Kenya Pics: Part 1

YAY! I'm so happy you are all going to be able to see my pictures from Kenya! I have A LOT so first, I'm going to share my more photography type ones and then I'll eventually get around to posting the rest... Enjoy! :)

{Papaya Tree}

{This is the view from where we stayed in Nairobi}

{A fence at the top of a mountain we climbed}

{Mandasi... My new favorite food!}

{Samosas}

{The view from the college we're currently at in Machokos}

{A broken brick wall from the top of the mountain}

We're here!

Sorry I haven't been able to blog for awhile! We've been so busy here in Kenya and when I was finally able to get around to it the internet decided to stop working! haha ;)

We got here on Friday night at about 11:00/11:30 pm. We're staying at a guest house where many of the other missionaries are staying as well. The weather has been around the 80's... Not super hot, but when you're come from Minnesota,  it's a shock, although we're getting used to it now(:

On Saturday we walked to Nakumats which is there version of a Wal*Mart... I found some Herbal Essence conditioner which for some reason made my day that I was able to find it there! It's the little things in life... :) I noticed that the culture here is very different! In so many ways I can't even list....

Every afternoon at 3:00 we have tea time! In the dining room, they set out coffee, chai, and treats for us to snack on... My favorite was the mandasi... It's kind of like a donut in the shape of a triangle... I would love to have one right now! :)

Yesterday, we went to the church that was right next door to where we're staying... Most of it was a worship service, and some of the songs they sang in their language, Swahili. And I don't know any Swahili except for "Jambo" which means hello. haha(: They had a cool market going on as well but I didn't go... My dad did and he got me an awesome bracelet(:

I'm having way more fun than I thought here... We've been playing soccer with some of the kids that live around here with a deflated basketball, but when my dad went to the market he got us a soccer ball to leave at the house of the kids to use. We've also been playing at a park outside and also TONS of card games with the other missionary kids... :) Although I love it here SO much, I'm happy this isn't the place where we will be living... because Namibia is going to be more "westernized"... I can't wait to get there and set up our house and put all my decorations in my new room!

I'm I was finally able to blog about it(: And don't worry- pictures shall be arriving soon!

What's up!

Hey guys!

So we've been in Georgia since yesterday!
It's been a tiring last couple of days though...
This morning I woke up with a sore throat
and stuffy nose. I felt super miserable today,
but I'm hoping it's going to pass over soon.

BECAUSE... tomorrow we're leaving for Kenya {Finally!!!!}
 Our flight is leaving at 5 I think and we're going to be in the
plane for 16 hours! Sounds not very fun, especially with a cold!
I'm really hoping I'm not going to get all plugged up! :P

Anyhoo... Today we were at the AIM {Africa Inland Mission}
headquarters getting all the last minute details squared away...
Us kids were doing some games and getting to know the other
MK's that we're going to be in Kenya with. I'm kind of excited
to leave though {despite the sickness} because we've been
waiting for this day for SO long! We have to have all of our
suitcases packed and into the lobby by 8:30 tomorrow morning!

I've been sitting in bed since about 5 layin' low, watching TV
in my jammies. :) My plan for the rest of the night is to watch
American Idol {which I haven't been able to watch at all yet
because I'm usually busy on Wednesday/Thursday nights!
EXCITED!!!} and then get some good sleep for all these
CA-RAZYYYYYYY days coming up!

SOO! Please pray for a safe flight tomorrow and for this horrible cold to pass!

Thanks and hopefully I'll be blogging from Kenya soon!

New Email...

Hey everyone!

 I just wanted to let you all know I got a new email

address! 

sophiamarie4498@gmail.com

I'd love to hear from you! 

;)

UPDATE!!!

Hey guys! So I thought I would let y'all know what's going on! ...

This last week or so has been very full of goodbyes
{or as we call them now- "see ya later"s} to all of our closest friends and family.
It's been really hard but in a way, it's been relieving because
 of all the build-up of anticipation for this adventure!

We've packed up our whole house and repainted it to tons
of dull colors we're not used to since someone
is going to be renting it. Today after church, we had to go
back home and say goodbye to our dogs which was probably
one of the hardest parts of this whole thing.
I know their new family will love them, but honestly,
probably not as much as our family did...

Tonight, we are at a hotel out by the Mall of America.
A few of our closest friends came and swam
with us and had dinner.... It was super fun(:

Tomorrow, we're planning on going
to the mall and our family is coming to the hotel tomorrow night.
Then on Tuesday morning, we leave
the comforts of good 'ol Minnesota!
Our flight is at 9 a.m. so we need to leave
 the hotel at about 6:50 a.m... Not too bad I guess! ;)

First, we're going to be in Georgia for about a day and a half.
The mission agency who is sending us has their
headquarters there so they are going to have a
"send-off" thing...
Then on Thursday, we are leaving the U.S.!
Our first flight is
from Georgia to Amsterdam {8 hours} then
Amsterdam to Nairobi, Kenya {another 8 hours!}
We're going to be spending about 3 weeks in Kenya for some training
and stuff like that...
After those 3 weeks in Kenya, we'll leave for Namibia!
I think we're going to be in the capital of Namibia- Windhoek for a couple days.
THEN FINALLY... Our final destination- Otjiwrango Namibia!

And that's that! Sounds busy and hectic, huh? It is!
I'm filled with so many emotions right now it's crazy!

Off to a good night of sleep in a fluffy hotel bed! ...

Something I've been keeping to myself...

Ok, I'm just gonna go right into it. Some of you may 

know this already. Some may not.

There's something I've chosen to keep to myself... 

My family and I are moving to Namibia, Africa to be 

missionaries for two years and we're leaving on January 31st. 

I'm {obviously} not out-of-my-mind-excited for this and 

didn't really feel like sharing that area of my life. 

Since I started blogging, we already knew we 

were leaving, and my blog turned into a new group of friends that 

didn't know that part about me. I honestly enjoyed talking

with other people and not having Africa coming up in 

every single conversation.

Now I'm beginning to feel guilty I've never shared this with most of you. 

Sometimes I feel sad, mad, worried, or anxious at the 

idea of leaving and was never able to blog about it!

NOW I CAN! 

I can't wait to share with everyone all of the pictures I'm going to be taking 

there and all of the cool things I'm going to experience...

Since the 31st is drawing so close, I probably

 won't be blogging very much...

At least not into the regular flow of things until 

about mid February to March. 

Here's the rundown:

On the 31st we are leaving Minnesota and 

going to Peach Tree, Georgia. 

We'll be staying at the mission agency {A.I.M.} 

headquarters for a couple days...

Then from there we are going to Kenya for some training with 

other missionaries before everyone goes their own ways. 

We'll be there for about 3 weeks.

Then after the 3 weeks in Kenya, we'll be headed to 

the capital of Namibia, Windhoek for a few days.

Then FINALLY to our home in Otjiwrongo, Namibia.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them! 

tot siens bokkie {Goodbye in Afrikaans, the Namibian language}

This is the stuff...

...That makes me happy!

"You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than you dreams."

~Dr. Seuss

“There’s no path for happiness… Happiness is the path.”

"If it can be dreamt, it can be done!"

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!"

-Audrey Hepburn

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.”

-Walt Disney

"When dreams take flight, follow them."

"If you live to be 100, I hope to live 100 years minus 1 day so that I never have to live without you."

-Winnie The Pooh