The begining of the trip!

(Sorry but there won't be any pictures since we are working on the internet at 9.86kbs per second! Pictures won't even upload at that speed! Enjoy the story from here on out!) Wow, what a trip! It started on Friday afternoon with a family lunch. We were all able to get together and share a last meal before taking off for Tala. Thanks Mike and Heather for joining us, it was a great time! When we got back home we packed the van and were able to get all our packages into two vans. Then we had to say our goodbyes to Mark and Tarrin (Justin and Amanda came to the airport with us). It was a little harder than I expected but I made it through with only a few tears. I’m so thankful that we will have a phone for texting and calling so we can stay in touch. I hope that we can get internet fairly steady so that we can also keep in touch via email or Google talk!
Then it was off to Phoenix Sky Harbor. The traffic was pretty bad at the airport and we had to circle the parking garage a couple of times to find where Justin was parked but we finally parked at 5pm (our flight was scheduled to leave at 7:40pm). When we got to the parking space, Chuck had already taken our two luggages and a couple of boxes into the terminal for check-in. Then he brought a sky cap to us and we loaded the rest of the boxes and took them inside to be checked in. We had a total of 21 packages going to Nairobi! My prayer is that they all arrive with us in Nairobi!
Then we had another round of good-byes for Justin and Amanda. Still harder than I expected but again we told them we would have the phone as soon as we arrive in Kenya. Thanks Michele for sticking around and letting me cry a bit on your shoulder! The security line went quickly and then it was off to our gate to wait for our plane to board. I get motion sickness when on the plane so I made sure to take that medication before boarding. The flight from Phoenix to Heathrow was uneventful, thank you Father for a smooth flight and some sleep! The only thing that went wrong was I didn’t take another dose of my motion sickness meds before landing and I got very sick. Luckily I didn’t throw up but it was close. (Sorry for the graphic details!) And the whole time we were in line for security to get back into Heathrow terminals I was keeping a close watch on the bathrooms. It was not a good scene. When we finally made it through security we found a place where I could lay down for a bit (which turned into two hours!) But when I woke up I had a slight headache but was feeling much better. Satan couldn’t keep my excitement down though because that was all I could think about was getting to Nairobi and seeing my Kenyan family. We got something to eat, fish and chips in London of course, with mushy peas (yes that’s what it said on the menu and here’s a picture to prove it!) And Chuck’s mom would be bummed because no free refills, I kept a watch on how everyone else was handling that and they all drank most of their soda after their meal! So Chuck and I were trying to ration our drinks to last the whole meal! After our meal we got a coffee, sat for a bit then changed clothes and brushed our teeth. My timing is all off but I’m trying to be on whatever time I’m at. Let’s hope that works for us in Kenya!
I remembered to take my motion sickness meds before boarding and I’ve learned my lesson to take another dose before landing! So that is our journey thus far. I will write more after we arrive in Kenya! Praise God for His providence and His grace to us all!