People say that time fly's when you're having fun.  Well, I had no idea that we were having sooooo much fun that more than a week has flown by since we left.   We had a good trip on the airplane ride to London (about 8 hours) and then a brief 4 hour layover and then 9 more hours on the plane to Nairobi. We were the last ones off the plane, as our seats were pretty far in the back of the cattle car section.  We  have never found it helpful nor soothing to be in a rush to get off the plane only to hurry up and wait at immigration and then hurry up and wait for luggage.    This trip only proved that our theory of go slow was worth it.  After finally getting to the baggage claim, not one of our 20 pieces was appearing on the conveyer belt.   However, shortly after arriving, all 20 pieces made it and nothing seemed damaged or missing.   So we loaded up the carts, explained to the customs official that we were moving here for another 2.5 years and she waved us through as we were some of the last to leave.   The gents to our right were getting a bit upset about being charged duty for something so perhaps the lady clearing us didn't want to miss any of that excitement.  In any case, we were quite relieved to see our friends waiting for us and the bus ready to carry us and the luggage back to our home.  Our trip from the airport to Kijabe at night was uneventful.  Thankfully!!  There was  a bit of heavy rain but by 10:30 p.m. the traffic was rather clear.    By 12:00 a.m. we arrived at the gate of RVA only to be surprised by 3 of our children's friends who had gotten a call that we were on our way and timed it so they could come out and see us.  WOW what an encouraging welcome.    We got the luggage off the bus and into our car and a van so that we could take the narrow road up to our driveway and turn around once the luggage was off loaded.    By 2:00 a.m. we were really tuckered and headed to bed.

It' now been 9 days since we arrived and we are mostly unpacked and have gotten things out of storage and settled in.   We were blessed by folks that had us over for dinner the first few nights as well as a friend that drove Amanda to Nairobi for a big grocery shopping trip.   Then the meetings for school kicked in, and now as of Tuesday, school has been in full swing.      It is good to be back for the most part.  Amanda's allergies were horrid by 2 hours after arrival and remain a test to her daily stamina.   We found that a few tools like a vise and bench grinder that were in the car port were stolen while we were gone.  This has been teaching us to remember to hold onto material things loosely.    The students and friends are great to come back to .... the work load is still work.   It is also difficult to be far away from family that is going through some tough times.    This only magnifies our need to spend daily time in prayer.     So with that thought, I'll close this post and spend a bit of time in prayer before I close my eyes.  Keep us in your prayers.  Asante  ( thanks in Swahili)