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Friday, we loaded up our bags onto the top of two buses and headed for the Nairobi airport around 10am. Despite slight fears of bags being overweight (44 lb weight limit for checked baggage, 15 lb for carry-on), check-in went smoothly. With a couple hours to spare, most of us grabbed a bite to eat at the airport’s Javahouse, a popular restaurant during our stays in Nairobi. Our flight departed Africa around 2:30pm, and after a short layover in Qatar, we were on our way to India, a new country, a new continent, and a new culture to learn! Arriving around 3am, we gathered our luggage and set out to find a bus to the train station. Due to “construction,” the bus dropped our three teams off on a dirt road with a ten-minute hike to find the train station!
 As we entered the station grounds, familiar sights and smells reached my senses. My experience during my mission trip to India in 2006 had instilled certain memories of India into my mind. The train station revisited those expectations as we walked by people curled upon the concrete slabs sleeping, perhaps waiting for their train or lacking a better place to sleep. With God’s favor, we piled onto the train without incident, leaving the station at 6:45am. The next few hours consisted of trying to get a little bit of sleep. We pulled into our station around 12:30pm, and were met by our contact. Loading into another bus, we had a 30-minute ride to what would be our home for the next couple weeks! Entering the outreach center grounds and rooms, we were instantly and pleasantly surprised by the “luxuries” of our new home! Sharing a room with only two others, our own bathroom was complete with a western toilet, a sink with a mirror, and a showerhead connected to a water heater!! What a contrast to what we had grown to expect in Africa!
The next day was Sunday, we attended the local church, and several of us shared testimonies. After lunch, we were taken into town to buy Indian outfits and to enjoy fine dining at the local McDonalds!! That may not sound like much of a treat to you, but after eating the same foods and tastes for 3 months, you would appreciate McDonalds too!! Sadly, there were no cheeseburgers available since Hinduism is the main religion and cattle are seen as sacred.
 
 This last week was the Hindu’s Holi festival, a huge celebration that involves throwing paint. We were asked to avoid the festivities because interaction with this holiday could taint our testimony. So, the first several days were spent resting and exploring our surroundings. This city has pretty much everything we could possible need or want, and its only a short rickshaw ride from our home! There are delicious bakeries, fast internet cafe’s, fruit markets, grocery stores, clothing stores, etc. We even found a Pizza Hut, and later a Dominoes, so many choices!! I miss Africa, but I can’t complain with all this at my fingertips!!
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