Day 6 - January 31st (Mark's version)

As for me and the kids, our day was quite a bit different than Mary's. We went with Mary to the walk in, then went to the Beatle's store, a place Aby had wanted to go for a while now. We looked around for a bit, and bought a couple of things, then took some photos outside. We quickly headed back to meet with Mary, and joined her at a local Starbuck's. There we heard the news that she needed to go to the eye doctor, and we decided to accompany her there, and then go see the Imperial War Museum. Leaving Mary, we took the tube and walked to find the Museum, and we stayed there quite a while. Aby didn't have as much fun as Micah, but there was plenty to take in. I found it both interesting and somber at the same time; incredible equipment and technological achievement, yet incredible loss and trauma for individuals and society at the same time. My favorite part of the museum was the Lord Ashcroft exhibit, which told stories of bravery, mainly of ordinary people saving other ordinary people they worked with, served with, cared for. Aby thought the best exhibit was "the children's war" and Micah enjoyed the espionage exhibit.

Following our time at the museum, we found our way back to the eye hospital, and found out the good news that Mary would only need antibiotics. We went for supper at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen, and meandered home. It was a good day.

Day 6 - January 31st

I will start off by telling you about my day and Mark can tell you about his.   We went to a pharmacist about the cyst on my eye.   He told us to have it looked at by a Dr.   We found a walk-in clinic near some of the sights we wanted to see today.   Mark & the kids went to the Beatles Store, while I waited to be seen.   The nurse practitioner took a look and said that I needed to go to the Eye Hospital.   He thought it would have to be cut out.   Needless to say, I was not very happy.   I waited for 40 min at the nearby Starbucks soothing myself with a Chai Latte waiting for my family.    Off we went to the Eye Hospital.    We were told it would be 4 hours.     Mark & the kids went to the Imperial War Museum for the afternoon and I waited.   After 4 hours, I saw the specialist and she said that indeed I do have an infection with the cyst.    It did not have to be cut out.   She gave me some antibiotics and said it should be close to gone by the time we arrive in Kenya.    For whatever reason, I did not have to pay the Dr. and it only cost me 7 pounds for the medication.

On Sunday evening, my entire eye lid was a purple/pink color and was swollen.   It was painful to blink.    This morning the swelling had went down a bit and was itchy but not as painful.

 

Day 5 - January 30th

We had a good night, though Micah was up for a couple of hours during the night, so we let him sleep in. Mary had talked with our host the night before, and we concluded that we would forgo going to church in the morning. Anyway, after a late start, we headed out to see the Tower of London, and to enjoy a Medieval Banquet for supper.

The Tower of London was quite amazing, with much to take in. There were many rooms to visit, each with some fascinating aspect of history. My favorite, as well as Micah's, was the "Fit for a King" tower, which held a bunch of different armor collections from kings. King Henry VIII had quite the armor, and had no shame in embellishing some body parts, apparently. It was in this tower that Mary and I assumed that the kids were ahead of us, so we quickly moved through the rest of it to find them. Of course, they were behind us, and after a while we were reconnected again. I'm glad our irresponsible parenting is consistent, no matter which part of the world we visit. Aby and Mary liked the crown jewel exhibit the best, and Aby actually wanted to visit there a second time.

After our visit there, we managed to find our way to the place where the Medieval Banquet was going to be. We arrived there about a 1/2 hour early, and so we just hung out till the doors opened at 5:15. There weren't many people there, and so the setting was cozy, and that seemed to work very well for the environment. And so we were entertained before we ate, and while we ate, and it was genuinely a lot of fun. I even danced, feeling like Michael Jackson for about a 1/2 second or so. We were able to visit with the other guests as well as the actors. We had a bit of an adventure getting back - some of the tubes were closed for repair & a certain little person in our family lost her travelcard. Everything worked out and we made it back home.

Day 4 - January 29th

We all slept well last night.   Mark & I were both awake from about 2-4 but managed to fall back asleep.   It was difficult to wake up this morning but after a lot of prodding, I managed to wake up the kids & Mark.

Our initial plan was to take in some of the sights of London but it was rather cool & windy.   We decided it would be a great day to go to some museums instead.    We bought our travel cards and maneuvered the tube.    Micah was our leader.   He understood the system very quickly and directed us where to go.   We were all amazed by the number of people that were on them on a Saturday morning.

The first stop was the Science Gallery.   At first, the kids were a bit disappointed because they thought there would be more hands on type of things to do like the MB Science Museum.    These feelings did not last long.    It is hard to describe the size of the museum - large does not seem like an appropriate adjective.    Micah loved the flight section.   He decided to spend some of his money on a 360 degree flight simulator.   He loved it.     Aby enjoyed some of the fashions made out of natural products as well as the looking at the jewels at the Victoria & Albert Museum.    The boys left the museum and headed over to the Natural History Museum.   We agreed on a meeting time.   Apparently our communication skills are not the strongest because we were waiting at different entrances.   Aby & I did some detective work and found the boys.   We enjoyed the variety & interactive exhibits. 

At lunch time, Aby realized that it was only 6 a.m. back home.   We told her that we cannot keep comparing to MB time.   We need to embrace UK time and switch our clocks.   I suspect this will be easier said than done.  :)

I have had a cyst on my eyelid since the end of November.   I had it checked by my Dr. at the beginning of January.   I was told not to worry unless it turns red and swells a bit.   Low & behold this morning when I woke up. it was a purple color and a bit swollen.   If you believe in prayer, please pray that this is healed by Monday.   Otherwise, I will likely have to go to a Dr.   I do not want to leave it unattended to in Kenya.

Sorry, I am having problems with uploading pictures onto the blog and will post more on facebook.

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Aby was fascinated by the carpet shoes

Sorry, I am having problems rotating the pictures. This dress is made entirely out of folded newspaper.

Day 3 - January 28th

We made it.    Once again, I should have listened to Mark.   All of the stress about the weight of our luggage was wasted energy.   I thought for sure our bags were hovering at 50 lbs.   I was worried enough that I bought a larger carry on bag to accommodate more weight if needed.    At the airport all of our bags weighed between 38-43 lbs.   I quote Aby "you mean we could have shopped in Grand Forks?".    I tried to convince her we had more room to bring items back from Kenya.

Our flights were uneventful.   I think Aby was the only one who was able to sleep on the plane last night.   She was asleep before take off.   We hired a ground transport to take us to the place we are staying.   It was a great way to see London but it felt like it took us FOREVER to get here.    I think we all had a bit of motion sickness by the time we arrived to our destination.    The kids thought they were catching the stomach flu.   Alizon (the lady we are staying with) made the kids some pizza and gave them some malt teasers.   They started to feel better soon after that.

It is hard to believe we are here.  We found the tube station this evening - it is about a 15 min walk from our place.   Tomorrow we are trying to be kind to ourselves and do some general sight seeing.   I do not have much on the agenda :)    Mark has the camera ready to go, so hopefully we will have some pictures to post.

Day 1 - January 26th

After a somewhat stressful night of packing & repacking (making sure all the suitcases weighed less than 50 lbs), we hit the road with enthusiasm.   We were relieved that we did not get hassled at the border and made it to Grand Forks in good time.

I received an e-mail from the school stating the final count of money collected was $1280.72.   On Sunday morning, the Sunday school kids donated just over $150 toward the water filters.   Micah then was given $140 toward the filters and it was topped up to match the kids.   They walked away from church with $300.   Mark & I were given some cash toward the trip as well.    We were able to purchase a digital camera, memory card & case for the Iftin program in Eastleigh today.

We were able to officially holiday later in the afternoon at the hotel.    It was a great way to start the trip.   I think Day 2 will feel like a long day.    Our first flight does not leave until 5:00 p.m.

Does he looked relaxed?

Micah

Aby

Generosity

Micah & Aby are generous children.   They have always handed down their clothing & stuff to others without even thinking about it.    There have been people from our church who have went on missions trips and they have given money out of their pocket to help them.    Last year, when the earthquake hit in Haiti, both of them donated without even really thinking about it.   The 2 of them have been saving since the spring for our trip.   They have been saving to buy "stuff" but they also have been saving to be able to give money away.

Micah put together a PowerPoint on water filters.   He & Aby presented this to every class in their school over the past two weeks.   They initially had a goal of collecting $200 which would help 8 families in Eastleigh.   They decided to increase their goal to $500.    On Friday, Windsor school had a hat day.   Everyone, including staff, could wear a hat if they donated to to the Water from Windsor project.   The school responded with incredible enthusiasm.  By the end of the day Micah & Aby had collected over $500, which included a considerable amount of their savings.    We were all very excited.   Today I received some cheques for the water filters.   They are now over $800 and counting. 

The school division wrote an article about our trip & here is the link http://www.lrsd.net/N1/510.asp?MessageID=367

The reason it is $800 & counting is because Micah & Aby presented to the Sunday School class at Willowlake last week.   Micah put out a challenge to the kids.   He really wanted the kids to collect $75 toward the water filters.   He decided he needed to give them some incentive and told them he would buy each of them a slurpee if they brought that much money.

I would be remiss to not mention my co-workers.    Many have asked what they could do for our trip.   Teaching aides are difficult to find in Nairobi.   Many of my co-workers have donated posters, flash cards, card games, etc for us to take to Nairobi.   They also have donated over $300 toward water filters and for us to purchase items that are needed.

It has been wonderful to be surrounded by people who care about what we are doing and who want to help out those in need.

Micah & Aby with their classmates Nathan & Hailey counting money.

Piggy Banks were in each classroom and they were filled with coins and bills.