Initiation

I have made it to Kenya, to Africa! I've dreamed of being here for many years, and it has begun! For those of you that don't know, I have come with Africa Inland Mission under AIM-AIR, their aircraft flying branch. I'm a "flight intern" (at least that's what I have named myself) for AIM-AIR and will be helping with flight operations and riding along on the flights. Beyond that, I don't know what I'm doing, other than helping where needed.

Before I get rolling, I will first put out a disclaimer: I always read the letters of people that go to a foreign off land to do amazing things. Ministry, building projects, hanging out with orphans, and such. However, the letter always starts with a two-paraghraph rant about how HOT the weather is and how GROSS the bugs are. They then conclude with a short paragraph saying something such as "Oh, and the team is doing well. God is Good..."

I, Lance Andrew Atkins, solemnly swear to exclude rants about the weather and any "icky" bugs. I promise to write about people, life, and the really cool bugs.

Okay, so... I'm on a team of three. We (Lindsey, Kevin, and I) are all pilots and investigating what combination of flying+africa+ministry+anything else our lives are meant to hold. Lindsey is a flight instructor and student from Montana/Las Vegas and Kevin is a pilot+mechanic+student from LeTorneau university in Texas/Vermont. I have the joy of being done with college! We just met a few days ago, but after battling jet lag and the wonderfulness of British Airways (I'm serious, they treat you like royalty... and they actually feed you), we are having a lot of fun and getting along really well.

We arrived in Nairobi last night and were taken by three AIM-AIR pilots to the "Mayfield Guesthouse," a sort of hotel/staging grounds for people about to embark on projects. I got stopped in immigration by a Kenyan lady who wanted to inspect my bags. After discussing what was in them (the interesting part is I was taking boxes for AIM,so I wasn't really sure what was in them) she decided she wanted to see what was in them. We then proceeded to go into the great loss of Michael Jackson's life, and how wonderful he is. After exchanging laughs, she says "we have decided that your boxes are okay, you may go."

Thus far I've met medical students, Australians, Swiss Doctors, Young and Old people. I have met quite a few Kenyans and I enjoy their calm manor. I think my goal is to act more Kenyan and less American while I'm here and back in the states. I think the coolest is seeing people in their 60's still exploring Africa and helping people while they do it. Refuse to get old!

I type this as I'm waiting for Cammy, our facilitator, to come meet us. We, today, have language lessons, a tour of AIM facilities, orientation, and probably some "how not to get accosted" lessons. Tomorrow we will be exploring Nairobi and learning the bus system (one of the things I'm most excited to experience!) and who-knows-what. None of us really know what is going on, and I like that. 

So, everything is great! Enjoy it now, I'm sure I'll be on here freaking out with culture shock and complaining about bugs soon. Until then: Thank you all who helped me get here!

-Lance