Finally here at Mavuno!

We are finally here! We did get to travel to Mavuno last Thursday. We had an early start to that day, leaving Nairobi at 6:15am. The journey took a long time – almost 11 hours and we arrived at Mavuno at around 5pm. We did travel by road on a 4x4 and the journey was good and thankfully event free. On the way we went through the Rift Valley where we saw a whole herd of Zebra’s pretty close to the road which was very cool. We also saw some baboons including a mum with baby. The journey itself also clipped the edge of the Serengeti where we saw more zebra and some buffalo.

When we arrived at Mavuno we were greeted by Becky, Amy and 10 kids. Esther was beside herself with excitement and couldn’t stop laughing at everyone. Becky and Dave are the family we are currently living with, together with their 6 children. They’re a fantastic family and we’re really loving being here! They have a lovely house and we’re feeling thoroughly spoiled. In a couple of weeks time we move into more basic accommodation but for now it’s lovely living here.

We’ve had a tour of the village and are beginning to get a feel for the place. Hitesh spent most of Saturday fixing solar panels to the roof of the house we’re living in – was pretty hot work! Lucy went to visit the local village and met the first set of ‘parents’ from the village currently looking after 3 children. She also met one of out neighbours-to-be who was lovely!

Temperature here is currently around 30°C. Everyday we go to sleep to the sound of crickets and awake to bright blue skies and the sun beating down. So far we’ve encountered lizards, siafu (vicious ants - see Indiana Jones’ latest film!), spiders, tree snakes, praying mantis and big flying beetles. All the bugs here are SOO much bigger and nastier!

We will be putting up photos and footage shortly. Internet access is limited at the moment, but we will be getting a mobile data dongle thing for the computer in the next few days.

Hitesh – We have been made extremely welcome and feel at home here. The Helsbys are a lovely family and have really helped us to settle in. I really do like it here. Mavuno is in a lovely setting and the area is very peaceful and beautiful. I’ve been working with Dave Helsby the past couple of days. Friday we were sorting out some leaks to the hot water pipework to one of the houses. And Saturday, we spent most of the day on the roof to the house we’re staying at, putting up four new solar panels and wiring them up. We actually got a lot done yesterday, which was good as Friday really didn’t seem very productive at all. On Friday I got my first experience of working in Africa and how slowly things happen. It was pretty frustrating. I was warned about it before we came out, but you do wonder how anything actually gets done here! The pace is very, very slow.

Lucy – It is so good to wake up each morning here. Really feel so blessed just to be here. The place is so amazingly beautiful. I am also so pleased to have this time to spend with Dave and Becky. I’ve so far spent a fair amount of time chatting to Becky and feel like I’ve already learnt lots – about the locals, about the project, about mission and about God!

We spent yesterday getting stopped by Immigration control and then having to wait outside a police station whilst Becky drove part the way home to meet Dave who had had to get our passports from the house and bring them out to us. And all this was just to visit the local town! We then visited a baby orphanage in Mwanza – which was a lovely place, but with some really sad stories. Finally we visited the market which was great fun – Esther was very handy for breaking down language barriers!

Esther – I is having lots and lots of fun and is liking Frica very much! There are lots of children to play with, and lots of space to play and explore. I like being outside and seeing the dogs run around and chase each other. I also like to meet and play with the village kids too.

The Adventure Begins

Jambo! Well the adventure has finally begun! The flight was fine and Esther was very good, managing to sleep about 5 hours in total, including the take off! We’re staying at an AIM guesthouse called Mayfield. It’s a lovely place to stay, as you can see from the photos, and we are very well looked after.

Esther is a big hit with everyone, and certainly helps to make friends and start conversations. We’ve had two days of orientation packed with lots of useful stuff, including a two hour Swahili lesson! We can speak a few words, but we’ll be getting plenty of practice and opportunities when we get to Tanzania.

We were supposed to head to Mavuno today. However things in Africa take time, and we’ll hopefully be able to head there tomorrow. It’s a long drive, around 8 hours but no doubt we’ll have a story or two from it! So instead we’ve had a chilled day and have visited the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage! Esther got to see and touch her first baby elephant. Take a look at the videos attached. We also saw some warthogs today. Other wildlife we've seen include about eight giraffes about an hour after landing in Nairobi. They were in the distance as we drove away from the airport.

Baby Elephants Arriving:

Esther meets her first baby elephant:

Hitesh – It’s been good to have a day off and chill out today. It’s given me a bit of time to take in what’s happening and just to ponder a bit. Things at home have been so busy preparing for the trip, and as soon as we arrived, we were being orientated. It’s great to finally be here. The people are very friendly and welcoming, and have made us feel at home. It’s taking a bit of time to get used to the heat and altitude. Nairobi is 1600m above sea level, which can catch you by surprise when lugging up heavy backpacks up the stairs! It’s good to be going to Mavuno tomorrow, although there could be a small possibility we could be here in Nairobi for another night. I hope we are of use to Mavuno and are able to use our skills to help the project.

Lucy – I still can’t believe we’re actually here! It’s amazing! They’ve had a fair amount of rain recently so everything is so lush and colourful, and the people so welcoming… it really does feel such a privilege to be here! I am amazed that God has enabled this to happen – provision of all the money we needed and the timing of the trip has been perfect.

Am really excited about going to Mavuno tomorrow (mixed with a bit of apprehension as we don’t really know what to expect)! I get the impression that children will feature quite highly as I think the 2 other families out there (the Helsbys and a new family who have just arrived) have over 10 kids between them!

Am also really pleased out how well Esther is doing and her interest and excitement in all she sees is very cool! Right best be off…dinner soon! J

Esther – I like this Frica place, cos I is having lots of fun playing and exploring. I have made lots of friends, and I got to see a hefalump today. They has got funny noses.

1 day to go!

Lucy - So here we are... less than 24 hours to go before we get on the plane to fly to Africa! Can't believe it's all happening!! We're sitting on the sofa, pretty much packed, just sorting out the final bits of paperwork. Hitesh has been ultra-efficient and written multiple lists over the last few days (no surprises there!) which means that I think we've pretty much done everything we've needed to. I'd probably be running around like a headless chicken if it wasn't for his organisational skills! :-)

We head to my Dad's tomorrow, about mid-morning, for a roast dinner with my brother, his fiancee and my sister. We then head to the airport around 4ish ready to catch our flight at 7pm!

Currently going through all kinds of emotions... excitement, unbelief, anxiety, worry about the unknowns... keep having to remind myself that this is what God has called us to do, and he knows exactly what we'll be facing and will be with us throughout it all! Which is very good to know.

Am now going to hand over to Hitesh......

Hitesh - This time tomorrow we'll be on our way to Nairobi. It really doesn't actually feel like we're going. I think we've been so busy sorting stuff out, packing, filling out forms, buying insect repellent, tidying and just general organising, that we haven't really had time to think about it all.

Not really sure what to expect out there, but the things I'm looking forward to include: seeing different wildlife and animals; a slower pace of life where I have time to think and reflect; hearing from God; and hopefully being able to do some real engineering or hands on work without filling out a risk assessment!

Things I'm not looking forward to: mosquitos and bugs in general; poverty and not being able to help everybody; not understanding the language; and not being able to check the cricket pages!


Esther - zzzz, zzzz, zzzz (completely oblivious)

Anyway, until next time when we'll be in Africa! :-D