Time is relative

It's 5:30 in the a.m. Which means it's 8:30 pm yesterday back in Texas. I've been awake since 3:00 am. I have no idea what time this post will read because my phone thinks it's in Germany. Seriously. When we landed in Kenya I got a text that said "welcome to Germany". Really - I saved it (it's a good thing it's called an i-phone & not a "smart phone". May have to talk to Steve about that.) Actually this phone has become my "woobie" (aka security blanket--see "Mr. Mom"). I could do a commercial for Apple!
Anyway, I've given up on sleep. We're driving into the mtns today to set up our vision clinic in the town of Meru. It's about 4 hours. Hopefully the pouring rain that started at 3:30 won't extend that time. Our group is dividing into 3 teams for the week so we won't see each other till Saturday. We should have many interesting stories to share.
I think I'm allergic to Kenya. I've been alternating between not breathing & sneezing, which is a bit alarming because my body needs to retain all of the fluids it can! My nose feels like it's going to fall off, which probably wouldn't help the mission team much.
I'm keeping a list of all the things I'm learning on this trip, which I'll post when I return. But here's one thing I learned yesterday: it's totally possible to squeeze 14 adults into an 8 passenger van. Not comfortable and you lose feeling in several limbs, but possible.
I also learned that joy can exist in the worst possible conditions. And that you can receive joy from tiny little children who run up to you to shake your hand and say,"How are you?!", the only English words they know.
And I've learned it's possible to fall in love with complete strangers and a country you thought you'd never want to visit.