Our alarms went off at 4:00am on Wednesday morning so that we could catch a short flight up to Eldoret. The place where we stayed in Nairobi had a small kitchen where our hosts planned to have breakfast ready for us at 4:30am before we headed out. When we walked over, the kitchen was completely dark and there were no signs of life. After a few minutes of looking around, the staff, who overslept, showed up. Somehow they still managed to feed the 14 of us a hot breakfast and get us out the door by 5:00am. Wouldn't you know, though, that this girl could hardly eat a bite because of my stomach churning due to flight nerves? Makes sense, huh? I flew the day(s) before across the Atlantic and had at least 15-16 hours of air time under my belt already yet this flight made me the most nervous. Maybe it was because we didn't have tickets until the day of (or something like that) or because none of us really knew what to expect. In addition, I have not had good experiences on turbo props so my stomach dropped even more when I spotted our aircraft.
Thankfully, all went well and we landed safely in Eldoret. The only challenge was landing the first time (and feeling relieved) to then realize that it was just a "stop" and we were dropping off some passengers and then taking off again. I didn't know these planes were like buses making stops along the way to unload and load more passengers. It's comical now that I look back. When I stepped off of the plane, I felt like the hardest part of the trip was over and got so excited for the days ahead ... especially because I knew we were driving back to Nairobi on the back end and I would not have to endure another small plane ride. Thankfully, we were blessed with an amazing trip and that really was the hardest part of the whole thing for me. 
We were greeted by Caleb, one of Bud & Kimberly's (missionary couple from Texas who started Mattaw) three sons who they have "adopted" into their own family, at the airport and I ended up in the van with him as we traveled the hour drive from Eldoret to Kitale. I knew we would have fun with him as soon as I caught a glimpse of him in his cowboy hat (in honor of his parents' roots).
Caleb looks so serious above but he was a jokester who always made us laugh. Speaking of laughing, driving in Africa was one of the funniest travel experiences I have ever had. There were moments when my adrenaline was pumping (driving 40+ mph with cars coming at us head on and only changing lanes moments from hitting) and many moments where we were laughing our heads off. I got the biggest kick out of having to yield to a large herd of cows crossing the road. Not exactly the same as in the states. :)
We have arrived...at Karibuni Lodge!
Karibuni was our home in Kitale for the 9 days we were there. (I'll share more about our accommodations in another post.)
As I had been told, you just have to go with the flow in Africa. Plans often change and flexibility is a must. We found this out the very first day in Kitale. Our van overheated on the way to Mattaw (you could hear the radiator boiling...yikes!) so the pictures below were snapped as we sat on the side of the road taking in all the nearby sights and being entertained by all the passersby until assistance arrived. I was anxious to get to Mattaw but I also enjoyed a chance to snap some photos while sitting still. I usually ended up in the back seat of the van which made it difficult to photograph many of the interesting sights we saw along the way. Maybe it was better, though, that I just watched (without it being through a lense) and took it all in. I did not tire of the exciting and entertaining rides back and forth.
The builders on the team were quite fascinated with the scaffolding they used for buildings under construction. Not exactly the most sturdy...
Once we switched vehicles with Bud, who came to our rescue, we made our way to the kiddos. We turned off the main road onto a windy, bumpy dirt road that led back to Mattaw. This picture was taken as I got my first glimpse of the Mattaw Children's Village sign. My heart began to beat fast. After all that led to bringing me to this place and to this moment, I could feel it all welling up inside me and knew that the tears would soon overflow.
An unforgettable moment of my life...seeing those precious faces peeking through the door of the gate anxiously awaiting or arrival and eager to meet us...
I was barely out of the truck when little hands were touching me. Sweet Rosie latched on immediately and didn't let go for a long time.
I somehow snapped these with one hand (while she was holding the other) seconds after we arrived at the Village. This shot below is one of my favorite photos, if not the most, (of my 2000+) from the entire trip...
The children surrounded all of us and led us into the Village with song and dance. And the tears streamed. I wanted to freeze time.
Soak up every second
every sound
every smile
every embrace
After making our way in to where the other children and parents of Mattaw were waiting for our arrival, we all formed a large circle for our official welcome. Singing and dancing continued as one child from Mattaw would pull one person from our team into the middle of the circle to dance for 5-10 seconds. All 14 of us got our own turn with different kids from Mattaw. Our wonderful welcome was quite entertaining and a great way to break us in. :) Little did I know I would be put on the spot as soon as we arrived to show off my dancing skills...or lack thereof!
After the dance party was over, we met more of the children and enjoyed being surrounded by all of their beautiful faces. I was amazed by how welcoming they all were to us, how polite they were to introduce themselves, and how long they lingered by our sides. I felt something stirring. I knew that these faces were already imprinted on my heart.
FYI - our team had agreed that sleep the night before was a priority so we all agreed to go dirty. Needless to say, at this point, I was feeling pretty ripe. It was now midday on Wednesday and I had not showered since Monday morning. Thankfully, it made absolutely no difference to the children and they still wanted to be close.
Sweet Rosie still hanging on...
The bonds were formed with the kiddos immediately.
Georgie (above and below) is one of the cutest kids I have ever seen. He would sing and dance for us and was a complete ham. What an entertainer he was! Obviously, he was great to cuddle with as well.
Me and my Emmanuel
I was touched by this precious boy from Day 1. He brought me so much joy. It's a wonder I was able to get on the plane without him. If I didn't know how much he is loved by his family at Mattaw and by God, I probably wouldn't have...
Our first lunch at Mattaw...sukuma wiki and ugali. This combination of greens and cornmeal was one of their staple meals. I had been nervous about whether finding foods I could eat would be challenging in Africa, but after my first meal there, I was relieved. I really enjoyed the sukuma wiki and ugali...just not their method of eating it. I took a pass on eating with my hands and actually used a utensil.
These children sat quietly and ate their meals. I was so impressed with how well behaved the children were, how well they all got along, and how nurturing they were towards the little ones.
After lunch, we toured the property and looked at all the progress they had made with the block machine (more on this later) since last year. All the buildings in the picture below had been built since our team leaders went there last year to teach them how to build the houses using the block machine. 4 houses were complete and lived in and 2 were nearly finished when we arrived.
Their brightly painted church
Arnold (he and his wife were our team leaders) checking out the work on one of the latest houses. Arnold developed the block machine that makes the interlocking blocks you see here that make up the walls of the house.
By Wednesday afternoon, exhaustion from our days of travel started to finally set in. Our kiddos were tuckered out! They played hard while at Mattaw and were often found sleeping on each other in the back of the van on the ride from Mattaw back to Karibuni each day.
After our full day of new adventures, we were all very happy to head back to the lodge to shower (even a hot one!) and enjoy a nice meal all together.
