Arrival to Kenya, a Mental Photo Album

It has been a long time in the making.  As a college senior I experienced a medical ministry in Brazil that modeled for me how to treat someone physically which opens the doors for them to be treated spiritually as well.  After that trip I told God that I was willing to go wherever He thought best.  Twelve years later, His best is Kenya.

After no fewer than four going away parties, the Mitchell crew said a tear-filled goodbye in Grand Rapids and headed down the gateway to the next chapter in our lives...our crazy, trying to follow Christ the best we can, lives.  Someone told me once that during momentous events one should intentionally take mental snapshots so that the memories last longer.  Qualifying our departure for the mission field as a momentous occasion, I tried to slow down and take in the sights and sounds.  I'll try to recount the pictures as I remember them in "Eric's mental photo album."

1) Before we left for the airport, a few friends dropped by to say goodbye and get one last dose of Mitchell energy for their kids.  Of course, all our friends have at least 3 kids, so there were about 15 energy balls in the back yard playing.  At one point, they were all lined up for a race and had the biggest smiles on their faces.  Off to the side however, all the moms faces were filled with tears or were fighting them back.  To the kids, it was just another playdate on a Tuesday morning.  To the moms, it was the realization that these childhood friendship will be put on hold for a while.

2) Approaching the Delta check-in counter with 14 totes/suitcases and six passports brought a jaw dropped look of "this is going to be a long check in" from the guy behind the counter.  As each bag weighed 52 pounds (they needed to be less than 50 so I guess my scale was off two pounds) and I tried to redistribute the weight to a few lighter bags, I looked behind me to now see a line of twenty people waiting to check in.  Oh well.  "Should have gotten to the airport two hours before your domestic flight like they warn you about... there may be some crazy international traveller in front of you."

3) After many hugs and "see you laters," we were walking down the long hallway toward the airport security check-in.  I remember looking forward and seeing Erin and the three oldest boys all walking with their carry on luggage in tow.  The boys were very excited to have their "own luggage" and were bouncing excitedly toward the TSA folks in blue.  With Tucker in arms, I looked back and vividly remember seeing who we were leaving behind.  I saw our families standing there waving good-bye, full of emotion.  A few of the non emotionally constipated ones were crying, the rest were fighting back tears. I realized again that we were not the only ones sacrificing for the ministry.

4)  Sitting in the terminal with the boys all together drew many stares from the other passengers.  I'm sure some were thinking "I'm glad this is only a 40 minute flight to Detroit."  Others asked what we were up to, and after hearing "We're leaving to live in Kenya for two years," they almost always respond with "Oh wow, and those are all your boys? Good Luck!"

5) At one point on the plane, Alex asked why he couldn't take off his seatbelt.  When I told him that it was because the Captain said so, he wanted to know the Captain's name.  "I don't know," I responded. He thought for a moment..."Is it Captain Hook?"  "Maybe," I replied.  I hoped his Lieutenant had both hands.

6) During the flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi, I remember looking out the window and seeing the Mediterranean sea and the beaches of Egypt.  The sandy beaches were continuous with the sandy rest of Egypt.  Each hour for the next FOUR hours Cole and I looked out the window and said, "Still desert.  I really hope we don't crash in the middle of that."  If we crashed, the sand was the least of our worries. We were traveling at 530 mph, which gives you a good idea of how big the Sahara is.

7)  After a 40 minute flight, a seven hour flight, and then an eight hour flight, we finally touched down in the cool night of Nairobi.  Because the international terminal burnt down last week, we were shuttled by bus to a series of tents where we would go through immigration and customs.  It seemed like a million people were in line to get their Visas, all crammed into a big white wedding tent.  By this point we had only slept a few hours here and there on the flights and Erin and the boys were exhausted.  (I was actually feeling pretty energized by the whole experience.  It was akin to the middle of the night trauma code which keeps you awake.)  Cooper refused to walk or pull his carry-on he used to be so excited about, Alex and Cole kept tripping and falling over, and Tucker was being vocal about his current lot in life.  I was in the process of thinking, "This is going to be a long night," when a Kenyan official pointed at me and said, "You white boy with all the screaming kids and the half asleep wife, come with me to the front of the line so we don't have to listen to all of this for the next two hours." OK, those weren't her exact words, but that is what I heard.  I then took a mental snapshot of how she somehow parted the sea of people and there was a clear path to the front of the line.  Like the Israelites crossing the Jordan, our ragamuffin family stumbled forward. Ten minutes and $300 later, we were officially welcomed to Kenya.

8)  The next stop was another white wedding style tent labeled "Baggage pickup."  Again, another mass of people.  This time they were waiting to be cut loose to get their bags.  Because of the fire there was no conveyer belt, so we had to wait until all the luggage was unloaded and put on the ground in "rows." Knowing I would have to find all fourteen pieces of 50 lb luggage, I strategically told Erin and the boys to wait outside the tent.  They were content sleeping, reading and playing with Tucker sized grasshoppers. Once the bags were all out, the passengers were let in to scavenge.  I was reminded of the videos you see on the news of a black Friday mob rushing into Walmart to get a $10 flat screen TV.  Luckily no one tripped and was trampled to death.  My mental snapshot of this event is captioned with "This is Afrika."

9)  I could only account for 13 bags.  A black duffle bag tagged with a red piece of duct tape was no where to be found.  Great.  We either lost a bag, or someone else decided our luggage looked good on their cart.  I put all our bags in a big pile and then went on one last look around the tent for my lost sheep.  Like any good missionary I said a heartfelt prayer as I walked.  "God, I need one more bag. Show me where it is."  I didn't see it anywhere.  I started inspecting the luggage carts of those in line for customs.  Nothing. Over the loud speaker an announcement was made.  "Thank you for taking only the bags that belong to you."  "Uh-huh," I thought. "I wonder what prompted that announcement."  More prayers ensued.  Eventually I circled back to check on my pile of located luggage.  Still there, 13/14 found.  Then, in a small pile of unclaimed luggage right next to my pile was my lost sheep of a bag.  "Sweet!  God you are so good.  I have no idea how that got here, but I'll take it!"  Mental snapshot of a black bag with a piece of red duct tape = a reminder that God answers prayers and honors the faithful.

10) As I write this, I'm taking another mental snapshot, of Erin and Alex asleep in the bed at the guest house, still recovering after a whirlwind of travels.  Above them hangs a painting of a lion and her cubs, and an elephant with her calf.  Fitting.  Not sure why I was awake at 6:30am this morning, but I'll take all the quiet time alone I can get.  With a 7 hour time difference, our bodies think it is around midnight. In front of me is a tray of breakfast I brought back for them...they all slept through breakfast hour.

If you read this far I applaud your endurance.  More later as the adventure continues.  There are plenty of empty pages left to fill in my mental photo album.