We had a 15 hour African bus ride to our ministry site this month. So what do you do to make the time pass? Journal what happens along the way so people at home can experience it with you of course! Enjoy!
7:00 am say goodbye to all the other teams as they head to the bus station. They will all have 5-9 hour rides and be there this evening, we are taking a 17 hour ride overnight.
7:00 pm Taxis arrive and we load up, 3 people in the back of each with packs crammed anywhere they’d fit. Grateful there are only 6 of us on this new team instead of 7.
7:30 pm Stuck in traffic trying to get to the bus station. We start talking to our driver, Peter, and start telling him what we are doing. He tells us he’s a Christian too but it’s hard to talk to non-Christians about Jesus and was surprised we tried and was curious as to why. We explained that we just like to share the love and hope that Jesus Christ gives to us with others and he said that Kenya definitely needs that.
8:00 pm Finally made it through the traffic to the bus station. As we pulled in, Peter explained that this part of town is not good. Looking around, uh, no kidding. He also taught us that the small buses we’ve been seeing will take out anyone in their path. Good to know. Peter gave us his name and number and wants us to call him when we come back to Nairobi so he can pick us up, but also so we can keep in touch and encourage him.
9:10 pm Finally leaving the bus station. There is a baby screaming loudly and the bus apparently only works if the horn is blaring. In the seat next to us is two parents with four children in their laps. We pull out our snacks and the computer and start watching Transformers 3.
9:30 pm We can’t hear the movie over the crazy mambo music that’s blaring from the bus speakers. Someone just got up and reached over us and shut our window and now it’s getting really hot. Thanks dude.
9:42 pm It’s ridiculously hot. Ryan starts to feel sick and asks someone what you’re supposed to do if you need to stop the bus. The guy goes ahead and tells the driver to stop. Ryan and this complete stranger get out of the bus in the middle of nowhere and disappear. A little girl followed them. A few minutes later the girl comes back, but no Ryan. After 5 minutes, a whole bunch of people get off. We wait another 5 minutes and then send Matt to find them.
9:55 pm Everyone gets back on the bus except Matt, Ryan and the stranger. The bus starts. Ashley and I go to the door to look out and the bus crawls forward a few inches. No sign of either of the guys. We hang in the door nervously, ready to pounce if the driver tries to leave without them. Finally, we see them running.
10:00 pm We are finally rolling again. Ryan fills us in on his first World Race poop story (apparently we will all have a few of them by the end of the year). The mambo music is now louder so we give up on the movie and open the window again and will now attempt to sleep.
1:15 am First bus stop, no idea where. Surprisingly I’ve slept a bit to the mambo music.
1:30 am Moving again. The driver left the door open so a few late comers can run and jump on as we roll away…. Note to self, don’t be late.
1:35 am Some guy yelled at Matt and Ryan, calling them Mazunkas (the term African’s call Westerners) and slamming the window shut again. It’s now hot, smelly and stuffy. Why were we warned so much about Europeans and their issue with bus windows but never warned about the Africans??
7:15 am We survived the night and are now stopped in what I assume is Mombassa for breakfast. I actually slept much more than I thought possible. I did manage to wake up enough earlier to see the sun rise over the African plains which was BEAUTIFUL. I wasn’t able to get my phone out quick enough to catch it before it was covered with trees again.
7:36 am Rolling again. I thought there would be less people after every stop but there seems to be more instead, and it was full when we started. It’s so hot and muggy on this side of the country. I just peeled my sweaty jeans off under my skirt on the bus. Ah the skills you develop on the World Race. There was NO WAY I was getting off the bus to change anywhere around here!
7:45 am It’s looking a lot more like what I expected Africa to look like now. There’s straw markets, small buildings, trash everywhere, etc. But it’s still more modern looking than I had heard.
9:30 am Definitely feels and looks like we are in Africa now, it’s getting so HOT!! Finally they are letting us open the windows.
9:40 am We just had to stop the bus to allow a herd of mini-cows pass by. The little boy in the seat in front of me keeps sneaking a peak at me and when he sees me look at him and smile he hides behind his seat again. My guess is he’s never seen a white person up close before.
9:50 am another stop and a bunch of people get off. We are in a much smaller, much more desolate town. There are ladies with trays on their heads selling something to people out the windows. The buildings are tiny and pieced together with all sorts of stuff with straw roofs. There are people with needs everywhere here. I’m beginning to wonder what I’ve gotten myself into, how I’m supposed to make a difference. The man next to me says we are the next stop, which is in about 30 minutes. GULP.
10:30 am Bus reloaded and we are on our way again! Apparently the forest next to us has lions and elephants and monkeys and nearby is a lake with hippos. Free safari?? Yes, please!!! J
12:53 pm So no wild animals, maybe later. We pulled into a little town bustling with people. As we pulled in we passed the city morgue and a lady on the bus freaked out. Apparently she looked out the window and saw her family out there burying a family member. It was heartbreaking. We dropped her off there and headed on to the bus station. Bishop Maurice met us right as we got off the bus, with his purple shirt and preacher’s collar and warm welcoming smile. A wonderful sight with all the craziness of the market, and since we are the only white people in town, he had no problem finding us. All 7 of us piled into Bishop’s 5 passenger jeep with all our bags and packs; an interesting sight I’m sure, I couldn’t move to see. Fortunately it was a short trip. We passed houses and churches made of mud and then he showed us his church, which is pretty large and made out of concrete. Then around the corner is the Bishop’s house, also very nice. We have two rooms, one for the guys and one for the girls and each has it’s own bathroom and shower. So we all showered, they gave us tea, hot chocolate, and snacks and now we are all off for some much-needed naps. I’m excited to see what this month has in store for us!
