After 24 hours of travel I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya! We spent the night at Amani (pictured here), a small house exclusively for missionaries. The following morning, we drove out to my grandparents’ house, way out in “the bush” amongst the Masai tribe. As we drove through the city of Nairobi, I noticed that there was actually a decent amount of wealth invested in it. High rise buildings, upscale hotels, and boutique shops dotted the downtown area. Although I wouldn’t necessarily consider these businesses sophisticated, they were luxuries compared to the establishments I was about to encounter.
As we drove, the roadside became bare. Occasionally, a herd of cattle and goats roamed the fields. Several times we drove though small, shanty villages. As we drove through, men and women approached our car with outstretched arms bearing fruits and vegetables, begging for us to buy. Some even chased after our car. Unlike the produce vendors, many villagers sat idly on the side of the road, simply observing the cars drive by. My grandma explained to me that they were unemployed, and therefore spent a lot of their time sitting around on the roadside.
About 10 minutes away from my grandparents’ missionary property, we spotted some giraffes! I was able to snap a few pictures from far away, but I am hoping to see them more closely at some point.
After driving through 4 hours of barren land and small villages, we arrived at the “Kimana School of Leadership and Professional Studies” property. This is the college that my grandparents built. To say that they built something out of nothing would be an understatement. The mere fact that they were able to gather the supplies, resources, and staff necessary to build and run a school in this desolate area is a miracle. Currently, they have 50 students, with another 82 coming in August.
All of the students and staff at the school refer to my grandparents as “Mum and Dad”, hence why their house is labeled “Mum and Dad’s Place”.