Friday, 7-31-09 (or? 30th? 29th?) day 45(ish)

Wow, I had to get through 7 pages of doodles and such to get to this entry! Ha!
The benedryl was very effective in helping me sleep! When I woke up, I listened to my I-pod for a bit and watched duplicity. We have 2 hours left before landing in Atlanta. I’m not in a window seat, so I can’t see the ocean, but it’s kind of cool to know that I’m flying over it right now! How do I know this? Airplanes (keep in mind I haven’t been on one this nice in… ever.) have this little button on the tv’s that say “track your flight”. It shows you a map with a red dotted line (that is the flight path) and a little airplane that shows where you are.
I know this entry is boring… nothing has changed much, I’m just sitting on the plane, eating my breakfast, and impatiently waiting for these 2 hours to pass so the plane can land already. I want to be home, and I’m not there yet. I would like to be home sooner rather than later, but I know that the plane is already going hundreds of miles a minute. I was thinking about this further and realized something- thanks to time zones, I’m actually going back 10 hours, so when I get home it will be the 29th even thoug I left for home on the 30th. Ha! Who said time travel was impossible???
FINALLY! “Welcome to Atlanta, we hope you enjoyed your flight!” YES! Getting through security and customs was a breeze! “Welcome home” greeted the attendant, as she scanned my ever-so-American passport. Those were probably the most beautiful words spoken to me all day! I would also like to point out something to future travelers- it is amazing to see how your attitude to airline personal will affect how they react to you. I got the nicest service by being nice to them first. Just sayin’.
Jan and I immediately set out for the clean bathrooms (with toilets that flush!) and to satisfy our weeks long craving for pizza. We got soda WITH ICE! I didn’t realize how much I would miss ice! The Domino’s lady thought we were weird because we were excited to be handed back quarters (As opposed to shillings) and when we told her that we were in Africa for 2 months, she too gave us a warm “welcome home”!
Since our flight arrived a little late, we weren’t able to make the direct flight home to Vegas, so instead we are heading to Salt Lake city and are heading to Vegas from there.
It was roughly a 2 hour flight to Salt Lake City, and then another 45 minutes to Vegas. I was impatient for these flights, because now I was only hours away from seeing my family! I miss them so much! I can’t wait to hug them again, and to see them smile at me! I’m excited for my own bed, my own shower, and again- my family! I’ve been thinking about the way God has changed me on this trip- how He has taken my heart as His, how He has shown me how I’ve lost my way, and how He has taken my hand to bring me back to the straight path. I wonder if my family will notice these changes- and if they will like them. I’ve also humorously noted that my once-fear of navigating an airport has vanished. I feel like a pro at this now! I’m so glad I went on this trip- and I’m even more glad that I’m home!
I took my stuff down the escalator- I saw my brother waiting at the bottom, looking for me. Too bad he was looking at the wrong escalator! I snuck up on him and gave him the biggest hug! My sister was next to see me- holding a bright orange sign saying “welcome home”! It was glittery, very homemade, and filled with love! We hugged each other, and I was so excited to see both of the teeth she lost! My mom gave me a really tight, stopped-my-breathing kind of hug, and started crying. I was teary eyed, too! My dad was there, and he gave me a big hug, and asked me if I had fun!!! He told me that he was glad that I did decide to come home, because otherwise he would have sold my car and gone all the way to Kenya just to get me back! Another big surprise was that Nathan showed up to bring me home, too! He is such a good friend to me!
I could not be happier- I am home! As soon as we got in the car, I asked if we could go to In-n-out. I have had this ridiculous desire for a chocolate shake for 3 weeks now! (I talked about it so much that Jan wanted one, too!) Jan’s family, Nathan, and my family all went to In-n-Out and indulged in chocolate-shake-and-burger goodness. When we got home, I told my parents about the various highlights of my trip, they told me about all the things that they did while I was gone. It was an incredible reunion! I’m glad I’m home!