Heading north of South

  Kigali, Rwanda
Sunday, July 19, 2009

I was again up early this morning. I had a few pleasant hours with the Kriedemanns, sitting in the sunlight to enjoy the warmth we continued our ongoing discussion of many things: our background and history in the Church, lessons learned, issues facing the Church now, favorite memories and upcoming plans and events. This kind of camaraderie is very encouraging and comforting.

At 10:00 Morgen drove me to the airport to check in for my flights. I was able to wait in the Kenya Airways lounge and have some lunch until my four-hour flight left for Nairobi. We had a good clear view of Kilimanjaro on the outer approach to Nairobi. The temperatures were pleasantly warm in Nairobi, quite a difference from Johannesburg 1500 miles to the south. I had a four hour layover in Nairobi. The lounge was full of Cameroonians, loudly discussing various topics of interest (to them) in French.

Finally at 10:15 pm the flight left for Kigali. The flight and arrival formalities went smoothly. I caught a taxi to a new hotel we're trying: the Bloom Hotel near the Stadium. It’s a bit less expensive than Chez Lando, although the rooms are smaller too and it’s not as conveniently located. We’ll try it out and see what we think. Greg Swartz had already arrived at the hotel and met me when I arrived near midnight. We chatted a bit about upcoming events, and our plans for this trip. The next chapter in this multi-facetted trip is about to begin.