first contact
written by Jean Warner
Jambo (Hello) and greetings from Meru, Kenya: Our flights were exhausting but uneventful. We arrived in Nairobi on schedule and were met by the smiling face of our friend and driver Daniel. He and his employees got us loaded into Danvelo vans and to the Methodist Guest House. After putting our luggage in our rooms and securing all of our "extra baggage" in a locked room for the night, we held a brief devotional and got to bed about 1, 2:30 pm Nairobi time.
The next morning we ate breakfast at the Guest House, paid our bill with a credit card and reloaded the van. Daniel, Peter and Simon loaded all of our luggage in one van and us in the other two and drove us to a bank where we converted US dollars into Kenyan shillings so we can all spend money - yeah! Then we went to a nice store like Albertson's and bought bottled water and a few other items. We grabbed lunch at a Steers Restaurant which is akin to combination of McDonalds, Subway and a pizza place and left tor Meru about 12:45 PM.
Our drivers pointed out lots of significant buildings, plazas etc. during the ride through Nairobi. Soon we were headed north and seeing all sorts of commerce - rice paddies, Eucalyptus tree farms, quarries, pineapple, mangos, coffee, tea and lots more. We stopped for a break at Isak Walton Inn in Embyu which was lovely. Then we continued on to Meru arriving about 5 pm. We went straight to the School for the Deaf and were met by teachers, members of the school's board of governors and key leaders of Kaaga Methodist Church. We had tea and speeches and then saw the library.
Oh my gosh it is much larger than I expected and beautifully built. There will be a separate area for little children and an Internet cafe with a photocopier which will generate revenue for the library. After that, Daniel and Peter and Simon took us to the White Star Hotel. It isn't really walking distance (well, not for lazy Americans) but it is very, very nice - much more spacious and modern than the Maua Basin Hotel. We had a nice dinner at the hotel where we were joined by Steven and Ravena Mubichi. Then we all went into the Lounge and had an excellent devotional.
Today we slept in, had breakfast at the hotel and went to church. The Hanoch daughters and Drew went over for the start of the English language service and then went to participate in the children's Sunday School class. The rest of us arrived at 10:45 and attended the Kimeru service. It was filled with joyful music and an excellent sermon by the District Superintendent and Jean presented gifts to the church.
After the service, we had lunch in the fellowship Hall with church leaders and Sunday school teachers, toured the parsonage and classroom building (both under construction) and then held a brief meeting with the Sunday School teachers.
At 4:00 we went to the Children's Home to meet the children and hear about that program. Amazingly, while we were there, we got a long heavy rain! Meru has had drought for months so everyone was thrilled. After that we rode in Steven's car and a van he has chartered for us to his home. There Ravena welcomed us and we are enjoying a wonderful meal - including goat!! Soon we will hold a devotional and head back to the hotel. Tomorrow, we begin work on the library.
Rumor has it that our shipping container may arrive in Mombasa on Tuesday. When it does, Steven and representatives from the board of governors will make the 12 hour drive to Mombasa to see the container through customs and get it trucked to meru.
God has protected us and blessed up greatly. Katie and Alfred still suffer from colds but otherwise we are tired but well.
More news and pictures to follow soon.
Jambo (Hello) and greetings from Meru, Kenya: Our flights were exhausting but uneventful. We arrived in Nairobi on schedule and were met by the smiling face of our friend and driver Daniel. He and his employees got us loaded into Danvelo vans and to the Methodist Guest House. After putting our luggage in our rooms and securing all of our "extra baggage" in a locked room for the night, we held a brief devotional and got to bed about 1, 2:30 pm Nairobi time.
The next morning we ate breakfast at the Guest House, paid our bill with a credit card and reloaded the van. Daniel, Peter and Simon loaded all of our luggage in one van and us in the other two and drove us to a bank where we converted US dollars into Kenyan shillings so we can all spend money - yeah! Then we went to a nice store like Albertson's and bought bottled water and a few other items. We grabbed lunch at a Steers Restaurant which is akin to combination of McDonalds, Subway and a pizza place and left tor Meru about 12:45 PM.
Our drivers pointed out lots of significant buildings, plazas etc. during the ride through Nairobi. Soon we were headed north and seeing all sorts of commerce - rice paddies, Eucalyptus tree farms, quarries, pineapple, mangos, coffee, tea and lots more. We stopped for a break at Isak Walton Inn in Embyu which was lovely. Then we continued on to Meru arriving about 5 pm. We went straight to the School for the Deaf and were met by teachers, members of the school's board of governors and key leaders of Kaaga Methodist Church. We had tea and speeches and then saw the library.
Oh my gosh it is much larger than I expected and beautifully built. There will be a separate area for little children and an Internet cafe with a photocopier which will generate revenue for the library. After that, Daniel and Peter and Simon took us to the White Star Hotel. It isn't really walking distance (well, not for lazy Americans) but it is very, very nice - much more spacious and modern than the Maua Basin Hotel. We had a nice dinner at the hotel where we were joined by Steven and Ravena Mubichi. Then we all went into the Lounge and had an excellent devotional.
Today we slept in, had breakfast at the hotel and went to church. The Hanoch daughters and Drew went over for the start of the English language service and then went to participate in the children's Sunday School class. The rest of us arrived at 10:45 and attended the Kimeru service. It was filled with joyful music and an excellent sermon by the District Superintendent and Jean presented gifts to the church.
After the service, we had lunch in the fellowship Hall with church leaders and Sunday school teachers, toured the parsonage and classroom building (both under construction) and then held a brief meeting with the Sunday School teachers.
At 4:00 we went to the Children's Home to meet the children and hear about that program. Amazingly, while we were there, we got a long heavy rain! Meru has had drought for months so everyone was thrilled. After that we rode in Steven's car and a van he has chartered for us to his home. There Ravena welcomed us and we are enjoying a wonderful meal - including goat!! Soon we will hold a devotional and head back to the hotel. Tomorrow, we begin work on the library.
Rumor has it that our shipping container may arrive in Mombasa on Tuesday. When it does, Steven and representatives from the board of governors will make the 12 hour drive to Mombasa to see the container through customs and get it trucked to meru.
God has protected us and blessed up greatly. Katie and Alfred still suffer from colds but otherwise we are tired but well.
More news and pictures to follow soon.
posted by revjack at 6:39 AM
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