The men and wives from both Ghana and Nigeria were to land at the airport only 5 minutes apart just after 6 in the morning. But of course, it didn’t quite work that way. The flight from Accra was delayed by about 40 minutes. But not too bad.

The vans and drivers were there waiting with me. None of us were allowed into the airport, so we had to wait outside the baggage claim area. In due time the Aghimien’s from Nigeria, and all 16 from Ghana came out looking for us. With their bags in tow, we all headed out to the vans.

I explained to the man in charge of the transportation company, named Obed, as well as my driver that we had to go back and stop at the 4-Points Sheraton hotel to pick up my suitcase as well as Daniel and Cindy Harper. But somehow those instructions got lost in the translation.

As we headed out, I was pretty sure we’d just passed the hotel, and asked the drive about it. At the next pull-off area all three vans pulled over. The drivers were confused, and did not want to turn around and go back. I’ve already explained the security procedures to enter the airport zone, and they didn’t want to do it.

We got the head man on the phone, and he said he would take a cab to get my bag and the Harper’s and meet is there. But we were parked in a no stopping zone – loading and unloading only. And in a few minutes well-armed police came over to tell us we needed to move along. The drivers explained our dilemma and asked for mercy. Surprisingly enough, they agreed and moved along. So we sat in a light rain for a full hour before Obed finally shows up with the Harper’s and my suitcase, and with shades of Willy Nelson playing in the back of my mind, we were “on the road again!”

The trip north to Nakuru took just under 4 hours. We kept climbing and drove through some very un-African looking country, at least in my experience! Beautiful vistas could be seen through the trees. Forests of conifer trees on the rocks and mountain sides brought to mind Colorado much more than Africa!

We drove past several large lakes, including Lake Elementaita. It was a ways off, but one could see what looked like pink alge or something all around the edges. Turns out, those were very large flocks of Flamingos! We were too far away to see individual birds, but seeing the pink shade all around the shores make it clear there were many thousands of birds there!

There wasn’t room for all of us at the Imani Conference Center where our meetings would be held, so the Harper’s and I were dropped off at the Sarova Woodlands Hotel, a 10 or 15 minute drive away.

We got checked in, and I was pleased with a nice room that had both working a/c and hot water! Those things cannot be taken for granted as one travels around Africa – and I’m always very happy when we find it!

Daniel wanted to go find a pizza place for lunch, so along with Cindy the three of us went out to see if we could find it. We walked down to the main road, and finally got on a minivan that serves as public transport all over Africa. For a fare of a total of about 95 cents US, we rode on into town, and got off only a couple of blocks from the pizza place. We walked on over, and enjoyed some surprisingly good pizza! Then we took a taxi back to the hotel to get ready to go over to the Imani Conference Center.

As the Sabbath was beginning we went over to the conference center where everyone was gathering for snacks and a reception. About half the attendees are French-speaking, which made it more difficult to have much of a conversation. But there were lots of smiles, handshakes, and still lots of talking!

All the administration as well as the Waddle’s (who organized this conference) the Harper’s and myself were staying at the Sarova. When we got back, we all went down to the restaurant for some dinner, and then I went to my room. Too tired to try to write or post anything, I called my wife, where it was mid-morning, and then went to bed.