So, whenever I’m in a situation where I try to blog regularly (like tour or in Africa), as I go throughout my day, I try to make note of things to include. On a regular basis, there are things I forget to post. Sometimes, it’s even the funniest thing of the day. Once, I titled the blog about something that we saw, and then forgot to explain it! Here is a recap of some funny or interesting things that I forgot to mention. On Aug 2, when we were walking back from the hotel where we used internet, we were careful not to get mugged. As we were walking, I tripped on something and took a pretty good fall. I got mugged by the ground. At least nothing was stolen ☺ When we were at the ... read more

I’m sure when I came home from Germany, I was exhausted from traveling so long, but this is a little ridiculous. That was one flight, this is three or four over two days. Wednesday morning, we got up in the hotel, ready to check out between 10 and 11, as requested. Except we had no water in our room. Sarah told the people at the front desk many times, and after a few hours, it still wasn’t working. When they kept asking, she told them we would check out just as soon as we showered. At about 11:15, someone came in and checked again and then offered us buckets. I suggested maybe we could shower in a different room since everyone else had already checked out. We did, and the water was hot! (I thought my ... read more

At my church, just a few weeks ago, our pastor did a message on Jesus’ “First Refocus,” as he called it. The story is told in Mark. Jesus spent a long day working and healing people and casting out demons and all sorts of things, which was great. He worked late into the night and the disciples were all sorts of excited about being so successful. Instead of sleeping in, Jesus got up very early and went off by himself to pray and reconnect with God. When the disciples found him, eager to get him healing again that day, He told them there was a change of plans. Rather than go back and heal, he went to other towns to preach, “For that is why I have come.” Jesus was doing some very good things, and ... read more

I got to sleep in today! Today was maybe the first day I got to sleep in and not worry about people waking me up or having anything specific to get up for. Sarah is a great roommate because she knows I like to sleep, so she doesn’t do anything dumb like turn on the lights. Plus, she always brings me breakfast. We took most of the morning off, just chilling and writing and fighting with the internet. Once we got hungry again, we headed into town. The man at the front desk said it was too far for us to walk, but we probably could have done it, though I’m glad we didn’t. We grabbed a bus, a Citi Hoppa, and headed in. Sarah made a cute friend on the bus, and he gave us ... read more

For hopefully the last time, Bud and Irene came and woke us up at a ridiculously early time. We needed to be at the bus depot around 9:30 to board, so we needed to leave by 9. So apparently we needed to get up at 6:30! In my house, if I need to get up or leave or something, my parents get me up at the last possible moment (occasionally not leaving me enough time) but I prefer that. And generally, if I know what time we’re leaving, I can get myself up on my own and be ready on time, kind of like a responsible adult. Anyway, when Bud came in, there was talk of leaving at 8 for some unknown reason, and then 8:30, before Sarah finally convinced him we needed to leave at ... read more

Today was my favorite day in Mombasa, and possibly my favorite of the trip. The morning was relaxed, with a trip to the internet café to get work done and post. Sarah and I opted against cold spaghetti (or cold anything else) for lunch, so we found a restaurant with chicken and chips. I also enjoyed the slow pace and the part where there weren’t a zillion of us. Several of the others found their way to the church for a kids production or something, and the rest were with us until we split for lunch. We meandered through the streets and alleys we have come to know, negotiating large puddles, goats, and piles of garbage. Some packing was yet to be done, so we can leave tomorrow. Then, Sarah and I packed up the kids- ... read more

I had a dream last night. We were flying home, and somehow or flight got in like 15 hours early or something, so we were able to go to the Summit. (WPA had saved me some tickets.) Our church was super huge, like 4 times the size the current building is. First, I went to the offices, and the Lack boys were there. Pauly was packing up because it was his last day with us (he didn’t want to leave while I was gone.) The difference in the Summit this year was that all of the elements were done live by LC people. I got to see some of rehearsal and was just amazed! Anyone who had ever been trained in anything tech- even from other churches- was there to help. Before the conference got started, ... read more

I spent part of the morning taking care of some personal errands. George gave me directions that were something along the lines of “Take a right at the internet café, go past the Maasai, and when you get to the tree, you’re there.” (The Maasai are the most famous tribe in Kenya and very traditional. Google them.) One of my friends from Uganda once told me to expect directions like “turn right at the jackfruit tree, go past three termite hills and turn left.” In case you didn’t guess, none of the roads here are named or marked in any way. Stella and I went for a walk and had a nice chat. She showed me where they lived before the moved in with Mama. We got back in time to join the others for lunch ... read more