On Aug. 9th I left with a group of six high
school kids along with Dorris the other missionary here at PACE for
Mombasa. Mombasa is a big city on the
cost of Kenya. The school takes a group
of kids every Aug. So since I had never been there I took the opportunity to
go. We left around 5:00 pm from
town. We took a Matatu (Van the mode of
transportation here) to Nakuru which was about an hour and a half ride. I will make this disclaimer right from the
beginning. You can assume that none of
the modes of transportation are a smooth ride.
After reaching Nakuru we had some supper and then at 9:00 pm boarded
another bigger bus to start our long ride.
It was a long night filled with not much sleep. We arrived in Mombasa around 7:30 am. Then we boarded tuku’s (three tire vichles
that only fits three people) and headed to the place we were going to
stay. It was a pretty cool place. As you can see from the pictures we lived in
sand. It was an experience that is for
sure.
After settling in we had breakfast at a small place close
by. It consisted of chapatti’s and
chai. For me that was three chapatti’s
every morning. Trust me if you would
have them made right you would know how good they are and totally worth it.
Then we heading to the beach (Indian Ocean) to take the
kids snorkeling on a glass covered boat.
This was an amazing experience for the kids and a great way to start are
week. Most Kenyan’s fear water. They
have never been in it their whole lives.
They don’t have baths so never immerse themselves in water. So for some of the kids it was really hard to
first get in the water and then but there face in the water and believe that
when they breathe through the tube it will work. The pictures tell the story best.
Then we had something to eat at the beach. They make fresh fried food right there. It was amazing. Yes I had fresh made chips (French fries)
every time we could. I always said I
worked it off in the water anyway.
Once back at the place we were staying we showered and
relaxed for the rest of the night.
Some other highlights from the week. Besides the kids never seeing the ocean they
had also not experienced the tide going in and out. So one morning we went early to the beach so
they could see how far the tide was out.
We spent much time there walking and looking for shells.
We also visited a place called Holler Park. This is a park that is all natural. It is like being in a rain forest. They have different animals and it is really
cool place to be. Especially since it is
in the middle of the city.
We also took a fairy to another part of Mombasa. Again an experience the kids had never had.
We had pizza one night for supper. Four out of the six kids there had never had
it before.
We took the kids to Mombasa Aviation College. These kids have no idea what opportunities
they have in life. This college offers
many different opportunities and it was good for the kids to see.
We also took them bowling. Again none had done it before. It was ten pin bowling which I have not done
in many, many years. We had a good time.
On our last day we spent time at the beach and were in
the water as the tide came in. The kids
could see it happen which was good for them to experience.
We ended our time with a 19 hour travel home. It should have taken about half that
time. There were a few delays that were
not expected. We were ready to be
home. I had a nice long hot shower (it
was cold showers all week) and headed to bed early.
I was reminded through the trip that I remain to be a
small town girl that does not really enjoy the big city for long periods of
time. It was a bit crazy at times but
Dorris is an expert so it all worked out.
It was also a change to go from the cooler fall like weather to Mombasa
which is hot and humid. I was thinking
that I would miss the humid weather this year since I would miss summer at home
but I had a week of it and that was good enough for this year.
So it was a great experience and I was so grateful to be
able to spending with kids from school.
