the airport to catch our flight our east.  Everything had gone smoothly up until this point… (note the dramatic foreshadowing)

Our flight to Eldoret (routed through Kisumu) was with Fly540—a company that InStep has had problems with in the past and gave up using—and we decided to try this company again because it is under new management.  They told me that my backpack carry-on was too large to take in the cabin with me and that I had to check it.  I forgot that I left my pouch with my portable hard drive and all my electronic charging cables (Kindle, iPod, iPad, cell phone) in the bag.  So when we arrived at InStep and I was unpacking, I noticed that my pouch was open and some of my cables were loose in my backpack, and my hard drive and iPad/iPod charger and cables were gone.  The hard drive had Apple logo stickers on it and I think the thief figured it was something Apple and valuable, but it is useless to him because he didn’t take the connection cable to actually use the hard drive.  This hard drive has every file and document I’ve ever created along with every picture I’ve ever taken on it.  I have no back-up on a computer because this was my back-up.  And I know the thief will realize he can’t use it and will just throw it away or delete everything and sell the drive.  And the charger and cables are the only way I have to recharge the iPad I brought to work with the kids and leave with the ministry when I leave.  I know this theft occurred on this leg of my travels because my backpack had never been out of my sight up until this point.  And while I should have known better and searched my bag before checking it, this doesn’t soften the blow.  Being exhausted from traveling for two days, I broke down and just cried—everything is on the hard drive.  We’ve been praying about this issue, and Jeff and Merideth (another gal who works here part time) have been on the phone and emailing the company for the past two days in hopes of finding the hard drive.  A silver lining to this tale is that Rebecca also brought an iPad and she said she would leave her charger and cable with me when she left and get another one back in the states—she is such a sweetheart and I appreciate her generous heart.

So I’ve been at the children’s home for a few days now and dealing with myriad emotions.  Overall, I am happy to be here.  My time schedule is pretty much switched, some of the kids and aunties remember me and are happy to see me.  One of the cooks, Peris, was so happy to see me that she didn’t want to let go of me!  Many of the aunties gave me hugs and welcomed me back too.  It is wonderful to be at a place that is so welcoming.  I’ve been spending some time with the severe needs kids, getting to know them and seeing where they are at, and I’m working on putting together a schedule for when I can meet with them individually to work with them on communication, muscle stretches, and walking.  I’m a bit overwhelmed with the need and my lack of training, but I also feel the Holy Spirit raising up to bridge that gap.  Please continue to pray for guidance and creativity as I begin to work with these kiddos.  God continues to break my heart for this group of kids here, and I’m experiencing so much joy just being with them.