Tomorrow my parents are driving over to San Anselmo to help me get my stuff over to their house. My wonderfully fun Miata has no space to take even my luggage over to their house and I have to get my cat over there as well. My parents are not cat people. They are dog people. My cat is skittish and will freak out over the change of surroundings. I'm going over early to help my parents and my cat get used to each other.
All this means that tonight I'm doing my final packing. I've packed and unpacked my suitcase 4 or 5 times now. I sure hope I have everything. I know I'm forgetting something important. I always do. Not 10 minutes ago I realized I had forgotten to pack my camera. What a dork.
This stage of traveling is always the hardest to get through. There's a panicked/annoyed feeling in the pit of my stomach. I should really just give up and go to bed. I'll think of something else obvious that I have forgotten to pack in the morning anyways.
Saying goodbye when you're the one leaving is much harder than saying good bye to someone else who's the one leaving. Does that make any sense? I doubt it. You just have to say good bye over and over again to different people when you're leaving. You say good bye once or twice when someone else leaves.
I'm still so happy and excited to go to Kenya. I know what an amazing opportunity this is. This is the gift of a lifetime. There is no way I come back from this the same. I will change in so many unexpected ways. God is so good to me. So good. Praise be to God.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
It's Coming Together
All my finals and papers have been turned and now I get to devote all my energy to this trip to Kenya. I've created a packing list. Anyone who knows me knows how rarely I use lists. I've not traveled this far for this long before, so the list is a safety net. I ALWAYS forget something semi-important when traveling but this time I really don't want to. I just don't know how easy it will be to fix my mistake when I'm half-way around the world.
My passport is back in my hands and it has a multiple-entry 6 month visa for Kenya. How cool is that? My suitcases are out and there is even some stuff in each already. I never pack this early but then again, this is an unusual trip for me.
So there is more shopping for things for the trip, some gifts to buy to give to my hosts, some stuff to help me feel comfortable while I'm there. I also need to get working on turning off my cable, getting all the paperwork in for work so I can be paid when in Africa. (Oh it is so good to have a job with the State of California!)
The good news is I have raised more money than I was hoping to. I am only guessing (some of it educated, most probably naively) how much I need so it is good to have some wiggle room.
I am truly humbled and so appreciative by the support of my friends and family. My mother told me recently that even though I have done many things in my life that she would never have foreseen, I still manage to surprise her with what I want to try. Had you told me a year ago I would spend my summer in Africa, I would have told you that you have hit your head and should be checked. I have said for many. many years I don't feel the need to go to Africa. I've had two other chances to go and I turned them down. Now, I can't wait to go. God is surprising to me. I completely understand my mother's feelings. I thought God was nuts for sending me to seminary and now I'm going halfway around the world by myself and will rely heavily on people I've met only on email.
So I trust. I trust that God will protect and care for me. I trust that the support group I've already started building in Nairobi is exactly what I will need. I trust that I will be changed by this expereince. Truely, I just can't wait to go!
My passport is back in my hands and it has a multiple-entry 6 month visa for Kenya. How cool is that? My suitcases are out and there is even some stuff in each already. I never pack this early but then again, this is an unusual trip for me.
So there is more shopping for things for the trip, some gifts to buy to give to my hosts, some stuff to help me feel comfortable while I'm there. I also need to get working on turning off my cable, getting all the paperwork in for work so I can be paid when in Africa. (Oh it is so good to have a job with the State of California!)
The good news is I have raised more money than I was hoping to. I am only guessing (some of it educated, most probably naively) how much I need so it is good to have some wiggle room.
I am truly humbled and so appreciative by the support of my friends and family. My mother told me recently that even though I have done many things in my life that she would never have foreseen, I still manage to surprise her with what I want to try. Had you told me a year ago I would spend my summer in Africa, I would have told you that you have hit your head and should be checked. I have said for many. many years I don't feel the need to go to Africa. I've had two other chances to go and I turned them down. Now, I can't wait to go. God is surprising to me. I completely understand my mother's feelings. I thought God was nuts for sending me to seminary and now I'm going halfway around the world by myself and will rely heavily on people I've met only on email.
So I trust. I trust that God will protect and care for me. I trust that the support group I've already started building in Nairobi is exactly what I will need. I trust that I will be changed by this expereince. Truely, I just can't wait to go!
Monday, May 19, 2008
So Much to Do
As you imagine there is a ton of things to do before I go to Kenya.
Today St. Andrew's Presbyterian officially offered me an internship at their church. They are going to look for a place for me to stay. There are three boarding houses near the church and they say they are all affordable. It's nice to know I don't have to worry about that part.
I sent off my application for a visa today. The Kenyan Consulate is in Los Angeles so hopefully it won't take too long for my stuff to get there and come back.
I also have an appointment tomorrow to get my shots. I'm getting a typhoid booster, yellow fever, and a flu shot. Kaiser said there is a chance the yellow fever one will make me sick. I have one last paper to write for school so I really hope I don't get sick.
I still have figure out what I need to buy to take with me. I bought some books on Kenya today. It's seem Nairobi will be pretty comfortable with temperatures between 75-85. That sounds so great. The city is at nearly 6000 feet so that helps keep it cool. I really appreciate that. Sounds like it won't be humid either. The bad part is I'll be there in winter and so I may not have many sunny days so if all my pictures look overcast, that's why.
Well I've got to get back to my school work. I'll write more soon!
Today St. Andrew's Presbyterian officially offered me an internship at their church. They are going to look for a place for me to stay. There are three boarding houses near the church and they say they are all affordable. It's nice to know I don't have to worry about that part.
I sent off my application for a visa today. The Kenyan Consulate is in Los Angeles so hopefully it won't take too long for my stuff to get there and come back.
I also have an appointment tomorrow to get my shots. I'm getting a typhoid booster, yellow fever, and a flu shot. Kaiser said there is a chance the yellow fever one will make me sick. I have one last paper to write for school so I really hope I don't get sick.
I still have figure out what I need to buy to take with me. I bought some books on Kenya today. It's seem Nairobi will be pretty comfortable with temperatures between 75-85. That sounds so great. The city is at nearly 6000 feet so that helps keep it cool. I really appreciate that. Sounds like it won't be humid either. The bad part is I'll be there in winter and so I may not have many sunny days so if all my pictures look overcast, that's why.
Well I've got to get back to my school work. I'll write more soon!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Things are Sill Progressing
One of my classmates, Ruth, called the senior pastor at St. Andrew's PCEA this morning. He will meet with the session tomorrow so they can officially vote on my internship. How cool is that? Hopefully the next communication I receive from Kenya will be the name of my supervisor so the seminary will purchase my ticket. Once I have a ticket I can apply for a visa. The Kenyan consulate in Los Angeles says it will take them 4 days to process the visa. Kaiser is mailing me the information about the shots I need. They said I need yellow fever and a typhoid booster. The will also give my anti-malaria medication and something in case I develop every traveler's worse fear, Montezuma's Revenge.
If you are of the praying persuasion I could use prayers to help me have the energy to finish my papers and study for my final on Thursday as well as all the preparations I have to do for this trip to Kenya. Ugh! It's so much when I think of it all at once. I feel better when I only think of my to do list one task at a time.
If you are of the praying persuasion I could use prayers to help me have the energy to finish my papers and study for my final on Thursday as well as all the preparations I have to do for this trip to Kenya. Ugh! It's so much when I think of it all at once. I feel better when I only think of my to do list one task at a time.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
How Cool is That?
I just called Kenya! I dialed a few numbers and then someone in Kenya answered. So I called the church I will be working with. They want some info from my school so we can set up who will b my supervisor. Things are inching forward.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Is This Really Happening?
I'm so excited, scared, energetic, honored, dumbfounded, blessed, worried, etc, etc, etc. I'm feeling so many things right now. I've been calling and emailing people in the US and Kenya for months now trying to set this up but now that it's coming together I can't believe it.
A very wonderful woman named Nkatha Kobia has been visiting and talking with St. Andrew's P.C.E.A. Church for me. I can not thank her enough for her efforts. I can't wait to meet her. She is such a blessing to me.
So now, I am in the whirlwind stage of working out the details. I need to learn as much as I can about Kenya and what my life might be like there. Where will I live? How will I get around? What will I be doing? What's the food like? What do I need to bring with me? What expenses will I have over there? What expenses will I have here? Will my phone work over there? Where will I find internet access? Where will my cat live while I'm gone? How much will I miss my friends and family? Will I have someone to talk to when I feel I'm in over my head? What shots do I need? What happens if I get sick over there? Will my insurance work? Will my job keep me insured while I'm gone? So many questions to answer. So many more questions to ask.
So right not the very spare details I have are the church is St. Andrew's Presbyterian in Nairobi, Kenya. They have a website so I have read some about where I'll be. I need a visa and the Kenyan Consulate in Los Angeles says it takes 4 days to process visa applications. I can find airfare at just over $2,000. The dates the travel agent suggests are June 3 through September 19. Nkatha will be in Nairobi, she is the daughter of a classmate of mine. Another classmate of mine has a friend Purity who lives in Nairobi. There are two people I will know through other people. I will meet all kinds of people while I am there. I may even take a photo safarri while I'm there.
So, I am in there very early stages of this internship opportunity in Kenya. Please pray for me, the people I will work with in Kenya, my parents who are a bit nervous, my kitty Bouncer whom I will miss terribly, and the people who will support me while I'm away.
More info to come....
A very wonderful woman named Nkatha Kobia has been visiting and talking with St. Andrew's P.C.E.A. Church for me. I can not thank her enough for her efforts. I can't wait to meet her. She is such a blessing to me.
So now, I am in the whirlwind stage of working out the details. I need to learn as much as I can about Kenya and what my life might be like there. Where will I live? How will I get around? What will I be doing? What's the food like? What do I need to bring with me? What expenses will I have over there? What expenses will I have here? Will my phone work over there? Where will I find internet access? Where will my cat live while I'm gone? How much will I miss my friends and family? Will I have someone to talk to when I feel I'm in over my head? What shots do I need? What happens if I get sick over there? Will my insurance work? Will my job keep me insured while I'm gone? So many questions to answer. So many more questions to ask.
So right not the very spare details I have are the church is St. Andrew's Presbyterian in Nairobi, Kenya. They have a website so I have read some about where I'll be. I need a visa and the Kenyan Consulate in Los Angeles says it takes 4 days to process visa applications. I can find airfare at just over $2,000. The dates the travel agent suggests are June 3 through September 19. Nkatha will be in Nairobi, she is the daughter of a classmate of mine. Another classmate of mine has a friend Purity who lives in Nairobi. There are two people I will know through other people. I will meet all kinds of people while I am there. I may even take a photo safarri while I'm there.
So, I am in there very early stages of this internship opportunity in Kenya. Please pray for me, the people I will work with in Kenya, my parents who are a bit nervous, my kitty Bouncer whom I will miss terribly, and the people who will support me while I'm away.
More info to come....
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