Sunday Afternoon in Nairobi

So the plan was that we would drive into Nairobi about 3:30 and go to
the Village Market. It's an upscale retail center in the higher end
neighborhood of Nairobi, where the foreign ambassadors and UN types
live. First stop was supposed to be at the Forex to change US
currency for shillings. They are open on Sundays, but guess what:
closed early today. No money. No dinner, no shopping, no bottled
water, etc. Bad news. We tried a couple of other exchange places
nearby but no dice.

So Francis headed for the Spirit Center, a smaller shopping
experience, but again the Forex was not open. So when we were about
to give up, a Kenyan approached us and said he worked for the FOREX,
and they left him with a little cash so he could take care of
customers who were in need. It sounded shady, no uniform or anything,
but he had 70,000 shillings and was willing to give us the same rate
as the FOREX, so we went for it. (Also we outnumbered him, so if he
was a crook we felt we could take him.) All went well. We looked
like a gang of dealers with our cash out, hiding in the alcove but it
was fine. We'll exchange the rest later.

Dinner at the Java House was good; burgers and fries like true
Americans. We picked up some coffee for Francis to make a pot in the
morning. Mauryn makes chai which is great and all, but I needs me
some caffeine!

On the way home we drove to the edge of Eastleigh, Nairobi's second
largest slum. We could see into it from the street. It was like
looking into a great dark sea of humanity, reeking with despair and
poverty. This slum is big, were talking 750,000 people or more, and
it stretched for miles. On the perimeter, as we were, there was a
fair amount of small scale commerce, and people walking everywhere.
This is where Francis and his people go every week to meet homeless
kids who are likely candidates for the Made in the Streets program.
They literally reach into the mouth of the beast and snatch precious
souls out and redeem them. All in Christ's name!

We encountered a true Kenyan traffic jam, caused by a broken down
lorry and you cannot imagine the chaos! Cars and mutatus , (the
colorfully decorated, van-like taxi/busses that are ubiquitous in
Nairobi) moving in starts and stops, on the wrong side of the road,
(even for them) and honking and people moving in between them, what a
glorious mess! In the back of the van, Katelyn Creech is smiling and
waving to everyone, possibly making the traffic jam worse, and her mom
was so tired she fell flat asleep. Terry said that she must be secure
in her salvation to have slept through that! Like Jesus sleeping in
the bow of the boat sleeping through the storm!

So tomorrow we set out for Kapsabet, which is a change in schedule.
We were planning to make our longest drive on the way back, but the
flight for the safari leaves early on Thursday instead of late and we
need to be back in Nairobi Wednesday night. So we'll go see
Ngenymesut and Kapsabet first and work our way back towards home. We
warned Bernard by cell phone, so I'm sure he is scrambling. Sorry,
Bernard.

If tomorrow is as eventful as today, we should have a whale of a time!