After two days of travel from
Lexington through Chicago, Istanbul and Nairobi, I finally arrived to Kisumu,
Kenya. I had many worried for me
traveling alone but I was not worried. As I waved goodbye to my family it hit me, “You are a
world traveler.” I have literally traveled
every continent with the exception of Antarctica. I have been in the worst conditions, slept in
airports overseas, gone through customs, tried to interpret foreign signs,
eaten indescribable dishes, drank rainwater, gone into homes of strangers,
embraced HIV/AIDS victims, kissed the dirty faces of orphans and ridden
overcrowded trains, buses, planes, matatus, motor bikes, tuk tuks, bicycles and
managed to figure out directions in more than 15 countries. If God could get me through all of that, I’m
for sure I can handle traveling from one airport to another alone. And by the grace of the Lord, I did just
that!
best friends the night before leaving.
I sat in O’hare airport of
Chicago for 8 hours. I decided to try
one of their famous dishes. It was very
spicy but delicious. A $11 meal is
RIDICULOUS but you know how airports can be.
After making a few goodbye phone calls to close friends and
family, I was off on the BEST AIRLINE EVER (Turkish Airlines) to Istanbul for a
few hours.
children there.
Once my gate was ready for boarding, I met a lovely womanwho grew up at a boarding school in Nairobi, Kenya. Her father worked to equip Kenyans. This was her first trip back to Nairobi since
the 70s. She was anxious to see her old
school and show her family where she grew up. Quite ironically, we ended up having seats next to each other on the
plane. As we shared our dreams, I found
out that she is a teacher of women’s studies. She was eager to hear about how I would be helping the girls of Kenya.
After arriving in Nairobi, I had
a three hour wait until my next flight. I was sitting by myself but some random guys (Kenyan) invited me over
for a chat. They were brothers. One of them has actually been working in
Germany for quite some time, and this is his first time back home in some
years.
Before I knew it, I was on the
tiny 540 to Kisumu. I was able to sit
beside a teacher from Kisumu. She was
happy to hear of the work I’ll be doing with the girls.
When I landed in Kisumu, I was so
excited that I took a picture of the airport. Well after taking the photo, I was called over by the guard who SCOLDED
me. “You won’t do this again,” she told
me.
After picking my bags, I went
outside eager to meet Baba and Mama. I
immediately heard my name, “Casondra.” It was a guy from Baba’s church who happened to be a taxi driver. He wanted to welcome me to Kenya. What a nice welcome!
I was instantly bombarded buy
taxi drivers who wanted to give me a ride. I had no idea where I was going but I knew that Baba would be there to
pick me soon.
In no time I was in the arms of
Mama and in the home of my Kisumu Pastor taking tea.
(My little sister, Eunice)
