Here We Go!

Habari!
Guess who's computer crashed... ta da!!
So for the past three (very eventful) weeks I've had all sorts of adventures but no internet (or music.. or Word.. or anything else you find computers useful for..), meaning today is catch up day!

April 1-10 my dear, lovely, wonderful Molly Black came in from Rwanda for a conference held here and, more importantly, to play with me! We went to college together and were in almost all of our [elementary] education classes together and have both found ourselves teaching junior high MKs in Africa, so it was really great to be able to compare notes, catch up, and just live life together again for a little while. We spent the first few days here at RVA for the conference and then headed out with Sarah and Jenny to Diani Beach, which is located on the Kenyan Coast of the Indian Ocean about an hour south of Mombasa. Let me tell you, this was a wonderful idea.

The drive down there was breathtaking. The first couple of hours consisted of spotting zebras and giraffes on the side of the road. For 8 hours we drove past incredible scenery and beautiful Masai villages and discovered we weren't fans of squatty potties...

And then we arrived in the most stressful, crowded, loud city I think I've ever been to. Mombasa is a huge port visited by traders and businesses from all over East Africa. There are about 3 times too many cars for the roads, and EVERYONE honks. It's apparently necessary. Not my favorite. We crossed a ferry along with thousands of people switching from the main land to the island where we were headed. We got there just as people got off work, so we witnessed a rush hour that I would never like to be a part of. Once we were on our island, we continued taking in the abundance of sights and sounds - it was unlike anything I've ever seen or experienced. Beautiful.

We stayed in a cute little villa that was SUPER cheap, had our own cook, no a/c, only saltwater (showers, sinks; everything) and only about a 5 minute walk to the beach. It was HOT and sunny, but we were so thankful for almost no rain since it's the beginning of a very unpredictable rainy season.Highlights include: reading for hours on the beach and comparing strange sunburn patterns; camel rides on the Indian Ocean shore; dodging giant milipede things; 5-star quality food for 1-star price; sticking fans in our mosquito nets to help cool ourselves off; piling into the one room with air conditioner and turning it off so we can hear movies; $3 pedis; ice cream well worth the wait; hearing Johnny Cash in our cab on the way to the airportLow points included: My computer's death

Molly and I flew back to Nairobi, played there for a while, saw a movie (in a theater!!!!!) and then she headed back to Rwanda. I am so thankful for the time God gave us together on this continent and amazed to hear of the work He's using her to do.
All photo credits to Jenny Hunt :)