Leaving Kenya and Coming Home...

Tuesday, our last day in Kenya, arrived with an early wake-up and the promise by the adult leaders that the mystery plan for the last day would finally be revealed. At nine a.m., we loaded into our 25-passenger bus and left the retreat center. After a short stint in an early morning traffic jam in Nairobi,we arrived at the gate for the Nairobi National Park. Eventually--we had to make a detour because of a mix-up on the opening time for our first destination--we came to the admissions gate for an elephant orphanage where we were treated to the sight of baby and young elephants who were being rescued and cared for by a local wildlife organization. The elephants were delightful, and we joined the other people there in snapping pictures of them and the staff who explained the elephants' plight and how the orphanage attempted to address it. After lunch, we went to a giraffe orphanage where we learned about the efforts being made to protect and care for them. We left the giraffes after about an hour of Q&A with the staff, multiple opportunities to feed the giraffes and, in some cases, be kissed by them. From there, we left for dinner.

After a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called the Rusty Nail, located in a town located outside of Nairobi called Karen (as in Karen Blixen of Out of Africa fame), we returned to the Nairobi airport last night to check in and prepare for our return home. We arrived about two hours before our flight was scheduled to leave, only to encounter the most horrendous lines and checkpoints all of us had ever seen. We were nervous as the clock moved closer to boarding time, but we were able to get through the lines and get to our boarding gate with a little time to spare.

After about sixteen hours of flying, minimal sleep, lots more airline food, crying babies on the planes, etc, etc, etc, we arrived in Indy at about 1:30 this afternoon to be welcomed by friends and family. We are predictably tired, but we each have a host of memories, feelings and thoughts that we have brought home with us. We look forward to talking with everyone about our experiences--and how they have touched us--in the days, and weeks, and months ahead.