America to Switzerland to Kenya

Hello from Kisii, Kenya! We definitely apologize that we were unable to update our blog sooner. We have not had the great opportunity to do so. We arrived Africa right on time and more importantly, safely. We had an absolutely wonderful time in Zurich, Switzerland during our 22-some hour layover on the way to Kenya. We stayed with Laura & Andre, like we had originally planned. What we didn’t find out was that they are an awesome couple! We definitely enjoyed our time sightseeing Zurich, which is a very beautiful city. We took a hike up üetliberg, which is one of Switzerland’s mountains, that is by Zurich. The hike took us an hour to travel 900m up (nearly 3,000 feet), then another hour back down. Boy, that was a tough one! That evening, we took a stroll on foot to explore the magnificent city. Their buildings are very old and beautiful.

On top of Uetliberg

Out to dinner with the Bossards

We then flew to Nairobi, where we met up with the rest of the team sans Kat (we picked her up later that evening). We stayed a night at a hotel in Nairobi since it was late and the drive to Kisii is long. The next day, we had to run a couple of errands: go to the bank, withdraw from an ATM, change USD to KSH (Kenyan Shilling), etc. Then we rented a van for the drive to Kisii. It was a 12-seater, but 10 of us including Winston (Deaf pastor from Nairobi who is in charge of bringing money to LDO monthly), William (interpreter who has worked with Winston for quite some time), and the van driver. So that left us with 2 seats and the very small trunk to load up at least 14 suitcases/hiking backpacks plus carry-on’s. It was quite crowded, bumpy (tons of potholes and speed bumps), and a very lengthy trip – about 7 hours. We drove by the river rift valley, which was very beautiful and filled with valleys and mountains. We saw a pack of wild zebras, which was a bit surreal, since we would NEVER see that in America. Here is a picture! I had to rush to get out our camera and take a picture before the van started moving and the pack started running away.

Pack of zebras we saw on the way to Kisii from Nairobi

When we neared LDO, the van could not make it through to the orphanage since the road was too muddy. We all had to get out, and have the boys help push the big van. Then we had to walk the rest of the way, which was about ¼ a mile or so. When we arrived, we didn’t expect the orphans to be up since it was very late, probably 11pm or so. But we were wrong, and all but one of them were up and waiting to meet us! Their bedtime is normally 8:30pm. They were VERY sweet and putting out all their hands for handshakes.

The next morning, when we woke up and opened our door, all the orphans were surrounding the door waiting for us to wake up. They must of have been truly excited to see us, like we were for them. We had breakfast, did introductions, had a short sermon, and played several games. Here are some pictures of the orphans:

Moises and the 9 boys plus two of one of the staff's children.

Kristina and the 4 girls (one 3-year-old is missing). The one in orange is one of the staff's children.

By the time, it was lunchtime, and then it was off to the town to get a bunch of stuff. We bought all orphans new mattresses, blankets, sheets, chairs for Daniel’s office (director of LDO), three new water tanks (one humongous 2,500L and two smaller 100L ones), spigot for the tanks, gardening supplies/seeds, among other miscellaneous stuff.  We look forward to these projects to improve LDO and the lives of these orphans.

Today, we sat in with Daniel to learn some Kenyan Sign Language. It was very enjoyable and we look forward to using this language with the orphans/staff, as well as playing with our families and friends back home! Then the truck from yesterday’s shopping arrived. We removed all old mattresses and blankets, and replaced them with brand new ones while the children were still in school session. After lunch, we decided to go ahead and give out all the donated clothes and goods from wonderful people back in th States. We had 6 suitcases/duffel bags of clothes and toys to give out (one suitcase had supplies for our activities). We had the orphans bring out their desks outside so they could watch and receive clothes as we took them out and determine who they should go to. This was somewhat a difficult process since they all were SOOOOO excited for the clothes/toys that they basically waved their hands out for the entirety of the process. Even the boys wanted the girls’ clothes and vice versa. They were DESPERATE for newer clothes, and we are thankful for God to make this opportunity possible to be able to give them what they need. We also brought soccer shin guards and a brand new ball, since soccer is popular in Africa. The boys were ecstatic to play a game with the LDO staff and guys of the ODO team. Here are a couple of pictures:

The truck arrived with new mattresses, sheets, blankets, mosquito nets, chairs, and the three water tanks.

The old mattresses.

We look forward to seeing what tomorrow and this month will bring for us at LDO! We also would like to truly thank all of you who contributed financially to us for this trip. We have finally made it happen, and we are here in AFRICA! We would like to also thank you all for your prayers and thoughts for us as we traveled to Africa and for our safety for the entire duration of this mission trip. We also will attempt to keep this blog updated as often as possible.

God bless.