We have been on the continent of Africa for about 1 week now and we have adjusted to the time zone.  (P.S.  Dale did get his last bag that was delayed at the Airport!)  We are in Machokos, Kenya and will be here for about 3 weeks for orientation.  So far we have enjoyed hearing everyone’s storys that brought them here to Africa and we are diving into topics like transformational community development.

The kids are enjoying themselves, but we are grateful for a little bit of class time before we dive into our new home and fully experience the expected culture shock.

Abigail and the ladies that take care of her during class time.

Josiah with his classmates

In Machakos, Kenya enjoying an after dinner soda pop.

Too much soda? Nah…

Mark turned 8 two days ago while we were in Nairobi (July 16th).  After more than 15 hours of air travel and 3 days of jet-lag, we were grateful that we celebrated his birthday (with a big cook-out, presents and ice cream cake ) with family before we left.  So, our sweet Mark was okay with a big soda pop after dinner today for his birthday treat.

Yesterday we left Nairobi to go to Machakos for our three week orientation.  Here are some pictures of us at our guest house.

Mark in front of the “merry go round”…which was more like the “danger go round” but the kids loved it! and we were okay with it too if we watched them like a hawk.

Hi All!

We arrived safely in Nairobi late on the night of the 13th!  Seventeen of our 18 bags made it!  -only missing the bag with all of big Dale’s clothes =(.  We hope to see the last bag this evening on the next flight from London.  The temperature in Kenya is much cooler than North America right now which is a welcome relief. Below are some pictures of the trip!

Abigail in her new car seat on the plane, age 6 months, world traveller

Boys still smiling after the first leg of our trip in London before we leave for Nairobi

Trying to get some sleep after a long journey