Back Together Again, Now on the African Dust!

In early March, just after the Kenya elections, Daneen flew into Kenya from the United States.  She officially left her job with These Numbers Have Faces (TNHF) in Portland on February 28th.  The next day she moved out of her apartment with everything loaded in her Ford Escape and set out across the Western U.S., through Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming to her previous home in Longmont, Colorado.  She only had a few days there to see some friends and do some wedding planning before coming to Africa for 6 weeks.

After over 2 months apart, it was a wonderful reunion in Nairobi at the airport.  I don't think I would recommend to other couples to do what we did, but it worked for us...  A few days after proposing to Daneen at Christmas time, I flew halfway across the world to my home in Mbita, Kenya.  Nobody likes to be away from the one they love most in the world, but especially when it is a new relationship where you are still getting to know each other better and especially when you just got engaged!  While we were separated these past few months, we have continued getting to know each other through phone calls, skype, e-mail, love letters through the mail, text messages and other creative ways we found to express our love for one another.  Being apart has forced us to get to know each other on different levels intellectually, socially and spiritually.  It has also allowed us to realize how much we miss each other, love each other and how tired we are of living our lives alone.  At the same time it has given each of us time to prepare our hearts, minds and lives for someone else, including practical ways such as making changes in the house, organizing our lives and making space.  God has been knitting us together and preparing us to become one!

Unlike the last election in Kenya, this one remained very peaceful.  Daneen and I were able to enjoy 4 days in Nairobi.  We hung out with a few of my friends, ran a few errands and had a few meetings, but most of the time was spent just enjoying being in each other's presence after such a long absence.

We drove through Tenwek and into Kisumu so that Daneen could catch the bus to Kampala, Uganda as I returned to Mbita for a few days.  Even though she had left her job with These Numbers Have Faces, Daneen was helping them set up a partnership with an organization in Uganda to help sponsor some of their students into University through TNHF.  This would be the last time we would be apart before we get married (and hopefully after we get married)!  I wish I could describe how nice it was for those few days to have my best friend with me, sharing meals together at the guest house, going shopping, driving across the country or just relaxing.  After enjoying our time in Nairobi so much, it was like torture being away from her again for just 4 days.  On Sunday, March 17th I traveled to Kisumu and took the bus to meet up with Daneen in Uganda.  It was a nice ride, but it seemed to take forever. 

Originally I hadn't planned on going to Uganda.  Instead, I was just going to wait for her to come back to Kenya, but I am so thankful I went.  I wouldn't have traded those 10 days in Uganda for anything.  It was so wonderful to meet her friends there, be exposed to many different ministries and to see Daneen in her "element."  I have seen her around my family in CA, where she was working in Portland  and with her family in PA, but I haven't seen the "African" version, which is always going to be a little different than the "American" one.  For any of you who have lived overseas or visited, I think you know what I am talking about.  All of us change a little in a different environment, especially such a drastically different environment like this one. 

In Kampala, we met up with a few of her friends including a student from a very poor background that she has helped through University.  He is finishing his degree in Bio Mechanical Engineering this year and will start his career.  We also met with the staff at Scripture Union which is the organization that she worked for while living in Uganda.  Their organization encourages young people, mostly secondary students, to study God's word, memorize Scripture and develop an intimate relationship with Jesus.  We enjoyed a sweet time of fellowship with the entire staff, worshiping together and sharing stories.  The next morning we grabbed our bags and hopped on the back of a motorcycle to weave through traffic and get us to the bus park in downtown Kampala.  We got on the old, dirty, smelly bus at 8:00 hoping we would leave for Gulu soon, but it took about 2 hours for it to fill up with people, luggage, chickens and many other things.  Because of the good company, it didn't seem very long.  The bus ride took about 5.5 hours, but travelling with Daneen is much different than doing it alone, which is what I am used to.  It is nice to have a friend to talk to and laugh with, we can watch each other's stuff while the other uses the toilet or buys some snacks.  The further away from Kampala we travelled, the worse the road was and the more dry it got!  The scenic highglight was crossing over the powerful River Nile.  We finally reached Gulu in Northern Uganda.  It is one of the biggest cities in the country, but has not developed much until recently when the war with the LRA and the Ugandan Government stopped about 5 years ago.  It is not too far from the border of South Sudan on a long dusty road.       

In Gulu, we were able to visit some friends that she lived with for a while, the motorcycle drivers that used to take her to various schools, a ministry for Congolese refugees, a rescue home for girls, two of her favorite secondary schools and even a school similar to CGA.  And Gulu even has places that you can get pizza or milkshakes and use wireless internet!  When is that coming to Mbita??  Of all that we did and experienced, the highlight for me was traveling out to a couple of secondary schools that are a distance from town.  We rode on the back of a motorcycle through some rough roads for about 30 minutes to reach Keyo Secondary School where Daneen had worked as a volunteer teacher the first time she came to Uganda in 2009.  Together we shared with their Scripture Union group our story and how it fits into God's story for our lives.  Several of them had remembered how Daneen was patiently waiting for a husband and had even prayed with her for one.  It grew their faith to hear about how God had answered that prayer.  We tried to encourage them to be patient and wait for God's best in their own lives.  We shared the story of the 10 lepers from the Bible and how our lives should be a Thanksgiving offering to God for all that he has done for us.  After finishing at Keyo SS we also went to Restore Leadership Academy and shared with all of their students and staff.  It was fun to be able to minister together.  It was the perfect day, except we had to ride in the back of a lorry truck for 20 km back to Gulu town on the dustiest road I have ever seen (and I have seen some dusty roads in my 9 years living in Africa). 

We also were able to meet Daneen's Acholi family.  It is the family of the teacher she worked with during her teacher exchange.  They named their youngest daughter after Daneen and have always welcomed her with open arms.  It was so much fun playing with Baby Daneen and her older sister, as well as catching up with their parents in their modest home. 

After 10 days of riding motorcycles and old buses, walking up and down, meeting new people, visiting various ministries, staying in many different homes and guesthouses, we finally arrived back in Kenya and were picked up on the road by Steve Cochran who drove us to the ferry and back home to Mbita! 

During our Uganda time, I learned a lot about Daneen; even some things I hadn't seen as much in America.  In her short time living in Uganda (1 1/2 years), she made numerous friendships with people all over town, learned a lot of the Acholi language (the Acholi are cousins of the Luo that I work with in Mbita and so their language is very similar), endured dry, dusty roads and public transportation, and impacted many lives, especially the Scripture Union student leaders from many local secondary schools that she interacted with the most.  It was fun to hear older people and younger ones talk about Daneen and the impact she had on their lives.  They shared stories about her and their perspective on her.  The fruit she left behind during her short time there was very evident.  And it was enjoyable to watch her in that environment, surviving and thriving as a missionary in Africa. It was beneficial to allow her to lead me day by day.  She has a joy for people and life in general.  She relates so well to people from different backgrounds and personalities.  She can adapt to various situations and circumstances, and handles it all with class, elegance, beauty and passion.  It has been so much fun to observe in so many different contexts and grow even more in love with her (if that is possible).